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

[silversurvivor]

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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Thank you. I agree it's important to share as much info as you can but also understand how judgey some people are. Keep it up and congrats to you!

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[Spellbound]

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!

Congratulations! it isn't often enough we get the good reports around here. We all have had our vices, some are harder than others to manage. Sounds like you are doing great. I am really happy for you. keep at it!

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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I cannot thank you enough for sharing this. My husband lost two cousins to heroin overdose, (a brother and sister, at different times) and no one ever suspected they had a problem. Bright, beautiful people, educated, great jobs, significant-others.

Without people like like you to share the actuality of using, I would never be able to understand how something can be such a draw.

I am proud to know you, and hope you have the most wonderful life. Keep yourself on a good path forward and continue to educate anyone who needs your knowledge. (Perhaps it is not an easy thing to admit to or to share, so I am not meaning to push you). :tyou:

 

[ninij9]

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.

You should be so proud of yourself for conquering your addiction. You Rock!
People that haven't experienced it first hand, or watched someone go through it , just can't understand.

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[Blondie in Spokane]

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement Spellbound & Ninij.....much appreciated!

 

[Beth11311]

Thank you. I agree it's important to share as much info as you can but also understand how judgey some people are. Keep it up and congrats to you!

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Thank you SO much! Honestly, I believe that the key to encouraging discussion is being open and honest, and trying to reduce that stigma that keeps people hiding their addiction in embarrassment. That stigma kills people, it keeps them silent.

 

[Beth11311]

Congratulations! it isn't often enough we get the good reports around here. We all have had our vices, some are harder than others to manage. Sounds like you are doing great. I am really happy for you. keep at it!

I cannot thank you enough for sharing this. My husband lost two cousins to heroin overdose, (a brother and sister, at different times) and no one ever suspected they had a problem. Bright, beautiful people, educated, great jobs, significant-others.

Without people like like you to share the actuality of using, I would never be able to understand how something can be such a draw.

I am proud to know you, and hope you have the most wonderful life. Keep yourself on a good path forward and continue to educate anyone who needs your knowledge. (Perhaps it is not an easy thing to admit to or to share, so I am not meaning to push you). :tyou:

Spellbound, thank you! You are on one those WS's that I have looked up to ever since joining, your words carry a lot of weight and I love to hear what you think, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, means so much to me!

Often using doesn't make sense - and your poor husband with his cousins, it must have been such a shock. What we see often in recovery work is that there was some sort of trauma, whether it be a divorce, SA, death, whatever, that sends people down the path of addiction. For me, I was trying desperately to numb out and escape my reality - my mother married my best friend's father shortly after my dad died (she is a clinical narcissist and was quite abusive) so my home life was hellacious. I often say that drugs saved my life because I would have killed myself without them. But we can not SEE trauma in someone, which is why you have these beautiful, bright people like you mentioned with seemingly wonderful lives that cannot kick their habit. Inside, they are dying. It's heartbreaking and often preventable.

Thank you thank you thank you for your words - you are such an inspiration to me!

 

[Beth11311]

You should be so proud of yourself for conquering your addiction. You Rock!
People that haven't experienced it first hand, or watched someone go through it , just can't understand.

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This is SO true. If you have not seen someone go through it or experienced it yourself, it is truly mind boggling. We constantly hear, "Why can't he just stop?" because to someone whose brain is not in the midst of addiction, it makes sense to them that anyone should be able to "just stop". As we know, it doesn't work that way. Educating people about what addiction really is is so key!

Thank you for sharing and your words! You are another WS that I love to listen to and look up to!

 

[Spellbound]

Spellbound, thank you! You are on one those WS's that I have looked up to ever since joining, your words carry a lot of weight and I love to hear what you think, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, means so much to me!

Often using doesn't make sense - and your poor husband with his cousins, it must have been such a shock. What we see often in recovery work is that there was some sort of trauma, whether it be a divorce, SA, death, whatever, that sends people down the path of addiction. For me, I was trying desperately to numb out and escape my reality - my mother married my best friend's father shortly after my dad died (she is a clinical narcissist and was quite abusive) so my home life was hellacious. I often say that drugs saved my life because I would have killed myself without them. But we can not SEE trauma in someone, which is why you have these beautiful, bright people like you mentioned with seemingly wonderful lives that cannot kick their habit. Inside, they are dying. It's heartbreaking and often preventable.

Thank you thank you thank you for your words - you are such an inspiration to me!

Awww, sweetie. :blushing: Thank you for your most generous words. if it is any comfort (ha! They say, misery loves company) my own mother was narcissistic and verbally abusive toward me all my life, but I was nearly an old lady before I realized what was happening. Over and over I tried to get her to "love me" ... don't know why I never became addicted to something worse than my chocolate milk. Seriously. '
:hug: :heartluv:

 

[Beth11311]

Awww, sweetie. :blushing: Thank you for your most generous words. if it is any comfort (ha! They say, misery loves company) my own mother was narcissistic and verbally abusive toward me all my life, but I was nearly an old lady before I realized what was happening. Over and over I tried to get her to "love me" ... don't know why I never became addicted to something worse than my chocolate milk. Seriously. '
:hug: :heartluv:

Awe Spellbound - then you truly understand what it's like growing up with someone like our mothers...what you said "constantly trying to get her to love me", that was my experience as well. And it never worked but again and again I would try. Big huge hugs to you - and look at how amazing you are!! You survived [emoji177]


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