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An alcohol & drug rehab clinic

Sunday May 2, 2010 – The Sunday Post

 

WHEN doctor Chrissie Gutteridge became seriously addicted to alcohol she struggled to cope.
By Janet Boyle

She was leading a double life — caring for her patients and working to give them the best medical care then, once her shift was over, hitting the bottle.  For a while she managed to hide her increasing dependency, but like many alcoholics it took over her life. In Chrissie's case it ended in the humiliation of being caught drunk at the wheel of her car.
Her drink-driving conviction at Stonehaven Sheriff Court was splashed over her local paper and she resigned from her GP practice.

"I was embarrassed and ashamed and knew I desperately needed help," she confesses. "I had crossed the line and my partners at my GP practice knew it so I resigned.

Hope
"My only hope was to book in to an addiction clinic and end the nine­ year hell of being an alcoholic. I would have done anything just to live a normal life again."
Chrissie booked into Castle Craig Hospital in West Linton, Peeblesshire, and started on the long road to recovery.

As part of her treatment programme she was given hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT), pioneered to help divers suffering from the bends.
It helps re-oxygenate addicts whose bodies have been affected by years of alcohol misuse.
Chrissie (51) underwent two months of HBOT during her five-month stay at Castle Craig.
After several 90-minute sessions she was able to sleep well for the first time in years and now feels fit enough to return to her love of running.

"I feel better and brighter because of the combination of my treatment here. While HBOT is only part of the regime, it's a vital component."

Chrissie, a mother of two teenagers has recently returned to her Aberdeen home.
"Both my sons have been wonderful as have many others," she reveals. "As many people know, the drive to stay alcohol ­free is ongoing, but it is possible and a reality for many.

"I'm now using my experience to help others with similar problems."
But she has no plans to go back to medicine. "It would be a huge relapse trigger," she admits. "Besides, I've given 28 years to it."

Chrissie's experience mirrors that of many colleagues, according to a report in medical magazine Student BMJ. The article suggests doctors feel under pressure to conceal and deny their personal problems until a crisis forces them into treatment.

It adds, "Professional carers with alcohol­ related problems deserve interventions and treatment that deals with their needs."  Back in the world of recovery, Chrissie is planning a new life as a horticulturalist with plans to take Royal Horticultural Society exams.
Her story is very similar to fellow patient Lesley Galbraith, a former interior designer who also underwent HBOT at Castle Craig.

Lesley (42) says, "I feel I can breathe more easily than I have in years and now plan to resume my love of sport, most likely running.
"I was an alcoholic for 10 years and went to great lengths to hide it. I'd take our dog for a walk and drop off empty bottles in other folk's bins. I even drank in public toilets where no-one could see me.

"Eventually home life became so bad that my daughter went to stay with my parents." Somehow Lesley managed to stop drinking for a year. "Then I had a drink to celebrate that," she says.
Her alcohol addiction returned and she lost her job. Realising that she was now estranged from both her daughter and partner she felt she had little left, except alcohol.

Dr Margaret Ann McCann of Castle Craig said, "Several patients have benefited from HBOT treatment. It improves oxygenation to tissue damaged by alcohol. Patients report feeling sharper, more energetic and indeed more upbeat."

Patients spend around an hour in a pressurised oxygen chamber in a painless process which allows 10 times the normal amount of oxygen to be dissolved in the bloodstream.
That oxygen boost can help white blood cells kill bacteria, reduces swelling and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly into damaged tissue.

HBOT costs £30 per session for those outwith the hospital but is part of the treatment costs for patients. Many health boards fund six weeks of inpatient rehabilitation but several choose to s tay on and fund themselves.