“I’ve gotten to a point where if I don’t take it, I’m shaking, I’m sweating profusely, and I have a lump of stress rising in my throat. » Hannah is 23 years old and suffers from an addiction to tramadol, a powerful analgesic prescribed when paracetamol or anti-inflammatories are not enough to calm the pain.
Because it is very addictive, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) has asked pharmaceutical laboratories to reduce the size of the boxes, in order to limit the addiction of many French people. Among them, Hannah, but also Adeline. They told us their story.
Adeline, 33 years old
In 2019, Adeline began to experience significant back pain. She goes to her GP who prescribes in a few minutes, without any warning, a treatment she has never heard of. Tramadol. She trusts him and begins treatment.
“ A feeling of fullness, of bliss that I had never felt before” »
From the first dose, after an hour, she feels nausea, but also a pleasant sensation. “A feeling of fullness, of bliss that I had never felt before. » The young woman has two children, a fiancé and low morale due to family worries. With tramadol, she feels a sort of “mental void” which she likes. At the end of the treatment, while she still has a few platelets left, she continues to take her daily pill. “The problem is that after two or three hours, the effect wears off and reality and stress return. » She then has only one mantra in mind: “look forward to tomorrow”. Gradually, the addiction sets in.
His companion is in turn prescribed tramadol by the same doctor. He collects the three boxes from the pharmacy but ultimately decides not to take them. Adeline then opens them secretly. For three months, she swallowed a tablet daily, sometimes cut into two doses to “make the pleasure last”. Her partner doesn’t realize it. Until one day too many.
“ With each tablet, I no longer felt any well-being at all but I was still looking for it” »
“I suddenly felt very bad, I started having hot flashes, I felt like I was dying. » The mother rushes to the emergency room. Verdict: a major anxiety attack. “I never told them I was on drugs, but I understood that the vicious circle was trying to swallow me up. I had almost finished my boxes and that worried me. With each tablet, I no longer felt any well-being at all but I was still looking for it. »
The young woman then decides to talk to her partner about it and stop taking tramadol. Weaning alone is tough. “I had anxiety, sweating, I had nightmares,” remembers Adeline. She then confides in her brothers and sisters about her addiction. “They noticed that I wasn’t doing well. » They support her, without judgment, and congratulate her when she decides to start therapy, well after her withdrawal.
“ For me now, anything that takes away the pain is suspect.” »
Although this story is now far behind her, Adeline is still not calm about certain medications. “For me now, anything that takes away pain is suspect, apart from doliprane. » Although she suffers from chronic pain, she refuses any opiate treatment or treatment that could lead to dependence. Her new doctor, to whom she told everything, prescribed pain creams and referred her to a therapist if she felt the need. On his file, it is written that opioids are now prohibited for him. “I would have liked to have known about it before,” she regrets, bitterly.
Hannah, 23 years old
Hannah is just entering her twenties but already has a list of health problems as long as her arm. Cystic fibrosis, ankylosing spondylitis, necrotic colon… She lives every day with intense pain in her lower back, neck and pancreas, “like little stab wounds”. As soon as she eats, drinks, walks. “The epidural didn’t work during my labor, and the contractions were nothing compared to my daily pain. »
At 19, she was hospitalized for a year and underwent three operations. The doctors put her on morphine, a painkiller to which she quickly became addicted. At 20, she became pregnant, and the doctors gradually reduced the dose. However, during her pregnancy, she developed several pancreatitis and suffered martyrdom. “They put me on tramadol because they saw no other solutions. »
“ If I don’t take it, I shake, I sweat profusely.” »
The painkiller calms his physical pain, but also mental pain. “I had severe postpartum depression, and tramadol allowed me to escape reality and forget my illness. » After three or four months, the molecule is no longer enough to alleviate her attacks, but Hannah continues to consume it several times a day. “I take it to reassure myself because I know it doesn’t work. »
Gradually, the young woman falls into addiction. “I’ve gotten to a point where if I don’t take it, I’m shaking, I’m sweating profusely and I have a lump of stress rising in my throat. Without tramadol, I can no longer sleep. »
“ I want to stop but I feel like my body doesn’t agree.” »
Her husband is aware of her addiction and controls her medication, especially when she has to look after their daughter. “Unfortunately he can’t do anything more,” laments the young woman. Hannah would like to stop, be able to sleep naturally, and return to a normal active life. She is followed by a psychologist at the hospital who gives her “a lot of support”. “She tells me to go at my own pace. » She is waiting for an appointment with a pain doctor to set up weaning. “I want to stop, but I feel like my body doesn’t agree. »