a senseless death....

Nurses General Nursing

Published

today i found out that my cousin OD'd on pills and patches and God knows what else. he was a great person but lived a VERY messed up life. today it all ended for him. i seen this coming. my family seen this coming. how do you stop something that you see coming???

i feel like there was more i could have done. i feel regret for so many things. and i also feel angry about how pills have taken so many lives around my town lately. i live in a suburb of detroit and it seems like someone i know is OD'ing every couple of months. there are many factors at play here but long story short...its preventable. why does it keep happening?

so many young people are going trick or treating at a pharmacy and not living to tell the story. why does this continue? why dont we have to provide urine/labs/whatever to our doctors to prove we are taking these controlled substances? why isnt the DEA more involved here? i understand this problem will always be a problem but dont you think we could at least cut the number of casualties down if we had our scripts monitored more closely?

there has got to be a way that this could change. i feel like it was a senseless death today. and i feel like it is now my job to educate others on the use of controlled substances. if i can save even a single life from my cousins story then maybe i can find peace with it. this time the OD was a little to close to home for me. i just cant help but thinking "what could i have done to prevent this?"

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I'm so so so sorry to hear about you and your family's loss. My deepest condolences goes to you.

I would like to agree with you that there could have been more done to help save your cousin and to help save others who feel it necessary to OD.

However, there is a lot out there advising people on the risks of taking prescription drugs and even over the counter medicines and recreational drugs.

I do not think that having it be a requirement for everyone to submit tests to their doctors to prove that they are not using is very Fair and probably violates our rights- i would be deeply offended personally if I was required to do that. Not everyone uses and I think that would be unfair for the majority of people out there that do not have an issue. We can't regulate everything. Its our responsibility to be "responsible" and for those that choose not to there are consequences.

Most people that USE or OD on pills, drugs, etc have a much deeper issue and in some cases awareness and intervention isn't going to be enough.

I have also lost someone to an OD and i too felt like there could have been more done-If only i had loved her more or told her I loved her more... This person that I lost had a very loving family and friends. She had a full support group. But in one weak moment she decided to take it all away from herself and there was no turning back.

My heart really truely goes out to you and I hope that you will be able to find peace in this situation.

Best Wishes,

Melissa

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So sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do for people who are not able or willing to help themselves. You can support and love someone very much, but in the end they have to want to help themselves as well. It wasn't your fault, and you could not have stopped it. Further regulation of medications such as these wouldn't stop someone from overdosing if their intentions are to use the medications for reasons other than physical pain.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I am so sorry for your loss. I don't know why he did it, but there is probably very little you could have done to prevent it. Putting more restrictions on narcotics won't solve the problem. People who want drugs will find creative means of getting them. And people who are not abusing drugs don't need the invasion of privacy. My condolences go out to you and all the family. I know this is very difficult.:crying2:

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I also lost a brother to alcohol and drugs and would love to give you an e-hug!!! What helped me so much was going to an al-anon meeting. Look it up in the phone book and they will lead you to an appropriate meeting. What ever you think it is not your fault.

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thanks for the support. i have already looked for an al-anon meeting near me and its actually at my hospital. i plan on attending on tuesday. i just feel like there really is more we could do. and just wondering if you are offended when you have to get some OTC drugs from the pharmacy now? things change because of a minority all the time. i dont have a meth lab but im treated as though i do when i buy some OTC drugs. does it bother me? no because its for a greater good. and if you are going to a doc to get your refill then why not provide a sample? is it that hard? i dont know... there is no easy way to fix this. but shouldnt we still try?

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