Accidental addiction drives patient to the brink

A LITCHFIELD man says he was driven to the brink of suicide after becoming addicted to prescription opioids following a motorcycle accident and being abruptly cut off by his doctors

Glen Peterson was seriously injured in motorbike crash in July and is unable to get the pain killers he needs because of a quota in place in order to stop people becoming addicted. Picture: Keri Megelus

A LITCHFIELD man says he was driven to the brink of suicide after becoming addicted to prescription opioids following a motorcycle accident and being abruptly cut off by his doctors.

Glen Peterson has been taking Oxycodone since breaking multiple bones in the motorbike crash in July, but said he was suddenly told last month his medication would be cut off.

Mr Peterson, from Herbert, said the withdrawals left him in agony, which he at first attributed to residual pain from the crash, but now believes was the result of his body adjusting to going “cold turkey”.

“The first few nights I barely slept, I’ve probably had 10 hours sleep in the last four days,” he said.

“There were a couple of times if I had a gun I would have put it to my head.”

It wasn’t until days later when the “pain from head to toe” subsided that Mr Peterson realised what had happened.

He said he was critical of the health system for not managing his withdrawal better by weaning him off the drug.

“They cut me off cold turkey and I don’t think that’s too flash,” he said.

Mr Peterson said his transition to over-the-counter analgesics which he now uses to successfully manage his pain would have been much easier if the reason he was being cut off was better explained and a plan put in place to wean him off the addictive opioid.

“I think they could have just given me another half a packet of Endone and then said ‘right, now this is what you’re getting, no more from this point on, you’ve got to wean yourself off’,” he said.

“I just think cutting me off cold turkey was a bit harsh.”

Mr Peterson’s GP was contacted for comment but declined for privacy reasons.

Under NT law, medical practitioners may only supply opioids for up to 15 patients at a time.

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