Emergency Room Series: Addiction And It's Consequences

Everything in life should be in moderation. 

A man in his late twenties was rushed in to the ER in company of his relatives. He was in extreme painful distress, sweating and very irritable. 

He was said to have been having pains around his groin for a while and would use painkillers but the pain grew worse. He was also vomiting and had a fever. His blood pressure was slightly high and his heart rate was also fast. It was most likely as a result of the pain. 

He had an urgent ultrasound done to see what the source of the problem was and it was discovered that he had inguinal hernia and it had become strangulated and had blocked blood flow to the intestines which meant he would need immediate surgery. 

His blood samples were taken for screening tests and his parents signed the consent form on his behalf. The surgeons also came to see him and he was reassured that everything would be fine. He was wheeled into the ER theatre. 

While in the theatre, he was noticed to be having pain-like facial expressions which wasn't normal for someone on general anaesthesia. It meant he was somehow awake and was feeling all the surgical pains as the blades were cutting him. The anaesthetist increased the dosage of the medications given to sedate him. 

After about 45 minutes, his eyes popped wide open! 

He was awake again but couldn't move or talk. The surgeons stopped and were surprised. It was confusing. Imagine having a man on a theatre table with his intestines out and he wakes up suddenly, it felt like a scene from a horror or zombie movie. The dose of the anesthesia was increased again. The anesthetist had to be careful because if the dose got too high, the patient could sleep and never wake up.

 After about 2 hours, he was wheeled out. The surgery was a success. Little did we know that it was just the beginning of the main problem. 

While he was at the recovery room, He had some injections to relieve the pain but he kept complaining of severe pains at the surgical site. The dosage of the painkillers was increased but it didn't help for long. For example, p**tazocine is a strong painkiller and ought to relieve pain for about 2-3hours in severe cases but this guy would complain of pain after 45mins of having it. 

The doctors tried other types of painkillers, nothing seemed to be working. His mother was panicking. He even had an ultrasound done to know if the problem was from within but the findings were normal for someone who just had a surgery. 

Because I had seen a similar case in nursing school whereby pain meds don't work after surgery, I asked the guy if he takes a lot of alcohol. His mother was quick to say yes and that he was undergoing therapy for it too because it was affecting his job. I told the doctor in charge of his case who changed the pain medications to stronger opioid medications(like the ones meant for cancer pain). He got better and calm and was able to sleep.


Alcoholism causes low pain threshold sometimes, and in some people it causes high pain threshold. Pain threshold is the maximum level of pain a person can withstand. It also disturbs the effect of anaesthesia during surgery.


For the guy to have woken up during surgery, it shows that he's not a social drinker but a chronic alcoholic. Imagine having a surgery and you just wake up all of a sudden because the injections that would make you sleep didn't work for long. Scary. 

People who are addicted to alcohol also have a high tendency to be addicted to painkillers. I know of patients who take as much as ten tablets of paracetamol or tramadol a day. Its not as if they are in any seroius pain but their body would make them feel they always need it. Once they try to stop taking it, they get paranoid and irrational.


Alcohol is an addictive central nervous system depressant. That's why people who drink alcohol get high and after a while, they get sober or depressed.

Moderation is key when taking alcohol. It should never be in excess. You shouldn't take it to the point you wouldn't be able to feel your face. Alcohol kills and it kills in the most unimaginable ways as it affects multiple organ systems.

 I remember the case of a popular singer who lost a friend to excessive alcohol intake at a club. Most times, the cause of road accident is alcohol intoxication. It also causes cardiac arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, cirrhosis, bleeding from gastritis or esophageal varices, hepatitis, malnutrition, pancreatitis, and psychiatric disorders.

psychologists are making a lot of money from alcohol addicts who want to get their life back together. I know of People who spend a lot of money to get out of alcohol addiction after they've lost their jobs and marriages because of it.

 I'm not saying you shouldn't take alcohol but it should be in moderation.

 Thank you.