“You get to taking it so often, the body starts breaking down.”
Make no mistake, there is nothing fun about shivers, hot sweats, vomiting, organ failure, panic attacks, insomnia, fatigue, weight loss, rage and unusual lumps on the body.
Jon (not his real name) asked why people put themselves at risk of the above, just for a high.
After reading last month’s article regarding children abusing a popular cough syrup, Jon came forward to explain how five month’s addiction had ravaged his body and life.
“Even after two years clean, I still feel the bad effects. My muscles have broken down and my energy is gone. It aged me.”
Caught in the web of addiction to the codeine-based cough syrup, Jon said the height of his craving had him drinking two bottles of the medication every day.
Still he continued, until his kidneys began to fail.
“It was literally at the point of do or die. I went to the hospital and eventually the psychiatrist, who told me of trauma this addiction places on the body.”
Before coming clean, Jon hid his addiction by manipulating his hangouts and hiding empty bottles all over the house.
Eventually, however, he realised just how lost he had become.
“This is a scary thing to go through, and if someone goes through the same, they will realise just how bad it is. I hope someone reads this and turns their life around.”
Nearing two years free from the addiction, Jon still undergoes treatment and therapy for panic attacks and insomnia, and struggles to pick up weight he lost.
He knows of many others who suffer with worse symptoms.
“Some people I know got weird side effects, like lumps on their body.”
Jon’s wife said having her husband back was the greatest gift, with the cough syrup sparking an aggressive change in his behaviour.
“He was not physically abusive, but the codeine had an awful effect on him. He just didn’t give a damn about anything. We went through a lot as his family.”
Reflecting on the road behind, Jon said the high he got from the cough syrup came at a severe cost, and concluded with a warning to anyone foolish enough to try.
“I want them to know what’s coming and where they are heading if they don’t stop this unsafe behaviour.”
