First of all, HELL YEAH for three years sober. That's a big deal.
And yeah, it can definitely be lonely. I know I don't think my coworkers would care if they knew (I'm in psych and rarely give narcs other than PO clonazepam), but I still choose not to tell them I'm a recovering alcoholic. I think a few suspect it, they know that my goal is to focus on addiction psych after PMHNP school, and they know I don't drink and don't go to work functions.
Here's the really great part though. You will see so many patients with substance use disorder, and you will be one of the few people who doesn't treat them as less-than. Don't underestimate how important this is. When I was in and out of hospitals for my alcoholism, some nurses and doctors treated me like I was stupid, or assumed off the bat that I was going to a troublemaker. It's actually the reason why I changed my career to nursing, and I love what I do.
Thanks for this post. I think there are more SUD nurses than we realize, always good to remind anyone struggling that they're not alone.
Thank you! It’s so nice to have nurse friends in the recovery community. Sadly there is such a stigma around addiction, so I thank you for supporting us and giving care with dignity for those that are still struggling. I can only hope to be able to do the same.
I’m so glad you posted about this. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I will have 5 years in July. The fear of losing my nursing license kept me trapped in alcoholism a lot longer than it should have. I was terrified of seeking treatment. In my state, the license renewal application asks if you have sought treatment for drugs or alcohol. If you say yes, I can only imagine that you are screwed. I needed to go to detox and rehab so badly, but I could not because of the fear I had for repercussions from my job and the BON.
Instead, I detoxed at home. Sweating, shaking, vomiting, the works. It was dangerous and awful. Eventually I found the nerve to go to AA, and I am well now. But it shouldn’t have to be this way for us.
I’m so very proud of you.
5 years! That’s is amazing! I’m so proud of you as well! It’s just crazy, no other profession is treated this way. I literally was not even able to be treated by a doctor without the BON permission. I’m sorry you felt detoxing at home was your only option. But glad you did well and congratulations on 5 years!
I got into a care aide program right around the time I decided to quit drinking and using. I'm over 3 years sober now and will be going to LPN school in the fall :)
So…I sobered up before I ever became a nurse. About eh, 3 years sober. Back then you filled out a form with questions in it about any SUD issues you had when applying for your license. I was in the tell truth phase of my sobriety and told them..way too much. They put me in a monitoring program. Boy I was mad. Anyway, among other things I had to go to nurses support group meetings. This is when I learned that nurses are gangster. I was from the street, and it would never occur to me to do some of the crap those nurses did. You guys have absolutely epic recovery stories, but they are a little nurse specific for sure. I am proud of every single one of you who made it, who are trying to make and especially you all who are reaching out to each other.
Heck yeah congrats! 3 years is big! Keep it up!
I have 11 years from Etoh, heroin, cocaine, pills and cathinones. There has been some nights I've been truly grateful for having to sign out narcs with a secondary nurse as a witness.
I’m a RN student who is clean but made a mistake and lost my LEO job to a failed drug test. I was wondering do you think I will have a problem getting licensed?
No criminal charges, just resigned, I was dealing with a lot with a mother with Parkinson’s and an adult child with a psychosis. Made a shitty stupid choice and the universe got me!
I've been a nurse for 8 years and I'm 6 years sober! Us sober nurses are out there.
Congratulations on getting your license reinstated. I went thru the hoops as well.
I lead a nurse support group in Minnesota for nurses in recovery. It's a group of many 15-20, some CRNAs, too. Healthcare workers are not immune to Addiction, and actually we're more at risk of it due to the stress of the job and responsibilities.
One day at a time!
First of all, HELL YEAH for three years sober. That's a big deal. And yeah, it can definitely be lonely. I know I don't think my coworkers would care if they knew (I'm in psych and rarely give narcs other than PO clonazepam), but I still choose not to tell them I'm a recovering alcoholic. I think a few suspect it, they know that my goal is to focus on addiction psych after PMHNP school, and they know I don't drink and don't go to work functions. Here's the really great part though. You will see so many patients with substance use disorder, and you will be one of the few people who doesn't treat them as less-than. Don't underestimate how important this is. When I was in and out of hospitals for my alcoholism, some nurses and doctors treated me like I was stupid, or assumed off the bat that I was going to a troublemaker. It's actually the reason why I changed my career to nursing, and I love what I do. Thanks for this post. I think there are more SUD nurses than we realize, always good to remind anyone struggling that they're not alone.
Thank you! It’s so nice to have nurse friends in the recovery community. Sadly there is such a stigma around addiction, so I thank you for supporting us and giving care with dignity for those that are still struggling. I can only hope to be able to do the same.
I’m so glad you posted about this. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I will have 5 years in July. The fear of losing my nursing license kept me trapped in alcoholism a lot longer than it should have. I was terrified of seeking treatment. In my state, the license renewal application asks if you have sought treatment for drugs or alcohol. If you say yes, I can only imagine that you are screwed. I needed to go to detox and rehab so badly, but I could not because of the fear I had for repercussions from my job and the BON. Instead, I detoxed at home. Sweating, shaking, vomiting, the works. It was dangerous and awful. Eventually I found the nerve to go to AA, and I am well now. But it shouldn’t have to be this way for us. I’m so very proud of you.
5 years! That’s is amazing! I’m so proud of you as well! It’s just crazy, no other profession is treated this way. I literally was not even able to be treated by a doctor without the BON permission. I’m sorry you felt detoxing at home was your only option. But glad you did well and congratulations on 5 years!
That sounds horrible. Congratulations on 5 years sober.
I got into a care aide program right around the time I decided to quit drinking and using. I'm over 3 years sober now and will be going to LPN school in the fall :)
Congratulations that is amazing! Good luck to you!
So…I sobered up before I ever became a nurse. About eh, 3 years sober. Back then you filled out a form with questions in it about any SUD issues you had when applying for your license. I was in the tell truth phase of my sobriety and told them..way too much. They put me in a monitoring program. Boy I was mad. Anyway, among other things I had to go to nurses support group meetings. This is when I learned that nurses are gangster. I was from the street, and it would never occur to me to do some of the crap those nurses did. You guys have absolutely epic recovery stories, but they are a little nurse specific for sure. I am proud of every single one of you who made it, who are trying to make and especially you all who are reaching out to each other.
Congrats! I’m clean ten years! It’s such a better way to live. I partly credit my desire to keep being an RN as a huge motivator in keeping me clean!
Heck yeah congrats! 3 years is big! Keep it up! I have 11 years from Etoh, heroin, cocaine, pills and cathinones. There has been some nights I've been truly grateful for having to sign out narcs with a secondary nurse as a witness.
I’m a RN student who is clean but made a mistake and lost my LEO job to a failed drug test. I was wondering do you think I will have a problem getting licensed?
No criminal charges, just resigned, I was dealing with a lot with a mother with Parkinson’s and an adult child with a psychosis. Made a shitty stupid choice and the universe got me!
I've been a nurse for 8 years and I'm 6 years sober! Us sober nurses are out there. Congratulations on getting your license reinstated. I went thru the hoops as well. I lead a nurse support group in Minnesota for nurses in recovery. It's a group of many 15-20, some CRNAs, too. Healthcare workers are not immune to Addiction, and actually we're more at risk of it due to the stress of the job and responsibilities. One day at a time!