Doctors aren’t supposed to become drug addicts, but there I was addicted to Fentanyl. During my anesthesia residency I made the almost fatal mistake of taking home a powerful I.V. narcotic. Before I knew it, the drug’s effects on my body and mind were too strong to resist. I was caught in a trap that I’d sprung myself. Though withdrawal pains wracked my body each night and each day I promised myself I would stop, my habit was too strong to beat on my own. Embarrassment and fear of consequences kept me trying to break the Fentanyl spell in secret. Eventually I faced the bleak choice of ending my life or ending my life as I knew it.As it happens, being a doctor gave me special access to the most successful program for substance habit change ever created. The Medical Board Diversion program boasts an unrivaled record for helping people make permanent change in their substance habits. Unlike the wham-bam monthlong treatment centers offering a respite from self-destruction, the Diversion program helps around 85% of its doctors stay sober permanently. This is accomplished through a system of accountability, mutual support and education. It also takes time. No program can reverse years of habit formation in thirty days. The results of six-month outpatient programs are only slightly better than a standard rehab month. The Diversion program I was in lasted over five years. Nearly all the doctors who were in the program with me not only stayed sober, but are still sober. It’s been over twenty years that I’ve been sober and my experience is typical for the program. I was even deemed safe by the Medical Board, my training hospital and the American Board of Anesthesiology to return to the O.R. and practice anesthesia again.Which I did for three years, but my passion had changed. Though I found it easy to stay sober in the very same environment I couldn’t before, I knew I wanted to help others to recover from their addiction habits. In 2005 I opened my practice of Addiction Medicine and I’ve been helping people with this problem ever since.I’ve taken what I learned from my mentors and professors, combined it with what we know about the science of habit formation, and used this system to help many people free themselves from chemical prisons. My patients and I have uncovered the repeating patterns in substance habits, and in this book I offer the lessons they’ve taught me over the past fifteen years.If you or a loved-one is struggling with an addiction or substance habit, the information contained in this book is a roadmap for lasting change. I wrote it for the person who feels helpless and like nobody understands. That was how I felt until everything changed. You don’t have to spend a fortune at an inpatient rehab. You may even be able to wean and quit with the special section on detox from common addictive chemicals. And even if you’re not ready to stop completely, many find cutting back on drugs an alcohol gives them tremendous clarity and energy. If you are tired of feeling scared and helpless, let me share with you the system I’ve developed to help my patients. Though I can’t be your individual doctor or give specific advice to you in a book, I think you’ll be surprised at how simple change can be, Not easy, but simple.I wish you all the very best. Warm regards, Jason Giles MD Los Angeles, Californi
