DH codiene addiction

[MakkaPakkas]

DH has ended up with a bit of an addiction to neurogen plus (taking 8-10 a day). He'd had this problem before and has slipped back into old ways. I could see he was doing it, I've been seeing huge packs of them lying slightly hidden (I've not been snooping but they're just rammed up behind his computer, in the bin etc) since at least January and I've been worrying about him. His job is very stressful, he runs a small company and its been on the edge of going bust now for a while.
First I was waiting for him to talk to me about it. Then I was waiting for a 'good' time to mention it & ask how to help. I finally broached the subject a couple of weeks ago and he's decided to come off them. Last time he stopped dead, and told me it was fine. He now says it was awful and so he's tapering. It's been 3 weeks and he's now on his 4th pill free day.
I'm just posting in here as it's not something he'd like to be known amongst our friends and family so my usual support network is unavailable. Anyone else supported a partner though this sort of thing?
I'm sympathetic and I love him and he is a great husband and dad, but also I'm really annoyed that I've been having to pick up the slack all summer as well as listen to him whinging about it and that I've had to spend so much time worrying about him.

@MissMaple82 I'm not saying it doesn't but I had a big problem with migraines before I ever used them and know a lot of different things cause me to get them which was why I was prescribed painkillers for them

@mummylms I am currently using an app called I Am Sober and it's been ok. It's a bit OTT with the affirmations occasionally but it's good for keeping track of your progress. I think a lot of the users are in the US and I haven't posted anything there yet, but it seems like quite a supportive community so I might explore it further.

Ooh, I can totally see why codeine could cause migraines. I think even the side effects list includes headaches, and whenever I take it I get a headache. I used to go to the pain clinic with my pain issues, and the consultant said that regular codeine use can actually make pain worse. I just laughed and thought to myself that it was such BS, but every time I have cut down or stopped, I have found that my general aches and pains are actually better. I feel a bit sheepish now because I told him in no uncertain terms that the codeine is definitely not causing my pain and that I'm taking it to make my pain better. In hindsight I was really worried that he might take my prescription away. 🙈

I think it's definitely good to have a break sometimes and see how you feel without. It's just annoying that it takes a while for everything to even out so the benefits of stopping aren't immediate. At least I haven't got the guilt hanging over me all the time because now I'm not sneaking around trying to grab a cheeky tablet without anyone noticing...

if I’m completely honest , I take double that , usually 3 at a time which I know isn’t good at all…..I’d say 15, to maybe 18 …..the odd day is less but honestly I was like you but Itl definitely increase because they stop having the same effect ….I started adding neurofen plus too to increase the codeine , they made me really ill so I stopped and now sometimes order codeine off the net to up my amount it’s terrible and I absolutely hate myself for it …..I truly believe it’s led me to change so much, it used to make me feel so relaxed and confident but now I’ve got no confidence….I’ve even started taking cocaine which I was always SO against seriously against , but it gives me the confidence to work ….I’ve decided though that that will stop and no matter how bad I feel I’m not taking that again …..the codeine won’t be as easy I don’t think …..but I’m going to do what the other lady said and taper really slowly xxx honest hunni please please do something now because I was taking your amount a year or so ago and you end up convincing yourself “another won’t hurt” but In the long run it makes it harder 😢 if you need any support let me know, we can come on here with the others and support each other xx.

I'm finding it hard to even start tapering down. I just can't get in the mindset to do it. Definitely up for chatting on here as I don't have anyone for support and I'm finding it hard to even start! Do you have anyone at home for support? X

Ahhh sweetie I completely get it, it’s where to start and I always wonder what will it take for me to wake up and change all of this , so I know where you’re coming from totally …..no I haven’t told anyone at all, I can’t, my partner is not the most supportive at all and he’s be so angry ….I’m too embarrassed…..I can come on here for support literally anytime . I’m not sure how this platform really works, I know this is public and I’m not sure it allows us to private message I’m not sure? Xx

Yea I'm not sure if there is a way for private messaging on here at all. I'm the same I don't feel like I have anyone for support who would understand and not make it harder I think xx

Hello! How's everyone doing? I took a few days off thinking about codeine and it was ok. I have managed to cut down to a very small amount now but I'm getting really annoying withdrawal symptoms and I'm finding sleeping difficult at the moment. 😠DH went away overnight this week and I actually found some codeine and my old tramadol in a drawer and I was really quite tempted to take a few because I still feel a bit shit all the time, but I threw them out! The old me wouldn't have wasted prescription opioids just like that, but I figured that I probably would have taken them eventually if I had access to them, and that would have lead to a world of trouble so I decided to do the right thing. I did find that by removing the temptation I stopped contemplating taking them entirely, so I guess that's a trick that sometimes works.

Hope you're all doing and feeling ok. 💐

Hey I had progressed down to only 2 a day for the last two days then woke today feeling really unwell cough and headache and have slipped back again. I have managed to get a script for just codeine though so I don't have to use as much paracetamol. If managed to get all the way to the evening relatively ok on the days I only had 2. It seems it only takes a day for me to feel unwell or stressed and I will slip up again

@mummylms have you tried another non codeine painkiller when you're unwell? If you're used to codeine + paracetamol then try ibuprofen (without codeine obviously!) instead. You may be desensitised to the paracetamol due to frequency of use. I took N+ and a handful of ibuprofen didn't touch the sides, whereas a couple of paracetamol worked well as I wasn't used to them.
Also are you unwell or withdrawing? Cough, sniffles, headache, aches and pains are all symptoms and as they say, the only way over it's, through! Might help to try and see it as a positive sign your body is detoxing?

Yea I do use ibuprofen normally as a first go to but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Yea I definitely have some sort of virus im sure as my daughter has had a terrible cough all week. I would use naproxen but I have a stomach dysmotility issue so I need to try and avoid it if possible

Hi all. How is everyone doing? I hope you're all well and doing ok with the withdrawal/thinking about stopping. 😊

I have now managed to be entirely without for 8 days now, and before I was on a quarter a solpadeine a day for a while. One would think that the stuff should be out of my system by now but I'm still getting crazy headaches and my chronic pain issues make sleeping a challenge. Cravings are manageable though, which is great, although I find myself craving cigarettes and I quit ten years ago. 🙈 I'm tempted to have a half a tablet today just to see if the headache goes but I'm not sure how clever that would be. Paracetamol doesn't touch it unfortunately.

Anyway, keep fighting! You can do this!

Hey I'm on day 3 of nothing and struggling still to get past this point. Been like this for the last week or so managing a couple of days off then slipping back and having a day on the tablets x

Ahh well done! That's really good going. 💪 I bet it's tough but you got this. I did what you are doing last year, i.e. take a day or two off and then have a day where I would take some. It kind of worked for me for a bit, as in I was able to bring the amount of tablets I take down and get the codeine out of my system. I think had I stuck with it properly I would have been successful, but I ended up looking forward to those days when I would be "allowed" to have some, and then I would take more on those days or have two or more days in a row, and eventually I was taking them every day again. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I made some really good progress that way though, and it was a great way to break those daily habits, and those were really hard to break. Keep it up!

@FACupcake I'm hoping if I can try and manage more days in between each time I will get out of the habit. I quit smoking by starting with cutting it out in the week and only allowing it weekends or social times. It took a while but did work. I'm just finding this time I'm giving myself such a hard time when I give in to taking one again that it makes me feel like I'm failing and makes me angry and sad. What worked for you in the end? X

Well done on quitting smoking. It's really hard isn't it? There's no point getting angry at yourself for failing because it will just make it harder to continue. If you slip, just write it off as a bad day and start again!

What worked for me was good old tapering. Previously I had tried to taper but always got too ambitious and dropped my dose by too much and felt shit and took more tablets. But when I actually managed to quit I first dropped by a half a tablet and stuck to that dose for a few days, then another half a tablet and did it for a few days etc. The key for me was to have some every day, even if it was a tiny amount as I found it helped me mentally, and probably physically. In the end I had been on a tiny crumb of a tablet for like two weeks and I thought surely I wouldn't even feel it if I dropped it, so I did and it was fine. That was the physical stuff out of the way! Still dealing with the mental side of it but hopefully I'm getting there...

How long have you not taken any for now? Is it cravings you struggle with mentally? I can't decide to keep trying the way I am or tapering as I can manage some days without any at all that it worries me going to using some every day. Do you have any support other than on here?

Hi,
Can I ask whether any of you have tried counselling? If so what type and did it work?
If your partner was supportive, in what way was most helpful?
Good luck with the festival period x