ADDICTED DOCTORS SHOULD COME 'OUT OF THE CLOSET'

Dear Ann Landers: My husband is a 65-year-old M.D. who did his internship
and residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago in the early '50s. We
married while he was in medical school. When he was on those brutal 12- and
36-hour shifts, he took uppers and downers. Every night, he took sleeping
pills. The next morning, in order to be "sharp," he took amphetamines. I
was concerned and questioned him about it, but he said he needed the pills
to do his job.

Today, 40 years later, he is still taking these pills. If we go out for an
evening, he will pop an upper before we leave the house. When we come home
after the theater or a party, he will take another pill "to make sure he
gets a good night's sleep." In the morning, of course, he is hung over and
takes his upper the minute he gets out of bed.

So far as I know, his pill dependency is not evident to our friends or the
people he works with. He knows he has a problem but refuses to get
professional help.

How wonderful it would be if addicted doctors like my husband would come
out of the closet and get the help they need. If you knew how many there
were, you would be shocked. For obvious reasons, I do not want my name or
city to appear with this letter, but I hope you will print it.

- -- Somewhere in Oregon

Dear Oregon: Here's your letter and my thanks for having the courage to
write it. I would like to say to all doctors who are addicted, please, for
the sake of your family members and the patients who place their lives in
your hands, get the help you need to beat your addiction. You alone know
how many patients you have harmed because your drug habit rendered you
incompetent. Please pay attention to this column. It could make an enormous
difference in your life and the lives of your patients.