Mental Health Case Studies

I recently saw a young 18-year-old female in my clinic who was seeking pain medications for abdominal pain. Her urine pregnancy test was positive. The moment I told her the results, the patient was in tears. She broke down and told me that she was addicted to opiate pain medications. She was suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms and did not know what to do. She said that her father left the family when she was 9 and her mother died from an overdose last year. She did not have a job, nor had any close friends. I could see it in her eyes, she was completely helpless. I fought tears in my eyes as she was talking about how she was forced into addiction by her former boyfriend. Her boyfriend recently left her after her doctor stopped prescribing
In fact I told her that she was very brave to come back and see me instead of taking the easy route and going back to her old ways. She told me that the only reason she had came back to see me was because she did not want me to think all my hard work was for nothing. She was so happy to have such a caring doctor and promised to never relapse again.

She was back to her regular routine. Her pregnancy progressed without any complications. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy. After becoming a mother she wanted to be self sufficient.She began applying for jobs and was fortunate to obtain an interview at the local hospital. I personally wrote a letter of recommendation towards her job application which helped her get the job. Her happiness knew no bounds after getting the job.

She continues to undergo treatment and is gradually being tapered off her medications. Every time I see an article in the newspaper about the death of a young boy or girl due to an overdose, I think back to the first day I saw her. I feel extremely fortunate to able to inspire her to change her lifestyle from a drug addict to a hard working single mother with a lifetime of opportunity ahead of