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using them to self-treat chronic pain.” As a
result, “Consumers frequently become addicted
to codeine.”
But according to the Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia (PSA), restriction is not enough to fix the
problem. “The majority of documented opioid-
related harm comes from prescribed medicines, so
simply requiring a prescription for over-the-counter
codeine products will not solve the complex issues
for people using these medications,” says the PSA’s
National President Joe Demarte.
Michelle Albert is concerned about how women
like her will cope if they are suddenly cut of from
their codeine supply at the chemist.
“My darkest moments were the two times I tried
withdrawing,” she recalls.
“It was just like you see in the movies when
people come of heroin. I swung from severe
chills to hot sweats, was doubled over with
excruciating cramps and nausea and had such
severe headaches I felt my brain was about to
explode. I went through two weeks of hell, feeling
like I wanted to die. At that point my husband
and I both realised how serious my painkiller
use had become. But when the withdrawal was
over, because I had used the drug for so long,
I still kept craving the codeine.”
Twice Michelle withdrew from painkillers then
slipped back into using them again. “But my two
boys were now teenagers and starting to see the
impact of the drugs and I didn’t want them
worrying about me,” she explains.
Michelle decided to see a diferent GP and
finally got the help she needed. “I was admitted
to a special unit called the Sydney Clinic,” she
explains. “The staf there were amazing and with
support of specialist doctors and nurses, I spent
six weeks withdrawing from Nurofen Plus. But
as I was dependent on codeine for over 20 years,
my body still craves it so I now take a heroin-replacement drug called Suboxone every morning
and I may be on that for years.”
After 10 months of the painkillers Michelle
feels like a completely diferent woman. “I have
my energy and my self back. My back pain and
headaches are gone and my stomach ulcers are
completely healed. I am even studying interior
design, which I can do now that my thinking is
not constantly clouded by codeine.”IS IT WINE O’CLOCK YET?
Opioid painkillers are not the only substances
that women are using to help them cope with the
pressures of juggling too much. Around 5pm most
weeknights, fridge doors throughout Australia are
flung open with gusto. Seconds later a familiar
glug, glug, glug marks the start of a daily drinking
ritual enjoyed by countless young career women
or wired working mums. They drink to fight battle
fatigue as they face their second tour of duty in
kitchen. Or bathroom. But at what cost?
According to the last National Health Survey
by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women
aged 30 to 49 drink on average between 8.6 and 9.7
drinks a week. A startling 28.7 per cent of women
in that same age group drink more than two
standards drinks a day, which qualifies as ‘risky’
drinking, due to the long-term health fallout.
“Compared with men, women generally weigh
less, have smaller livers and a higher body fat to
water ratio,” says Burns. “Women metabolise
alcohol faster, get tipsy and drunk more rapidly on
less alcohol than men and sufer health problemsThe number of Australians
being treated in hospital
or dying as a result of opioid
painkiller complications is
now higher than heroin.”
PHOTOGRAPHY ISTOCK. DID YOU KNOW SOURCE: DRINKWISE.ORG.AU AND ADF.ORG.AU..