[apg72]

Hi All,

I’m late forties and my partner is a few years younger than me. We’ve been married over fifteen years and have no children.

My partner is obese with a BMI of about 37. I’ve tried my best to encourage weight loss over the years, ever since they got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they were morbidly obese with a BMI of over 40. This was to try and reverse the disease but unfortunately nothing has worked long term (they gave up diet/exercise). Anyway, a couple of years back they were prescribed co-codamol by their GP for what I believe was persistent back ache (I think this is a condition caused by their obesity) As far as I can recall that’s when the constant taking of co-codamol started.

I’m concerned that there may now be an addiction to codeine as I think I see some of the warning signs… always tired despite sleeping in excess of 9 hours on a regular basis (sometimes sleeping 14 hours a day at weekends) and irregular sleep patterns (sleeping during the day but awake through the night) I’d put this down to the diabetes as I know it can cause problems with sleep such as insomnia and tiredness.

More recently there have been bouts of unexplained nausea and vomiting and when I’ve asked for help with housework they say they find it hard to get out of bed in the morning and have no energy or motivation to do anything (fatigue perhaps?) This is putting more and more strain on our relationship. There’s also mood swings. My partner is always buying more co-codamol – over the counter from different chemists, not to mention getting it prescribed from the doctors in boxes of 100!! I believe they are also on medication for depression but I wonder if that too could be a side affect of the co-codamol addiction??

There is a pack of 100 zapain tablets upstairs (30mg/500mg) This was picked up last week from the pharmacy (Wednesday afternoon I think) and three blister packs are already missing. There’s numerous empty blister packs of co-codamol in their bedside drawer. I’ll try to monitor how many they are taking over the next few days but it’s difficult to know for sure how many are being taken per day unless I’m watching 24/7 which I can’t possibly do. I go through the waste bags to sort general waste from recyclables and notice a LOT of empty co-codamol boxes/blister packs.

I’ve monitored a box previously (last year) and it did appear to me that they were using co-codamol regularly (and taking the maximum daily dose if not more). When the tablets run out on the prescription, they buy over the counter ones from shops for a while and then get another prescription from the GP and the cycle repeats. At least, that’s what I think is happening unless the Doctors are freely writing repeat prescriptions for boxes of 100(?) Would they do that knowing fine well that these tablets are highly addictive?

I don’t know what to do. I’ve pointed out that they may have an addiction to them based on how many I think they’re using and asked them to stop taking them – explaining how bad they are. They denied it was a problem saying they haven’t been taken but were kept in different places for easy access. I thought they then had stopped during lockdown due to being more difficult to obtain them but it seems they’ve been taking co-codamol and ibuprofen together now. I’m very concerned and don’t know who to turn to with it not being myself that (may) have a problem.

Any advice please?

[bt1978]

Hi

Welcome and thanks for posting.

It reads very much to me like your partner is addicted to them unfortunately. This is because co codamaol contains codeine, which is highly addictive as its an opiate. It can make you sleepy, and also lethargic.

The vomiting may be where he has run out and gone into withdrawal, it’s hard to say really.

Sadly some doctors do write prescription after prescription.

My suggestions are that he contacts the GP and has a tapering plan sorted out ASAP as this will only end up one way. Its also likely that if he stops, then he is going to feel rotten due to the amount he’s been taking over time. That’s why a taper plan is essential.

I have been through codeine addiction myself, let me know if there is anything I can help with and keep posting

[apg72]

Thank you for the reply BT1978. I checked the box this evening and there are now 5 full blister packs left whereas last night when I checked there were 7 full blister packs in the box. I also found another empty box with a date on which was 15/7/20. These are the same tablets, zapain 30mg/500mg x 100. By my calcs she is taking at least 8 per day and the GP is freely writing prescriptions for 100 tablets every 12 days or so as the date on the newest box was 27/7/20. Can you get addicted from taking 8 a day over a long period?

You may be right with the vomiting as I know she ran out during lockdown. I was asked to buy them for her over the counter as I’ve been picking up prescriptions for some people in isolation but I made excuses that the queue was too big as I didn’t want to help feed a possible addiction. So there probably was a period where she didn’t have any in the house.

The trouble with asking her to contact her GP and have a tapering plan sorted is that I don’t actually think she believes she has an addiction to codeine as she’s previously denied it. So if she doesn’t think she has a problem then it’s unlikely that she is going to admit to them that she’s addicted and ask for a tapering plan to be put in place.

I’m going to try monitoring how many she is taking and when she goes to the chemist to pick up her prescription and keep a journal. I’ve started it already. At least that way I can confront her in a few weeks with some hard evidence to try and make her see she may have a codeine addiction.

If you can think of anything else I can do to try and track how many she is taking then that would be appreciated. In an ideal world, they should be available by prescription ONLY and prescribed for short periods of time. The wording on this box I have here states “Do not take for longer than directed by your prescriber as taking codeine regularly for a long time can lead to addiction” What constitutes a long time? I know when purchased over the counter the pharmacist says take for THREE days only and the dosage is lower. That leads me to think why are prescription drugs which are much stronger treated different? It seems so wrong and is making people addicted especially when GP’s just want to get rid of you by writing you another repeat prescription for 100 when you run out. It beggars belief!

[bt1978]

It’s a good point well made, u less they admit its an issue there is very little you can do to help aside from monitor and watch consumption. You can contact their gp direct, but you may feel that woukd cause further problems between you two.

It’s really hard to give any advice to people who are not ready to admit they have an issue – it just doesn’t stick

Also when I was abusing painkillers I put on an awful lot. Of weight too for various reasons

[Author]

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