Teach kids to recognize drug/alcohol overdose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

You are an A-1 dick.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you, OP, and will share my story as to why.

In my 20s I dated someone who used opiates, though I did not realize. One night we were drinking and he took some. He told me he had taken it, I wasn't pleased, but didn't want to leave him alone. He didn't appear to be overly impaired-was talking coherently and seemed fine when we went to bed.

In the morning I woke and he was snoring, but again, seemed fine. Hours later I tried to wake him and he did not respond. I called the 911 and the paramedics showed up and spent a while yelling at me for not calling them sooner. What I thought was snoring was labored breathing. His pulse in his neck was fine, but he wasn't getting blood to his extremities. The paramedics yelled at me for not checking that too. The whole ordeal was terrifying and stressful and I have never felt more looked down upon or reviled in my life. But a drug overdose on TV (my only prior experience) is a dramatic scene, and easy to recognize. In reality, it's slow and quiet as the person's lungs slowly fill up with fluid and they essentially drown from the inside.

You don't have to be a drug addict to witness an overdose. I certainly wasn't-I don't even like taking opiates when they're prescribed to me. If I hadn't called 911 when I did, that guy would be dead, and I would have to spend the rest of my life knowing that I could have saved him. Had I known what to look for, I would have called sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

Your kids don't attend parties, correct?

Of course they don't. We are their parents, not their friends. They are too young to understand the meanings of their actions - it is our job to stand the line and ensure they dont make mistakes. So yes, I am the evil mom who says 'No' to parties without trustworthy adult supervision and refuses to laugh about how hammered they got the night before, because they will never be in that situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

You realize YOUR kid doesn't have to be a junkie in order to benefit from knowing how to identify overdose / alcohol poisoning? THe OP is suggesting there is always reason to teach them how to recognize this in others. So, you know when your good kid is the only sober one at a party and someone passes out and starts vomiting, at least they will know what to do to save a life, rather than leaving that person to die.

Aside from that, even good kids sometimes make mistakes. I have a friend who got alcohol poisoning the very first time she drank, which also was after she became of age. Ended up in hospital for a week. She had no idea how much alcohol she could or couldn't handle and was just "going with the flow" when people were buying rounds. She didn't mean to almost end up dead, but there it is.

Oh, because well adjusted, normal kids shoot heroin?

I'm sorry, but this entire thread is ridicules.

My kids don't have friends who use heroin. They don't go to shooting galleries where they are surrounded by dying addicts. We live in a nice, suburban community with an active police force and good neighbors.

This is very personal to me. My brother was a heroin addict for 15 years, until he died at age 32. I know junkies. The best thing to do is stop wasting money of treatment, or on shit like that. The only treatment for heroin addiction is death, and the only way to prevent heroin addiction is staying as far away from addicts as possible. If a kid is friends with an addict, they are done. Junkies don't hang with people who don't use, they only hang out with people who will help them get their true love, heroin, its all that will ever matter to them.

So yes, I won't be glorifying heroin and telling my kids, 'Don't worry, if you ever shoot too much heroin into your veins you can just use Norcan to save yourself!" No, my talk on heroin was simple: "If you ever hang out with anyone who uses any sort of opiod, or use yourself, you will be immidiately dead to me and your father. Heroin is a death sentence, and heroin addicts can never be trusted. We will ensure you never see another dime from us again." Maybe I'm harsh, but its the truth and you better get on it unless you want a bunch of dead kiddos lining the damn street.

[Anonymous]

^I am sorry your brother died such a death.
Q: does rehab ever really work for opiate addicts?
I don't think I would be able to refuse to pay for treatment for a child, at least the first time.
And of course even suburban kids from nice safe neighborhoods can screw up and go down the drug road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

Your kids don't attend parties, correct?

Of course they don't. We are their parents, not their friends. They are too young to understand the meanings of their actions - it is our job to stand the line and ensure they dont make mistakes. So yes, I am the evil mom who says 'No' to parties without trustworthy adult supervision and refuses to laugh about how hammered they got the night before, because they will never be in that situation.

Your kids will be completely unprepared for college when they are suddenly let loose without any support. I fear for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^I am sorry your brother died such a death.
Q: does rehab ever really work for opiate addicts?
I don't think I would be able to refuse to pay for treatment for a child, at least the first time.
And of course even suburban kids from nice safe neighborhoods can screw up and go down the drug road.

I grew up in a wealthy, lovely suburb of New York where the cops were, and still are, our friends. Over a dozen of the kids who were in high school have already died of overdoses. All from wonderful, wealthy and educated families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

Denial - not just a river in Egypt.

[Anonymous]

I think there are two issues here:
1. An overdose is likely not as dramatic as it is on tv. Honestly, I don't even know how great I would be at recognizing it if it weren't so clear.
2. Fear of consequences from the law. Say you have 18 y.o.s drinking and someone has too much; ideally they should go to the hospital. Others, fearing trouble don't call because they don't want something on their record. I know that reporting consequences vary, but there really should be some uniform immunity for reporting something like that. I know at GMU, such a policy doesn't exist and it makes me very upset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^I am sorry your brother died such a death.
Q: does rehab ever really work for opiate addicts?
I don't think I would be able to refuse to pay for treatment for a child, at least the first time.
And of course even suburban kids from nice safe neighborhoods can screw up and go down the drug road.

Rehabs generally do not have good success rates. There is not much in the way of standards and purchasers of their services tend to be desperate parents who take the first recommended place that comes their way and have to convince themselves fervently that the choice they made was the right one. So bad rehabs (admittedly the vast majority of them) continue to thrive and some even get reputations as great places.

If you ever in this situation do not do this. Control your desperation and do as much research as you can. Consider many DIY detox and rehab; for many it is as effective as formal rehab. See "Inside Rehab."

The PP who says the only cure for heroin addiction is death is very, very wrong. Many have successfully kicked heroin and today they are good medications like Vivitrol that make it much easier.

It makes me sick to think that a parent could be so ignorant she would treat her child as a disposable to be discarded on the street. Every child deserves a parent in his corner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a wealthy, lovely suburb of New York where the cops were, and still are, our friends. Over a dozen of the kids who were in high school have already died of overdoses. All from wonderful, wealthy and educated families.

Yes.

I am a physician. When I was in training, the high end real estate was waterfront property relatively near the hospital, so on-call docs could get to the ICUs and surgical suites quickly and not have to sleep in. It was a gated community.

Their kids were the ones coming through the ED with substance overdoses.

Anonymous wrote:It makes me sick to think that a parent could be so ignorant she would treat her child as a disposable to be discarded on the street. Every child deserves a parent in his corner.

Absolutely. And if your child parrots this philosophy to friends, whether out of pride or fear or frustration, it only takes one enemy at a party to take that child away from you. Kids will do nasty shit to each other. You're really going to have a one-strike, reasons-be-damned policy? And you consider yourself a good parent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

You realize YOUR kid doesn't have to be a junkie in order to benefit from knowing how to identify overdose / alcohol poisoning? THe OP is suggesting there is always reason to teach them how to recognize this in others. So, you know when your good kid is the only sober one at a party and someone passes out and starts vomiting, at least they will know what to do to save a life, rather than leaving that person to die.

Aside from that, even good kids sometimes make mistakes. I have a friend who got alcohol poisoning the very first time she drank, which also was after she became of age. Ended up in hospital for a week. She had no idea how much alcohol she could or couldn't handle and was just "going with the flow" when people were buying rounds. She didn't mean to almost end up dead, but there it is.

Oh, because well adjusted, normal kids shoot heroin?

I'm sorry, but this entire thread is ridicules.

My kids don't have friends who use heroin. They don't go to shooting galleries where they are surrounded by dying addicts. We live in a nice, suburban community with an active police force and good neighbors.

This is very personal to me. My brother was a heroin addict for 15 years, until he died at age 32. I know junkies. The best thing to do is stop wasting money of treatment, or on shit like that. The only treatment for heroin addiction is death, and the only way to prevent heroin addiction is staying as far away from addicts as possible. If a kid is friends with an addict, they are done. Junkies don't hang with people who don't use, they only hang out with people who will help them get their true love, heroin, its all that will ever matter to them.

So yes, I won't be glorifying heroin and telling my kids, 'Don't worry, if you ever shoot too much heroin into your veins you can just use Norcan to save yourself!" No, my talk on heroin was simple: "If you ever hang out with anyone who uses any sort of opiod, or use yourself, you will be immidiately dead to me and your father. Heroin is a death sentence, and heroin addicts can never be trusted. We will ensure you never see another dime from us again." Maybe I'm harsh, but its the truth and you better get on it unless you want a bunch of dead kiddos lining the damn street.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-face-heroin-young-white-suburban-study-finds-n115671
It doesn't matter if your kids aren't friends with addicts; unless you homeschool and never allow them in places with other teens whom they don't know, and don't let them go to college, they are very likely to come across someone who has OD'ed. Maybe or maybe not on heroin, but certainly on alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike you apparently, I trust my teens to not get in such situations.

But yes, if your teen's a junkie, teach them to recognize an overdose.

You realize YOUR kid doesn't have to be a junkie in order to benefit from knowing how to identify overdose / alcohol poisoning? THe OP is suggesting there is always reason to teach them how to recognize this in others. So, you know when your good kid is the only sober one at a party and someone passes out and starts vomiting, at least they will know what to do to save a life, rather than leaving that person to die.

Aside from that, even good kids sometimes make mistakes. I have a friend who got alcohol poisoning the very first time she drank, which also was after she became of age. Ended up in hospital for a week. She had no idea how much alcohol she could or couldn't handle and was just "going with the flow" when people were buying rounds. She didn't mean to almost end up dead, but there it is.

Oh, because well adjusted, normal kids shoot heroin?

I'm sorry, but this entire thread is ridicules.

My kids don't have friends who use heroin. They don't go to shooting galleries where they are surrounded by dying addicts. We live in a nice, suburban community with an active police force and good neighbors.

This is very personal to me. My brother was a heroin addict for 15 years, until he died at age 32. I know junkies. The best thing to do is stop wasting money of treatment, or on shit like that. The only treatment for heroin addiction is death, and the only way to prevent heroin addiction is staying as far away from addicts as possible. If a kid is friends with an addict, they are done. Junkies don't hang with people who don't use, they only hang out with people who will help them get their true love, heroin, its all that will ever matter to them.

So yes, I won't be glorifying heroin and telling my kids, 'Don't worry, if you ever shoot too much heroin into your veins you can just use Norcan to save yourself!" No, my talk on heroin was simple: "If you ever hang out with anyone who uses any sort of opiod, or use yourself, you will be immidiately dead to me and your father. Heroin is a death sentence, and heroin addicts can never be trusted. We will ensure you never see another dime from us again." Maybe I'm harsh, but its the truth and you better get on it unless you want a bunch of dead kiddos lining the damn street.

#parentingfail