Ive realised I've got a problem.

Ive realised I've got a problem.

Bazm 01 Sep 2022 12:44

Hi, I'm now 47 and been taking them for an awful long time. 8/10 a day. I even fit them in between 6am and 4pm, it's a sad routine that sometimes I feel runs my life. I'm desperate to stop, I've tried cutting down and tried just giving up completely. Nothing works. I feel the best way would be to have another go at cutting down. I was going to go to doctors for help, but don't see what he can do that I can't do on my own. My partner doesn't really get it. I'm told to just stop taking them. You'll only ever understand if you've been there.
I've cut down in the past and I know it makes a difference to how I think and behave. It sounds easy to just take one instead of 2 each time, but it's incredibly tempting to just have 2 this time and have one next.
If anyone has any advice or ways of helping I would be very grateful.
There are times when I take them now and they just don't have any effect on me. If I can cut them down to 4 a day then I would be very proud of myself.

Re: Ive realised I've got a problem.

StormAtSea 27 Jul 2023 23:04

Hi Bazm,

I hope it's not too late to respond. I haven't been on the site for a long time.

I used to take around eight (occasionally 10 or 12) Solpadeine soluble tablets in a 24-hour period. One weekend, I decided to go cold turkey. I didn't make it all the way but I did cut down from eight per day to four per day that weekend, which was itself a huge victory. I had a caffeine withdrawal migraine but it wasn't too bad. Bearable.

It took me a long time (far too long) to cut down from four to zero. In the end, staying 3-4 days at each dose (including half doses) allowed me to taper off without migraine, stomach cra(m)ps or cravings for Solpadeine. I kept a document detailing how much I had taken on any given day. It went up and down a bit but the general trajectory was downwards.

Unfortunately, severe pain sent me back to Solpadeine 2-3 weeks after I had quit. I reckoned I'd be able to take a few tablets and then stop. (For years I had taken Solpadeine for migraine without dependency until a serious car crash led to my becoming dependent.) Boy was I wrong! Now I am slowly quitting again while trying not to trigger the withdrawal migraine that can arise from quitting Solpadeine too fast.

It's an insidious drug and hard to quit but it can be done. I have an appointment with the migraine clinic in two weeks' time and I am determined to be off this shit well before that.

I hope the combination of partial sudden reduction and then tapering, or simply tapering from your maximum dose by half a tablet every few days (maybe 2-3) might help you get rid of your dependency without adverse consequences. Good luck.

Take care,

Storm