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from the Antidiarrheal-overdose?-Oh,-crap! dept.
NPR is reporting on the latest drug scare, involving an over-the-counter antidiarrheal drug that is being used for its opioid-like effects by addicts:
Some people addicted to oxycodone and other opioids are now turning to widely available diarrhea medications to manage their withdrawal symptoms or get high. The results can be dangerous to the heart — and sometimes fatal — warn toxicologists in a study [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.03.047] recently published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The researchers describe two case studies where people who were addicted to opioids tried to ease their withdrawal symptoms by taking many times the recommended dose of loperamide, a drug commonly used treat diarrhea. Both patients died.
"Because of its low cost, ease of accessibility and legal status, it's a drug that is very, very ripe for abuse," says lead author William Eggleston, a doctor of pharmacy and fellow in clinical toxicology at the Upstate New York Poison Center, which is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Related:
Kroger Supermarkets to Carry Naloxone Without a Prescription
4/20: Half-Baked Headline
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Wednesday May 04 2016, @05:24PM
I, too, have never experienced any events that caused me to feel regret, nor has my personality changed ever in my life. Every ounce of my moral fiber is resolute and immutable and has never shifted and anyone incapable of doing the same doesn't deserve to live.
Joking aside though, I do not think that the bad decisions one makes should follow them for the rest of their lives, where possible. (this does not mean I condone a life entirely free from consequence either, you can have a middle ground) You might not believe it, but people CAN change. I'll give you that not very many of them WILL, but the why of that could probably be explored to limitless depth. I mean, I generally consider you a pretty reasonable guy overall from your posts, but I feel like maybe you're making this comment with too much of a personal edge to it.
Out of curiosity, do you feel the same way about the suicidal? A lot of failed attempts do result in repeats, but there are also many who get counseling and treatment and actually change their behavior. That's also something that you can argue is a situation of trying to "save somebody from themselves", and so I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter as how they contrast (or not) to your feelings about addicts.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:01PM
The majority of people who have failed suicide attempts are still alive 10 years later. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it is something like 80% are still alive (and that includes those who died from other causes in the interim too).
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:15PM
I can't imagine a better example of survivorship bias than AC's post
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:21PM
You aren't very bright, are you?
What talking about helping people who have survived suicide to prevent further suicide attempts of course survival rates are pertinent.
Its like you hit on a keyword and turned off your brain.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2016, @07:39PM
The people who did not fail to commit suicide on their first attempt are more likely to have taken the whole thing more seriously. There are several reasons they could fail in ways that cause selection bias, survival instinct at the 11th hour and they now realize they can not go through with it or staging it as a cry for attention for example.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @04:57AM
What do you mean "help"? Save them from themselves? Self-sovereignty means you can do anything with your own life, including end it. Suicide is a fundamental human right.
(Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Wednesday May 04 2016, @09:02PM
What about the ones who have not failed? How many of those are still alive 10 years later?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 05 2016, @12:44AM
That's a good serious question, dyingtolive. Suicide.
First, suicide should NOT be a crime. I find the arrogance of a government in passing such laws to be overwhelming. For good reasons or bad reasons, an attempt at suicide should never be punished.
Second, I'll go further. A person has, or should have, the RIGHT to decide to end his life. The terminally ill, first and foremost, should have the RIGHT to decide that they'll take the easy way out, rather than lie around for months or years, wasting away in pain. Did I say "pain"? Change that to "agony". I've watched people wasting away, and sometimes, a day of mere "pain" is blessed relief for them.
Personally - I've almost always attempted to talk people out of suicide. That is, I've reasoned with them, and tried to make them believe there is reason to live. On the other hand - I've turned my back on an injured drunk driver, so that I could help the people he hurt in his own attempt at suicide. Strict observance of the rules of triage would have had me assisting that drunk, instead of the old women that I did help. I ben of broke the rules, because my judgement said that the drunk was MORE DESERVING of dying, than the old women.
Suicide isn't something that I condone in most cases. People should be counseled. But, I'm not going to superhuman efforts to save a suicide from himself, either. Not even when some young fool is attempting suicide for the silliest of reasons, like BF/GF is leaving them.
Most suicides are simply a huge waste - but other suicides should be approved, and maybe even assisted. It all depends on the people, and the circumstances.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @03:41PM
First, suicide should NOT be a crime.
People who successfully commit suicide should get capital punishment.
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Friday May 06 2016, @12:13AM
I gotta say, that's a pretty well thought out response.
I don't honestly think it should be "punished", at least in a conventional legal sense as a crime, though it probably, generally speaking, should carry some weight of mandatory therapy. Interestingly enough, per Wikipedia (yes, yes, I know) it looks like it's generally decriminalized most everywhere at this point. I do tend to agree that people deserve the right to die, but I think they also need some period of time and conversation with someone to make sure it's the right choice. As far as helping those people, I suppose a superhuman effort is, kinda by definition, outside of the level of expectation that should be required to stop, but at what point is that level of effort? Tying back in to the original topic, is it as great or as little as what an addict deserves at a chance of recovery?
Also, how'd the woman do? She pull through?
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday May 06 2016, @02:57AM
There were three elderly women in the vehicle. It was a close call for the driver, due to blood loss. She "died" in the ambulance, and twice again in ER, but they managed to bring her back. One of the ladies on the ambulance is a childhood friend who told me all the details about a week later.