An addict in Nurse’s Scrubs is what this story should be called.  StarTribune.com reported this story from a former nurses aid and one time cop.  He had an addiction to painkillers and he did whatever he needed to get his fix.  He was fired from his job as a nurse but he walked into the hospital one day with his scrubs on and went straight to the storage room to look for and find narcotics.  No one noticed him, because he was in scrubs, he knew what to do to look inconspicuous.  He got into restricted areas of the hospital and found synthetic Opioid and slipped them into his pocket and went home to feed his addiction to painkillers.  He notes in his story that he is not surprised at the recent rise of painkillers thefts by employees in hospitals.  He is familiar with the desperation and ingenuity of a prescription drug junkie inside a medical facility.  There are many thefts going on behind closed doors at hospitals.  Some of it is by the doctors and some of it is by the nurses.  These thefts by nurses mirrors increases nationally in the abuse of painkillers.  Propublica.com reports that nurse participants of a drug program who practiced while intoxicated, stole drugs from the bedridden and falsified records to cover their tracks.  Nurses do face disciplinary actions and have to get on a program but most of them do not finish this program.

A nurse who is using drugs while they are at work can be guilty of patient harm as a direct result of this abuse.  They can mistreat their patient with medication errors.  They can cost the hospital in the way of stolen drugs, lost wages, training and re-hiring.  If they mistreat their patient and the patient makes a claim against the hospital that can cost them thousands.  This nurse is also hurting her family because she may lose her job and even the entire career.  There are nurses that notice that their fellow nurses are using but they will not report them because they don’t want their friend to lose their job.  It is suspected that 10% of the nursing population has an alcohol/drug problem and some of the abuse problems are serious enough to interfere with their practice.  This is reported by the American Nurses Association.  Nurses have a lot of stress on their positions.  They are expected to work long shifts, overtime, rotating shifts and floating to unfamiliar units.  All this can make them feel tired and much stressed.  Drug abuse may be a way of coping with this stress.  Some of these nurses live, breath and sleep work.  Whatever the reason nurses do abuse drugs and they are in the front lines of our medical professions.  They have the wherewithal to be around drugs and it is easy for them to manipulate getting what they need.  I don’t even know if more education will work in this case because these nurses have an education of what drugs can do to you.  I believe this profession should be repositioned so that shifts are not as long and stress is not so high for these nurses.

OxyContin: The “Hillbilly Heroin”

Why do you suppose they call it the “Hillbilly Heroin”?

Because it reacts on the nervous system like heroin or opium.  There are some people who can’t get their heroin so they go to the doctor and get some pain killers like Oxycontin.  The doctors are sometimes very willing to give this drug to their patients.

Armed robberies of pharmacies have occurred where the robber didn’t say “give me your money,” he said “give me your Oxycontin”  In some areas of the Eastern United States Oxycontin is the drug of greatest concern to the law enforcement authorities.

Oxycontin is abused in Appalachian communities so it known as the “hillbilly heroin”.  It has actually emerged as a major crime problem in the US.  They looked at the crime rate in many areas in the US and found that Oxycontin is behind 80% of the crime.

This drug is less expensive than real heroin and sometimes even easier to get from our doctor.  So that is why it is called the “Hillbilly Heroin”.  It can cause you to have constipation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, addiction, increased risk of heart attack, just to name a few.

So if you know anyone of your friends or if you made it to your doctor and got some Oxycontin and now you want to get off well there is a place to help you.

Understand Why Painkillers Become So ADDICTIVE

Would you like to really understand why painkillers are so addictive?  Well here goes this reporter’s collected information.  Opioid painkillers produce a short-lived euphoria, but they are also addictive.

If you use these painkillers on a long term basis it can lead to physical dependence.  The body adapts to the presence of the substance and then you stop taking it and you get withdrawal symptoms.  The body can also build up a tolerance to the drug.  Now you have to take a higher dose to get the same effects.

Painkillers are like all other drugs.  They simply mask the pain for which they are taken.  They don’t “cure” anything.  So if you are trying to dull the pain you will also find yourself taking more and more of the drug.  Then you will discover that you cannot make it through the day without the drug.

Withdrawal will cause you to be restless, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps and involuntary leg movements.  You make one of the most serious risks of respiratory depression.  If you take high doses it can cause breathing to slow down to the point it can stop and the user dikes.

So you just had surgery, the doctor gave you some OxyContin.  Do the healthy thing.  Eat right, take your antibiotics if he gave you some and cut back on the painkillers as soon as you can so you can get off as soon as possible.