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Smart Clinics Annerley and former president of
the AMA Queensland Branch. “But with daily use
they can develop a drug tolerance, which means
the same dose may be less efective. At this point
they may take more pills – thinking that if a little
works then a lot will be even better.”
With medications like opioid painkillers, Xanax
(for anxiety) and temazepam (for insomnia), it
only takes a few weeks at a slightly higher daily
dose for drug dependence to develop. “This is not
because the women who take these drugs have
poor willpower, it is because these drugs cause
brain and body changes that lead to dependence,”
says Associate Professor Lucinda Burns from the
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. “The
risk is higher in women if they have underlying
issues, including depression and anxiety, or just
feel very stressed and rushed most of the time.”
The codeine in painkillers can be quite sedating
so it can appear to help feelings of stress or being
overwhelm and before women know it, they find
themselves relying on these pills to get through
the day. But often they feel so ashamed about the
stigma of their drug dependence that they don’t
reach out for help.
In hindsight, Michelle wishes she had addressed
the stress that was causing her headaches.
“But I was so busy I had no time to make my
own health a priority,” she explains. “Then one
of my sons developed severe social anxiety
and couldn’t go to school for a year. He needed
constant high-level care and I was an emotional
wreck. I told myself the painkillers were for the
headaches, but I now realise I was using them to
take the edge of my anxiety and distress. Soon
I was taking fistfuls of 10 at a time.”
The health fallout from this level of painkiller
misuse can be serious – as evidenced by the death
of pop star Prince in 2016, from taking too much
of the painkiller Fentanyl. According to theTherapeutic Goods Administration (TGA),
codeine-containing meds can cause liver and
kidney damage, gastrointestinal perforations,
respiratory depression and death. In some cases,
chronic users need to have part of their stomach
removed. Other chemicals in opioid painkillers are
also dangerous. Too much paracetamol can cause
irreversible and life-threatening liver damage,
while excess ibuprofen can lead to peptic ulcers.
Michelle’s big wake-up call came in 2014, when
she experienced stomach pain and was diagnosed
with eight severe ulcers, which could cause a
life-threatening haemorrhage. “Though I was
sedated during the X-ray procedure, my blood
pressure had shot up so dangerously high that
I was lucky I didn’t have a stroke,” she explains.
“The concerned doctors warned me this was a
direct result of the medication and that scared me.
I then tried to come of the tablets but I did it on
my own, which was a big mistake.”A GLOBAL DRUG CRISIS
In America, the issue of codeine painkillers has
been identified as such a big health crisis that it
led to a large-scale report by the Surgeon General
called ‘Facing Addiction in America’. The report
highlighted a new way of thinking about addiction:
that it’s a disease of the brain, not a moral failing and
that rather than judgement, people who are misusing
substances need social support and treatment.
In Australia, the issue of opioid painkiller misuse
has become so concerning that from February 1,
2018, products containing codeine will no longer
be sold over the counter in pharmacies and will
require prescriptions. Similar restrictions have
already been applied in the US, Hong Kong, Japan,
most of Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the TGA, “Low-dose codeine-
containing medicines are not intended to treat
long-term conditions, but many people are The codeine in painkillers can
be quite sedating so it can appear
to help feelings of stress or being
overwhelmed and before women
know it, they find themselves relying
on these pills to get through the day.”
XOpioids are
a depressant
drug, which
means they slow
down messages
between the
brain and the
rest of the body.XOther
opioids include
opium, heroin,
morphine and
ox ycodone.did
you
know?DID YOU KNOW SOURCE: DRINKWISE.ORG.AU AND ADF.ORG.AU..