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My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

mattlakeman.org

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Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#211

Post by scrollbar »

Ansil849 wrote: post #191
kettro wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider what a lot of people are getting here through — prescriptions. Consider a Grandmother who had hip surgery. She was given opiates as pain killers. She was still in massive pain, and kept taking the pain killers. She became dependent. Is the addiction personal choice? Where is the lack of personal responsibility there? Another: someone with anxiety is prescribed Valium. Over time, it starts to work less well.…

> There is a reason that AA is the way it is. What a weird thing to say. Please, what is the reason AA is the way it is? Other than religious brainwashing.

Maybe for: Peer accountability, Community, Empathy, Structure, distraction, Spiritual engagement

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#212

Post by nindalf »

klyrs wrote: post #204
HWR_14 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It attracted the worst junkies from all around Europe, it created a crime wave in a country that was crime-free. Well, that's the issue. No one area within a zone of free travel can exclusively do this. That is, if Ohio did it, druggies throughout the US would go there. But, as I understood the idea, the free drugs were required to be consumed on premises under the watch of a professional. So why would any drugs ev…

> ...why would any drugs even leave the facility. They wouldn't need to. Supply follows demand. When you get enough users in one spot, you'll find dealers. I'm strongly anti-prohibition and I think safe supply and safe injection sites are crucial, but there's no silver bullet. Every simple solution will cause knock-on problems.

Why would addicts pay dealers when they could get it for free? Genuine question.

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#213

Post by razodactyl »

I recall the book “Change your brain, change your life” covers the link between brain trauma and eventual drug abuse as a way to counter an undiagnosed medical issue.

Although I’m not 100% sure it was that book - For curiosity: I’m wondering if Jack had any history of concussion or other head injuries before the addiction.

-

It was also mentioned that these patients had to be prompted multiple times before they remember accidents like falling off their bikes or tripping etc. as they would promptly forget and get on with their lives.

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#215

Post by ogma »

Ansil849 wrote: post #196
kiba wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason why people die to car accident is because the street are inherently dangerous for pedestrians.

Yes, and the reason people die to drug use is because drug use is inherently dangerous for people.

No, moron, the drug war makes it much more dangerous to be a drug user. Ever heard of fentanyl contamination? Do you think that would happen if these drugs were produced and distributed legally?

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#216

Post by iammisc »

This is a sad story. I have lots of sympathy.

But I can't help but think this is a spiritual problem.

In particular, rehab seems utterly useless. Obviously, it helps them get over the chemical dependency. But it seems to completely neglect the spiritual one.

Unfortunately you cannot install the spiritual tools that lead to non nihilism later in life which is why childhood spirituality and culture are so important. Many parents and our entire culture have crossed Chesterton's fence but have run so far away we can't see the fence in hindsight and can't put two and two together that it prevented us from the cliff.

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#217

Post by robbiep »

_delirium wrote: post #152
stef25 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a really complicated problem but one thing that just stands out to me is the role the doctors play: It's not normal to send people home with these massive prescriptions for opiates. Here in Europe doctors are very, very conservative with that stuff (and meds in general) while it seems to me that in the US if your "medical experience" even entails the slightest bit of discomfort people get all up in arms over it.…

My recent experience in the U.S. has been that, at least at major hospitals, it's flipped to the opposite extreme, and doctors are so worried about the backlash, that they will leave patients in pain and fail to prescribe analgesics sufficient for post-surgical pain control, if they don't have non-opioid options. My partner had a post-cancer DIEP flap reconstruction last month at a top cancer center in NYC, and due t…

That is very different to when I was at BIDMC for my plastic surgery rotation as a medical student - I was shocked at the quantity of opiates people were going home with for simple things, let along DIEPs. I gave a talk to my team when I left on differences and focused on opiate prescribing (this was in 2013)

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#218

Post by pronlover723 »

Relevant recent podcast?

https://www.econtalk.org/sam-quinones-on-meth-fentanyl-and-t...

my summary: Basically claims the majority of the homeless problem is a some "new" meth type addiction. That traditional meth was a "party drug" that made you want to have fun but some new style meth is a "I want to be alone drug" and the majority people living in tents are the casualties of this new type of meth

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#219

Post by galaxyLogic »

mrslave wrote: post #186
tombert wrote: post #81

When I was nine years old, my cousin died of a heroin overdose at nineteen years old. Most of the grownups around me were very sad, but I didn't really know my cousin very well; he lived on the opposite side of the country, and he was a full decade older than me so the times I did see him we didn't really play together, and so I wasn't really able to feel "sad" about it. People I don't know die every day, I can't fee…

I'm a recent teetotaler and my quality of life is massively improved. It took me an unreasonably long time to realize many adult role models in my life (family, and then in my first significant professional workplace) were abusing alcohol. None of them would consider themselves alcoholic. A few of them were dependent at significant cost to their health, which I believe is easily classified as alcoholic. A few years a…

I stopped drinking because I realized it kept me from accomplishing things I wanted to accomplish. I think (based on my experience, can't speak for others) it's relatively easy to quit once you know why you want to quit.

I don't much regret my drinking days because I had fun and met many people. But then I realized I want to do other things than just get drunk and get a hangover.

I think, based on my experience again, that AA with its confess your sins and label yourself an alcoholic may help some people. But I think it's best to think what you want to do and accomplish, in life. Then do that. No need to keep on repeating you are an alcoholic. You're no more alcoholic than anybody else I would say. It's just that you have decided to drink and keep on drinking. It's your choice.

Re: My experience of losing a friend to heroin (2020)

#220

Post by pkaye »

_delirium wrote: post #152
stef25 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a really complicated problem but one thing that just stands out to me is the role the doctors play: It's not normal to send people home with these massive prescriptions for opiates. Here in Europe doctors are very, very conservative with that stuff (and meds in general) while it seems to me that in the US if your "medical experience" even entails the slightest bit of discomfort people get all up in arms over it.…

My recent experience in the U.S. has been that, at least at major hospitals, it's flipped to the opposite extreme, and doctors are so worried about the backlash, that they will leave patients in pain and fail to prescribe analgesics sufficient for post-surgical pain control, if they don't have non-opioid options. My partner had a post-cancer DIEP flap reconstruction last month at a top cancer center in NYC, and due t…

Are the only options doctors can prescribe NSAIDs vs opioids? There is nothing else in between?
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