BIG little HIGHS
Annie Wilson tipped her first headache powder onto her tongue as a teen and chased it with cooldrink. ‘I got a lot of headaches after I dislocated and cracked a cervical vertebra in a car crash when I was 18,’ says the now 50-something fashion stylist and designer.
‘Then, at varsity in Stellenbosch, someone said “Take one of these, they’re brilliant!” And they were.’
So brilliant that Annie began knocking one back each time she had a headache. And this grew more frequent. ‘Fifteen years later, when I was living in New York, I was taking one or two every morning with my coffee, and often a third later in the day – pulling out a powder became a bit of a party trick.
‘It went on for 20 years. I’d tell friends visiting from South Africa: “Bring Ouma, Bovril, Provita and my powders.” I went nowhere without them in my handbag.’
Back in South Africa, Annie worked with a photographer who suffered debilitating cluster headaches. ‘One day I was sourcing for a shoot and grew giddy and disjointed. I knew something wasn’t right and told him. He sent me to his neurologist.’
Annie explained about her neck injury causing headaches and what she’d been taking, and the neurologist examined her thoroughly. ‘There’s nothing wrong with your neck,’ he told her flatly. ‘You’re addicted to those powders. It’s a big problem!’
THE PROBLEM
It’s a big problem precisely because it doesn’t strike most of us as a problem at all. Prescription drugs, particularly over-the-counter ones, seem in a different class to street drugs: respectable and safe. And, taken as directed, for specific ailments, in limited dosages for set periods, they are. But popped carelessly or capriciously to chill; sleep better; even for a slight high, painkillers carry potentially fatal dangers.
Internationally, the most commonly abused painkillers are those with opiates (keep an eye out for
