Marie was addicted to codeine, then available over the counter in pharmacies. Today weaned, she testifies to the dangers of this opiate in In the eyes of Olivier this January 24 at 10:55 p.m. on France 2.
Why did you start taking opiates?
MARY: I was 20 years old, I was a violinist and I had just left Nantes and my family to join a conservatory in Paris. I didn’t know anyone, I found myself all alone, without my twin sister, with a lot of pressure. I had the idea of taking a drug that I had been prescribed four years earlier, a mixture of paracetamol and codeine, and which was then over the counter.
Why were you prescribed it?
As a teenager, I had serious back problems, three herniated discs which required a rather heavy operation. To cope with the pain, I had taken Codoliprane for a year. It was this relief that I wanted to find again.
In Paris, how did you get the medicine?
I go into a pharmacy, I give them the excuse of herniated discs, even if I don’t have any more at that time. I say that I have a lot of pain and that I would like some Codoliprane. And they give it to me. I adopted the same strategy for months, sometimes changing pharmacies but ultimately not that much. Nobody asked me any questions. Without warning about possible addiction. Nothing.
Do you realize then that you are on drugs?
No. I accumulate the boxes without knowing that I have become addicted, that I take drugs. I am buying a box of sixteen drugs dosed at 400 mg every 36 hours. I see that there is a problem, that I double the recommended doses, that I put myself in danger but I think I can stop overnight.
Do you confide your distress to your family?
No. But six months after my arrival, my twin sister comes to settle with me in Paris and, there, she falls from a height. She discovers that I lost ten kilos and especially that I take these drugs whereas I do not need them. And she starts to pressure me to stop. I try but it makes me sick: diarrhea, body aches, cramps… The horror. I’m in a period of exams, concerts, I can’t afford to stop so I continue.
What will end up being the trigger?
Already, I promised myself to stop when I get my diploma and I get it. Then, I learn on television that Codoliprane will be added to the list of drugs that require a prescription (order of July 12, 2017, editor’s note) after the death of a 16-year-old teenager, Pauline, addicted to the same molecule as me. It’s electroshock.
How was the weaning period?
I’m going to see an addiction specialist. I have been taking these drugs for ten months, I will need substitution treatment for more than a year to stop. It’s hard. The pain eventually passes but in the head, it takes longer.
With hindsight, what would you have advised the 20-year-old Marie who had just arrived in Paris and was in dire straits?
I would have told him: don’t take those opiates, you don’t know what shit you’re getting yourself into! Go see a doctor who will surely recommend antidepressants to treat your discomfort, but not opiates.
How are you and what life do you lead today?
I am still a violinist but I left Paris to return to Nantes. I am no longer the lost kid of five or six years ago, I have matured and I know how to put words to what hurts me. And I never took opiates again.
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