At 24 years old, she had lived a hard and fast life, and it was coming to a screeching halt. A decision to drink oneself into oblivion made zero sense to me. Chronic alcoholism mixed with poor life choices makes for a medical, nursing, and social services nightmare. It was another day in the unit, caring for a patient whom I had become too familiar with. Four years as a master’s prepared CCRN practicing medical, surgical, neurological, and cardiac intensive care taught me that I could do almost anything. I simply wanted to help people, and I had been given the opportunity of a lifetime to do so. I was doing exactly what I intended on doing from the second I decided to be a nurse. I would go home and hug my wife and kids a little tighter knowing how precious life is. I would cry, and I rationalized the loss. I witnessed and held the hands of many dying patients. It is neutral, loss mixed with gain.Īll nurses deal with life and the loss of life in different ways. Fresh life combined with one ending seemed logical to me. I always thought it was quite ironic hearing “Brahms Lullaby” echoing from labor and delivery as my patient would take his or her last breath. Making sense of the tragic loss of life had always been challenging for me. We thank the author for the courage to share this personal story and urge nurses to seek the help they need.Īs one life ends another begins-a spiritual lesson and coping mechanism that I taught myself early on to ensure survival. The author’s identity is not shared per request unfortunately, there is still stigma associated with substance misuse. This book is a plea for research that can rescue millions from the scourge of addiction.Editor’s note: This blog is a supplement to the continuing nurse education program “Suicide among nurses: What we don’t know might hurt us.” It illustrates how our unrealistic self-expectations as nurses can lead us down unfortunate paths. But as long as the medical and research establishments ignore a cure for one of the most deadly diseases in the world, we won't be able to understand baclofen's full potential. Baclofen, as prescribed under a doctor's care, could possibly help many addicts. Dr Ameisen prescribed himself the drug and experimented with increasingly higher doses until he finally reached a level high enough to leave him free of any craving for alcohol. Searching for a cure for his deadly disease, he happened upon baclofen, a muscle relaxant that had been used safely for years as a treatment for various types of muscle spasticity, but had more recently shown promising results in studies with laboratory animals addicted to a wide variety of substances. So he did the only thing he could he took his treatment into his own hands. Fearing for his life, he immersed himself in AA, rehab and therapy. A page turner.ĭr Olivier Ameisen was a brilliant cardiologist and running his own successful practice when he developed a profound addiction to alcohol. 'The End of My Addiction' is both a memoir of Dr Ameisen's struggle with uncontrollable addiction and a groundbreaking call to action for research that could help millions of addicts.
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