The Prescription That Took Over

I had a serious accident in my early twenties which left me with badly damaged legs. I needed major treatment and spent time in hospital on strong pain relief. At that stage, I had no issue stopping the medication once I left hospital.

Before that, I had never touched drugs. I drank socially like many people do at that age but I had no interest in anything else. I had seen people around me using things like cocaine and ketamine and it never appealed to me at all.

After recovering from the accident, I rebuilt my life and went into a demanding professional career. The hours were intense. Late nights, weekends, cancelled holidays and constant pressure became normal.

Over the next few years, I needed more operations on one of my ankles. After each surgery, I was given short prescriptions for strong painkillers. I remember noticing the warm, comforting feeling they gave me but when the prescription ended, I stopped without any major problem.

Later, the pain became much worse. I was put on a high daily dose of dihydrocodeine while waiting months for another surgery. The surgery itself was successful but afterwards I was told I could just stop taking the medication.

That was when everything changed.

I went into severe withdrawal and had no idea what was happening to me. I knew opioids could be addictive but because everything had been prescribed medically, I did not realise the position I was in. At the time, it was also possible to order dihydrocodeine online by filling out a medical form. I carried on secretly for a while before eventually panicking and telling my family, my partner and my GP.

Very quickly, I was being treated as someone with an addiction problem. I was referred for specialist help and told I needed rehab. That was shocking to hear. From the outside, I had a successful career and a respectable life. I did not think rehab was something that could possibly apply to me.

My first detox experience was horrendous. I was given very little to manage the withdrawals and each day became worse. By day five, I was in extreme withdrawal. My joints were in agony, I was sweating constantly, my whole body felt like it was crawling, and I could not lie still for more than a few seconds. The anxiety and depression were unbearable.

Eventually, I was given buprenorphine and the withdrawals stopped almost immediately.

After leaving treatment, I was slowly tapered off buprenorphine. It was still uncomfortable and I struggled badly with sleep. I was then prescribed medication to help with that. When I was later told to stop it suddenly, I had a seizure at home.

There is a lot more to the story but the short version is that I was never really the same after that period.

A few months later, a major personal crisis happened and I turned to over the counter codeine to cope. I was signed off work and had too much time on my own. For someone in addiction, that was a dangerous situation.

Things got worse and worse. I started using stronger tablets at times and I also used other medication to try to manage withdrawal. That created another problem because I would then become dependent on those too.

I went back to rehab several more times but relapsed within weeks of leaving each time.

My main problem became Nurofen Plus. I was taking a full box every day, 32 tablets. I did get a stomach ulcer which thankfully healed but I know I was lucky. Taking that amount of ibuprofen every day could have caused serious damage.

Eventually, with the support of my family, I found Buvidal. It is a long acting buprenorphine injection. For me, it worked exactly as intended. It removed the constant withdrawal cycle and blocked other opioids from having an effect. That gave me breathing space.

After a difficult life event, I chose to go back on Buvidal before I relapsed. I stayed on it until things settled and I am now a few months off it with no withdrawal so far.

The final thing I want to mention is pregabalin.

During opioid withdrawal, pregabalin can make people feel much more comfortable. But it is also highly addictive. The withdrawal from it can be very difficult and in some ways the mental side felt worse than codeine for me. My final rehab admission was actually for a supervised pregabalin detox.

I still struggle with that substance now and it has affected my ability to move forward with work and life. So I would urge anyone to be extremely careful with it.

This all started with medication that was prescribed to me. I was not someone who went looking for drugs. I was someone who got caught in a cycle I did not understand until it was already controlling me.

That is why these stories matter. Because codeine addiction can happen quietly, privately and to people who never imagined it could happen to them.