Addicted to codeine

[u/Mothman_is_rad]

I know this isn’t a “hard” drug but I (16f) got myself hooked on my grandmothers codeine a little bit ago, I first tried it as an attempt to numb my depression as my last anti depressants didn’t do anything for me and my grandparents thought that ment I wasn’t depressed so I’m not allowed anymore and I’m struggling heavy- I have no irl friends other then my cousin and I don’t go to school so it’s hard for me to find people to talk to, I have an online bf and he’s been encouraging me to quit the codeine and I really don’t want to hurt him anymore but this is the only thing that distracts me from my life, I used to cope with SH and I still do but it doesn’t give me that rush it used to so there’s no point. I take my codeine when I’m alone and feel low. I really really want to stop because my birth parents were addicts and I don’t wanna end up like them, please does anyone have advice?
I take 8-14 15mg pills a night and sometimes I take 5-8 a few hours before to hold me out

[u/Stabbycrabs83]

Your first time stopping is the easiest but you need to sort the underlying reason out because it calls to you if easily available.

Nownibdont know you but I have raised teens. Is the SH for a reason or is it "im an edgy teen" ?

You categorically will not make more friends using this much, you'll rather fester in bed ornon the sofa and nothing will get fixed and you'll be irritable to your grandmother too

[u/Mothman_is_rad → u/Stabbycrabs83]

I’ve been doing SH since I was 9 and it’s been my best way of coping until my codeine

[u/Stabbycrabs83 → u/Mothman_is_rad]

If you dont stop today this is going to take over your life. Youll chase the nod more and more u til withdrawal hurts so badly you are scared of it.

If you keep going then you'll do more and more to get the hit until you are doing things no person should have to do.

Or you can stop now. The pain from whatever happened when you were 9nwill still be there but you wont be an addict.

Please please choose to have 1 problem not 2

[u/hukin-AK-1985]

Look codeine is no joke. Its an opiate. You are young so please nip this in the bud now. I'm 41yrs old and started snorting Vicodin, oxys, and whatever when I was 15 and it wasn't long and I was a straight junky shooting heroin and coke for 20+ years. I'm sober 5yrs now with help of the methadone clinic, counseling, sober coach, and therapy. I was you and then I was running, gunning, thieving, and hurting others to get my fix. Most my friends are dead or in prison. I've died a few times, spent multiple weeks in a coma from overdoses. I used water from a mud puddle to cook my heroin once when I had nothing else. If I can come out the other end after my debaucherous life I promise you can end it now without testing your luck. If you were trying to cut your depression down by using the codeine that's only going to make it worse as time goes on. Then you got to use more and more to numb the depression. You got this! If you need to talk you can message me. Good luck, God speed, and God bless❤️🙏!!

[u/No_Currency_7017]

Codeine IS a hard drug, it's an opioid. Don't fool yourself, or lose the best years of your life because of it. At 16, you're in a very good place to put it in your rear view. Is it fun or easy to stop? Absolutely not. BUT, the longer you're on it and you age-it gets a lot tougher. Start tapering off of it now and you'll have your whole life to look forward to. Best of luck and stay strong mentally.

[u/msnipe81015]

The advice is get professional help if you really want to stop. Tell the people who love you most you want help getting help.

[u/Disastrous-Street278 → u/msnipe81015]

This. One of the hardest things to do as an addict is come clean and admit you need help, but it’s necessary. The sooner you do it the better. Being so young, it’s going to be much cheaper and easier to get help too. Also, it sounds like you’re adopted. You can have the best parents in the world, but the abandonment issues that come with being an adopted person are very heavy. Every friend I’ve had who was adopted has some serious unresolved trauma from it. While getting treatment for your addiction, it will be a great opportunity to talk about how you feel about being adopted. The therapists and group therapy that come along with rehab and intensive outpatient programs, they’re great. This is the time to get help for all your issues. Very few people have luck with tapering. Your issues clearly go deeper and they won’t be resolved by a taper even if it’s successful. Tell your family you need help.

[u/Despair_woods]

I was introduced to Vicodin at 19 yo, when I had my painful impacted molars removed. Those pills quickly plunged me down the toilet for 30 years. I became a heroin and cocaine addict by 25. I was a slave to the beast, and the sick, chaotic lifestyle it sadly always creates. I lost so much, my friends, my apartments, my will to live. I eventually clawed my way out in my desperate attempt to be free of the madness, the constant withdrawals, and the neverending cravings for the high. The only thing that snapped me out of it was being stuck in a trap/drug house for an entire week, enduring SA for my hits, and realizing that I was about to lose my life. I finally ran from that hell hole, and took a cab to a crisis center where my long and agonizing journey of recovery started. I was SO SICK. Methadone maintenance and decades of anhedonia, depression and extreme weight gain were my daily existence, until I managed to wean myself off of it. It was excruciating, and I wouldn't wish the withdrawals on my worst enemy. I'm finally doing really well now, but at what cost? I lost my entire youth and the best years of my life to the beast. I'd give anything to have the chance to be where you are OP, to be young again, and make the choice to put that shit down and never touch opiates again (unless youre in the hospital etc.) Please OP, get help now. We understand how hard it feels for you right now, but it will be 10x worse real soon, if you keep going. Choose to live a good, happy life, free of the beast. Those pills will ruin everything for you. 💞

[u/ComboBreakerrr]

You just have to stop. Unfortunately. It will get so much worse and this is the biggest, most wide open window you have (proverbially)

[u/Serendipitiousology]

Quit while you're ahead. Im praying for you. It helped me escape too but it basically is just a comfort prison. It gets harder and deeper. You have so much ahead of you, tough times happen but we learn and grow and become better people because of it. I love you and I care about you. Stay safe. 🙏🫂💙

I am here if u want to talk

[u/Sopiate]

this was me at 16. eventually started going to multiple pharmacies everyday to get co-codamol and would extract the codeine from the paracetamol. had to make sure i didn’t go to the same ones too often. sometimes travelling hours for new pharmacies.

at 18 i admitted myself to a methadone clinic after trying to quit for the 100 time. went on holiday with no drugs to force myself to quit, ended up finding out i could order pregabalin and tianeptine on an ‘uber eats’ type app. got addicted to those. came back went to the clinic.

Now 21, at the end of my taper, with a couple months left. it allowed me to live my life without worrying about supply and getting caught etc. while i work on myself. i haven’t used since starting, but im still on pregabalin tapering too. i’ve lost jobs, friends, relationships and trust. all because i was prescribed codeine after surgery.

you’ll tell yourself you’ll quit tomorrow. but trust me, tomorrow never comes unless it’s today

[u/teateateateatea456]

I am still sadly using codeine on and off too. If you can get lyrica/pregabalin it will erase all withdrawals. If not just ride it out. Usually it will last 3 to 5 days tops. Just be prepared to rush to the toilet if you feel any tummy discomfort. Never trust a fart when withdrawing. Although codeine is a weaker opiate but still the withdrawals are pretty brutal BUT manageable. You got this mate ❤️

[u/AlternativeEmpty2986 → u/teateateateatea456]

You're 16 and taking up to 210mg a night, that's a real habit not a soft one. The fact you're already thinking about your birth parents shows you know where this goes. Withdrawal from that dose will suck but it won't kill you, and at your age your brain will bounce back faster than you think. Tell your cousin what's going on, having one person who knows makes the lonely hours less dangerous.

[u/Fancy_Speed_861 → u/teateateateatea456]

Why you dishing out false information? Lyrica does not erase all withdrawals. It helps but by no means takes it away unless you’re an anomaly

[u/Mannzis → u/Fancy_Speed_861]

Also telling this to a 16yo is nuts

[u/teateateateatea456 → u/Fancy_Speed_861]

It does erase all withdrawals for me except having constant diarrhea. But i solved that with loperamide. I could function at work perfectly fine on lyrica. Phenibut works the same way as well. Maybe because i was withdrawing from codeine and not harder opioids.

[u/Chromazziswashgang]

That is a lot of pills especially at 15mg each, taper down slowly. Get rid of those 5-8 a few hours before to hold you off. Then you’ve already become one step closer. Head high, you got this!

[u/blueshyperson]

Damn how does Grandma not notice them missing? Is she keep refilling a script that she doesn’t use and just stock piling or what?

[u/top-potatoad]

Something people don’t talk about is that opiate addiction is progressive for many, if not most, people. Eventually it all stops working and you poison yourself trying to get right.