|
|
Post by freddfish on May 23, 2015 8:50:21 GMT -5
Regretfully, this whole issue is hitting close to home with me right now. I have attended 2 funerals in the past 5 months of young people who I watched grow from infancy, then a child, and thence to adulthood, and who were on the threshold of full and promising lives.....but whose lives were cut short by a heroin overdose of their own doing. I, for one, am DAMN sick of going to these funerals. It has been said that where there is life, there is hope. Now, there exists a drug called naloxone, that if properly administered with an IM needle stick right through clothing if necessary, or a nasal spray (both pretty much no-brainers), will bring an OD victim back from the grave that they are digging for themselves. IF you can get this to an OD victim before their system shuts down completely, they will LIVE. We need to make sure that this treatment is in the hands of everyone who needs it...not just first responders. It's safe, has no effect besides saving an OD victim, is non-addicting, etc.This whole issue has reached crisis point, and ignoring it just ain't working. There is training that one can receive, in the Baltimore area but probably a lot of others as well, that teaches a person how to recognise an opiate OD, and how to administer naloxone, either nasal spray or IM injection. At the end of the session, you get a certificate, a single dose of naloxone, and a prescription for refills. I signed up my entire family and a friend for this training, so far. It is a bit like CPR...too easy to learn, and too important not to. harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/understanding-naloxone/ |
|
|
|
Post by aponderer on May 23, 2015 9:07:50 GMT -5
That sounds fantastic! It sounds like very useful training. Will the nasal spray still work if the victim isn't breathing?
|
|
|
|
Post by freddfish on May 23, 2015 9:17:03 GMT -5
That sounds fantastic! It sounds like very useful training. Will the nasal spray still work if the victim isn't breathing? Yeah, it will...apparently, as soon as the drug hits your system, it shuts down the effects of the opiate, and will bring someone right down. Nasal and IM apparently are fast enough....and you don't have to waste time looking for a vein. I haven't taken the training yet, but it seems from what I can tell that as long as the person's heart is still beating, they can be saved |
|
|
|
Post by aponderer on May 23, 2015 10:04:21 GMT -5
It seems too good to be true. I wonder if a "catch" will ever surface on that stuff...
|
|
|
|
Post by Evil Yoda on May 23, 2015 15:00:20 GMT -5
Naloxone has been around since the 1960s. What has changed recently is that more law-enforcement officers are carrying it so they can help overdose patients immediately. Those addicted to opioids should obtain and carry a rescue dose. Overdose can overwhelm an individual within seconds, but friends or relatives can retrieve and administer the rescue dose.
|
|
|
|
Post by freddfish on May 23, 2015 16:21:13 GMT -5
Naloxone has been around since the 1960s. What has changed recently is that more law-enforcement officers are carrying it so they can help overdose patients immediately. Those addicted to opioids should obtain and carry a rescue dose. Overdose can overwhelm an individual within seconds, but friends or relatives can retrieve and administer the rescue dose. Problem is. a lot of the folks that use opiates do so in secret, so when they DO hit a dose that is too strong, there is no one around to help them. Or in groups, you are relying on a bunch of fellow junkies to save your life. |
|
|
|
Post by Evil Yoda on May 23, 2015 16:49:29 GMT -5
Problem is. a lot of the folks that use opiates do so in secret, so when they DO hit a dose that is too strong, there is no one around to help them. Or in groups, you are relying on a bunch of fellow junkies to save your life. Those are very real problems, but if the individual doesn't have the rescue dose with him even those inclined to help cannot do so. Of course, the real correct choice is to get off the stuff, but that is too often far easier to recommend than it is to do. |
|
|
|
Post by rocketwolf on May 24, 2015 16:29:00 GMT -5
Save them from what and for how long?
|
|
|
|
Post by freddfish on May 24, 2015 21:52:59 GMT -5
Save them from what and for how long? Save them from a opiate overdose... Drug works for about 90 mins |
|
|
|
Post by rocketwolf on May 24, 2015 21:56:10 GMT -5
until they shoot up again.
Im glad they can be saved,
But Ill be even gladder if they stop using.
|
|
|
|
Post by Evil Yoda on May 25, 2015 9:23:00 GMT -5
A rescue dose can keep someone alive long enough to reach medical care in most cases. If he wants medical care. And if he can get the dose. Sometimes a near fatal experience like that is enough to get a user started on the road he's needed to get on for (often) years: towards recovery and staying clean. For most of them that is a lifelong battle.
|
|
|
|
Post by rocketwolf on May 25, 2015 11:29:18 GMT -5
A lifelong battle that never needs to be fought IF people would never fall for the drug shills
that say "Dope wont hurt you"
|
|
|
|
Post by Evil Yoda on May 25, 2015 12:04:59 GMT -5
A lifelong battle that never needs to be fought IF people would never fall for the drug shills that say "Dope wont hurt you" I've never battled addiction, so I can't say what it's like from the inside. I was just never interested; I had enough else going on in my life and mentally, I'm pretty healthy. I don't know what the appeal of drugs is. It's one of the things I may never understand, but I'd bet that negative emotions like despair and loneliness have a lot to do with how people get started. And there are some poor mopes whose parents use, and occasionally give them the stuff. |
|
|
|
Post by freddfish on May 26, 2015 8:13:07 GMT -5
A lifelong battle that never needs to be fought IF people would never fall for the drug shills that say "Dope wont hurt you" Yes, but that's like that old saying about "If your auntie had balls, she'd be your uncle." About the time that a person is dying from an OD, it is a tad late to discuss the root causes and bad choices that brought them to such a pass. You can't go through rehab if you are dead. People are always going to seek to alter their state of mind, get high, etc. This thread is about a technology that tries to make sure that a real bad choice doesn't become permanent.....in short, dealing with what is, rather than what should be. |
|
|
|
Post by Evil Yoda on May 26, 2015 14:33:33 GMT -5
People are always going to seek to alter their state of mind, get high, etc. This thread is about a technology that tries to make sure that a real bad choice doesn't become permanent.....in short, dealing with what is, rather than what should be. Good luck with that. Most of the world wants to assume the world can be recast how they think it should be, rather than deal with the reality of how it is. |
|
|
|
Post by rocketwolf on May 27, 2015 16:51:19 GMT -5
Dont Drug users take drugs because they cant deal with reality?
Dont get me wrong Im glad they can be saved from death.
But reality is every damn day, handle it!
|
|
|
|
Post by freddfish on Jun 15, 2015 8:45:48 GMT -5
UPDATE:
I took the training, along with my wife and 2 children. Training took around 2 hours (Info on what the drug does, how to recognize an OD, the chain of appropriate actions and steps that need to be taken, issues and problems, scenarios, etc). They even fed us. (shrimp salad sandwiches, no less...).
I left with a pretty good feel for what this drug can accomplish, and carrying a small bag with a artificial respiration mouthpiece, gloves, a nasal spray unit, and 2 doses of naloxone. They also gave me a prescription for more when I should need it.
(One problem though...I had hoped to be able to carry this kit in my car, and rely on the other family member's kits while at home...but you can't leave this stuff in a hot car, or the medicine degrades) |
|
