Addiction to prescription drugs stole Michael Whiley’s soul and now fresh out of rehabilitation, he wants to help others break the cycle.

Mr Whiley abused prescription medications containing codeine and oxycontin – which are powerful opiates –  over 10 years.

He said addiction to prescription medications was a growing problem.

Over 12 months, drug and alcohol specialists, Lyndon admitted 1300 patients.

Up to 13 per cent reported opiates including prescription medications and heroin as their drug of concern.

Mr Whiley, who sustained a lower back injury at work, became reliant on prescription medications.

“It took the seriousness out of life which lead to the demise of many important things, like the expectations of a husband and of a father,” he said.

“Opiates delude you, they steal your soul.”

A change in his anti-depression medication helped break the cycle.

“It gave me an insight within 14 days, of how life could be. I looked at my lifestyle and thought I really need to do this,” he said.

During rehabilitation Mr Whiley said he “became so focused on what I had lost, I regained the passion for life”.

He’s now offering his experience to help people break the addiction and can be contacted at michael.whiley@icloud.com.

“I want to facilitate people getting access to help and resources. In the long-term I would like top use a ‘pay-it-forward’ system to help people get sober,” Mr Whiley said.

“It’s a huge problem, there’s a lot of people stuck on merry-go-round of supply, to maintain their level of abuse.”

Lyndon CEO Ed Zarnow encouraged anyone concerned about use of prescription drugs contact their GP.

“The first step is recognising there’s a problem and asking for help,” he said.

“Any community support groups out there helping people who want to try and break addictions whether it’s painkillers, alcohol or drugs is good.

“With any treatment, whether a formal process like Lyndon House or an informal community process comes down to what works for people, everyone’s an individual.”