MS2 Struggling with addiction: need advice

[Faruke1015]

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Hello SDN,

I

 

[futuremdforme]

How close are you to finishing classes? I agree with the timeline of finishing classes then taking a LOA. You might even be able to do some research during the year to make it seem less out of place, but if you can't, that's okay -- put your health first.

In terms of specialties, I would think about what will allow you to maintain your sobriety from painkillers. For example, anesthesia will probably not be a great option. Something like psych could go either way as you might enjoy working with others or it might be triggering.

Good luck! I'm glad that you're ready to get help and I hope that you can make the changes necessary to recover.

 

[MrChance2]

I'd start by talking to a private therapist. It's tough to assess how much help you need or the right plan of action from this post (or the Internet in general). You could also try weening instead of cold turkey. The bad part is last semester of M2 until after boards is the most stressful part of medical school.

Id say save telling your school or taking a LOA until you try other options. I think if you take a LOA saying "medical reasons" and leaving it at that is the best option.

Do you have people you 100% trust to reach out to? You could also start there. Just having people around you that know you are trying to quit and that you are going through a tough time and want to help you can go a long way.

 

[Bacchus]

Look into your stste's impaired physician program. See what type of record is kept. This may be a good option if this somehow gets "out" in the future to show you did rehab through a reputable channel.

 

[anesthesia8982]

Be strong. I have been through this myself. You're not alone, there are quite a few medical professionals with histories of addiction who end up with successful careers.

First, take a deep breath. Everything will be ok. You have not f***ed up. It is not a moral failing, no matter what you might have read on this website or heard elsewhere.

Second, tell someone. Your personal physician perhaps. Then someone at your medical school needs to know, most likely one of your deans. I would not wait until you finish the semester. Anything can happen between now and then--this is a terminal illness and takes too many lives.

Finally, you will need to let your state monitoring board know. They will ask you to be evaluated by a physician, and then most likely require you to go to rehab. After that, there is usually some random drug screening involved.

Please feel free to contact me personally with any questions. I know how difficult this is.

 

[Tabicakes]

First, I just want to saw bravo for coming forward and acknowledging you need help, this is always the first step in any recovery. As far as what to do with schooling, my best advice is keep this info as far away from your school as you can. I wouldn't tell your school or any faculty or other students about this issue you are going through because it will most likely only cause a lot of headaches and hoops for you to jump through. My advice is to take a leave of absence for 'personal' (ie family, travel, etc.) rather than a 'medical' reason as it will only make for a smoother transition once you return with much less red tape to get through (wish someone would have told me this...) if this isn't possible and it has to be a medical leave, then that's ok too I just would not disclose the issue..it need only be between you and your physician/ treatment provider.
Bottom line though, whatever method you choose, you need to get this issue addressed. It will likely only get much worse 3rd/4th year whe working in the hospitals and clinics and could potentially have access to trouble.

 

[witzelsucht]

Tough situation man. First, good on you for owning up to it, and seeking help. I would reiterate that you definitely need to attempt to take a leave for research/undisclosed "health" and seek private therapy/rehabilitation to minimize the odds of this getting on a record. That being said, if you feel you are in serious trouble, either because of suicidality, possibility of being arrested while sourcing narcs, or just feeling too overwhelmed, just do the impaired physician thing.

Remember that whatever you do, you should continue with some sort of therapy/meetings after getting clean. You WILL be in situations as a third year where you will be alone with pills, etc. so it is imperative that you have your mind in the right place to resist temptation like that.

 

[Faruke1015]

K

 

[avgn]

Do everything you can to keep things the way they are until you take Step 1. If you've been performing fine on exams while on drugs all this time, now isn't the time to change. Make sure you do not run out until you take the damn test. Then find help. A personal LOA with half-assed research year would probably be best for practical purposes of not having this blemish the record. Stigma is real, try not to get pinned down with that ****

 

[anesthesia8982]

I feel compelled to comment, for the sake of anyone who may be struggling with addiction right now and is reading this thread. There is never a good reason to wait to seek treatment, especially for the sake of your career. Because if you're dead, who cares about your career any longer? Guaranteed, the 1000s of people who die from an opiates every year never saw it coming.

 

[atomi]

Do everything you can to keep things the way they are until you take Step 1. If you've been performing fine on exams while on drugs all this time, now isn't the time to change. Make sure you do not run out until you take the damn test. Then find help.

Unless she ODs before the test, her dealer sells her bad stuff (or her pill-mill doc or whatever), she gets in a pinch and turns to heroin, etc.

I cannot believe you as a medical student seriously just advocated the continued abuse of narcotics for the purposes of passing a test.

See here: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/ci_23132561/hometown-hero-sons-overdose-makes-san-ramon-woman
Note the portion about the toxicology report and the low levels of oxy in the kid's blood.

OP, please listen to everyone else here and not this joker and find professional help now, not later.

 

[shoal]

ummm... tough question.moral and ethical answered is to tell md school and enter rehab. but this will severely impact the rest of your career negatively FOREVER. there is a doctor who is a md advocate patrica or pamela W (cannot recall her name). id attempt to contact her.

id keep this private as long as possible while seeking solutions that wont alter your path.

please seek help, and I wish you the best on your journey. certainly do not enter ms3 without this addressed.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[avgn]

Unless she ODs before the test, her dealer sells her bad stuff (or her pill-mill doc or whatever), she gets in a pinch and turns to heroin, etc.

I cannot believe you as a medical student seriously just advocated the continued abuse of narcotics for the purposes of passing a test.

See here: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/ci_23132561/hometown-hero-sons-overdose-makes-san-ramon-woman
Note the portion about the toxicology report and the low levels of oxy in the kid's blood.

OP, please listen to everyone else here and not this joker and find professional help now, not later.

Half of respondents have also suggested finishing the semester first and then finding help along with an LOA. I just made it more clear how he should finish the semester. Not sure how that makes my answer any different

 

[Crayola227]

ummm... tough question.moral and ethical answered is to tell md school and enter rehab. but this will severely impact the rest of your career negatively FOREVER. there is a doctor who is a md advocate patrica or pamela W (cannot recall her name). id attempt to contact her.

id keep this private as long as possible while seeking solutions that wont alter your path.

please seek help, and I wish you the best on your journey. certainly do not enter ms3 without this addressed.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Dr. Pamela Wible. You can even call her if you google her.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'd start by talking to a private therapist. It's tough to assess how much help you need or the right plan of action from this post (or the Internet in general). You could also try weening instead of cold turkey. The bad part is last semester of M2 until after boards is the most stressful part of medical school.

Id say save telling your school or taking a LOA until you try other options. I think if you take a LOA saying "medical reasons" and leaving it at that is the best option.

Do you have people you 100% trust to reach out to? You could also start there. Just having people around you that know you are trying to quit and that you are going through a tough time and want to help you can go a long way.

Completely agree.

If possible, avoid taking a leave of absence. If you have to do it then you have to do it. There are worse things in the world (like dying as a result of your addiction). I also agree with avoiding disclosing this information to your institution unless absolutely necessary. The truth is that if your academics aren't suffering and you aren't coming onto the wards intoxicated or unable to perform your duties, there is absolutely no reason for them to know. Obviously that would change if you decide to take a leave of absence or some other kind of administrative break. Unless or until that happens, however, I would do your best to take care of this on your own.

If you're going to have some time after step 1 studying that you can dedicate to intensive treatment (whether inpatient or outpatient), I think that would be your best bet. If that isn't possible - or even if it is - then present to a psychiatrist and start getting treatment.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I don't necessarily agree with those who are telling you to drop everything and seek treatment. The actual danger to your health doesn't seem that urgent at this point. I think some responders here are forgetting about some of the root causes for addiction (behavioral, emotional, etc), that might be exacerbated or catalyzed by upsetting your life in such a way. For the actual process of getting off the opiates (which YES you still need to do this as soon as you can), most rehab programs have very low success rates. If during your LOA you find you are unable to detox on your own, I would investigate clinical providers of ibogaine therapy, it is proving to be a highly successful therapy for opiate addiction.

 

[Ceusina]

Here's my opinion - go to rehab/detox NOW. Don't wait until the real stress of Step 1 hits you and try to somehow power through it (more stress, more drugs, more problems). You're not going to suddenly forget everything you learned the last two years while you take a personal leave of absence. Sure, you'll have to do a longer review, but that information can be re-learned, re-memorized. Don't gamble with your life!

 

[jdh71]

Hello SDN,

I am close to the end of my second year of med school, and have been battling an addiction to prescription pain killers for most of the year. I have tried to detox off them cold turkey but have not been able to go longer than 2-3 days. In hindsight I wish I had taken a week or so off to enter a detox but I always felt stressed not studying for boards and was not able to kick it.

I know I need help, but am petrified to consult my school about it. I contacted PHS and they said I would be required to disclose to my school if I went I work with them. I know the best thing is to try to finish up classes and take a leave of absence and go to rehab. I am looking for advice/support on the best way to handle this situation, as well as feedback from attendings, residents and other students who may have experience with this and can just give it to me straight how this will affect any chances I have of matching. I know there's no way it will reflect well, but just curious if this is something that will preclude me from certain specialties.

Any advice is appreciated. Please spare any negative comments about my predicament from a moral perspective, I understand that I ****ed up and if there were an easier way i would just quit. I have never had any issues like this, and it has scared the hell out of me. And thank tou all in advance for your feedback.

Holy ****. Would you please PM me and delete this thread.

 

[donovank730]

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