“I hid it well, and didn\u2019t really speak out much about the problems I was having with the medication”![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_01KBZFST7H6AE5EETET9DPWW4E.jpg\")
Belfast Trust Addiction service user Michael Maine speaking to the PA Media news agency about the work of the service at Malone Place Clinic, Belfast. Michael has warned of the dangers of the often hidden addiction of over the counter medication. (Image: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire )<\/p>\n
A recovering Belfast man has warned of the dangers of the often hidden addiction to over-the-counter medication.<\/p>\n
Michael Main said at one stage he went down to just four stone in weight and had to have an operation for a perforated ulcer and needed multiple blood transfusions.<\/a> He said he started taking ibuprofen and codeine products around 12 years ago for pains in his legs and migraines.<\/p>\n \u201cAs time went by, I was using them more to the point where it was starting to become an addiction<\/a>,\u201d he told Press Association.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Man, 33, died after taking new killer opioid ‘bought on the dark web’<\/a>READ MORE: Belfast man spiralled into addiction at just nine years old<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a while to realise that it is becoming a problem, from spending a lot of time in hospital, you start to realise the extent of what is happening. I had to go for an operation for a perforated ulcer, and had to get part of my bowel removed. In between that period, I needed four or five blood transfusions dueto my haemoglobin levels being so low.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Main said he kept what was happening secret from most in his life.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the only person who knew was my partner at the time, and family found out later. I hid it well, and didn\u2019t really speak out much about the problems I was having with the medication.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Main sought help earlier this year from the Belfast Trust\u2019s Addiction Services.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very cautious at the start, and very worried that it wasn\u2019t going to work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in fear for my life at the time because I was so thin, but thankfully, the treatment has been brilliant. I started the treatment about four months ago, and it has been great. My life has completely turned around.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who is suffering, the best thing you can do is speak out and seek help, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n Senior psychiatrist Dr Joy Watson said over-the-counter drugs is more of a hidden addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s maybe not the typical addiction such as alcohol, and we\u2019re focusing on this to make sure people are aware when buying codeine products over the counter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might be codeine combined with paracetamol, or codeine combined with ibuprofen. In the short term, these things are good for helping pain, they have their role, but they can become an addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be returning to the pharmacy more often to get these medications, maybe taking them for reasons other than pain, like to cope with emotion, to cope with past trauma and then you\u2019re having to use more and more every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Watson said some are taking 60 up to 100 tablets a day, and shopping around different pharmacies to secure that many.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re taking that many of those in a day, you\u2019re going to have serious health consequences. We have seen things like severe liver disease, severe kidney disease, really severe gastrointestinal disease and it can end in death,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is maybe a hidden addiction, and we\u2019re trying to make people aware of it. It is maybe easier to hide, and also to convince yourself that it is ok, and that you need this medication. But no one should need those types of medications for longer than a few days, and especially if you\u2019re feeling unwell if you don\u2019t take them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people notice that, they should come forward to get help because the treatment can really help, and break that cycle of addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Katherine Kidd of Community Pharmacy NI urged anyone with concerns to speak to a pharmacist for advice.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re highly trained health care professionals, they\u2019re accessible and they\u2019re medicine experts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI would encourage anyone who has a concern about taking a medicine that they\u2019ve purchased over the counter, or anyone who is considering taking a medicine for the first time, to speak to their pharmacist first.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will have a private area where they can speak to you without anyone else overhearing. That\u2019s what they\u2019re there for, to provide advice on the safe and appropriate use of medicines.\u201d<\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here<\/a> and sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“I hid it well, and didn\u2019t really speak out much about the problems I was having with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175153,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69,44619],"class_list":{"0":"post-175152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-real-life"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_01KBZFSXZYDJ25BF1FPTTN740N.jpg\")
(left to right) Belfast Trust Addiction service user Michael Maine, Belfast Trust Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist Dr Joy Watson, and Head of Professional Services and Funding at Community Pharmacy NI, Katherine Kidd at Malone Place Clinic, Belfast. (Image: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire )<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_01KBZFT3CJKCY40NQMA94QXTWQ.jpg\")
(left to right) Belfast Trust Addiction service user Michael Maine, Belfast Trust Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist Dr Joy Watson, and Head of Professional Services and Funding at Community Pharmacy NI, Katherine Kidd at Malone Place Clinic, Belfast.(Image: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire )<\/p>\n