‘PAINKILLERS CAN CAUSE A DOUBLE WHAMMY OF ADDICTIONS’

Closer’s dr Christian

says: “If prescription pain medications are taken correctly, they are perfectly safe, even if you have to take them for the rest of your life – there are people who are in constant pain and are completely reliant on their painkillers.

“But there are cases, like Ant, where people get hooked on them. Physically, their body will crave their effect, just like a smoker craves nicotine, but there’s also the psychological addiction – you’ll fear being in pain and feel you can’t function without them. It’s a double whammy. We know that opiate-based painkillers like Tramadol – which Ant was reportedly prescribed – and Codeine are more addictive, and some people have a genetic predisposition towards addictions.

“It might be that someone is taking Tramadol and the buzz they first got starts to wear off, so you start adding a bit of alcohol to bring that feeling back.

“You’d never stop an addict taking something straight away, as withdrawing from drugs is extremely nasty. Ant will likely be given decreasing doses of a substitute drug to wean him off them, alongside intensive therapy to address why this has happened.”