hi I live in India(mumbai) and was addicted to codeine for about 2 years too, the same stuff -- mitts linctus, rex cof, corex, ascoril - c etc but was able to quit eventually.
I know from experience what you say, that is that not only can the psychological craving to use C be overwhelming but the physical cravings (withdrawals) are bad too.
Firstly, as I found out, you really must be willing completely without any reservations to quit, you must hate your addiction much more than you love the good feelings C gives you, only when the desire is there can you stop and stay stopped. There are ways to keep up the motivation once you have quit but obviously for you in the position you are it comes later.
So, about the physical part of it:
Firstly know that the worst of the W/D's only last for a max of 4 days and after about a week to ten days, completely dissipate. No matter how bad you may feel, you are in no mortal danger.
Quitting just like that without any medication or anything is known as going cold turkey and fact is that this is the only method that works for most addicted people. Tapering off or substituting your fix often just serves to keep you in the same cycle.
I know that the symptoms from not taking C can be bad but know that people quit cold turkey with much harder opioid drugs like Heroin. W/D's from C are a walk in the park when compared to those with heroin and other opioid drugs like methadone but people do quit cold turkey when they REALLY want to.
So, cold turkey is one option, the other is that you get yourself admitted to a detox/rehab. There's certainly not an abundance of help in the form of detox's in India but if you are living in a metro like Mumbai or Delhi, you can find one. In Mumbai, there are a couple of private detox's like Sevadhan, Kripa and a government run detox too. But the problem is that most will keep you for at least a month.
If you can't go in for a month since you are working and all and can't bear the pain of going cold turkey try the 'Thomas Recipe' method for quitting opioids, I put the link in the source field and also put it below. Note that it will still require that you be able to get about a week of leave from work. All of the stuff needed, you should be able to obtain from the meds which have been supplying you your C. Any Q's mail me at rantingraj at gmail dot com
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"""PLEASE NOTE: I am not a doctor, simply a long-time Rx opiate junkie who has had many opportunities to develop a way to detox. This is a recipe for at-home self-detox from opiates based on my experience as well as that of many other addicts. It is not intended as professional medical advice. It is always wise to make sure none of the recipe ingredients or procedures conflict with medications you may be taking. Likewise, if you have any medical condition, disease, allergy or any other health issue
, consult your doctor before using the recipe. Thanks, Thomas
This recipe is designed for cold turkey opiate detox. It assumes that you can get about 5 to 7 days away from your job or household responsibilities during which you can sleep, veg and act as miserable as you feel. Opiate WD mimics the symptoms of the commonCommon cold fluAmniocentesis
Atrial fibrillation/flutter
Cerebral spinal fluid (csf) collection
Culture - joint fluid
Fluorescein angiography
Flushable reagent stool blood test
Fta-abs
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Gastroesophageal reflux in infants
Haemophilus influenza organism
Hiatal hernia repair, so, if you need a smokescreen, hide behind a bad case of the flu.
If you can't take time off to detox, I recommend you follow a taper regimen using your drug of choice or suitable alternate -- the slower the taper, the better.
For the Recipe, You'll need:
1. Valium (or another benzodiazepine such as Klonopin, Librium, Ativan or Xanax -- if possible get high doses of 10 mg because they should be able to knock you out of your W/D missery instead of just making you more drowsy and for the love of god don't abuse these ). Of these, Valium and Klonopin are best suited for tapering since they come in tablet form. Librium is also an excellent detox benzo, but comes in capsules, making it hard to taper the dose. Ativan or Xanax should only be used if you can't get one of the others.
2. Imodium (immodium) (over the counter, any drug or grocery store). For the loose motions
3. L-Tyrosine (500 mg caps) from the health food store.
4. Strong multi vitamin and mineral supplement with at least 100% RDA of Zinc, Phosphorus, Copper and Magnesium.
5. Vitamin B6 caps.
6. Access to hot baths or a Jacuzzi (or hot showers if that's all that's available).
How to use the recipe:
Begin your detox with regular doses of Valium (or alternate benzo). Start with a dose high enough to produce sleep. Before you use any benzo, make sure you're aware of how often it can be safely taken. Differen