hi all, my name is ann, and have just stumbled onto this site....i am an addict and have been through most of the drugs available....i was clean up till about 1 1/2 years ago from speed but somehow am now struggling to overcome my new addiction to pain medication, just over the counter stuff with codine...am going through about 250 tablets a week. i have forgotten how good i felt before this took over my days...i have a great family, beautiful children and am honestly wanting to be clean again, but am scared to death of just stopping...i get sick, and irritable and last attempt i was so overcome with anxiety that it scared the hell out of me.
is there anyone out there who has had a similar problem and any advice to offer would be so appreciated. if theres one thing i know, my secret is making me sick and so this is partly why i am here, i need to share this with others and and reconnect with others who are like me.
thanks in advance.
look forward to hearing from anyone who might be able to help.
mc01
Welcome mc01,
I was also addicted to codeine. Codeine is nasty stuff. I believed that codeine was one of the "weaker" drugs out there and I was safe. Five years later and 30 pills a day later I went to an addiction specialist to quit. I quit so may times I have lost count.
There is hope. I learned that I was addicted to the pills and I was a addict. I learned that I wasn't weak and will power had nothing to do with it.
I know how much you want this maddness to stop. There are people here that have had success in many different ways. You choose the "method" and stick to it and it will work for you. You can go CT or cold turkey. There is a taper plan, taper down to nothing. In hospital detox. I took a medication called suboxone. (I have posted a link so you can read about it).
Just remember you are not alone. You have made a huge step tonight by reaching out. I truly believe no one can do this alone. Look into AA or NA meetings or meetings with your church or hospital, counseling, find some group that knows about addiction.
Keep posting. It's late and today was a holliday so the board is a litttle quiet tonight. Come back and ask question's and tell everyone more about yourself.
Catherine
Here's the suboxone link you can click on:
http://www.buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/about.html
I was also addicted to codeine. Codeine is nasty stuff. I believed that codeine was one of the "weaker" drugs out there and I was safe. Five years later and 30 pills a day later I went to an addiction specialist to quit. I quit so may times I have lost count.
There is hope. I learned that I was addicted to the pills and I was a addict. I learned that I wasn't weak and will power had nothing to do with it.
I know how much you want this maddness to stop. There are people here that have had success in many different ways. You choose the "method" and stick to it and it will work for you. You can go CT or cold turkey. There is a taper plan, taper down to nothing. In hospital detox. I took a medication called suboxone. (I have posted a link so you can read about it).
Just remember you are not alone. You have made a huge step tonight by reaching out. I truly believe no one can do this alone. Look into AA or NA meetings or meetings with your church or hospital, counseling, find some group that knows about addiction.
Keep posting. It's late and today was a holliday so the board is a litttle quiet tonight. Come back and ask question's and tell everyone more about yourself.
Catherine
Here's the suboxone link you can click on:
http://www.buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/about.html
Hello Anne,
Welcome to the board. I assume since you can get codeine OTC, you don't live in the US. There's a poster here, Silent Partner, who runs a forum in Australia, specifically addressing codeine addiction. Here is the link:
http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/cahf/index.html
Addiction is a disease, not a moral failing. Keeping it secret will end up killing you. I had problems with codeine, too, when we lived in NZ and I could get them without a prescription, but I didn't take as many as you did so I hesitate to tell you to detox at home, by yourself (which is what I did).
You don't have to do this alone and you shouldn't. Please consider therapy, seeing an addiction specialist, going to AA/NA meetings, entering rehab, telling your doctor that you have this disease.
Keep posting here. The more we know about you, the more we can help. But you'll need face-to-face support as well.
Good luck.
Gina
Welcome to the board. I assume since you can get codeine OTC, you don't live in the US. There's a poster here, Silent Partner, who runs a forum in Australia, specifically addressing codeine addiction. Here is the link:
http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/cahf/index.html
Addiction is a disease, not a moral failing. Keeping it secret will end up killing you. I had problems with codeine, too, when we lived in NZ and I could get them without a prescription, but I didn't take as many as you did so I hesitate to tell you to detox at home, by yourself (which is what I did).
You don't have to do this alone and you shouldn't. Please consider therapy, seeing an addiction specialist, going to AA/NA meetings, entering rehab, telling your doctor that you have this disease.
Keep posting here. The more we know about you, the more we can help. But you'll need face-to-face support as well.
Good luck.
Gina
