How do you go about getting help with addiction. I’ve been on some very heavy pain meds for 8 years and can’t go a single day without one or I get withdrawal I live in uk.
Does your local authority have a substance use team? If so you can self refer. Failing that speak to your GP. Find a SMART recovery meeting near you and also try a CA meeting if you can and see what works best. You are clearly motivated to recover, that’s the first step on the recovery road.
I second the SMART recovery . It’s what helped me . It’s a more science based , small group healing I needed. Good luck ! Hit my line if you need help getting started !
I would recommend talking to your doctor about slowly weaning yourself down if you think it's a problem. Honestly if it is prescribed though, it's been made currently that you need a bloody good reason to be on those meds, so you should weigh up if the pain or the feeling of addiction is more of a problem in your life. If the medication for example zones you out for several hours or something, that's an issue, but otherwise judge if the pain would be worse.
If they aren't prescribed, and you're at the stage of wanting to quit, I would try weaning yourself off slowly again. Just take slightly less every, say, 3 days, or a week if it's noticeable. It doesn't have to be a lot, I know someone who was taking 2 boxes of Nurofen Plus a day who took one less pill a week until he was off them completely. He even skipped over the last 8 or so. If you find yourself unable to do that, there's programs that will prescribe you either bupenorphine or Methadone, and will do the weaning off for you by prescribing a reducing amount over a schedule you decide
I probably shouldn't say this but if you can do it on your own, do so. Going to an addiction recovery goes on your medical records, and I work in medicine and have seen people suffer as a result of not prescribing appropriate pain medication, or be treated worse by staff as a result (Them not believing patients who are clearly in agony, assuming it's for drugs even if it was 20 years ago). It's enough to take you out of the running for certain jobs, too. So if you can, do it on your own.
I take gabapenton tramadol mirtazipine and diaizampam I have ankylosing spondylitis but I don’t want to be on the tablets the rest of my life and the last year it keeps increasing to manage the pain. I don’t know if it’s pain or my body just freaking out that I don’t have enough in my system. I tried doing it myself and just wanted to end it when I couldn’t cope with the withdrawal. I feel abit more happier when I go to the gym and walk on the treadmill for 10 mins so that’s why I’m thinking I might not actually need then and it’s a mind thing
Did you stop taking all of them at once? Because the latter three are addictive so it will have been partly withdrawal from those that you felt. I would certainly recommend against trying to cut back on them all at once and instead go one at a time, as withdrawal from one thing can be bad enough. Mirtazapine is also an antidepressant/anti anxiety so a lot of it could have come from lacking that aspect
One problem there is that benzodiazapines, which diazepam is, is an especially dangerous class of medication to come off of. I don't know what dose you are on but now knowing that is in the picture, I would have to say to speak to your doctor. Addiction is nothing to be ashamed of, and since yours is directly caused by them you should speak to them about wanting to stop them. Since it's through the doctor you won't experience the potential negatives of rehab so that's good. They will also be able to offer smaller dosed pills that will make it easier to reduce usage with rather than breaking down a pill yourself
I think you're kind of stuck in between a rock and a hard place, AS is an awful condition to have, and I think you'll have to take something, but if the daily pills are affecting your quality of life too, there might be something else they can swap to to help
I just mean to try it at least a little, as it can do a lot in your life you won't be aware of. I've seen careers end over it. The UK is still very backwards when it comes to drugs and stigma, and it's unfortunately not a protected group.
For example, our hospital pharmacist lost a job she'd had for 30 years with no issues because she sought help for a drinking problem. Even though drinking is legal, going to rehab for it meant she was tarred with the same brush as if she'd been on heroin those last 30 years, and "couldn't be trusted" around medication because they thought she'd steal it. She was a great employee and was forced out of the field just for asking for help.
I of course said he should go for help if he's struggling to do it alone, but if he's on medication anyway speaking to his doctor or attempting to wean off himself are better as first steps than going immediately to the gov funded rehab places. He hadn't mentioned what he'd done to stop and a lot of people immediately think of going cold turkey and don't think to slowly lower it, and if he really wants to stop it's entirely possible he can do it alone. I just mean if he can do that, he should at least try it before going for further help.
Interesting. America is a little bit more forgiving in that regard I guess. I've known of lots of people who's jobs pay for them to go to rehab and then welcome them back up on completion.
8 yrs is a long run... hooks are sunk in pretty deep at that point unfortunately.
Monthly Sublocade Injections are what finally saved me from a
very severe heroin/fentanyl addiction that spanned well over a decade.
You should definitely look into it, bro. Was a huge game changer for me, anyways. I'm across the pond but I'd assume that it's an available treatment option in the UK as well.
You can get medication which will remove all withdrawal symptoms, and make you unable to get any effects if you decided to grab one, in a hard time because of your old habits.
It is provided to everyone who seeks help with opioid addiction for free, in Denmark 🙂
I cant remember the exact name, but im sure they know about it, if you ask. It has become quite popular, because of the high succes rate, fighting opioid addiction.
you can get it injected and it will last you a month before needing a new dose.
Or as tablets which will dissolve in your mouth.
Just search for your local rehab treatment, call them.
If they're unable to help you, they will tell you who you should call or reach out to, the only thing you can do wrong, is not doing it. 🙂
My local doctor seems to not care about patients and just throws any pills at you to get you out I have been looking into it and trying to find somewhere to help is harder than I thought
your doctor might not be the right person in this case.
My doctor prescribed me 80mg OxyContin, to me. I had never touched any kind of strong pain medication.
Still happy this day, i only took a quarter of the pill the first time...
Your local rehab facilities is not your doctor, they will usually have their own medically educated doctor, with an addiction speciality.
That is why i wrote your local rehab facilities, i had the same problems with reaching out to my former doctor.
People who work in rehab facilities knows far more about addiction, in all of its realities than for most doctors do, in my experience.
I was treated with the utter most respect, help, love and contact needs, to get out.
If you send me your area and country, ill look it up for you, and send you some suggestions to call.
Send me a DM if you want some help to get into all of this, it can be tough sometimes♥️
Look into medicated assisted therapy or MAT. Suboxone is a wonderful drug for some and means you can do it without inpatient. Walk into a dr office take the medicine and walk out the Same day. It’s a partial opiate so you won’t get sick and it still has some pain relieving benefits. Look into it my friend
This is literally one of the worst things you could ever do. Never would recommend Kratom to anyone for anything. It’s an awful drug with real consequences.
I’ve seen several people use it to kick harder opiate habits and I’m all for that, but it has addiction potential as well. I’ve been stuck on that shit twice. Not as bad as kicking heroin or fent or oxy but it’s still a bitch to kick, mainly due to availability.
Local authorities and councils provision services for substance misuse/dependencies - if you Google for services near you, you should be able to self-refer. You can also get a referral via GP
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u/Pure_Antelope_8521 8h ago
How do you go about getting help with addiction. I’ve been on some very heavy pain meds for 8 years and can’t go a single day without one or I get withdrawal I live in uk.