[igr12]

Hi there, I need advice on coming clean and admitting to myself and my wife about my co codemol addiction. I suffered a back injury in 2015 and I was prescribed co codemol to treat the pain. But eventually these were stopped by my doctor and ever since I make excuses to get my hands on them. My wife has these prescribed to her for a chronic pain she suffers from and I either steal them from her or pretend I have a bad back or headaches just to get some off her.

I go to every pharmacy in the area where I live just to get my hands on them. I have tried to stop on my own to no longer take them but I just fail everytime. I feel bad for taking them from my wife behind her back and when she notices they are missing I lie to her and say i don’t know nothing about it. I know i have a problem as I will make excuses to go out and just find a pharmacy to get more tablets. I want to tell my wife but it’s the embarrassment of admitting that I have an addiction that’s the problem for me. Any advice? Thanks all

[cherry8]

Hi I totally understand where ur coming from I was the exact same with my husband didn’t want to admit I am addicted to dihydricodiene 30/500 I take 16/19 tablets per day driving round to find a pharmacy I haven’t used well now my husband knows I need to come off of these posion tablets so tomorrow morning I am tapering off of them and my husband is helping me u should sit down and speak to ur wife u will probably be surprised with her response! I tried going cold turkey and made myself really ill and had to take them again just to stop being sick so I am cutting down from 3 pills at a time down to 2 and the same the next day until I don’t need to take anymore I have been on them 13 years am 33 and I wish I had never put one by my mouth I really hope u can open up to ur wife and then take things from there one day at Rome ur wife will understand as she takes the pills also good luck!!

[igr12]

Hi Cherry8. Thank you for your quick response and it is very helpful. I never mentioned amounts in my first post so here goes…. I can take upto 30 + 8/500mg or 10 if i can get my wife’s tablets a day which hers are 30/500mg. I have tried to admit to my wife and others as asking it the embarrassment of coming clean to everyone and I worry incase my work find out. She has asked me if i had been buying them as she has found empty packets hidden around the house and I would snap at her for implying I’m a druggy. But deep down I know I am. I’m at work at the moment and she has noticed I have taken more of her 30/500mg tablets and she has gone absolutely crazy and I feel bad for lying to her and I’ve said I’ll talk to you later and she keeps messaging me to ring her about what I’ve got to tell her but I’m having to ignore my phone. I hope your road to recovery is speedy and you smash this problem once and for all. Good luck.

[addictedtosomething]

Hey IGR12

I was addicted to tramadol for around 4-5 years. Now, I didn’t take them to excess, but mentally I built up a dependence. Our brain becomes dependent on the medication, and so all these chemicals which are normally produced by the brain require the medication.

If you’re going to come off the tablets I will give you some advice:

1. Don’t be ashamed to admit you have a problem. Addiction isn’t something which belongs to a specific class in society. Anyone can get addicted, no matter the age, race, creed, etc.

2. TAPER TAPER TAPER. To save yourself a world of hurt, you need to taper. It has to be done very very gradually. For me, I did a 3-month taper. You have to plan it out and create a taper diary. You decide how to drop the dose because it’s your body. But the withdrawal from it will not be anywhere NEAR as severe as going cold turkey.

3. Drink loads of fluids. If you can, buy a multivitamin to take every day.

4. Routine. Create a routine to get you through it. If you can’t, just keep your mind active which can be movies, games, TV shows or just anything to help distract you when you’re alone with your thoughts.

5. At nighttime, take a long bath. This will help you sleep at night. Or take a long shower. Get into the routine of doing this, even while tapering.

6. Even tapering, you are going to have ups and downs. Anxious, irritated, depressed. These are all normal. It’s part of the withdrawal process, and it will subside each day until you eventually come off which will allow your brain to get back to normal. Harness the pain you feel and use it to push you through the hard times. Think of it like this, “If I relapse I need to do this all over again”.

7. Doctor. Your doctor will not judge you, because their job is to help us. Yes, you will have addiction on your record, but that isn’t really a bad thing considering you can easily get hooked. They have a plethora of methods, and can even prescribe medication to make it a little more tolerable. They also have access to all the services needed and information which will help you. That same doctor which prescribed you the medication has probably more so than not treated people for addiction because of that same medication.

Do not EVER be ashamed to admit you have a problem. The fact that you’re here shows that you want to change. This is a good thing. You’re realizing the negatives are now starting to outweigh the positives from taking the pills. The exact same thing started happening to me. I started hitting roadblocks in life with my hidden addiction, and I knew I had to do something.

I think your wife possibly knows you have a problem with the pills because she will be able to tell if they’re missing. If she hasn’t said anything to you, it’s probably because she’s waiting for you to say something to her. If not, you should have a sit-down and speak to her.

You won’t be judged, and the only way to truly get off them is with help from those around you. It’s hard to come off pills when you start getting more anxious, insomnia, irritability, and those around you have no clue. It can be an extremely lonely feeling. Just explain your whole situation, and make them aware that since your back pain problems you got hooked on these pills and you want to stop them.

With those around you knowing you have a problem with the pills, they can accommodate the changes and problems you will run into by being part of the healing process. It’s an uphill battle. But if done correctly, I promise you, you will pull through and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Take care

[Author]

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