His first major work, a satirical poem of nearly 400 lines in Pope's couplet form entitled "Inebriety", was self-published in 1775. Crabbe later said of the poem, which received little or no attention at the time, "Pray let not this be seen... there is very little of it that I'm not heartily ashamed of." By this time he had completed his medical training and had returned home to Aldeburgh. He had intended to go on to London to study at a hospital, but he was forced through low finances to work for some time as a local warehouseman. He eventually travelled to London in 1777 to practice medicine, returning home in financial difficulty after a year. Crabbe continued to practice as a surgeon after returning to Aldeburgh, but as his surgical skills remained deficient, he attracted only the poorest patients, and his fees were small and undependable. This hurt his chances of an early marriage, but Sarah stayed devoted to him.