Dying from a drug overdose

DEFTLEFTHAND

I was reading an interview with Rain Phoenix recently. She has a new album out the moment featuring Michael Stipe .

She was there along with her brother Joaquin on the night her brother River died outside the Viper Rooms niteclub in LA on Halloween 93.


They knew he was high before they arrived at the club, River was supposed to play guitar up on a stage in a jamming session.


At 1am he bought what he thought was cocaine from a dealer in the jacks, it was in fact a speedball .


Moments after taking he became almost sober like and fearful, shouting 'too much , too much'. She put him sitting back at their booth and he guzzled 3 glasses of water. They then decided to take him outside and he collasped as soon as he hit the air. She said she could see the abject look of fear in his eyes, the drugs were atacking his heart. He began convulsing and turned a deep dark tan colour.


It's just sounds like the most death horrific ever, I thought ODs were peaceful affairs for the victim. She tells the story to kids in High Schools as part of drug awareness campaigns.


River's autopsy foung multiple drugs in his system. Enough to kill a man 3 times over.

Wanderer2010

Pretty horrible way to go alright. I don't know where this fantasy image of blissfully rolling into a lovely sleep from the high comes from- if the dose is too high your body is going to kick into a final desperate attempt to cure itself before succumbing to a painful death.

McMurphy

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Pretty horrible way to go alright. I don't know where this fantasy image of blissfully rolling into a lovely sleep from the high comes from- if the dose is too high your body is going to kick into a final desperate attempt to cure itself before succumbing to a painful death.

I would suspect that this scene has played a small part in that misconception.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4eb7GwMw34

Tom Mann Centuria

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Pretty horrible way to go alright. I don't know where this fantasy image of blissfully rolling into a lovely sleep from the high comes from- if the dose is too high your body is going to kick into a final desperate attempt to cure itself before succumbing to a painful death.

Or slow your respiratory rate to a virtual stop and yep, a lovely sleep. Then yep, a peaceful death. It happens.

River was a hypocrite, espousing the dangers of drugs while abusing them frequently. A tragic end undoubtedly, considering his acting talent. Stand By Me is more powerful in retrospect.

Foweva Awone

Two of my friends almost died from heroin overdoses last year.

One of them, his brain was deprived of oxygen for far too long and he wasn't expected to make it, he survived with serious brain damage and is still in hospital. He's making some sort of a recovery but he's absolutely not the same person, too much brain damage.

His girlfriend OD'd a couple of weeks later and did serious damage to her internal organs, was on dialysis for a long time.

It's not a nice way to die but it's not a pleasant thing to survive either.

Tom Mann Centuria

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Or slow your respiratory rate to a virtual stop and yep, a lovely sleep. Then yep, a peaceful death. It happens.

exactly. It depends on the drug. After all, the assisted dying that occurs at Dignitas is nothing more than a controlled drug overdose - using drugs that are similar in their properties to heroin.

Whirl_wolle

Drug usage is absolutely fcuking rampant. I suspect someone I know is taking drugs and he's a different person to who he was before.

I was out for a walk and a neighbour stopped to give me a lift. Whatever way our chat turned, his lads were out for the night and I said something like I don't know why or how they can do it, the hangovers aren't worth it. His exact words to me were: you wouldn't mind if alcohol was all they are on.

A lot of students are taking drugs as well.

Tell me how

Whirl_wolle wrote: »

Drug usage is absolutely fcuking rampant. I suspect someone I know is taking drugs and he's a different person to who he was before.

I was out for a walk and a neighbour stopped to give me a lift. Whatever way our chat turned, his lads were out for the night and I said something like I don't know why or how they can do it, the hangovers aren't worth it. His exact words to me were: you wouldn't mind if alcohol was all they are on.

A lot of students are taking drugs as well.

There isn't a single piece of actual evidence in this post.

Tell me how

Tell me how wrote: »

There isn't a single piece of actual evidence in this post.

Ah it is fairly rampant, in fairness.

Not sure how you'd measure it. The ones who tried weed once at their cousin's 21st would say they are mad for drugs, and anyone who does it regularly would probably stay pretty quiet about it.

Just invert the results, maybe?!

Tell me how

Tell me how wrote: »

There isn't a single piece of actual evidence in this post.

Anecdotal evidence is arguably better than the real thing.

Autecher

Tell me how wrote: »

There isn't a single piece of actual evidence in this post.

Was there supposed to be?

Eircom_Sucks

My 2 cousins were on heroin and both together when the other died of an od , he said he just felt super heavy in his head ( like super tired ) and fell asleep and never woke up ( words of my other cousin who was with him ) he left his area to live in the usa , had a gf and daughter , came home to see his parents and the cnuts were dropping stuff in his letter box and he got back on it , he left his area originally as the fooker who was supplying him was threatening him so he broke the cnut up with a hammer , broke his 2 legs and pelvis and left him pooping in a bag and in a wheelchair , only good thing he did before he died

fryup

listen to the lyrics of this song....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEnNEIVR9EM

machiavellianme

Can't be having a thread without a link to this gem:

DEFTLEFTHAND

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

exactly. It depends on the drug. After all, the assisted dying that occurs at Dignitas is nothing more than a controlled drug overdose - using drugs that are similar in their properties to heroin.

Dignitas is basically the lethal injection.

The patient is given a relaxant and a drug which renders paralysis, before the lethal dose.


Nobody really knows for sure. Robyn Lee Parks is the only case that we have of a man who was't given the intial drugs. Accidental


He did not die an easy death.


The body is a powerful thing, it will fight to stay alive until the end.

Ariadne

It really depends on the drug.

Giveaway

A waste of life, all of them. So much potential wasted. Its socially acceptable to use drugs here, cannabis etc. Among the under 30s anything goes. I think the acceptance and the push to see addiction as a purely medical problem is paradoxically making the behaviour more acceptable and worse

gozunda

Sleeper12

Talking to a Fireman 15 years ago. He said if we could just show the young people what we see in the back of an ambulance every weekend. There all glammed up in their best clubbing clothes & there after peeing & ****ting themselves after getting a adrenaline shot or whatever they have to give them. This Fireman despises drugs based solely on what he sees in the coarse of his work

greenspurs

You play with fire ……. too late to look for an extinguisher …..

Giveaway

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Talking to a Fireman 15 years ago. He said if we could just show the young people what we see in the back of an ambulance every weekend. There all glammed up in their best clubbing clothes & there after peeing & ****ting themselves after getting a adrenaline shot or whatever they have to give them. This Fireman despises drugs based solely on what he sees in the coarse of his work

Won't work. Inate ability of humans to look at an awful situation and say," won't happen to me". Its a very big psychological ask to analyse and confront one's flaws/risky behaviour and take remedial action. And shure it the gubbermints fault/always somebody else's fault

Foweva Awone

I think the introduction of dedicated injecting sites in the city centre is a great idea. As well as saving lives of those in addiction, it's got benefits for the rest of society too.

Where I work, we host a needle exchange. Often the only "real" human interaction our clients have all week is the tea and chit-chat and banter with us when waiting for their turn, and it's amazing to see how their faces transform with just a little bit of human kindness and interaction.

Drugs dehumanise you and you lose all perspective of the value of your life. The more support we can offer those at their lowest point, the better, rather than viewing them and treating them as the dregs of society. No addict I know is particularly fond of themself; they don't need other people's judgement on top of their own self-hatred. It just perpetuates the cycle of addiction.

Giveaway

Foweva Awone wrote: »

I think the introduction of dedicated injecting sites in the city centre is a great idea. As well as saving lives of those in addiction, it's got benefits for the rest of society too.

Where I work, we host a needle exchange. Often the only "real" human interaction our clients have all week is the tea and chit-chat and banter with us when waiting for their turn, and it's amazing to see how their faces transform with just a little bit of human kindness and interaction.

Drugs dehumanise you and you lose all perspective of the value of your life. The more support we can offer those at their lowest point, the better, rather than viewing them and treating them as the dregs of society. No addict I know is particularly fond of themself; they don't need other people's judgement on top of their own self-hatred. It just perpetuates the cycle of addiction.

Agree with you from drugs dehumanise on. Injection centers/needle exchange are good idea but we need to stop placing them in areas such as the city centre as the addicts take over the shared public area. I can got to work at the end of a bus route. Surely the same can be expected

stimpson

Giveaway wrote: »

A waste of life, all of them. So much potential wasted. Its socially acceptable to use drugs here, cannabis etc. Among the under 30s anything goes. I think the acceptance and the push to see addiction as a purely medical problem is paradoxically making the behaviour more acceptable and worse

Pretty much any country that has gone this route sees a decrease in drug related deaths, HIV and an aging addict population. Dutch teenagers are leg least likely to take drugs in the OECD.

Giveaway

stimpson wrote: »

Pretty much any country that has gone this route sees a decrease in drug related deaths, HIV and an aging addict population. Dutch teenagers are leg least likely to take drugs in the OECD.

And from historic lows antisocial behaviour and low level criminality are increasing

stimpson

Giveaway wrote: »

And from historic lows antisocial behaviour and low level criminality are increasing

Funny then that the Dutch are closing prisons because they don’t have enough prisoners: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-prisons-are-closing-because-the-country-is-so-safe-a7765521.html

jopax

I read in the daily mail yesterday about Holby city actor John Michie, his daughters boyfriend was sentenced for her drug overdose last year at a festival.
It's very disturbing how she died, it certainly wasn't peaceful, he filmed the whole thing & never called for help until it was too late.
She was a beautiful looking girl, only 22, it's not just the drugs that killed her it was the sadistic b...ard knew what he was doing.
Just so sad, as they say, drugs don't discriminate nobody is infallible.

Ted Johnson

We should round up every drug dealer and shoot the lot of them.

evolving_doors

Ted Johnson wrote: »

We should round up every drug dealer and shoot the lot of them.

Great. You start with James' Gate and let us know what happens.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

Ted Johnson wrote: »

We should round up every drug dealer and shoot the lot of them.

We'd be shooting quite a lot of publican's, barstaff and pharmacists in the near future so.

jochenstacker

Deleted User wrote: »

River was a hypocrite, espousing the dangers of drugs while abusing them frequently. A tragic end undoubtedly, considering his acting talent. Stand By Me is more powerful in retrospect.

One could say his end does rather reinforce his point.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

Giveaway wrote: »

A waste of life, all of them. So much potential wasted. Its socially acceptable to use drugs here, cannabis etc. Among the under 30s anything goes. I think the acceptance and the push to see addiction as a purely medical problem is paradoxically making the behaviour more acceptable and worse

I agree with the second part of your post.

The first part of your post is no good though. Cannabis has never caused a drug overdose in someone ever. Hard drugs like heroin and meth are the ones that cause overdoses, that ruin lives, families and drive up criminality.

Dravokivich

Giveaway wrote: »

Agree with you from drugs dehumanise on. Injection centers/needle exchange are good idea but we need to stop placing them in areas such as the city centre as the addicts take over the shared public area. I can got to work at the end of a bus route. Surely the same can be expected

They need to be accessible to a majority. You make them hard for most people to get to, it'll just keep the problems going instead of trying to understand and manage it.

Dravokivich

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I agree with the second part of your post.

The first part of your post is no good though. Cannabis has never caused a drug overdose in someone ever. Hard drugs like heroin and meth are the ones that cause overdoses, that ruin lives, families and drive up criminality.

Cannabis is directly associated with criminality.

Giveaway

Ted Johnson wrote: »

We should round up every drug dealer and shoot the lot of them.

Bodycount in 10s of thousands in the Phillippinnes amd guess what, its still a hole

Giveaway

jopax wrote: »

I read in the daily mail yesterday about Holby city actor John Michie, his daughters boyfriend was sentenced for her drug overdose last year at a festival.
It's very disturbing how she died, it certainly wasn't peaceful, he filmed the whole thing & never called for help until it was too late.
She was a beautiful looking girl, only 22, it's not just the drugs that killed her it was the sadistic b...ard knew what he was doing.
Just so sad, as they say, drugs don't discriminate nobody is infallible.

And there is only one other documented fatal overdose on the drug taken. Expect a successful appeal when a non jury appeals court looks at this. She voluntarily ingested the drug. Effectively he supplied it and did not help when she became ill and it would be reasonable to believe she wouldnt die as the drugs record before is fairly good(ie just one otjer death)

Giveaway

stimpson wrote: »

Funny then that the Dutch are closing prisons because they don’t have enough prisoners: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-prisons-are-closing-because-the-country-is-so-safe-a7765521.html

Maybe the Irish state should rent some of these prison places, would help with are revolving door/suspended sentence system. Win Win for us and Holland

dr.fuzzenstein

Dravokivich wrote: »

Cannabis is directly associated with criminality.

Canabis ≠ Criminality. Judging by the quantities I smoked, I should be Al Capone.
The surprising thing, I'm not.
Correlation ≠ Causation. Sadly that is a rather common error in simplistic argumentation.
Otherwise you could argue that almost all criminals wear shoes. Ergo, shoes cause criminality.
It's Tiger Rock logic.

Ted Johnson

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Canabis ≠ Criminality. Judging by the quantities I smoked, I should be Al Capone.
The surprising thing, I'm not.
Correlation ≠ Causation. Sadly that is a rather common error in simplistic argumentation.
Otherwise you could argue that almost all criminals wear shoes. Ergo, shoes cause criminality.
It's Tiger Rock logic.

You are making scum rich with your addiction though.

Ariadne

Ted Johnson wrote: »

You are making scum rich with your addiction though.

Then it should be legalised.

dermo888

Ted Johnson wrote: »

You are making scum rich with your addiction though.

Then it should be legalised.

Potential-Monke

In my time as a Garda, I got to witness 2 people being brought back from heroin overdoses. Scary time. Ambulance crew come in all calm, knowing exactly what to do and what happens. The person is basically dead on the ground, everyone is cleared back from them and 1 paramedic injects the magic juice into them. They wake up like Chev Chelios in Crank after getting a dose of adrenaline. They don't know where they are or what's going on, and usually become quite violent for about 10 minutes. It's surreal to see someone basically dead wake up with vigour in their eyes.

I believe it costs about €1000 to bring someone back from an OD, including the cost of the drug and the ambulance crews time. Crazy thing is, one of the 2 that OD'd done it again the following day and didn't make it that time.

Potential-Monke

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I believe it costs about €1000 to bring someone back from an OD, including the cost of the drug and the ambulance crews time. Crazy thing is, one of the 2 that OD'd done it again the following day and didn't make it that time.

yeah but it's a human being we're talking about here. There are plenty of people in recovery who have OD'd in the past and are getting on with their lives.

I'd like to know the cost of that drug (not expecting you to go research this, btw), but even 1k seems reasonable for an intervention that can bring someone back from near-certain death.

Compare that to the legal aid bill in defending drug-dealing criminals, where the state pays for both sides. Not saying that that's necessarily wrong either, just mentioning it for perspective.

Potential-Monke

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

yeah but it's a human being we're talking about here. There are plenty of people in recovery who have OD'd in the past and are getting on with their lives.

I'd like to know the cost of that drug (not expecting you to go research this, btw), but even 1k seems reasonable for a drug that can bring someone back from near-certain death.

But at what point do we say 'enough is enough' when you could be spending that €1k on the same junkie every week? That same junkie who has no intentions of changing, even though all the help is out there?

As for the drug, it's called Naloxone and it has only gone up in price. From this article in America in December 2016 (where it's inevitably cheaper than here):

'Naloxone is most commonly administered by injection or spray. Kaléo, a Virginia company, has increased the price of its naloxone auto-injectors, sold as Evzio, from $690 for a kit of two to $4,500 in less than two years. Amphastar of California nearly tripled the price of syringes pre-filled with naloxone.'

Foweva Awone

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

yeah but it's a human being we're talking about here. There are plenty of people in recovery who have OD'd in the past and are getting on with their lives.

I'd like to know the cost of that drug (not expecting you to go research this, btw), but even 1k seems reasonable for an intervention that can bring someone back from near-certain death.

Compare that to the legal aid bill in defending drug-dealing criminals, where the state pays for both sides. Not saying that that's necessarily wrong either, just mentioning it for perspective.

Also bear in mind that it's actually very easy for anyone to administer the drug (Naloxone) with minimal training; well worth the cost to save a life.

corner of hells

Foweva Awone wrote: »

Also bear in mind that it's actually very easy for anyone to administer the drug (Naloxone) with minimal training; well worth the cost to save a life.

Easy to administer , I've used it loads of times , it's astonishing to see someone coming back.

Tom Mann Centuria

corner of hells wrote: »

Easy to administer , I've used it loads of times , it's astonishing to see someone coming back.

And also the time when they're most likely to go f*ckin mental and act as if possessed.

Potential-Monke

Potential-Monke wrote: »

But at what point do we say 'enough is enough' when you could be spending that €1k on the same junkie every week? That same junkie who has no intentions of changing, even though all the help is out there?

A "junkie" aka a human being.

At what point after some middle-class alcoholic presents at ED with seizures, or acute liver failure, should doctors just say 'Nah, leave him be Rashid, let him die in the carpark'?

It's not often that paramedics and medics get to save a person's life so dramatically... Despite the inevitable aggro they get, I'm sure they'd rather do that, than drive à corpse to the morgue on their watch. They're professional people and I doubt any of them would countenance letting an addicted person die on the side of the road. Most people are decent, like that.

Oasis1974

Isn't it also illegal to have a surname River I mean its in their culture over in that place if your not a junkie or pedo your just odd.

Uncharted

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Isn't it also illegal to have a surname River I mean its in their culture over in that place if your not a junkie or pedo your just odd.

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You ok hun ?