Young woman with an N+ addiction- help!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 3
Young woman with an N+ addiction- help!
I am twenty years old and have been taking N+ on a daily basis for around a year and a half. I take only a small amount compared to some users (7-9 a day) but I find that I need it to live a 'regular' life, and to get me through arduous/menial daily activities such as work and university. I look forward to taking them morning noon and night- to the point where I cannot get enough sleep without taking them.
I have been off them for three days, although on one of these days I had a Panadeine Forte because I was simply in so much body pain.
I feel a little petty because I know some people have been addicted for a lot longer and take a much higher dosage, but I know that it's a problem because it has taken control of my thoughts and is affecting the way I live my life in a detrimental way. My biggest concern is the lack of sleep- the pain is really difficult to deal with but I am getting myself through by trying to feel proud of myself. But without sleep, I have no motivation to boost these feelings of self-esteem and triumph.
I'm seeing my GP tomorrow, but I guess what I'm asking for is this- how long do you think it will take (cold turkey) for these withdrawal symptoms to desist, and what are some useful sleep remedies/alternate medication rituals? I have searched far and wide and only found answers regarding long-term users (years and years) or else high-dosage users (20+). I have made my mum aware of my problem (she suffers from addiction to other prescription drugs) so she is going to try and help me as well.
Thanks in advance
I have been off them for three days, although on one of these days I had a Panadeine Forte because I was simply in so much body pain.
I feel a little petty because I know some people have been addicted for a lot longer and take a much higher dosage, but I know that it's a problem because it has taken control of my thoughts and is affecting the way I live my life in a detrimental way. My biggest concern is the lack of sleep- the pain is really difficult to deal with but I am getting myself through by trying to feel proud of myself. But without sleep, I have no motivation to boost these feelings of self-esteem and triumph.
I'm seeing my GP tomorrow, but I guess what I'm asking for is this- how long do you think it will take (cold turkey) for these withdrawal symptoms to desist, and what are some useful sleep remedies/alternate medication rituals? I have searched far and wide and only found answers regarding long-term users (years and years) or else high-dosage users (20+). I have made my mum aware of my problem (she suffers from addiction to other prescription drugs) so she is going to try and help me as well.
Thanks in advance
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,454
Hi Gettingbetter91 - welcome to SR!
Just for everyone's benefit - by N+ I assume you mean Nurofen Plus (codeine+paracetamol)?
I'm afraid I know next to nothing about codeine addiction, but I know others here might be able to share their experience.
You might also like to check out our substance abuse forum as well:
Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
I'm glad you're seeing your Dr - they should be able to answer your questions and help you work out what to do next with your pain
D
Just for everyone's benefit - by N+ I assume you mean Nurofen Plus (codeine+paracetamol)?
I'm afraid I know next to nothing about codeine addiction, but I know others here might be able to share their experience.
You might also like to check out our substance abuse forum as well:
Substance Abuse - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
I'm glad you're seeing your Dr - they should be able to answer your questions and help you work out what to do next with your pain
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 3
Oh sorry guys, I'd just come straight from a forum where 'N+' was used every time Nurofen Plus was referred to. Very silly of me, my apologies! Yes, that's what I'm referring to, and thank you for the welcome
Guest
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Brighton, UK
Posts: 164
Originally Posted by gettingbetter91 
Oh sorry guys, I'd just come straight from a forum where 'N+' was used every time Nurofen Plus was referred to. Very silly of me, my apologies! Yes, that's what I'm referring to, and thank you for the welcome
12-Step Recovered Alkie
Join Date: May 2010
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Posts: 5,797
I have to second Dee's suggestion hitting up the Drug Abuse areas. I've never even heard of the prescribed drug....lol.
I do understand "getting out of me" and drugs.....booze....that stuff all worked for me. Uppers or downers...it was all A-OK.
Alternatively Getting....... check out any of the first 3 "rooms" under this link. I'd ask there as you're more likely to find ppl with experience in recovering from N+ there: The Alcoholism and Addictions Help Forums- by SoberRecovery.com
I do understand "getting out of me" and drugs.....booze....that stuff all worked for me. Uppers or downers...it was all A-OK.
Alternatively Getting....... check out any of the first 3 "rooms" under this link. I'd ask there as you're more likely to find ppl with experience in recovering from N+ there: The Alcoholism and Addictions Help Forums- by SoberRecovery.com
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Victoria, Australia
Posts: 2
Hi, please don't feel petty re: your n+ intake. It will only get worse if you don't deal with it now. I am only 1 week off an 11 year addiction to it, 72 a day for years which has left my 45 y.o body battered and broken.
It started the usual way, a car accident that left me heavily bruised. I was given panadeine forte which I'd never heard of at that stage, I quickly discovered using it gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling we all know so well. When they ran out I doctor shopped and found other otc medications such as panadeine- 500mg paracetamol 8mg codeine, panadeine extra- 500mg paracetamol 15mg codeine, ever bumping up the dose trying to recreate the original high. After around 18 months of this n+ came on the market, wahoo I thought, this is fantastic. It wasn't even behind the counter, just piled up in bins to help yourself. And pile 'em up I did.
The side effects were for other people, not me I was bulletproof. Why then were my once perfect teeth falling out then? It wasn't until I lost them all I discovered the dry mouth disease these pills cause. So now I have a mouth full of implants instead, a constant reminder for the rest of my life. And why am I so sick all the time? 3 times in 2 years I was admitted for 5 days to critical care with renal impairment and severe potassium deficiency. Normal potassium levels are 4-5, mine were at 1.9, the doctor telling my father he'd seen higher levels in the morgue. Still I couldn't stop, I'd be in hospital hooked up to machines while the doctors waited for my heart to stop, desperately waiting for them to leave so I could shovel a packet down my throat to stop the wds.
I know every chemist this side of Melbourne, and have spent enough on these pills to have lived on every continent in luxury. I have gone through wds more than a dozen times and while it's vile....really really vile, I beg you to work through it. The reason I stopped a week ago today? A routine blood test has shown I now have ckd (chronic kidney disease) and liver impairment. As recently as 12 months ago my kidneys were fine, they've finally started protesting and the kidneys are one of 3 organs that can't be repaired, the brain and heart the other 2. The human body is forgiving to a degree, but you can't abuse it too long without paying a price, sometimes the ultimate price.
The irony of the following isn't lost on me and I once would have thought it the best outcome I could have. Due to kidney/liver damage I can never take otc medications again and have been prescribed morphine. This bypasses the damaged organs. With this med the withdrawals from n+ this time have been a breeze, but do you really want a shattered body to ease a few days of intense discomfort?
This post is probably a tad long, however over the years when I was laying in bed shivering, legs jumping, nose running ect these posts kept me sane. I wish you strength at this time.
It started the usual way, a car accident that left me heavily bruised. I was given panadeine forte which I'd never heard of at that stage, I quickly discovered using it gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling we all know so well. When they ran out I doctor shopped and found other otc medications such as panadeine- 500mg paracetamol 8mg codeine, panadeine extra- 500mg paracetamol 15mg codeine, ever bumping up the dose trying to recreate the original high. After around 18 months of this n+ came on the market, wahoo I thought, this is fantastic. It wasn't even behind the counter, just piled up in bins to help yourself. And pile 'em up I did.
The side effects were for other people, not me I was bulletproof. Why then were my once perfect teeth falling out then? It wasn't until I lost them all I discovered the dry mouth disease these pills cause. So now I have a mouth full of implants instead, a constant reminder for the rest of my life. And why am I so sick all the time? 3 times in 2 years I was admitted for 5 days to critical care with renal impairment and severe potassium deficiency. Normal potassium levels are 4-5, mine were at 1.9, the doctor telling my father he'd seen higher levels in the morgue. Still I couldn't stop, I'd be in hospital hooked up to machines while the doctors waited for my heart to stop, desperately waiting for them to leave so I could shovel a packet down my throat to stop the wds.
I know every chemist this side of Melbourne, and have spent enough on these pills to have lived on every continent in luxury. I have gone through wds more than a dozen times and while it's vile....really really vile, I beg you to work through it. The reason I stopped a week ago today? A routine blood test has shown I now have ckd (chronic kidney disease) and liver impairment. As recently as 12 months ago my kidneys were fine, they've finally started protesting and the kidneys are one of 3 organs that can't be repaired, the brain and heart the other 2. The human body is forgiving to a degree, but you can't abuse it too long without paying a price, sometimes the ultimate price.
The irony of the following isn't lost on me and I once would have thought it the best outcome I could have. Due to kidney/liver damage I can never take otc medications again and have been prescribed morphine. This bypasses the damaged organs. With this med the withdrawals from n+ this time have been a breeze, but do you really want a shattered body to ease a few days of intense discomfort?
This post is probably a tad long, however over the years when I was laying in bed shivering, legs jumping, nose running ect these posts kept me sane. I wish you strength at this time.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 3
Thank you so much, Overandout, and I am very sorry to hear of the troubles those demons have caused for you.
I saw my GP and she prescribed me with Temazepam (sleeping tablet) and anti-depressants. I've just taken a sleeping tablet and it has taken a bit of the cramping and headaches away, but am yet to try the anti-depressants. Hopefully it starts to get better- according to her it will take 3-4 days. I have been in a lot of pain today and it kind of feels as though I'm fighting a losing battle, but I know I have to keep going. Especially now that I have friends for support.
Have you tried to give up before? Cold turkey or weaning off?
I saw my GP and she prescribed me with Temazepam (sleeping tablet) and anti-depressants. I've just taken a sleeping tablet and it has taken a bit of the cramping and headaches away, but am yet to try the anti-depressants. Hopefully it starts to get better- according to her it will take 3-4 days. I have been in a lot of pain today and it kind of feels as though I'm fighting a losing battle, but I know I have to keep going. Especially now that I have friends for support.
Have you tried to give up before? Cold turkey or weaning off?
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Victoria, Australia
Posts: 2
You're welcome gettingbetter91, I only hope someone else, someday will read what n+ has done to me and seek help.
Well done on going to the doctor, I was always too embarrassed to admit the problem. Oh yes, cold turkey was an old enemy. Time after time I would get to day 4 (being too ill for the first 3) and think just a couple to take way the last remnants of w/d. My mind would yell "don't...just don't...." but the physical side would give in. Of course those 2 here and there blew out again to a packet or 2 or 3.
Many people recommend Immodium to stop the diarrhea, each to their own but I thought let nature take its course, cold and flu tablets helped me enormously with the runny nose/sneezing, ibuprofen for the aches helps too. My mother gave me Blackmores Magnesium and Calcium tablets from the Naturopath which I took 2 an hour for 3 days, I can't remember the reason why but they seemed to help. Taking a sleeping tablet is possibly the best thing of all as sleep is nearly impossible, for me lack of sleep along with the rest of it was too much. I remember reading on one of these threads years ago someone said to try not and focus on sleep, if you manage an hour here or there it's ok. Take things day by day, or in the first throes of withdrawal, hour by hour.
One problem people discover is boredom after w/d, for years our days have been taken up chemist shopping and the 6pm (or whenever) pill time, then the next few hours in a codeine induced cloud gently passing by. Hopefully at your age you'll have friends and places to go to keep busy, time WILL pass however slow each and every minute goes by.
Good luck, I wish I had of asked for help years ago.
Well done on going to the doctor, I was always too embarrassed to admit the problem. Oh yes, cold turkey was an old enemy. Time after time I would get to day 4 (being too ill for the first 3) and think just a couple to take way the last remnants of w/d. My mind would yell "don't...just don't...." but the physical side would give in. Of course those 2 here and there blew out again to a packet or 2 or 3.
Many people recommend Immodium to stop the diarrhea, each to their own but I thought let nature take its course, cold and flu tablets helped me enormously with the runny nose/sneezing, ibuprofen for the aches helps too. My mother gave me Blackmores Magnesium and Calcium tablets from the Naturopath which I took 2 an hour for 3 days, I can't remember the reason why but they seemed to help. Taking a sleeping tablet is possibly the best thing of all as sleep is nearly impossible, for me lack of sleep along with the rest of it was too much. I remember reading on one of these threads years ago someone said to try not and focus on sleep, if you manage an hour here or there it's ok. Take things day by day, or in the first throes of withdrawal, hour by hour.
One problem people discover is boredom after w/d, for years our days have been taken up chemist shopping and the 6pm (or whenever) pill time, then the next few hours in a codeine induced cloud gently passing by. Hopefully at your age you'll have friends and places to go to keep busy, time WILL pass however slow each and every minute goes by.
Good luck, I wish I had of asked for help years ago.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1
N+
Hi,
My sister was addicted to neurophen plus for a couple of years, she overdosed once and had a seizure and bit through her tongue.When she came too she haa psychotic episode. After all that we thought she had kicked the habit but were wrong. A year later she didnt answer her phone so I rushed to her house and she was overdosing with her 3 yr old daughter on top of her. she was put in a coma for 2 weeks she was about 33kg her kidneys failed and she was put on life support. Luckily she survived but she had damaged her body so much she had part of her stomache and bowel removed due to the ulsurs which was an extremely painful operation and then had to do physical rehab etc. You would think after all this she would be off pills but it is soooo addictive i now find out she is taking panadene extra every day and drinking cough medicine and fenergan. Please try and get help for this habit asap before it spirals out of control and you feel like you cant live without it. You need to find out the deep rooted reason why you take it and work on that with a professional. It ends up not just affecting you but destroying the people around you. I wish you all the best, live life. :-)
My sister was addicted to neurophen plus for a couple of years, she overdosed once and had a seizure and bit through her tongue.When she came too she haa psychotic episode. After all that we thought she had kicked the habit but were wrong. A year later she didnt answer her phone so I rushed to her house and she was overdosing with her 3 yr old daughter on top of her. she was put in a coma for 2 weeks she was about 33kg her kidneys failed and she was put on life support. Luckily she survived but she had damaged her body so much she had part of her stomache and bowel removed due to the ulsurs which was an extremely painful operation and then had to do physical rehab etc. You would think after all this she would be off pills but it is soooo addictive i now find out she is taking panadene extra every day and drinking cough medicine and fenergan. Please try and get help for this habit asap before it spirals out of control and you feel like you cant live without it. You need to find out the deep rooted reason why you take it and work on that with a professional. It ends up not just affecting you but destroying the people around you. I wish you all the best, live life. :-)
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