PA - Two Addictions Counselors Dead from Overdoses - Chester County - 21 May 2017

Richrd

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Two Addictions Counselors Die from Overdoses - Chester County - 21 May 2017

Deceased:

Name Withheld :: Male / 34 Years Old
&
Name Withheld :: Male / 25 Years Old


Historically:

Causes of Death :: Heroin & Fentanyl Overdose
Manners of Death :: Accidental

Chester County is in South-Eastern, PA.

Day Four

1)) http://6abc.com/news/da-drug-counselors-dead-from-heroin-fentanyl-overdose/2031056/:

2031064_630x354.jpg

2)) http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/05/24/counselor-overdose-heroin-deaths/
 
Baffling, cunning, powerful. I hate addiction. So incredibly sad.
 
From your second link Richrd......dang, what can I say.....this really is sad.


“These poor folks who were working through their own recovery now also have to deal with the fact that their own counselors died and couldn’t fight off that addiction,” said Hogan."

"One counselor was 33, the other was found dead on what would have been his 25th birthday."

"Baggies stamped with a Superman logo, a danger sign, and skull and crossbones were found in their rooms."

"Preliminary tests show the heroin was laced with the powerful and deadly fentanyl."
 
This gets me so angry! Why do they keep mixing these drugs? Heartless dealers profiting off of people's weaknesses. They could care less that they are killing people. As long as they make their money.
 
This gets me so angry! Why do they keep mixing these drugs? Heartless dealers profiting off of people's weaknesses. They could care less that they are killing people. As long as they make their money.

yes, but how do they get repeat customers this way - mixing it with bad stuff like this? I'd imagine a dealer would want to have the best stuff so customers would tell others, etc. This almost seems like intentional sabotage.

Regardless, so very sad...
 
Don't quote be but I believe the recovery rate for heroin is a mere 13%. And that means 87% relapse.

Maybe the horrendous overdose deaths of these counselors will facilitate a sobering/shocking effect upon those in their recovery group. I'm hoping it will.
 
A snippet from Healthworks Collective "Relapse" 2013:

Forty-seven percent of recovering addicts relapse within the first year after treatment begins. The possibility for recurrence is high: of those who relapse, 61% will relapse again. Over a five-year period, 97% of opiate (not including heroin) and painkiller abusers will relapse at least once. Recovering crack, alcohol, and heroin addicts have similarly high rates of relapse over the course of five years, at 84%, 86%, and 87% respectively. The good news is, if you stay clean for more than five years, your chances of relapse drop dramatically.
 
I THINK the problem is that you built up a tolerance level of heroin. Once you are clean for awhile you can't take the dosage as when you were actively using.

At least this is what happened to a friends son. He got clean for a period of time then took his old dosage once and died.
 
As a former heroin addict (clean 10 years, got sober at 21), I can tell you that for us when people OD'd you wanted to know who the dealer was because it meant they had good stuff. Tolerance builds up quickly and strong H was always in high demand. It seems so backwards but ODs are essentially great advertising for dealers.
That being said they weren't mixing Fentanyl into the junk we got, back then. Other crap sure but Fentanyl, no. It's possible these guys had just relapsed and their tolerance was lower than they were used to, happens a lot, people use what they think is their norm and end up dying. Also there is no way to measure the intensity of a shot without knowing the strength of the H, you're playing a guessing game every time.
It's quite common for those working in recovery to relapse, unfortunately. My husband works getting people into treatment and we have seen so many relapses and deaths. It's a heartbreaking epidemic of epic proportions.


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As a former heroin addict (clean 10 years, got sober at 21), I can tell you that for us when people OD'd you wanted to know who the dealer was because it meant they had good stuff. Tolerance builds up quickly and strong H was always in high demand. It seems so backwards but ODs are essentially great advertising for dealers.
That being said they weren't mixing Fentanyl into the junk we got, back then. Other crap sure but Fentanyl, no. It's possible these guys had just relapsed and their tolerance was lower than they were used to, happens a lot, people use what they think is their norm and end up dying. Also there is no way to measure the intensity of a shot without knowing the strength of the H, you're playing a guessing game every time.
It's quite common for those working in recovery to relapse, unfortunately. My husband works getting people into treatment and we have seen so many relapses and deaths. It's a heartbreaking epidemic of epic proportions.


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Thank you for sharing & congrats on your sobriety, Beth.
 
Thank you for sharing & congrats on your sobriety, Beth.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. It's hard to share as most people make snap judgments, but I feel it's important to be honest about if the situation calls for it. [emoji8]


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I THINK the problem is that you built up a tolerance level of heroin. Once you are clean for awhile you can't take the dosage as when you were actively using.

At least this is what happened to a friends son. He got clean for a period of time then took his old dosage once and died.

I agree. I've heard so many stories where the overdose victim had recently been sober for a while. They end up taking what their body used to be able to handle.
 
Beth - good job getting clean & so glad u are here to share. I too was addicted for years, my drug of choice was Hydrocodone - oh how I loved my hydrocodones. But after several years clean I don't ever want to go there again.....withdrawal was horrendous but so worth it.

Keep up the healthy lifestyle!
 
As a former heroin addict (clean 10 years, got sober at 21), I can tell you that for us when people OD'd you wanted to know who the dealer was because it meant they had good stuff. Tolerance builds up quickly and strong H was always in high demand. It seems so backwards but ODs are essentially great advertising for dealers.
That being said they weren't mixing Fentanyl into the junk we got, back then. Other crap sure but Fentanyl, no. It's possible these guys had just relapsed and their tolerance was lower than they were used to, happens a lot, people use what they think is their norm and end up dying. Also there is no way to measure the intensity of a shot without knowing the strength of the H, you're playing a guessing game every time.
It's quite common for those working in recovery to relapse, unfortunately. My husband works getting people into treatment and we have seen so many relapses and deaths. It's a heartbreaking epidemic of epic proportions.


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Way to go Beth11311!!! Thankfully, I've never even seen heroin. But, I know it doesn't discriminate and from what I've read and heard it's extremely hard to get off and stay off. Thanks for sharing your story and keep doing what your doing because it's working!!!
 
Beth - good job getting clean & so glad u are here to share. I too was addicted for years, my drug of choice was Hydrocodone - oh how I loved my hydrocodones. But after several years clean I don't ever want to go there again.....withdrawal was horrendous but so worth it.

Keep up the healthy lifestyle!

Good for you Blondie... I'm happy for you. When it comes to addiction we don't hear very many happy outcomes on WS. It's nice to read positive posts. Your post could be just what someone needed to get sober. Thanks for sharing and keep it up!
 
Beth - good job getting clean & so glad u are here to share. I too was addicted for years, my drug of choice was Hydrocodone - oh how I loved my hydrocodones. But after several years clean I don't ever want to go there again.....withdrawal was horrendous but so worth it.

Keep up the healthy lifestyle!

Great job to you, Blondie! It is tough tough tough, proud of you! And yes withdrawal is the absolute worst...so glad that you are clean!
 
Way to go Beth11311!!! Thankfully, I've never even seen heroin. But, I know it doesn't discriminate and from what I've read and heard it's extremely hard to get off and stay off. Thanks for sharing your story and keep doing what your doing because it's working!!!

Thank you SO much, Tippy! Yes, it is insidious, and it does not discriminate. On the surface I appeared to be someone totally different, a perfect student (graduated with a 4.6 GPA), president of my class, dancer and athlete. On the inside I was dying and I needed drugs to keep me from killing myself. Major trauma at age 12 set me down the path of using...BUT luckily I was able to get and stay sober. I met my husband at an AA meeting, and together we have ten years sober each, and a beautiful, happy little five year old daughter. I could not have imagined that I would ever find happiness let alone live to see 30. Life is good, and recovery is possible.
 
Having watched a dear friend ultimately lose his battle against the stuff, I have nothing but feelings of sadness for these two souls. Even in their addiction they were trying to help others from that terrible path. I messed with some stuff in my youth, but thankfully watching the horrible lengths my friend went to to get his "fix" , the energy, lies, and manipulating to obtain his magic brown dust that only made him pass out with the needle still hanging from him skin. Yuk. I never had that urge. Sad, evil stuff.

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Having watched a dear friend ultimately lose his battle against the stuff, I have nothing but feelings of sadness for these two souls. Even in their addiction they were trying to help others from that terrible path. I messed with some stuff in my youth, but thankfully watching the horrible lengths my friend went to to get his "fix" , the energy, lies, and manipulating to obtain his magic brown dust that only made him pass out with the needle still hanging from him skin. Yuk. I never had that urge. Sad, evil stuff.

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BBM - oh, so very, very true. All my pills were doctor prescribed but I still played the victim.....lied & manipulated my way into getting my fix whenever needed. The person I am today is mortified and utterly embarrassed by the person I was then. Addiction had such a terrifying hold on me for many, many years. I've told my close friends that if they ever have pain pills of any kind to NEVER EVER give me even one, no matter how much I beg and plead for it. Makes me shudder just thinking about that awful time and I'm petrified that it could so easily happen again if I allowed it.
 

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