Secret habit only ended after meltdown
LINDSEY Thomas took Tramadol for more than five years.
“I had a fall which resulted in 11 fractures and the hospital prescribed Tramadol, but only for five days,” explains the 51-year-old. “Later, I went to my GP and I was put on repeat prescriptions. I remember going on holiday once and forgetting it, and I had the worst flu-like symptoms. Sweating, shivering, stomach cramps. When I came back, two days back on my painkillers, I was better. As I kept on taking it, my tolerance went sky high and I felt I needed more of it.
“The GP refused to give me more, but didn’t talk to me about it. It was no longer curbing the pain in my ankle, so I began buying it online.
“At worst I was taking 15 to 18 500mg tablets a day,” says Lindsey, of Bristol, now an addictions assessment counsellor for addictionhelper.com. She believes the drug should be banned to stop the risk of people getting hooked. “I was secretive, no one was aware, not my partner or family,” she admits.
The turning point came when an order did not arrive by post and she had a meltdown and realised she was addicted.
“I told my family and with their help I came off,” she says. “Withdrawal was horrific. I sat on the toilet, holding a bowl, shaking, sweating.”