By J.T. Junig, MD, PhD
I appreciate the feedback to my last post.  I had no doubt that the thoughts expressed in the original letter would ring such a chord, as I hear similar comments on a daily basis.  For people new to my blog this week, please review the letter in last week’s post, as that is where I’m starting today.

I had the same ‘love at first site’ reaction to opioids described by many people who become addicted.  My addiction began with a relatively weak opioid — codeine —but I still remember lying in bed as the effects of the substance drifted over me, easing the life-long depression that I had long accepted as ‘just how things are.’  » More

I was able to stop using codeine after returning home and to my job in the operating room.  I dodged a bullet– or so it seemed.  I continued to drink wine, beer, and the occasional margarita, but I had convinced myself that drinking was an isolated vice that was necessary given the stress of my job.  Yes, the AA and NA people said that alcohol would take me back to my ‘drug of choice’, but they didn’t understand my special situation, and didn’t know how smart I was.  The scary incident in the Bahamas faded from my memory.  Looking back, it wasn’t that big of a deal. » More