How One Night in the Pharmacy Changed Everything

 

I remember the first time I “self-treated” a nasty cold while working an evening shift in the hospital pharmacy.

Any pharmacist who’s been in the profession for more than a few years knows what it’s like to work while sick. It’s not ideal—and certainly not best practice—but we’ve all done it. Push through. Cover your shift. Don’t complain.

That night, I had taken the usual cocktail: acetaminophen for the aches, a decongestant to breathe, an expectorant, and some lozenges. But the symptoms kept pressing in—foggy head, nagging cough, sheer exhaustion. And then I remembered the prescription cough syrup in the cabinet.

I told myself it was fine. I knew the dose. I was just helping myself get through the shift. My instincts—misguided and overconfident—told me this was okay.

Within 30 minutes, I felt great. Clear-headed, energized, and upbeat. The medication had worked—or so I thought. In truth, it wasn’t the cold that had been cured. What I was feeling was the surge of stimulated opioid receptors lighting up my brain.

That was 1988. I would spend the next eight years chasing that exact same feeling.

As healthcare professionals, we often believe our knowledge gives us license to treat ourselves. But the line between “treating” and “using” can blur fast.

If you’re ever considering a treatment option that’s illegal or requires a script you don’t have, it’s not a treatment option—it’s a warning sign.