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Hey Ecm
I don’t know how much you are taking per day but all I will say is know you can do this. Obviously your situation is complicated by the pain and other physical issues you have, for me it was just about the nice feelings I got from the codeine. Can you talk to your doctor about what you want to do?
If you are going to go cold turkey as I did then be prepared to feel pretty rough for about 7 days and then slowly start to feel better as each day passes. I guess it took me about a full month before I started to feel considerably more like myself but after day 7 it gets easier and you feel better every day. 2 weeks after my last Nurofen Plus I was well on the road to recovery – you really have to be stubborn and find your inner strength though in the first few days if you got cold turkey. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and something I don’t want to repeat ever.
Also for me after about 10 days I became very down with something like a mild depression which lasted about 10 days and then it lifted. I am 3 months from abusing Nurofen Plus and am so happy I don’t take them anymore – they consumed my life with the daily rituals and it feels great to be free of them! Yes I do still have cravings but they become less intrusive as time passes and for me it helped to tell my family as it helps me to be accountable for my actions.
You will need to find the inner mental strength in the first few days to battle through the physical withdrawal symptoms and also the initial cravings but you can do it. You have to steel yourself that’s the only way I can describe it! All the best to you and come on here for support but i would speak to your GP ????????
Hi everyone.
Hope your day is going ok?
Chris if I were you I would reduce rather than cut the middle one out altogether, it is best to go slowly rather than stop too much of it abruptly – I know I went cold turkey but I wouldn’t recommend it as it was incredibly tough on my mind and body. Try and spread it out through the duration of the day and the withdrawal won’t be as bad.
Light, I wish it was snowing in Lincolnshire ! I love the snow. Everyone must keep on doing what you are doing. Don’t give up ????
I also meant to say that when I had bad anxiety I was left with a kind of light headed feeling- I can’t put my finger on it to describe it but it felt like I was light headed but not dizzy if that makes sense?
I was off works with the anxiety for a good 3 to 4 months and it did go away in the end but it was some time going. As I said we are all different so it might be worth calling your GP to put your mind at ease?
I do believe it is a hidden dependency and one that goes under the radar. I wonder how much the authorities really know about use of OTC codeine based products. I know Australia banned them and also you cannot get any codeine based medication in America OTC. It is a huge no no. I wish they would ban them because we all know we can go to a chemist and get a box as easy as buying a pack of mcvities!!!!!
Yes but it was surprising how little I was ever challenged. I only came across two members of staff to refuse me a box, one actually said you come in here too often and what is it for? And the other who was an actual pharmacist at another chemist refused to serve me any at all! I only went in there twice.
Yes it does change from hour to hour but I found that it became longer between thoughts (if that makes sense) the longer I have not taken them. This thing really is a slow burn! I think If you can remember that then you’re in the optimal position.
I would go for that trip to the garden centre just to take your mind off things and I really find that being outside is such a great help, it’s like nature distracts you somehow.
I am off work since the pandemic which I think spurred me on to increase the amount of N+ I ingested everyday, when I think back to it I was just a slave to the little things. I would go on pharmacy runs and the minimum I would come back with was 5 boxes which would kind of see me through the next week- mostly I got 7 boxes depending on how much energy I had to drive round my local area which is quite a rural area so you can imagine how much driving I did each week!
I was very crafty as well and would know which staff I had spoken to last time when I purchased them and I would do my best to avoid going to the same ones too frequently- it was hard though because the area is quite rural my options were limited.
Please remember everyone is doing amazing and be proud of the strength you are showing to get to this stage. Nobody knows what it’s like until they have been in the same shoes ????
Hi Light
It’s not an easy process, I have read some other threads on here and apparently the mental recovery can be hard – I honestly haven’t found it that difficult but it is only 2 months down the line for me.
I did have a little craving earlier this morning when I was having my cup of tea and the N+ popped into my mind and I got that excited feeling about taking them but it passed within a few seconds- I think the key is to try not to dwell on the thoughts if you can possibly do that which I know is easier said than done!
I have found that the cravings have dropped in intensity the longer I have been off of the pills but I would be telling lies if I said I never got those thoughts.
If you can view what you are going through as a healing process for your mind and body then you will be best placed to deal with the ups and downs to come.
I did read somewhere that codeine attaches itself to receptors in your brain and deadens the dopamine so when you do come off it your brain needs time to stabilise the dopamine and that is why we feel depressed.
Sorry I am waffling now!
Try not to be disheartened, I know it is difficult as you feel you are never going to improve but you will do. As I said each persons journey is slightly different but there are common threads along the way.
I do remember having a mild depression after about 9 days onwards and felt not good at all from a mental point of view – but my mood slowly lifted after about 10 days and I can honestly say that I now feel my normal.
I am unfortunately furloughed from work and have been since the beginning with the threat of being called back to work at any moment which isn’t conducive to a stable mind set! But it is what it is and things will stabilise in that area soon.
Eva , it sounds like it could be your state of anxiety that is causing these random physical symptoms- I know from experience how being in a constant state of anxiety can affect your body – one thing is for sure that the withdrawal symptoms from codeine subside around the 2-4 mark so if they are still around after a month then it could be anxiety?
Chris, you mustn’t feel like you are cheating by tapering, believe you me I would not have gone cold turkey by choice but my partner found lots of empty packets of N+ in the house and I was confronted by him, at the time I was absolutely rocked to my core that my horrible secret had been discovered but with hindsight I am glad he confronted me – I wouldn’t recommend cold turkey as it is so incredibly rough on the mind and body and not everyone can do it – but i was held accountable by having my secret discovered and it spurred me on to kick this dirty habit for good. You are doing well by tapering , people don’t realise how hard it is – it was probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
Hi Eva
Yes your journey is different to mine. The brain fog I can’t say I really had, maybe it could be attached to your other medication?
I know we are all different so we can experience different feeling and symptoms of withdrawal. Mine was very bad sneezing multiple times per day which lasted for a good 3 weeks and also a dry cough which started approximately 6-7 days after stopping codeine.
Hi everyone.
Day 9 is still early days so don’t expect too much – it is a slow burn rather than a raging fire! I’m not sure how long everyone has been taking codeine based medication , whether it be OTC (as I was) or prescribed mediation, but the way I see it is after having taken N+ for in excess of 5 years my body needs to recalibrate itself after my abusing it everyday for those 5 + years – it really helped me to think of it in this way and try to feel your body and mind going through a healing process – I couldn’t expect to feel right after 2 weeks.
Each day you are moving further along the road after having tossed those pills away and the further away you are from them the more you will feel like the “real” you.
Now don’t get me wrong this is not easy and I have had my cravings – I used to take 22-24 N+ every morning with my cup of coffee! It became a deeply ingrained dependency! It set me up for the day, but it wasn’t real, it was a chemical state of mind. So, yes in the mornings (not every morning) I do have some cravings but the longer I have stopped taking the pills the easier it is for me to bat those cravings away in my head. I can only speak for myself and we are all unique but that has been my experience. Remember tomorrow is a new day and we are further along the road to recovery ????
Hi everyone.
Yes I used to get all the buzz and loved it but as time passed I had to keep taking them to feel “normal”- which let’s face it isn’t really normal – it’s a codeine normal.
In the end I wasn’t even getting the nice feelings! It was just a constant daily grind to get my pills! It wasn’t even enjoyable anymore.
Well I didn’t have any accidents or pain , to be honest I started taking them before a night out and realised i wouldn’t get much of a hangover! Then one day I took 3 instead of 2 and thought “hmmm this feels nice” and that’s how I got started. In my opinion there needs to be strict conditions in the U.K. when selling anything OTC that has codeine in it. This is a silent addiction which is far more prevalent than people realise. You shouldn’t be able to go pharmacy surfing which I did for years!
Good for you! I was a pharmacy slave driving all over the place!! Please keep at it because it does get better. I was so ill going cold turkey but 2 months later I’m still here and feeling better ????
Hi everyone
Your thinking and mind will become clearer as the days pass, it is not a quick process but you will notice small changes as each day goes by. I didn’t really feel “clean” I suppose you could say until about the one month mark-but remember everyone is different and this in turn could make your experience more unique. I found I had more of a brain fog as you put it when I was taking N+. I’m no longer hunting for my next pack of the stuff and that in itself is incredibly liberating. I know it’s only been 2 months but i won’t get back on that train again.