Overdose - How many acquaintances has SWIY lost to an overdose?

[H Bomber]

So swim got around to thinking about all the friends and acquaintances he has lost over the years to heroin last night. He is pretty sure his current count is 4. This is not counting others who did heroin but died of other things, such as hanging themselves or automobile accidents. With opioid overdose deaths climbing ever higher in the statistics he reads, he realized what a toll this must be taking worldwide. Everybody swim knows who has fatally OD'd was in their young 20's, adding to the overall tragedy in his opinion.

Swim says heroin, but that is only because all of the people he knows who fatally OD'd did so on it, however swim supposes that death from ODs on any opioid could be counted here. With record high rates of overdose from prescription narcotics abounding, it would be silly not to include them too. But on paper this is a heroin OD poll, yet it may well prove to be an opioid OD poll in practice. Swim guesses we'll see about that.

Swim thinks that this concept could be made more human and less statistical by including brief biographies of the deceased. For example, one of his late associates was his girlfriend's 20 year old cousin, he hadn't even been using opioids regularly for very long. He was a little immature but fun to hang out with. Another was swim's mother's best friend's daughter. She was also 20. Swim has pictures of himself holding her the day her mom took her home from the hospital as a baby. He thought about these photos as he looked down into her open casket this past march. She had just gotten out of rehab about 2 months before, and to everyone's knowledge had been clean from opioids until the night she inadvertently put herself into a hypoxic coma she would never wake up from. Another friend of swim's had been a grade ahead of him in school. He was 22 when he died in florida, he was living in a halfway house down there and had seemed to be doing well, until he went to a concert one night and managed to score some dope.

Swim got high on heroin and other hard drugs with all these people many times. The last person on his list he had never gotten high with. This person was swim's favorite cousin as a child. He was 23 and swim was 12 when he died, apparently of an overdose of black tar and diazepam while he was living in california. He was in a coma for 2 weeks before they pulled the plug. Swim thinks that this particular death hit him harder than the others, and also suspects that it may have something to do with the way he loves opioids and benzos on some subconscious level.

Swim is wondering what other swimmers experiences with overdose and death are like. He is also curious to see how many people swiwe have collectively lost in this less than noble manner. Maybe through our shared experiences those we have lost will not have died entirely in vain.

[Pringles]

Swim thinks it is two. On both occasions he heard the news some time later. (he had moved away & not seen either for a while) The first was his childhood best friend & the second was a woman who he knew for a few years.

[JonDub]

3 very close childhood friends who were people I talked to on a daily basis. Harsh to watch your friends around you drop like the flys. The most recent I believe was on purpose, managed to do it slamming a simple 20 bag of Tar. We were talking the day before and I know the events the next day that happened that lead up to the OD and ultimately death. It was what he wanted, and maybe me and another close friend will be the only ones who truly know it wasn't accidental. His funeral was so tragic, 300+ people should up that we had known our whole lives, parents, friends, teachers from highschool where we went, etc. Sometimes I wish he could of seen how much he was really loved, even though he felt so alone.

[dyingtomorrow]

4.

3 girls that I knew from high school and were bride's maids at my best friends wedding (I was the best man). They were fucked up on heroin and crashed at 90 mph right by my house actually.

1 was my friend and my little brother's best friend. A lot of people don't like my brother now, because he shot up with him, and then he went home and an hour later he was found dead.

*shrugs* SWIM knows people have a different perspective on life, but SWIM will be happy to OD, that's how he hopes to go.

[old hippie 56]

Over 5, but as one gets older, he will realize that it ain't the way to go..

[SmokeNmirrors]

Swim only knows one but it was after a party swim just saw him out they weren't friends but it was pretty crazy when swim got the news.

[Rhin]

One of the dealers in town that was very respected to everyone because druggies liked his drugs and everyone else didn't know he was a dealer they just knew him as a nice guy.

He did a shitload of coke and had a seizure in the shower and died. That was 3 weeks ago.

[zulu1690]

swim has lost two friends to od's and both were down to the fact that they had been clean for a while.so so dangerous to use after being clean for a while.

[rbegoniaz]

It will be interesting to see just how horrific the numbers really are. Swir has lost 4 friends,and they had all just come fresh out of rehab.The one that really bothers me of the 4 was a young lady who had EVERYTHING.Beautiful rich nice but an addict never the less.She had done 7 rehabs that Swir knew of,one in Hawaii for a yr.She couldn't leave the H alone any more than Swiwe can.Anyway,she was in the City copping with her BF.Apparently when she started to OD her BF turned and walked away leaving her to die in the alley.He later went on to OD himself about 6mos later.I guess Swir should consider herself lucky as she has never ODd,not even come close.

[H Bomber]

Speaking of how horrific the numbers really are, SWIM has been thinking since he posted this thread and he realized how many more people that he knows or has known are dead directly as a result of their use. None of these are people he would consider friends, so it won't effect his current count of 4 friends, but wow, there is a lot more. And as Zulu mentioned above about using after prolonged periods of abstinence, like when one gets out of rehab, that seems to be the sort of thing that gets em. It's scary really, to think of how fine and grey that line between blasted and blue is.

The current death toll we have amassed is 26+, how high will it go before better harm reduction practices are enacted on a large scale?

[dyingtomorrow]

SWIM's uncle died from AIDS from sharing heroin needles too, if that counts and makes 5. SWIM's other uncle was able to kick heroin, but became a hardcore alcoholic right after he kicked (to get over it SWIM guesses), and he died at around age 55 from drinking too much, if that counts and makes 6.

[Spucky]

My Cat lost nearly all of his old Gang of Adventure-Seeking Friends,
only 2 survive with a strong Hep. C., 1. survived totally Brain-Damaged and H.I.V.
and one with a life-long Prison-Term.

But since "Harm-Reduction Programs" and Forums like this one working well
the Dieing get`s much slower!

If my Cat remember how we get information in the Pre-Internet Day`s,
unbelievable!
There was only Mouth to Mouth Propaganda and Myths!
Only a few Books was written and not all in German.
In the last 10 Years we all get a big chance,
now everyone can go a nearly safe Way!

[Junkhead23]

None of pacman's 'friends' have died but a few acquaintances have. Not sure if that counts

[H Bomber]

Originally Posted by Junkhead23

None of pacman's 'friends' have died but a few acquaintances have. Not sure if that counts

I suppose it depends how well you knew them. Swim is also struggling to get his count right, he isn't sure about a few people. I think that if you've just seen them around, them probably shouldn't count them. If you've ever spent time and / or gotten high with them then they should be counted. Even then, what it really comes down to is whether or not you thought their death was in any way significant or worthy of note.

[Junkhead23]

Oh yeah got high with some people who died yeah. It's a game the addicts are forced to play. Kinda like Russian Roulette

[BrownStreakRailroad]

the longer SWIY are in the game for, the more people that SWIY know will die from heroin, obviously. the last guy whom SWIM knew died 6 months ago after injecting into his buttocks in a public toilet and died on that toilet........horrible, but SWIM has known people die in the most dire of places, like a burnt out house that people used to hit up in and people had slept there on and off and people used it as a toilet and needles etc everywhere, no power or water, stank too...one guy SWIM knew died like that. SWIM just hopes he doesnt end up like this one day.

[H Bomber]

Originally Posted by Junkhead23

Oh yeah got high with some people who died yeah. It's a game the addicts are forced to play. Kinda like Russian Roulette

I guess it is sorta like russian roulette, except the guns always loaded, the only thing that changes is the caliber (size of the shot) and of course the recipient (their tolerance and whatnot). I hadn't thought about this before. I guess now it's like a fun game within a game.

[Junkhead23]

Pacman will probably end up dead in his bedroom and his parent probably won't know nothing about it. Even though he knows what he does he doesn't check on him cos pacman thinks he doesn't want to see him with a needle in his arm

[old hippie 56]

Ya'll remember that movie "Deer Hunter", with the betting on the person lives or dies while playing Russian roulette?

[Junkhead23]

Yeah man that is one of the most iconic scenes in a film ever

[xxdan123xx]

Swim lost 2 to h and 2 to white.. Nearly himself to each once.. Though his od on white was actually from freebasing not injection ..i.e. Hard, Crack, etc. And his heroin od was from sniffing.. wow when he thinks about the amount of H he shoved into his nose his is amazed he still has one..a nose that is lolz

[m.swinehart81]

I have lost 4 friends to heroin. Including the best friend I have ever had in my days on this earth. Im pretty sure he did it on purpose though. His girl had taken his daughter and just disapeared. He was pretty upset. At the time i was in work release and he kept calling my cell and leavin messages. In the messages he was always sayin he wanted me to come home because he had no one to talk to etc... A few weeks after the messages started he was found dead in a hotel room from a heroin overdose. To this day that one still really messes with me.
Other than him the rest have all mainly been partying buddies. No one that I was really really close to. The 4 that I put are only heroin od's though. I had a friend of mine wig out on lsd and put a hole in his head along with shooting both of his pit bulls several times.
I have known alot of people die due to their drug use. It really is a shame...