A MUM who became addicted to painkillers to dull the agony she experienced following her birth died of an accidental overdose, an inquest has heard.
Jade Farquhar, 31, regularly found herself in “severe discomfort” after having twins.
1
The mum of six was prescribed a number of painkillers – including codeine, morphine, pregabalin and diazepam – to dull the pain, Lancs Live reported.
Jade became addicted to the medication and passed away suddenly on November 30 2023, after having “just taken too much”.
A coroner said she had experienced an “awfully tough time” before her death, according to Manchester Evening News.
Jade’s family launched a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs following her death.
Her niece Chelsea Farquhar said the mum had “suddenly died” and “left behind six beautiful babies, four sisters and one brother as well as cousins nieces and nephews”.
In November last year, Jade had a friend over to her house in Mill Hill, Blackburn.
The friend went to sleep around 11pm. Upon waking up the next morning, she found Jade unresponsive.
Paramedics were called and Jade was pronounced dead at the scene.
An inquest into the mum’s death – held on May 17 – heard that Jade had previously asked for help to deal with her painkiller addiction and was eager to become less dependent on the meds.
Assistant Coroner Richard Taylor said concentrations of codeine in Jade’s body were “much higher than usually encountered” and enough to result in her death.
He added the morphine levels in her blood were also similar to levels observed in other fatal cases.
Meanwhile, the toxicology report revealed levels of pregabalin and diazepam in Jade’s blood were within ranges typically prescribed – but they can enhance toxic effects and increase the risk of death when taken alongside other painkillers.
Members of Jade’s family attending inquest were convinced she had taken too many pills by accident.
Jade’s sister Lorraine told the coroner she wouldn’t have ended her life deliberately without writing something for her kids.
This was echoed by Mr Taylor who said: “It would appear that she has simply taken too much of her medication.
“She has had an awfully tough time. She had to move property and there were allegations made against a former partner.
“She was addicted to painkillers and she must have been in severe discomfort; she has just taken too much.”
He concluded that Jade’s death was a result of “misadventure” – similar to an accidental death, but where an individual undertakes an action with risk that unintentionally resulted in death.
After the inquest, Lorraine said of Jade: “Her kids made her happy. She never got over the loss of our mum seven years ago.”
Jade’s sad case comes after a landmark inquiry found good pregnancy care for women in the UK “is the exception rather than the rule”.
The damning report into NHS maternity services – known as the Birth Trauma Inquiry – detailed harrowing stories of mothers being left to lie in their own blood and urine or denied basic needs such as pain relief earlier this week.
Some mums were left with life-changing injuries following their births.
Meanwhile, a leading maternity expert told The Sun that three fatal conditions are to blame for a rise in maternal deaths in the UK.
Medications you can and can’t take together safely
IF IN doubt about how certain medications might interact with each other, always speak to a GP or pharmacist.
Here are some medications you can and can’t take in combination with other drugs.
Ibuprofen
Some drugs – like ibuprofen – don’t mix well with others.
The common painkiller might not interact well with:
- Medicines that help to prevent blood clots such as warfarin
- Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as aspirin, diclofenac, mefenamic acid or naproxen
- Medicines for high blood pressure
- Steroid medicines such as betamethasone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone or prednisolone
- Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, norfloxacin or ofloxacin
- Antidepressants such as citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, venlafaxine, paroxetine or sertraline
- Diabetes medicines such as gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide or tolbutamide
Tell your doctor if you’re taking any of these drugs if they start you on any type of ibuprofen.
It’s safe to take ibuprofen with paracetamol or codeine, but don’t take it with aspirin or naproxen without talking to a pharmacist or doctor.
Paracetamol
It’s safe to take paracetamol with most prescription medicines, including antibiotics.
But be wary of popping it alongside:
- Warfarin, a medicine to prevent blood clots – paracetamol can increase the risk of bleeding if you take it regularly
- Medicine to treat epilepsy
- Medicine to treat tuberculosis (TB)
It’s safe to take paracetamol with other types of painkiller that don’t contain paracetamol, such as ibuprofen, aspirin or codeine.
But don’t take it alongside other medicines that contain paracetamol. For example, cough and cold medicines will often contain it, so you shouldn’t pop a paracetamol pill separately.
If you take two different medicines that contain paracetamol, there’s a risk of overdose.
Aspirin
Some medicines can affect the way aspirin works, so you should speak to a doctor if you take any of the below:
- Medicines to prevent blood clots such as clopidogrel, apixaban, edoxaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and warfarin – taking them with aspirin might cause bleeding problems
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline, to treat depression
- Medicines for pain and swelling (inflammation) such as ibuprofen and prednisolone
- Medicines to prevent organ rejection after transplant such as ciclosporin and tacrolimus
- Medicines to treat high blood pressure such as furosemide and ramipril
- Digoxin, a medicine for heart problems
- Lithium, a medicine for mental health problems
- Acetazolamide, for glaucoma
- Methotrexate, a medicine used to stop the immune system overreacting and sometimes to treat some types of cancer
- Diabetes medicines, such as insulin and gliclazide
It’s safe to take aspirin as a painkiller with paracetamol or codeine.
But do not take aspirin with ibuprofen or naproxen without talking to a doctor.
Source: NHS