Published
Where I live, the drug of choice is almost exclusively heroin. I am well versed in the treatment of heroin overdoses and the resources for those who use, as we have several per day on average. I've never dealt with a patient on bath salts, meth, crack, etc. , at least to my knowledge. I'm getting ready to relocate to a different region and i'm realizing I may have to educate myself on other presentations for other substances!
I see a lot of heroin in my city... but lots of people are starting to shoot up Opana, too. I feel like I see way more people die of the heart failure from the IV Opana than the IV heroin. It seems like it's about a 50/50 shot with the heroin users whether they end up with vegetation on their heart valves, but every single Opana injector I've taken care of ends up with vegetation and needs at least one new valve.
fawnmarie, ASN
284 Posts
Crack cocaine in the inner city, and methamphetamine in the outlying rural areas. This is the South, and meth is really a big problem here.