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Recently I noticed that a friend of mine was taking alot of painkillers. She would get up in the morning and take two soluble tablets, then again every three hours. I asked her why she did this as she never complained about being in pain and she freaked out telling me it was none of my business. I looked up the tablets she was taking (Solpadenine) and found out about the effects of codeine based drugs that you can buy over-the-counter in chemists. Here is just a little of what I found out;

In the US the drug has earned the nickname 'Hillbilly heroin'.

Codeine is a short acting opiate drug which belongs to the same family as heroin. Although its effects tend to be milder than heroin, if taken regularly users can become physically dependent on the drug.

Over the Counter (OTC) codeine based analgesic preparations contain small amounts of codeine, usually between 5 and 12.5mg per tablet. The codeine is usually combined with paracetamol (e.g. Solpadeine) or with ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory drug, e.g. Nurofen Plus).

Herein lies the biggest problem associated with these medications. While codeine is addictive it is not usually physically harmful to those who regularly use the drug. This is similar how people get hooked on cigarettes -- it's the nicotine that's highly addictive, but it's the 4,000 or so chemicals in cigarette smoke that cause, by far, the most damage.

Paracetamol, if taken in sufficiently large quantities (possibly as little as 20 x 500mg tablets a day), is toxic to the liver and can result in irreversible liver failure.

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and like all NSAIDs, chronic use can result in kidney problems and stomach ulceration.

These ulcers can perforate or bleed, which may require emergency surgery. The vast majority of regular users are unaware of these potentially catastrophic effects.

Is your friend in the UAE flutterbye? You know Codeine is a controlled drug here, if she gets caught with it, without a valid prescription she could face four years in jail plus deportation.

Solpadeine is certainly not available here.

There was a case a few years ago of an English woman stopped at the airport with 500 codeine tablets. She was imprisoned and then deported if I remember rightly.



Knight

I have been around that field and have had many personal experiences (outside the UAE) with pain killers. I don't know if I should list a few so that people can know if their friends and/or loved ones are under such influence, but I will avoid that for now until I get confirmation from any of the Mods, because I don't want anyone reading this and making a checklist!

With that being said, most of these pain killers lead to liver problems, and worse, psychological addiction, rather than physical, which to me is worse since there are ways to cure physical addiction. What you need to do for your friend is try to figure out why she's using them first, and then help her find an alternative funnel for that reason. Most people find difficulty dealing with too many emotions at once, and that ends up weighing them down heavily; to them, painkillers actually does kill that pain, but that's what makes them so dangerous. It's the "quick fixes" that only suppress the pain and help avoid dealing with the difficult situations. Try taking your friend on a nice night out, not to a club or pub, but rather a calm ambience where she may feel comfortable enough to discuss the topic of painkillers with you. You have to also understand, those who use these pharmaceuticals hate being confronted with their ailment, and will, in most cases, aggressively shut you out. So try not to "attack" her with your thoughts, rather make her feel comfortable opening up to you, and you might end up replacing Codine for her.

I hope you find my advice useful, and if you would like further advice/info on this topic, please feel free to ask, and I will gladly help.

Peace

Thanks for all the info and advice guys. She isnt from the UAE but is due to come over to Dubai with me in the new year to visit my dad. Dont want what Knight was talking about to happen at the airport if she is that heavily addicted that is. Tried talking to her again last night about the effect of the drug but she told me I sounded like her mother!

Tell her that she should see you as sounding like someone who cares and loves her!!! Warn her about coming to Dubai with anything that can get her in trouble. Let her know that if people told her "it's cool" to carry into the UAE, tell her it's not!! You will find out what is important to her if she finds any excuse not to come. You have to understand: you can only do so much. It's up to her to do the rest.

I would be really worried about comming into the UAE with a person like that, you can bet your farm that she will have some pills stashed away on her somewhere. And don't expect her to be truthfull that she doesn't either.

You along with her could very well be looking at 4 years in the slammer here. Don't expect any mercy here or I'm not with her or they are not mine to work

I'd come in on seperate flight If I was you.

You have been warned.

I agree with DDS. Quite clearly she is an addict and in denial. Unless she has a valid doctors prescription for the pills when she travels, if she gets caught with them that's it. No ifs or buts. Plus if she addicted to this drug, what else is she likely to try and get her hands on.

I seriuosly would think twiuce about bringing someone like that here. Not worth it for either of you.

I'm so sorry to hear about this situation. The best you can do is talk to here, give her some info on codeine/pain killer addiction. If she doesn't realize or admit that she has a problem then there isn't much you can do, as you cannot force her into treatment. When it comes time to travel to the UAE, DDS's advice to take separate flights is a good one, because you do not want to be travelling together with her if she is likely to stash prohibited medicine on her person or in her luggage. Good luck with everything, and I hope she will be free of her addiction sooner rather than later.