Addictive prescription medications - anyone have experience with quitting addictive medication?

[UnXmas]

I didn’t want to hijack Dereksmagic’s thread (here: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=54353 ) so I thought it best to start my own on painkiller addiction. On Dereksmagic’s thread, I got a bit worried about my addiction to codeine, so I stopped cold turkey to see how well I could manage it. The background is I’ve been taking codeine for a couple of years, all of it is prescribed by my doctors who are well aware of how much I take, including knowing that sometimes I do take more than the recommended maximum. I’ve quit before, once cold turkey and a few other times withdrawing gradually, but up ‘til recently I’d been taking it pretty much daily for at least a few months (I’m not sure exactly how long).

Ok, so I ended my no-codeine experiment this morning after going six days without it. I have to say, I felt terrible the days I was off it, and it seemed to be getting worse, not better, so I don’t think it was all down to withdrawal. This morning I got up, felt awful just trying to sit at my desk with the laptop; I couldn’t concentrate, was getting hot flushes, my stomach churning, and eventually gave up and lay down on my bed. Then I got really bored because my mind was awake but, physically, I didn’t feel like doing anything. So I decided to end my period of abstinence and took my usual dose of codeine. Within about twenty minutes I had energy, the feverishness went away, and I got back up and on the computer and was able to focus better than I had been at any point since I stopped taking it. Basically that ill feeling where all I want to do is lie down disappeared.

Can I ask for some opinions on this? How long can withdrawal symptoms last? Was the six days I was off it completely long enough that I’d have gone through any withdrawal symptoms - i.e. were the symptoms I had this morning, which all but disappeared once I took the codeine, still withdrawal symptoms or is that how I’d always feel if I didn’t take codeine? When I’d stopped cold turkey on a previous occasion, I felt really tearful and nauseous on top of everything else for a few days – these symptoms were definitely not part of my usual illness-induced symptoms so on that occasion it seemed pretty clearly to be withdrawal. I didn’t really find that this time - I definitely felt worse off codeine but since I didn’t experience the symptoms of tearfulness and nausea, which are definitely not part of my usual illnesses, I’m finding it really hard to know if the symptoms I was getting – hot flushes, needing to lie down, feeling too ill to concentrate on anything - were down to withdrawal or just how I’d feel anyway without codeine to manage them.

Was six days too short to prove to myself that I can control my addiction myself? Obviously I’d be forced to give up if my doctors decided not to prescribe for me, so if I really need help with my addiction they could stop my supply, but in this case I had the pills right here and was just not taking them. I hadn't set any kind of goal for how long I wasn't going to take it for. Would it have been more useful, do you think, if I'd set a goal that I had to stick to rather than just taking it when I got fed up of feeling worse? Do you think that giving up after only six days is a sign that I really can’t control my use of codeine, or was that long enough to suggest that I can control it if necessary? Was going back on it now reasonable since it makes me feel so much better.

Any opinions welcomed, and feel free to share your own experiences with addiction to this or any other med, and if anyone else wants to try giving up an addictive medication, you’re welcome to document your progress in this thread or use it to ask for support. (Of course I’m obliged to add that you should check with your doctor that it’s safe to give up your medication before you try this, and you’d need to educate yourself on withdrawal symptoms, the risks and benefits of decreasing gradually compared with cold turkey, etc. prior to embarking on this.)

Ultimately, even if I am addicted I’ll still keep taking it because my health is kind of a lost cause. Because I have other illnesses besides Crohn’s that can’t be treated, masking symptoms rather than addressing the cause is my only option and I think in circumstances like that, it’s better to treat the symptoms than to do nothing. Codeine’s not a particularly dangerous medication, I’m not worried about taking it long-term, but I also wanted to make sure that I really am taking it for the benefits it makes to my quality of life and not just out of habit, and I have been reassured that it definitely makes me feel better and I’m taking it for the benefits it has regarding how it makes me feel and not purely from psychological addiction.

 

[plantluvr]

unxmas hello. i to have had extensive issues with opiods and benzos. i have struggled with it on and off for 10 or more years. ive been clean now for over a yr and a half. i quit cold turkey as i usually do. i got on methadone and also tried suboxne to get off the pills but i felt i was trading one addiction for another. so i quit those as well. i just learned other methods for contolling pain. and learned to listen to my body. pills made me numb to everything including my emotions. i think we are meant to feel pain. i used to take a pill everytime i felt any kind of pain. i feel less pain being off them than i do while taking them. they make you think you have more pain than what you think. i learned that in college as well with the drug being tylenol. i think it is good that you went 6 days without it but i dont think you were done having withdrawls. some can expierence the physical effects for two weeks maybe even longer. its hard when you have medical issues that warrant being on pain meds. and it will be a life long battle. im afraid in a flare and i dont want to get back on them. most everytime i get addicted while in the hospital. i have several medical issues as well. it is good to know were not alone. it is your choice to make.pills do effect your liver. if you have any questions or need help im here. wish you the best.

 

[UnXmas]

Thanks for your reply, plantluvr. Well done for being off the pills so long!

When I was having problems with insomnia (brought on by being on prednisone) my doctors were absolutely against benzos because of how addictive they are, and gave me amitriptyline instead, which worked wonders. I don't know why my doctors are so afraid of prescribing benzos but happily prescribe codeine. Perhaps benzos are even more addictive?

The benefits I get from codeine are not actually so much about pain relief. I don't understand why, but the best description I can give is that my illness makes me feel constantly achy, unable to concentrate, and an overwhelming need to lie down all the time - not sleepiness, just feeling ill and needing to lie down. The codeine dispels that completely for a few hours after I take it. I know that sounds so vague, my doctors didn't seem to have heard of anyone getting those kind of effects from it before.

Although I've developed quite a bit of tolerance to its effects, it still gives me a really noticeable difference if I take enough. I do think at times it helps me to relax a bit mentally too. I don't think it makes me numb to emotions. I've heard people say that's how antidepressants make them feel too, but I take amitriptyline and it definitely doesn't make me numb. It doesn't stop me being depressed either, but it calms me down and allows me to feel negative feelings without getting overwhelmed by them.

I was thinking that perhaps my doctors are so happy to prescribe me painkillers because they assume I'm not the sort of person to get addicted. I've never taken an illegal drug, never smoked a cigarette even. I drink alcohol literally only at Christmas/New Years. I give off a typical "good girl" vibe, I think, and my doctors who know me well perhaps don't pay much attention to how often I order repeat prescriptions.

Obviously I've been thinking about this a lot lately - and posting on and on about it - so I've made an appointment with my GP where I'll make sure she knows how much I'm taking and how awful I feel when trying to stop it, the ways in which it makes me feel better, etc.

 

[UnXmas]

Well I spoke to my GP. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I told her I was getting through my prescriptions in less time than the month they're supposed to last. So she doubled my prescription, so now I get 200 pills per "month" (or however often I order them) rather than the 100 I was getting before. :blush:

 

[UnXmas]

I'm now taking 3 x 30mg a day, which is way less than I had been (my maximum is about 10 x 30mg a day). I still feel worse than if I was taking more though, and I still take the 3 pills all in one go first thing, which isn't how they're "supposed" to be taken. I have major major surgery at the end of October so maybe I'll get my tolerance down a bit so I can use it effectively then.

 

[Patricia56]

First I think you need to distinguish between dependence and addiction.

You sound like you are dependent on the medication. This is what happens when you take medications like pain pills for a legitimate reason and over time your body gets used to having a certain amount of that drug. Yes you get withdrawal symptoms when you stop it but not because you are addicted - because you are dependent.

Addiction refers to using more than the prescribed amount to achieve a feeling of being high or an altered mental state that is pleasurable. You are not doing this therefore you are not addicted.

My immediate response to your description of your pain symptoms was that you are depressed. Depression can cause ALL the symptoms you described and you may or may not "feel" really down. It is part of the physical effects of the physical illness called Depression.

My impression was further reinforced by your description of the way your body reacts to the pain medication.

Yes the benzos are highly addictive and should only be used under the supervision of a psychiatrist, mostly for severe anxiety - which you do not have.

My suggestion is that you go see your psychiatrist and have a careful evaluation of your symptoms to see if you would benefit from a different anti-depressant or combination of psych meds. And no anti-depressants are not supposed to numb your feelings just relieve the depression.

Best wishes

 

[UnXmas]

Hi Patricia, thanks so much for your response. I think you're right about my main problem being tolerance. I'm already on anti-depressants, prescribed by my GP - I don't see a psychiatrist and won't ever do again as I was abused by a psychiatrist and just the very idea of seeing one again upsets me too much, and I've experienced too much discrimination from various other doctors for having a psychiatric diagnosis listed on my medical record. But my GP is very good, spends a lot of time talking to me about all my problems. I am depressed but due to various circumstances in my life - there's a name for the type of depression I have, I think "reactive depression" possibly?

 

[Dereksmagic]

I sort of skimmed though your post and comments, but as I am dealing with pretty much the same thing, but with much stronger pain meds, I will give you my thoughts on it as of today....

WHY TORTURE YOURSELF?

Sure, you can "prove" to yourself that you are not addicted and that it is not controlling you, however your are taking your's and my's situation out of context! Most people that have other people (Social pressures and acceptable behaviors) are usually ACTUAL ADDICTS that use issues such as back problems or other things as a reason for pain med use, or people that keep taking pain meds well beyond the time frame that they really need them.

We do NOT fit into this category, so if you are worried (as I was) with all the negative stigma that comes from what other people or society definition of what "addiction" is. Then you need to really let it go. It comes down to one thing, which is what they are meant for in the first place, does taking them provide you with a more tollerable way of life? For me, the answer is easy. HELL YES.

So, I could sit here every so often and force myself to go though the torture of withdraawling, and being almost certain that I am going to get back on them and then have to go though it again. -OR- I can just ACCEPT the fact that this is the card WE BOTH were deblt, be cautious to regulate our intake, and take just enough to keep on keeping on.

I still lay around every once in a while saying "F IT! I am going to just stop! I dont need them, they are what is causing my fatigue and crappy feeling" - WRONG. Even if I were off I would still feel bad, and my thinking about wanting to stop quickly turns around with the onset of the fallowing series of cramping sessions.

Do yourself a favor and just accept it for what it is, realize that you are not part of the social norm that people call addiction, and do what you need to do to lead a comfortable life.

Hope this helps somewhat.

-Derek

 

[Dereksmagic]

Also, its been quite useful to browse around on the actually drug user sites and the people that are real addicts, and reading all the things they do to battle their tolerance levels and how to make smaller doses work better and last longer ect, by drinking tea, or eating tums to slow the absorption rates, and ways to make sure that none of it just passes though and gets wasted. If you can make smaller doses work better or longer, your tolerance levels will naturally drop so you wont need to take as much.

(Be sure to take it all with a grain of salt and use your best judgement when reading their "advice")