Hi everyone, I’m new here and I just wanted to share my experience with trying to get out of the opiate trap.. I know it’s a pure living nightmare.
I was prescribed dihydrocodeine 30mg around 20 years ago for pain relief because I was born with deformed feet and as I got older they got really painful to the point I couldn’t sleep. So I got these magic tablets which were great at first, then after a few years they did nothing but make me feel like hell.. especially when I forgot to take them. They basically become the master and you become a slave to these evil little pills.. and the crushing feeling in the upper chest is the worst feeling of all ( in my experience ) .. so you have to keep taking them to stop this feeling, it’s like a vice crushing your chest while your heart pounds at a fast rate .. and also the feeling of being suffocated topped of with feelings of dread, agitation, anxiety, tension and anger.. like your body is attacking you into submission to take the pills.. and I have been eating them like smarties just to try and feel normal everyday.. not good, I know.
My story is a bit different to the ones I’ve read so far on here, because many of you took the bold step of coming off the DHC by your own choice.. but I have had no option, I never made the choice.. the NHS did. It’s quite a bizarre thing that’s happened because I just got a text message telling me that dihydrocodeine was no longer being prescribed in my area and I would be getting a substitute which was “ Codeine Phosphate “.. and for those who are clued up will know that these are as much use as taking Aspirin compared to the DHC30mg. So when I read the text message I nearly had a panic attack.. because I was down to my last two pills that day.
It seems to me like the NHS is currently doing it’s best to kill people instead of saving lives.. because they should have at least given me a few months notice to let me know that they were planning on stopping the supply of these drugs.. and I think it’s terrible and dangerous. Luckily I knew about Codydramol which contains DHC 30mg plus 500mg Paracetamol.. so I made an appointment to see my doctor who was basically clueless, anyway I talked him round into prescribing me Codydramol instead of the Codeine Phosphate which are not a substitute for DHC .. So basically I have been forced into coming off them by tapering and 5 weeks into the process I feel like the rest of you on here.. no motivation, major depression, hopelessness, no interest in anything and I am avoiding people to the point that I can’t even go into a shop anymore.. It is a living nightmare.
I just thought I would add my experience on here, just to let you all know that you are not alone and I feel your pain.. I really do. I think one of the worst things of this is the worry, misery and upset that our family must go through when they can see the change we are going through and I know that we can’t just paint a smile on our face.. I wish I could but it’s hard. Luckily I’ve got an easy going wife who is doing her best to understand and support me with what I’m going through and to tell you the truth I am very surprised she hasn’t left me.
Sorry if I have left such a long thread, but I got a bit carried away and it’s the first time I’ve posted anything in a forum.. I tend just to read forums for advice, but not this time.
Good luck to everyone and I really hope you get your life back on track very soon.
All the best
John.