Helen, a mother from Leeds, has shared her harrowing experience of addiction to prescription painkillers, which she says nearly killed her. She was prescribed increasingly strong opioids, including codeine, tramadol, morphine, and fentanyl, for chronic back pain and other medical conditions.
Helen realised she had a problem when she began changing her fentanyl patch daily instead of every three days as prescribed. She felt ashamed and embarrassed, but her daughter Aimee Lord noticed and supported her in seeking help. In 2022, Helen was referred to drug and alcohol service Forward Leeds.
Staff at Forward Leeds were surprised she was still alive due to the high dose of opioids and other medications she was taking. They provided her with a naloxone kit, used to reverse opioid overdoses. Helen says the withdrawal process was extremely difficult, affecting both her body and mind.
In 2022/23, nearly 40 million powerful prescription painkillers were distributed in England. While NHS guidelines have changed and usage is falling, about 10% of the population still uses them. Forward Leeds is now setting up a specialist team to tackle prescription painkiller addiction, which they describe as a 'massive problem' that is often unrecognised.
