The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-12
SWIFT CURE OF MORpHINISM.
CSEDlNN THE STATE REFORMA-
TORY FOR WOMEN.
Dr. MarSsret HaIieck Reports Cases in
which strychnine. HyOscine and Code.
Inc iu,Combination Proved Effective.

mc W &OmDinuuOu FTONtu LuecuNS.
DR.. Margaret s. Halleck Of the New York
State Reformatory for Women reports in
the Medical Record her success in treating
victims of the morphine habit In cases
where she cut of the drug at once. Not
long ago medicine taught that the morphine
habit must be broken of by degrees and
that the cure was always attended With
untold suffering. and current text books
still teach that severe symptoms will follow
the sudden withdrawal Of the drug
The first case DIR. Halleck treate d was an
American girl, - years old, who said she
had contracted the habit while under a
doctors care for broken leg. The patient
was taking six to ten grains OF morphine
daily besides smoking q dollars worth OF
crude opium. On the day that she was
deprived OF the drug she was seized with
much pain. Her pupils were dilated she
vomited, was extremely nervous and said
that she ached all over. The doctor adj
ministered one-sixtieth Of a grain OF strych-
nine sulphate. one two-hundredth OF grain
OF hyoscine hydrobromate and one-fourth
of a grain OF codeine sulphate. This is
the prescription she used In other cases,
except that sometimes she doubled the
quantity Of hyoscine hydrobromate.
Next morning the patient reported that
she had not slept well, but vomiting mad
ceased and she was free from pain The
same dose was administered morning and
evening for a week. At the end OF that
time the patient left her room and did light
house work. She was still somewhat ner-
vous, but her pains were gone and her
appetite was good Strychnine IN quanu-
ties Of one-sixtieth TO one-thirtieth OF
grain was continued for week and then
all treatment was stopped. Ia six months
she gained thirty pounds. She has been
out OF the reformatory now for eight months
and has not relapsed.
The second case was a German girl. %
years old, who, when she was Is years old,
was induced by an older girl to go 10 live in
Chinatown. She learned to smoke opium
and used it daily for eight years When
she came under the doctors care she was
smoking from 81 to 81 so worth of opium a
day. She was emaciated. her pulse was
slow, she had no appetite and she was sub
ject to muscular tremors. She received
for four days and the strychnine was con-
tinued for while Her weight went from
100 TO i42 pounds. She il. Dr. Halleck re-
ports. a good member Of society.
An American girl, 20 years old, who had
used morphine In increasing doses for ten
years, was the third patient To-day she
In the picture of health and weighs 1870
pounds. She says she has no desire for
morphine, her feeling is rather an aversion.
The fourth was girl Of q, who had
years. Her daily dose being from fifty
to sixty grains; in addition she took
cocaine. She entered Bellevue three times
10 be cured of her habit. but relapsed each
time. She weighed only ninety pounds
and her body was covered with LESSONS
left by the hypodermic. After ten days
treatment she received no more medicine.
She gained over twenty po unds in six weeks.
None OF these patients received any
morphine from the time the treatment
was begun and each processes to have lost
all craving for it. DR.. Halleck says the
combination Of strychnine, hyoscine and
codeine forms a perfect antidote