My son, twice but they brought him back both times. If you have ever watched someone overdose its the most horrible thing you will ever see when it's your son you never get the image out of your mind. His body seizing than flopping like a fish, just dead. Its a nightmare that won't leave me
Well Enty, since you asked. One of my friends committed suicide a few days ago leaving behind his wife and five children under ten. He had been struggling with mental illness and the effects of serving in the military.
Perhaps we can stick to fun/funny questions in the future instead of bringing the group down?
Troy. I am so so sorry. those poor babies. The VA has recently unveiled a number of programs to help vets with drug issues, PTSD, etc. And of course, the burial benefits, too. Make certain each of the children apply for SSA benefits - they will get them til they turn 18. I am so sorry.
Two of my best friends OD'd in 2012 shortly after I moved across the country. It was really brutal. The first was set to go rehab the next day, I guess he went for one last hurrah. I was the last person to talk to him, last thing I said was "See you on the otherside," and I wouldn't have known that he died for months if I hadn't happened to catch a weird Facebook conversation the next day.
Called the other friend to let him know, and about 6 months later I caught another Facebook conversation that clued me in that he had died, too.
No, but in my apartment building on KY Derby Day, this guy ODed in our lobby. His buddies took him from the unit he was squatting in and dumped him in the lobby for the EMTs to find him. Thing is that he had MRSA. Really bad stuff. he was spitting up everywhere. And that's bad stuff that MRSA. But by somehow, he survived.
Just one person. Heroin OD after being clean for a couple years. His mom passed away and he just went back to black. Only 24 years old, they found him in a dingy hotel room in Ireland. So sad.
Yes, sadly. Opiates are a terrible thing. That is why Im glad to be almost 5 years sober at 26. It doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, smart or stupid. It will take over your life. Hopefully one day there will be less stigma so people are more likely to get help.
It sucks that there are so many people just in this post alone, that have known someone who’s life ended too soon. I’m still in shock over my friend, but am more angry at society in the US for stigmatizing mental illness and that there are negative socialital repercussions for asking for help or wanting taxpayer $ to go towards mental health services for vets and others.
Combine that with our current medical trend of just prescribing pills instead of actually treating illness to get everyone hooked on pills or stuck in an endless loop of prescriptions- it makes me mad that the government cares more about corporations making $, than it does about the health and safety of our citizens.
Yes..someone my fiance had worked with. During a point in our relationship when we frankly didn't give a damn about anything, we would buy coke off of him. He very obviously had a problem. He'd beg us for a line of the stuff we just bought which of course we didn't mind. He'd do it at work apparently, sneaking off every 45 minutes or so. He died about a month ago, having just had a kid a few months before this.
Overdose itself no. A first cousin ultimately died from complications of drug addiction (pneumonia from his HIV status). His father found him dead on the sofa in their living room. He was staying with them since he had been sick. No parent should have to live through that nightmare.
Yes, when still working as an A&E doctor, I’ve seen many who were too late or far gone despite our best attempts. All ages, all races, all strata of society and all sexual orientations. Having to tell their loved ones, especially the parents of children/teens who didn’t know their child was using, still gives me sleepless nights.
Yes, 6 friends in my lifetime have died from overdosing on various things (crack, heroin, fentanyl).2 of them within 6 months of each other. I have also lost an uncle from an OD. I have never and would never do drugs like that. Very sad.
@southernsweetpea I understand if it's too painful to talk about but both of my boys are on prescribed suboxone as a "treatment" for opiate addiction. I was told by the prescribing Dr. you couldn't overdose on it. I've learned the hard way that some doctors simply cannot be trusted when it comes to narcotics & pain meds. I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my baby sister to an opiate overdose. Still hurts everyday.
Good for you Vince. My nephew is getting out of rehab in two months - he hit the bottom of the bottom and finally decided to get help. I am in awe of your recovery. Stay strong, brother!
Yes, a girl I worked with for a time. She got fired from the job we were working at together. She was a writer and playwright. A few years after I left the job, I looked her up online and found out that she had died, alone, in a Thailand hotel room from an overdose. That is a terrible and lonely way to go and she was only in her twenties. I was really saddened by that news.
Too many. My children are adults now and off the top of my head I can think of 3 in their circles, all under the age of 30. One of them I had known since he was 5 years old. Recently, another in my circle of friends OD'd and it was predictable. Every junky is like a setting sun.
I am a funeral director, and I wish people would open their eyes to how many people (16-28) are dying (accidentally od'ing) because their drug of choice is laced with fentanyl (unbeknownst to them). There is nothing more heartbreaking than a parent losing a child. I LOATHE drugs.
Street dealers dont, the people making up the kilos do. Fentanyl is cheaper than heroin. No clue why they use it to cut coke, maybe to add to the addiction factor?
I am sorry for all of your losses. Addiction is a bitch. Some survive it, others do not. I am especially sorry for your friend’s family Troy. I have known at least 6 people who have died from overdose in my 60 years. I will be attending a memorial service tomorrow for the latest victim. God help us all.
Several. Multiple heroin overdoses, three prescription opioids, and one seizure induced by cocaine toxicosis. I have been clean for 17 years but still know lots of people who aren’t.
Yes, our mothers were friends and we were friends with benefits after high school. He looked a lot like River Phoenix. He OD'd at age 20. That was over 30 years ago and I still feel sad about it.
Yes, one of my aunt's foster children. She was only 18 (I think it was heroin) and she was 8 months pregnant too and they couldn't save the baby,either. It was just so sad. This was back in the 1970's when I was just a kid but I still remember it sadly to this day.
Yes. My brother's best friend died of a heroin overdose during a party he was having at his house. My brother and the rest of his friends had no idea the best friend started using heroin until they found him dead in his bedroom with a needle sticking out of his arm. He left behind a 4 year old year little girl who adored him.
My brother died of a heroin overdose in 1997. He was burned in a house fire, 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body, when he was 13 in 1969. Years spent in and out of hospitals, getting skin grafts. Thank God for the Shriner’s and their Children’s Hospital. My parents never received a bill. He became a drug addict, not sure if it was because his body stayed addicted to the pain medication or to deal with the mental scars, probably both. He was addicted to pain medicine, in and out of Methadone Treatments. We didn’t know he was using Heroin, I think it was the only thing he could get his hands on. He “made” Doctors and ER’s for years, even stealing and forging prescriptions. Computerized Data Bases were making it harder for him to get the pain meds.
My heart breaks for anyone who’s had to deal with addiction & its aftermath.
Considering where I live it's a miracle that I don't know anyone who died that way.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, no.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately yes
ReplyDeleteYes, a few
ReplyDeleteSadly yes. Fentanyl patches
ReplyDeleteYes. A now former boss smoked crack until his aorta exploded.
ReplyDeleteMy son, twice but they brought him back both times. If you have ever watched someone overdose its the most horrible thing you will ever see when it's your son you never get the image out of your mind. His body seizing than flopping like a fish, just dead. Its a nightmare that won't leave me
ReplyDeleteI cannot even begin to imagine how painful that was for you. How is he doing now?
DeleteYep. Opioids.
ReplyDeleteJust this past winter.
wow 3 people that i can think of off hand all former high school mates. there might be more if i took time to reflect back.
ReplyDeleteShould have defined Accidental or Suicide. Either way, 4-5.
ReplyDeleteNo. I only hang out with those who partake responsibly.
ReplyDeleteSeveral in our tiny town
ReplyDeleteI, almost, but I am still here. -insert happy face emoji-
ReplyDeleteWell Enty, since you asked.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends committed suicide a few days ago leaving behind his wife and five children under ten. He had been struggling with mental illness and the effects of serving in the military.
Perhaps we can stick to fun/funny questions in the future instead of bringing the group down?
Troy. I am so so sorry. those poor babies. The VA has recently unveiled a number of programs to help vets with drug issues, PTSD, etc. And of course, the burial benefits, too. Make certain each of the children apply for SSA benefits - they will get them til they turn 18. I am so sorry.
DeleteThanks Erin. Sadly this is not my first rodeo. Hoping it will be the last though. 🙏🏼
DeleteI’m so sorry, Troy. 😞
DeleteYes. If you feel like your drug/alcohol use is affecting your life, please seek help.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine's son OD'd on prescription Oxy.
ReplyDeleteYep and it was all prescribed. Broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteMy mother.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have actually. A friend of mine OD'd a little over a year ago.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my best friends OD'd in 2012 shortly after I moved across the country. It was really brutal. The first was set to go rehab the next day, I guess he went for one last hurrah. I was the last person to talk to him, last thing I said was "See you on the otherside," and I wouldn't have known that he died for months if I hadn't happened to catch a weird Facebook conversation the next day.
ReplyDeleteCalled the other friend to let him know, and about 6 months later I caught another Facebook conversation that clued me in that he had died, too.
2012 was a shit year. Lost my job that year, too.
She didn't die she tried and she changed her life that day..
ReplyDeleteWTF!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo, but in my apartment building on KY Derby Day, this guy ODed in our lobby. His buddies took him from the unit he was squatting in and dumped him in the lobby for the EMTs to find him. Thing is that he had MRSA. Really bad stuff. he was spitting up everywhere. And that's bad stuff that MRSA. But by somehow, he survived.
ReplyDeleteJust one person. Heroin OD after being clean for a couple years. His mom passed away and he just went back to black. Only 24 years old, they found him in a dingy hotel room in Ireland. So sad.
ReplyDeleteMy brother....we all knew it would only be a matter of time.
ReplyDeleteyes a few old friends from High school and a family member sadly
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, too many.
ReplyDeleteThree in the past two years. All within the cusp of age 30. Very, very sad.
ReplyDeleteYes, a friend in high school died from a cocaine OD.
ReplyDeleteYes, sadly. Opiates are a terrible thing. That is why Im glad to be almost 5 years sober at 26. It doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, smart or stupid. It will take over your life. Hopefully one day there will be less stigma so people are more likely to get help.
ReplyDeleteSeveral.
ReplyDelete@Troy: I’m very sorry for your loss and sending thoughts to your friend’s wife & children.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aqua- much appreciated.
DeleteIt sucks that there are so many people just in this post alone, that have known someone who’s life ended too soon. I’m still in shock over my friend, but am more angry at society in the US for stigmatizing mental illness and that there are negative socialital repercussions for asking for help or wanting taxpayer $ to go towards mental health services for vets and others.
Combine that with our current medical trend of just prescribing pills instead of actually treating illness to get everyone hooked on pills or stuck in an endless loop of prescriptions- it makes me mad that the government cares more about corporations making $, than it does about the health and safety of our citizens.
+1,000,000 Troy
DeleteYes! A friend of mine and it breaks my heart, every single day!
ReplyDeleteLuna, happy for your success but also proud of all that you are going to achieve. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteI known a few, both accidental and purposely. Either way it's a gut punch.
Yes..someone my fiance had worked with. During a point in our relationship when we frankly didn't give a damn about anything, we would buy coke off of him. He very obviously had a problem. He'd beg us for a line of the stuff we just bought which of course we didn't mind. He'd do it at work apparently, sneaking off every 45 minutes or so. He died about a month ago, having just had a kid a few months before this.
ReplyDeleteOverdose itself no. A first cousin ultimately died from complications of drug addiction (pneumonia from his HIV status). His father found him dead on the sofa in their living room. He was staying with them since he had been sick. No parent should have to live through that nightmare.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, no. And I am surprised at this as I am a former school nurse.
ReplyDeleteThat said, suicides by other means, Yes. One haunts me to this day.
My ex-husband. Suboxone
ReplyDeleteYes, sadly. It's heartbreaking...
ReplyDeleteYes, when still working as an A&E doctor, I’ve seen many who were too late or far gone despite our best attempts. All ages, all races, all strata of society and all sexual orientations. Having to tell their loved ones, especially the parents of children/teens who didn’t know their child was using, still gives me sleepless nights.
ReplyDeleteYes, 6 friends in my lifetime have died from overdosing on various things (crack, heroin, fentanyl).2 of them within 6 months of each other. I have also lost an uncle from an OD. I have never and would never do drugs like that. Very sad.
ReplyDelete@southernsweetpea I understand if it's too painful to talk about but both of my boys are on prescribed suboxone as a "treatment" for opiate addiction. I was told by the prescribing Dr. you couldn't overdose on it. I've learned the hard way that some doctors simply cannot be trusted when it comes to narcotics & pain meds. I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my baby sister to an opiate overdose. Still hurts everyday.
ReplyDeleteYes, my neighbor's son. Such a nice young man; he always offered to mow my lawn and stuff like that. Horrible.
ReplyDeleteI'm sober and in recovery so yeah... two this year alone. Both fentanyl related.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Vince. My nephew is getting out of rehab in two months - he hit the bottom of the bottom and finally decided to get help. I am in awe of your recovery. Stay strong, brother!
DeleteNo. A couple of suicides, but that was their choice.
ReplyDeleteYes, a girl I worked with for a time. She got fired from the job we were working at together. She was a writer and playwright. A few years after I left the job, I looked her up online and found out that she had died, alone, in a Thailand hotel room from an overdose. That is a terrible and lonely way to go and she was only in her twenties. I was really saddened by that news.
ReplyDeleteYes
ReplyDeleteCongrats Luna, you must be incredibly strong willed and determined. My son made it out too. So proud of you both
ReplyDeleteToo many. My children are adults now and off the top of my head I can think of 3 in their circles, all under the age of 30. One of them I had known since he was 5 years old. Recently, another in my circle of friends OD'd and it was predictable. Every junky is like a setting sun.
ReplyDeleteI am a funeral director, and I wish people would open their eyes to how many people (16-28) are dying (accidentally od'ing) because their drug of choice is laced with fentanyl (unbeknownst to them). There is nothing more heartbreaking than a parent losing a child. I LOATHE drugs.
ReplyDeleteHow come dealers lace it w Fentanyl, when it kills people? I don’t understand. (I have limited knowledge of the drug world)
DeleteStreet dealers dont, the people making up the kilos do. Fentanyl is cheaper than heroin. No clue why they use it to cut coke, maybe to add to the addiction factor?
DeleteI think the family keeps that (O.D.) quiet sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThey just say, 'Died suddenly'.
Yes. He regurgitated his esophagus. I can't imagine the pain that he was in, but wonder if he felt anything.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for all of your losses. Addiction is a bitch. Some survive it, others do not. I am especially sorry for your friend’s family Troy. I have known at least 6 people who have died from overdose in my 60 years. I will be attending a memorial service tomorrow for the latest victim. God help us all.
ReplyDeletenever jinx the bottom of the bottom unless you want to see another one
ReplyDeleteYes. Also had a very good friend drink himself to death.
ReplyDeleteSeveral. Multiple heroin overdoses, three prescription opioids, and one seizure induced by cocaine toxicosis.
ReplyDeleteI have been clean for 17 years but still know lots of people who aren’t.
Yes, our mothers were friends and we were friends with benefits after high school. He looked a lot like River Phoenix. He OD'd at age 20. That was over 30 years ago and I still feel sad about it.
ReplyDeleteA girl I went to high school with committed suicide, if Enty's counting intentional overdoses. Otherwise, no.
ReplyDeleteMy stepbrother age 25. Accidental.
ReplyDeleteChildhood pal. Heroin. Did a stint in Quentin for it. Then....OD'ed with another dude in a dump in L.A. Harsh...
ReplyDeleteMany. Found my dad dead. Graduating class is about 90% dead. Maybe more I stopped checking.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit. I’m so sorry for all of your loss.
DeleteYes. Too many.
ReplyDeleteYes, one of my aunt's foster children. She was only 18 (I think it was heroin) and she was 8 months pregnant too and they couldn't save the baby,either. It was just so sad. This was back in the 1970's when I was just a kid but I still remember it sadly to this day.
ReplyDeleteYes. My brother's best friend died of a heroin overdose during a party he was having at his house. My brother and the rest of his friends had no idea the best friend started using heroin until they found him dead in his bedroom with a needle sticking out of his arm. He left behind a 4 year old year little girl who adored him.
ReplyDeleteMy brother died of a heroin overdose in 1997.
ReplyDeleteHe was burned in a house fire, 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body, when he was 13 in 1969.
Years spent in and out of hospitals, getting skin grafts. Thank God for the Shriner’s and their Children’s Hospital.
My parents never received a bill.
He became a drug addict, not sure if it was because his body stayed addicted to
the pain medication or to deal with the mental scars, probably both. He was addicted to pain medicine, in and out of Methadone
Treatments. We didn’t know he was using Heroin, I think it was the only thing he could get his hands on. He “made” Doctors and
ER’s for years, even stealing and forging prescriptions. Computerized Data Bases were making it harder for him to get the pain meds.
My heart breaks for anyone who’s had to deal with addiction & its aftermath.
What a fucked up question!
ReplyDelete