Endo Empowered - Revolutionizing the Healing of Endometriosis Logo

nuggets of wisdom on reducing PAIN & SYmPTOMS naturally

without the risk of surgery or nasty hormone treatments

I was Addicted to Drugs!

I know this is a hard one to actually accept and it took me a good 6months to actually realise that I had a problem. I was addicted to pain-killers and especially Codeine. It had become a daily ritual in my life to take at least 2 tablets daily and I didn’t seem to think it was strange. I didn’t seem to think it was strange that I would go to the pharmacy on a bi-monthly basis and get a box of 48 every time. I didn’t think it was strange that my handbag contained at least 6 “handy” tablets at all times, just in case I needed them. I bought extra and would hide them in all sorts of places, just to make sure I would never run out. I would feel a sense of panic if I didn’t have them.

Here is how it started….

I have had Endometriosis and the associated pain of it since I was in my teens. I would go to doctors and they would prescribe painkillers. I got used them. I would take them, even if I wouldn’t necessarily have pain as they made me feel better. They gave me a lovely numbness and a strange floating feeling which made the world somehow more bearable. Soon, I became immune to the powers of these and so the nasty ladder leading to stronger and stronger painkillers began. My bathroom cupboard wasn’t filled with the standard stuff women usually fill it with; instead I had a selection of painkillers and stomach pills which all added to my long list of side-effects of Endometriosis. This included stuff for diarrhea, stuff for constipation, stuff for nausea, stuff for migraines, painkillers from mild to severe cases and all sorts of drugs to help me then cope with the inevitable side-effects of these drugs, including heartburn, indigestion, gas and so forth. It became quite hard to travel. I almost needed a separate bag just for all of these and they were hard to take on the plane with me, resorting to only being able to take a small amount of each with each trip. Boy, what I was doing to my poor body! The poor liver was being battered and beaten on a daily basis.

I did this for most of my life, especially in the early teens where I first got a huge range of symptoms from Endometriosis and the associated side-effects due to the hormonal treatments the doctors had me on.

It is a scary place to be and one that is even harder to recognise and get off of.

I realised I had an issue when I went on a self-help course in Melbourne. They suggested that one needed to be “clear” for the emotions to really show themselves. It was incredibly hard on me. I struggled to actually not take a tablet every time I got any kind of symptoms. Though my endometriosis was much better at the time, I was still very dependent on headache tablets. I would get a slight whisper of a headache and straight away need to take something to make it go away. It took me 2months to be completely drug free. I had never felt better.

It has now been almost a year since being on any kind of hormonal treatments and I am really impressed at the state of my bathroom cupboard. It is filled with make-up and girly products! I have the occasional pain-killer now for the first day of my period but it is nothing like it used to be. I eat a balanced diet and regulate my digestion with herbs and natural options. I don’t rush in and take a headache tablet every time I get a headache. Instead, I drink loads of water or have an apple. It is amazing how many of them dissipate just by these little things. If I have a really bad headache, I will sit in a quiet place and do some breathing exercises.

This is where you want to be and you will notice all the side-effects related to your stomach also disappear. I used to also get strange skin tingling from the pain-killers, which I haven’t experienced since.

It is easy to be addicted and to feel we need the pain-killers all the time. We are taught to simply take a headache tablet every time we have a headache. We are shown that there are quick fixes for every ailment we experience and that we don’t need to suffer with them. The problem is, they are all signals from your body telling you that there is an imbalance. By ignoring them and giving your body more drugs, you are simply making the situation worse.

What is your history like with pain-killers? Does your bathroom cupboard look more like a medicine cabinet than a girl’s bathroom cupboard? Do you know the names of various drug medications more than you do make-up brands? Do you feel lost unless you have something to take in your handbag? It is okay to admit it. Now we can just make an effort to get free of them…..

Hugs, Melissa x
Share this post:

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Melissa

    Hi Stephanie,
    No hun. I was just sharing my experience. I was addited to them. I couldn’t do anything without them and wouldn’t even consider using natural methods or making simple changes because I relied upon them. It is common to be reliant on them. However, your body does know how to heal and just needs to be guided and provided to, to achieve it. Medication only deals with symptoms not root causes.

  2. Stephanie

    This article makes me angry.
    Are you saying all people with endo are addicted just because we have lots of medication?

    I’m glad you don’t have to be on medication, but if I don’t have medication I will be screaming and crying in pain. If that’s not reason to use medication then what is? Is that what it’s not made for.

  3. Melissa

    Sounds like I used to be too 🙂 It is scary when you actually realise how dependent we become on them! Just so you know, your body will likely go through a detox from all of them, so expect that! Expect more headaches- that was the hardest for me cos my instinct was to take more drugs! Maybe try Chlorella for 2 weeks to flush some of the drugs out of your body…..
    You will feel heaps better – I promise 🙂

  4. Alex

    Hi Mel,

    My second comment tonight, I am just refreshing myself with your wonderful posts on here.
    I have just had an ‘epiphany’ about the drugs. I take opiate based pain killers EVERYDAY! like you once did- I keep pain killers everywhere, my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, handbag, car, my mums house….everywhere! and along with that are the pills that go with the pills’ anti-nausea, anti-inflamatries, losec! This has been going on solidly for two years and it has just hit me how crazy this is. I woke up this morning and it was like a cloud had lifted! I know it has to stop and I am on to it…I feel so excited because I just know I am going to feel better.

    🙂 Alex

  5. endoangel

    It does get easier over time to stop taking them. I almost didn't know if my body was craving the drugs and therefore making me sore, or if I was really sore!
    I find doing some Yoga exercises really helps me with my sleep at night and loosens things up a little. I'll send you an article from a guy I follow on Twitter. He has a great suggestion for lower back pain. Might take me a while to find it but I'll email it to you…..
    Also, try heat. Any heat will loosen things up a little. – you could always ask your partner to give you a massage 🙂 Use some Calendula Oil cos this is known to be good for inflammation and especially endo.

  6. Elizabeth

    I'm going through this right now…Not sure how I'm going to stop. I don't take them during the day, but I take them so I can sleep, which is almost worse…

    I hurt worse at night because I have back pain associated with endo, so I either take SOMA, codeine, or demerol to sleep…eek…

    Any suggestions?

Leave a Reply

Hey!

I'm Melissa

Sick of dealing with endometriosis and ready to move forward?

I empower women to stop feeling like a victim to their endometriosis and find empowering ways to reduce pain & symptoms. 

Explore

NEW ADVENTURES

Explore Alternative Options

Discover the all-natural, fully researched and techniques to shrink cysts, quit the pain cycle, improve fertility and regain your energy in one of our online programs.  

Keep Reading

The Drop My Pain Challenge

As a parting gift I am sharing the Drop my Pain Challenge Downloads with you – at no charge. It incorporates many of the constituents