5 Risk Factors for Opiate Overdose
So to continue this string of posts in my self-proclaimed Overdose Awareness Week, today we are going to tackle the topic of risk factors. Knowing the risks that you are taking is crucial when it comes to preventing an undesired outcome, and with opiate overdose, there are 5 specific things that are red letter risks. Want to avoid an opiate overdose? Then pay attention.
1 – Chronic Illness. Do you have diabetes? HIV/AIDS? What about liver disease or heart disease? If you do, then you have a lower immune system than someone without these conditions and this lowered immune system is tricky. It changes your tolerance for a drug without notice. You could use the exact same dose every day for years and overdose, seemingly, without cause. The extra trouble here is that if you are using and not taking care of yourself, you may not know that you are developing one of these silent and deadly diseases. Liver disease and heart disease are especially dangerous, so get to the doctor for exams and pay attention to your body, noting any changes that could signify that something else is going on.
2 – Other Issues of Lower Tolerance. If you haven’t been taking pills (or insert your opiate of choice here) for awhile for whatever reason and suddenly decide to again, your tolerance is going to be significantly different than the last time you used. Expecting to “pick up where you left off” and taking the dose you were at when you quit can land you smack in the middle of an overdose. This is why people who are just out of jail or who relapse after detoxing or trying to get clean are common victims of opiate overdose.
3 – Mixing Different Drugs. If you are currently taking a prescription for opiate painkillers and do other drugs on top of it, even in small doses, you are raising your risk for an overdose. For example, one dose of a benzodiazepine like Xanax may be relatively mild but take it on top of a dose of methadone or codeine and you’re going to find it difficult to keep your eyes open. Or breathe.
4 – Depending on the Strength of Street Drugs. The bag of heroin you bought yesterday will most likely not be the same quality or strength of the one you buy today. Contrary to what many think, the more pure or uncut it is, the more dangerous in terms of overdose. Different parts of the country, different cities, different dealers all offer something different so the same size shot from any one of them will be largely different from another.
5 – Doing it Alone. Take any one or combination of the above risks and do it without someone else around and you’ve just compounded your risk for overdose. With someone else there, you can have (and be) a voice of reason. And if things get out of hand or dangerous, then one of you may be able to call paramedics in time to keep the situation from turning deadly.
Want to completely wipe out your risk for overdose? Get clean, safely and on your own terms, with Suboxone. Follow the treatment plan that you and your Meditox doctor come up with together and let someone else know what you’re doing so that they can keep you accountable. Take responsibility for yourself. No high is worth dying for.
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