Expert: Caroline West - 8/7/2010

Question
How quickly should I come off taking Solpadine I am on it for 38 years? Now here in Ireland the government have made it hard to get it from chemists

Answer
Hi Ria. I wish you could have been a bit more specific in your question as I have no idea how many you are taking daily and how many mg of Codeine are in each,from what I know,I am sure it is 12 mg but I don't know how much you are on a day and for how long you have been at that dosage. I also have no idea just how hard it is to get Sulpadeine and how long it will be before there is a total ban of it by the government. For myself to give you a reduction plan,which I can as I have come off Codeine before,I would need to know these things. However,as it is getting harder for you to get it and because you have been on them for 38 years,I am even reluctant to do that. So this is a tricky situation for me to handle but I will give you a better alternative based on this.

You really need to see your G.P and I will tell you why. He may be willing to give you a prescribed Codeine based tablet such as Co-Codamol or similar as you have a serious addiction to Codeine and after all these years,to come off them quickly is just not possible. He may also agree to a reduction plan with you but it depends on your G.P and whether he has any knowledge of such things. The other option is,which I am inclined to push you towards,is to ask him or her for a referral to your local Drug and Alcohol Team for an assessment which I firmly believe you need. It is not so simple to just come off it,you need support of a trained Drugs Keyworker to do this because of many reasons. One is that you need to address what the reason behind starting on them in the first place was. Also,you will most definitely require sound Pain Management advice as you are going to really feel it physically when you reduce. As well you will have to cope with the emotions and psychological issues that will surface as you reduce and the Team may even be able to offer you a support group as well. I am sorry to tell you all this because as I mentioned it really is not that simple and I wish I could tell you different. So first port of call is your G.P,and if you have difficulty with going to see him or her,change practices,but you really need much more specialist help with this. This is a serious issue.

This is the most advice I can give you,and being less than honest with you would be doing you a disservice. If you want to ask anything more or would like some support,then do please feel free to write in again. You must get help with this and I am sure that the G.P's are well aware of this ban and will be no doubt expecting many more patients with the same problem as yourself. All the best,I'm here if you need further help. Caroline.