Mum’s 20-year Nurofen Plus addiction left her fighting for life in coma
Nicola Zawadzki says she became dependent on codeine after a miscarriage and later switched to Nurofen Plus, taking up to 32 tablets a day.
A mum says a devastating miscarriage triggered a 20-year addiction to codeine painkillers which eventually left her fighting for her life in a month-long coma.
Nicola Zawadzki, 46, was prescribed codeine after losing her first baby in 2002 and says she quickly became dependent on the drug.
She said: “I took these tablets and it felt like someone was just wrapping me up in a warm blanket. I remember thinking, ‘This makes me feel better’.”
Nicola, from Derby, continued taking prescription codeine for several years before switching to Nurofen Plus when her GP stopped prescribing it.
The over-the-counter painkiller contains ibuprofen and codeine, and Nicola says she began “pharmacy hopping” to obtain enough tablets each day.
She said: “I would take a whole box, which is 32 tablets, in one go.
“It controlled everything. We couldn’t just go on holiday because I had to figure out what I’d do for my medication or I’d get poorly.”
Nicola says the tablets initially gave her energy and made her feel like “superwoman”, but her health began to deteriorate.
She developed stomach ulcers and later required surgery after suffering extensive stomach damage.
In May 2024, her teenage son found her unresponsive and turning blue in bed.
Nicola was rushed to hospital, where she says her heart stopped for around five minutes. She developed severe pancreatitis and aspiration pneumonia, required a tracheotomy and spent around a month in a coma.
She said: “They told my kids to come in and say goodbye. The doctors said they didn’t know how I got through it.”
Nicola says the near-death experience finally ended her dependence on painkillers.
“After being in hospital, I never took anything again,” she said. “That scared the life out of me.”
Codeine is an opioid and can cause dependence and addiction. NICE warns that prolonged use can lead to dependence even when medicines are taken at therapeutic doses.
A spokesperson for Reckitt, which makes Nurofen Plus, said it was “concerned and saddened” by Nicola’s story.
The company said the medicine is intended only for short-term use, is sold under pharmacist supervision and carries warnings about the risks of prolonged use.