Mum spent thousands taking up to 40 painkillers a day for nine years

Mum spent thousands taking up to 40 painkillers a day for nine years She was taking so many she couldn't get enough at the pharmacy and had to find a dealer A mum-of-five who became so addicted to codeine she would take 40 pills a day was forced to turn to a drug dealer to feed her £6,500 habit. Terina Moretto, 45, was hooked on the prescription drug for nine years and said she relied on the tablets just to be able to "function as a mother." She turned to codeine after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia - a condition which causes chronic pain - and losing her mum and brother back in 2016. Terina said at the height of her addiction she was popping 40 pills in one go each day and that she'd been told it was a "miracle" she was still alive. Terina, of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs., said: "I first began taking codeine around 2016 when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia following the loss of mum and brother who died the same month. I found they helped with both the pain the fibromyalgia was causing me but also helped with the grief I was suffering at the same time - but it soon got out of hand." Medical experts warn users to take no more than eight codeine tablets every 24 hours - but soon Terina was taking dangerous levels of the highly-addictive opiate painkiller. Terina added: "I began taking more than I should be and a pack of 28 which would usually last me a month, would be gone in a matter of days. "The numbers just crept up. I went from 10 to 12 and the next thing it was 20. After a while I was taking 30 to 40 tablets and that lasted about three years. In the end I had to go to a dealer to source it because the prescriptions just wouldn't cover the amount I needed. "I wouldn't space them out over the day either, I would take 40 of them in one go - I should be dead really, it is a miracle I am here. I managed to find a guy on Facebook, it's crazy how easy it was and I would get them delivered in the post. "I would spend around £180 a month on getting a drug dealer to get me codeine and that lasted three years." Terina has two older sons, aged 29 and 28, as well as a daughter of 18 and two young sons, aged ten and three. She said the codeine would give the ability to function as a mum -whether it be driving to the shops or doing the housework. She added: "The elder two knew I was taking too many and they were really concerned for me and kept telling me I needed to get off them. But I needed them to function as a mother, it sounds mad to say it, as for most people it wipes them out - but for me it gave me energy. "I was still able to go out and drive the car to do the shopping and do the housework - it didn't hold me back and if anything it felt liked the pills helped. I needed them in order to function and go about my daily business. "But it also gave me a high, it was the nice feeling which I was addicted too as well. I also lost my dad in 2020 so I was dealing with the loss of three family members in the space of a few years. It’s no excuse but it was definitely a trigger. “Codeine helped me feel relaxed and good about myself.. It helped me deal with the hardships of life. Sometimes I would run out and have a really bad comedown. But that didn’t happen many times because I would always terrified about running out. "Once I was down to my last three boxes, I would get on to the pharmacy or the dealer to get some more." The former support worker is celebrating 12 months of sobriety after managing to kick the habit and is encouraging other addicts to seek help. She added: "Eventually I knew enough was enough. One day I woke up and I just thought, ‘right, that’s it’. I knew I needed to stop. "I had known for a while but for some reason that one day I became deadly serious about doing it. My friends and family had been saying I’d needed to stop but you need to want to stop yourself. That’s when I reached out and asked for help and with the help of my friend I was given Espranor. "At first I getting similar withdrawal symptoms to what a heroin addict would experience, things like sweating and shaking, it was just horrible. I also became very withdrawn and depressed but I was determined to stay off those pills and I stayed resilient and didn't look back. "After my recovery it just made me wonder what the hell I’d been doing for all these years. I'm really proud of myself and my kids are too. I want people to know there's help out there. I felt trapped and thought there was no way out but if I can do it, anyone can. "Now I can be here for the kids. And the extra money to spend on my family has been amazing.”