Substance abusers disillusion me...

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Had another ETOH withdrawal patient yesterday, he was also a mental health patient in real life, chronically unemployed, and had been readmitted after being discharged post knee-replacement surgery (thank you U.S. taxpayer!), meth positive and in full blown ETOH withdrawal.

High-dose protocol, IV Ativan q 1/2 hour, 1:1 sitter in room + wrist restraints. Any time the patient awoke he launched into loud abusive profanity and tried to grab the crotch of the sitter.

I guess one positive in all this is job security for healthcare professionals, including myself. :rolleyes: But, I must admit, this type of patient disillusions me...:no:

I ask you, how does a person such as this afford a 1/5 of whiskey a day, plus methamphetimine???:confused:

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

we have a pt that comes in like that frequently , i was told by the mental health person that these people live in the " seeder" side of life. they prostitue themselves or sell drugs, steal , mug people . she told me there was a underground life that we never imagined..

it was very interesting.. she also told me that these people will steal sharps containers out of hospitals and sell the dirty needles and there are all sorts of ways to earn money.

she was very interesting to talk to , she has delt with the homeless and drug addicted people for along time. she is a social worker that deals with the mentally ill.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I could never, never work as a mental health professional!

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.
I could never, never work as a mental health professional!

amen to that...:yeah:

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I tell you, it is tiring to medicate a person every 1/2 hr for 12 hours straight. It was really a drag when I had to restart his IV right before an Ativan dose, and he was waking up and cussing up a storm.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
:rolleyes: But, I must admit, this type of patient disillusions me...:no:

I ask you, how does a person such as this afford a 1/5 of whiskey a day, plus methamphetimine???:confused:

It helps me to think of a drug addict who's a frequent flyer with no plans to detox as a terminal patient. I don't know when, but one day those chest pains will be signalling the end.

For me, the big picture is this: Drug addicts really don't understand the death spiral that they're in. Especially meth addicts. I see their lives as tragic, their potential wasted, their personal relationships disrupted and their loved ones wounded.

Of course, the big picture is not what I see when that same patient demands narcotics q 5 minutes over the course of my workday, but it is what keeps me going in there and explaining what they can have and what time.

What can I say other than that? Should I tell them that when I see them manipulate to get their high that they're running to meet the Grim Reaper and in between here and there is a world of pain that no drug can cure?

But the hard shell of addiction they're encased in only reflects their need back to them. I cannot make my warnings heard through it.

They say that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. If that's true, then I guess I'm just as insane as they are suicidal, because I still keep trying to talk to them about getting clean.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

OMG, they just called me from work! I couldn't find my badge after restarting this guy's IV yesterday, I searched the whole room, bed, trash, med room, etc. Had to get a temporary badge for scanning.

I told everyone to watch out for it, it really threw the rest of my shift off.

They found it this morning clutched in the hand of this very difficult patient... :rolleyes:

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
Had another ETOH withdrawal patient yesterday, he was also a mental health patient in real life, chronically unemployed, and had been readmitted after being discharged post knee-replacement surgery (thank you U.S. taxpayer!), meth positive and in full blown ETOH withdrawal.

High-dose protocol, IV Ativan q 1/2 hour, 1:1 sitter in room + wrist restraints. Any time the patient awoke he launched into loud abusive profanity and tried to grab the crotch of the sitter.

I guess one positive in all this is job security for healthcare professionals, including myself. :rolleyes: But, I must admit, this type of patient disillusions me...:no:

I ask you, how does a person such as this afford a 1/5 of whiskey a day, plus methamphetimine???:confused:

I'm sympathizing with you: I get so tired of having to cater to druggies who come in with a big sense of entitlement because Uncle Sam has provided everything they need, and they still can find ways to pay for their goodies. Many of the more desperate pay for their drugs through illegal activities such as robbery, prostitution, or even drug dealing. We have to take their abuse when they're at their worst...

Having seen the intense physical and psychological cravings illicit substances inspire, I gotta say that I'm impressed by those that have gotten clean of drugs and stayed clean.

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I see their lives as tragic, their potential wasted, their personal relationships disrupted and their loved ones wounded.

.

We see there lives as tragic. They see themselves as victims. Everything is someone elses fault. Many, many times I have ground my teeth in frustration. Somehow I managed to keep doing what I had to do without getting up and walking out of the building. One thing I won't do is tolerated chemical abuse in the people in my personal life. Might have had to put up with it at work but I am afraid I give abusers a wide berth in my real life.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
We see there lives as tragic. They see themselves as victims. Everything is someone elses fault. Many, many times I have ground my teeth in frustration. Somehow I managed to keep doing what I had to do without getting up and walking out of the building. One thing I won't do is tolerated chemical abuse in the people in my personal life. Might have had to put up with it at work but I am afraid I give abusers a wide berth in my real life.

I agree completely. They can and do attempt to get YOU in far too much trouble. I was robbed by a friend of my wife's children who had a nasty drug habit this spring, and was angry when they continued to insist on associating with this person. He was not allowed anywhere near our home.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
OMG, they just called me from work! I couldn't find my badge after restarting this guy's IV yesterday, I searched the whole room, bed, trash, med room, etc. Had to get a temporary badge for scanning.

I told everyone to watch out for it, it really threw the rest of my shift off.

They found it this morning clutched in the hand of this very difficult patient... :rolleyes:

Wonder if he was going to try and sell it for another highball...glad you got it back, though.

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.
Had another ETOH withdrawal patient yesterday, he was also a mental health patient in real life, chronically unemployed, and had been readmitted after being discharged post knee-replacement surgery (thank you U.S. taxpayer!), meth positive and in full blown ETOH withdrawal.

High-dose protocol, IV Ativan q 1/2 hour, 1:1 sitter in room + wrist restraints. Any time the patient awoke he launched into loud abusive profanity and tried to grab the crotch of the sitter.

I guess one positive in all this is job security for healthcare professionals, including myself. :rolleyes: But, I must admit, this type of patient disillusions me...:no:

I ask you, how does a person such as this afford a 1/5 of whiskey a day, plus methamphetimine???:confused:

By committing crimes , sometimes even violent ones.

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