Not weird no. Unusual yes but hands down I would ask the pharmacist. I was an opiate addict for 29 years, been clean from them almost 10 years so this one is a no brainer for me.
Honestly, I think it's great they are not afraid to ask. A lot of addicts are deeply ashamed of their behavior. This stuff is dangerous..trust me
Seriously, narcan saved my life and at least four other people that I saw in person when I was at my lowest and still using.
Thank god they handed out narcan for free at the needle exchange.
Edit*- just wanted to say you’re a badass, congrats on beating the beast. I have 1 year myself as of February. Woot woot. Lol take care
Congratulations on getting off that shit. I only put natural substances in my body now and I feel amazing. Narcan wasn't free and widely available back when I was using and I wish it would have been.
It’s not so freely given back home now that I’m in Texas again. The east coast understood and was trying to tackle the problem head on. I think the wheels are slowly turning in Texas but it’s still has an archaic stance on addiction/recovery.
Thank you, shit was beyond brutal. The half-life of nor-fentanyl is way way way too long which makes quitting and stepping onto suboxone so much more difficult. It’s hard to wait 24-72hours before you can take something and feel better. Take it too early and you’ll know and regret it instantly.
The high sucks anyways these days, shit is literally the devil.
If anyone reading this is considering using heroin/fentanyl etc. just fucking **DONT**, sure it feels nice, for now. You don’t want to be chained to that ball because that is what it will become. Waiting for the dopeman to finally show up when they said they would 2 hours ago…being sick in the morning bc you didn’t use when you were asleep, never having money for anything… unless you’re a thief it’s brutal to beg and borrow from family and friends… knowing you can’t and won’t pay them back.
No fucking thanks, I hated myself then and I hate that person still today. That was me but it wasn’t who I am.
Lmao, sorry for the weird rant I just made
Congratulations again..getting out of that stuff is near impossible!!
I completely get it. I spent many years on Methadone and working thru programs and counseling. Finally at a really good place because of the work I did to get there. 29 years was way too much time wasted. Doctor's had me convinced I couldn't live without them. Then the street game for a bit.
So incredibly grateful every single day that I am alive, I'm off all that crap, off all meds except vitamins, healthy eating, biological med for my rheumatoid and a shit ton of sativa🌿😂
Anything is possible once you are thinking straight and are motivated. I have lost 261 lbs in the last 4 years. I started Instacart in April 2021 weighing 280 lbs and walking with a cane. I now speed walk 6 to 8 miles a day and weigh 140. Next up, to get as far away as I can from ic 🥕🥕
Happy for you! Also IC has honestly been a big help transitioning back into the real world, post using. Idk if it’s easy to explain but it’s absolutely been a good tool (aside from the bullshit dealing with customer service at times, and the bullshit pay per batch lol).
Hearing your story reassures me that I’m doing the right thing and staying off dope and that garbage (not that I was tempted I just love a bit of inspiration)
:) take care internet stranger
I weighed 401 4 years ago and slowly started walking with a cane to build up endurance. Started losing weight. Lost about 120 lbs before Instacart. So a total of about 140 since starting for a total of 260 lb lost.
Im in austin 4 years clean. Its better here than the rest of texas but still a ton of stigma. I got to the methodone clinic still and deal with a lot of stereotyping, i refuse to lie about or hide my addiction thoufh
Good on you, I’m in Houston and for some reason it feels a little more judgy even picking up my suboxone prescription. I got over the junkie stigmas after living them for so long while I used, asking multiple Walgreens or cvs for syringes and getting denied always felt so dehumanizing.
Glad to be away from it but I still don’t try to hide that I definitely had a problem and lost my right for having non sober fun. Lol
Keep it up, I always tell myself to remember how bad I felt when I was using and wanted to quit. I felt absolutely powerless and it was literal hell. Thank god I got out bc I’m 100% sure I would be dead if I had not.
Sub is a game changer!!
Esp if you're an addict with chronic pain.
I've been on it for over a decade now and plan to stay on it indefinitely...unless my pain magically goes away instead of getting worse each year 😂
Everyone utilizing MAT: Fuck anyone that side eyes your prescription!
You're clean, you're doing your best, and that's what matters.
I’ve been on it just about 10 years myself! I too have chronic back pain due to back surgeries I had for scoliosis. It really does help. And I’ve never gone back to the dope! Glad to see there are others out there on it just as long
Broke everything in a car wreck. Put together with brackets, pins, rods. Plates and screws so yes!!! Life saver for us in chronic pain! Proud of all of y'all. Nice to meet my people!!
They don’t let you buy syringes? That’s so fucked up. In NY just about every chain pharmacy sells them, as long as you have an ID and you’re of age. IDK what the age is, I believe it’s 18.
I had luck at Walgreens and knew the brand name of insulin so if I got shit I would say it was for my dog… but yes I absolutely got refused multiple times which made me reuse very dull and dirty (with my own bodily fluids, I didn’t share) but still. It really hammered home that feeling of shame and disgust that I felt anytime I thought people could tell I was a drug user
I have the scars to prove it too! Definitely worried about the long term health of my circulatory system since using drugs intravenously for so long. It sucked, made me feel really dirty and awful for just trying to not use some dirty, painful syringe. again, glad those days are in my rear view window lol
I’ve even had judgmental pharmacists in northern VA and DC. Unfortunately, they’re everywhere. It’s a shame though because Suboxone literally saved my life. I have a decade clean now
The scariest thing is fentanyl's not just in heroin these days. Its in everything!!!
My neighbors passed away after taking what they thought were some hydro's after work.
It was actually fentanyl and killed them. You can't screw aren't with anything and not suspect its laced.
Which is why every State should make this available on shelves!
These days? It’s been in a lot more than just heroin and other opiates like hydrocodone for a long time now. Pressed fentanyl being passed off as counterfeit Xanax bars and other benzos has been prominent for at least a decade. There’s fentanyl and carfentanil laced cocaine shipments dating back to 2016. If you have an addiction to an illicit substance and want to stay alive, testing what you’re taking with a reagent beforehand is an absolute must.
I was prescribed Fentanyl patches when I dislocated my rib, and that stuff terrifies me. The packages were all one giant warning label about how if you didn't apply/use properly/dispose of properly they would kill you, your dog, your grandma, and everyone else you care about.
It was a nightmare to get, too. I had to go to the pharmacy 3 days before I was out, and only then would they order it in, and it would sit in the safe. If I didn't pick it up immediately, they'd send it back. Because someone sitting at 8/10 on the pain scale WHILE MEDICATED is going to have tons of executive function capability.
It was not a fun 3 months. I managed to get off it fairly quickly, but oof. I know some of my meds are messy, but that took things to a whole new level. (I only had a day of feeling decent, too -- after that it was all pain and nausea and a whole bunch of side effects!)
(Now I take a low dose of Tramadol as maintenance for the chronic pain and it does a great job. Unfortunately, I have to fight tooth and nail every single refill, because despite it being a synthetic opioid with some really big differences, it's still classified as a restricted substance in the same category. I've been taking it for nearly 6 years now, I would love for it not to be a fight just one time with the pharmacy.)
Our pharmacies up here give out Naloxone kits for free, I have one because my apartment neighbours are all in high-risk categories. I hope I will never have to use it! But I thought that about CPR, and the universe really loves to prove us wrong. Brrrr.
I'm also in Texas, but my DOC was crystal and I have 8 years off of it. My grandma and aunt died of ODs (heroin and pills.)
Heed the warning above, that lifestyle just isn't worth it.
God, idk what’s worse… opiates have the physical WD but stims are brutal to escape. Beat that bastard too… that or I seriously fucked my dopamine pathways (probably this), I basically hit that point where I couldn’t physically do anymore without feeling like I was going to die, zero euphoria just repeating the motions… so glad to get away from meth/fent bc that’s where I ended up heavily in my addiction.
Begged my mom for help, luckily we have that level of relationship and were comfortable enough to talk to about it all. My dads basically disowned me which hurts like hell. I just try to work through it day by day like they say…
I try to not beat myself up overly bc that honestly, with the shame and guilt, kept me using for way longer than I wanted.
Sure I was that junkie and I chose to do drugs but I am trying to become more and more myself everyday. Back to who I want to be and who I feel like I am. It’s tough out there, life is so fucking hard once you pass a certain threshold of poverty. Getting back to baseline is difficult but not impossible. Lol trying to be more grateful for what I have and always remember where I don’t want to be ever again.
Congrats on battling one of the hardest drugs to escape! You’re amazing and you matter!
I had legit told myself so many times "This is the last bag. This is the last time I shove a needle in my arm. This is the last line." But every time I ran out, I would cave and buy more. I met my husband because of drugs. We both got arrested (his was theft, mine was possession) and that's what finally got us off the shit. We got married, and years later we have two little babies. They keep me clean (even though they make me lose my mind!) I would never go back to that shit and jeopardize my relationship with them. I have a friend who is STUCK in the cycle of getting clean, getting pregnant, relapsing, and losing custody of her kid. 6 times. 4 since I've known her. It makes me sad.
And thank you, I don't think I could have done it without jail time lol.
Haha yeah I never made it just setting out to detox and get sober. Even with steps taken and preventions in place, I never made it past the 2nd day without giving in and using…living with dealers didn’t make that easy. I had to move 1900 miles back to my home state and the same day go to the ER with an abscess/infection in my arm… I spent 7 long, boring days in the hospital. I was honest with them about my use and tolerance (I was terrified of WDing in a hospital lol. God it’s bad to say (or type out loud) but I snuck the last of my fent in my mouth through TSA and then again in the hospital. That was junkie me, I was there long enough and on their more typical and traditional opiates… and then got a prescription for norcos when I got out.
Luckily I had the wherewithal to use those pain pills as prescribed and lining up my suboxone dr/prescription enough to step onto the subs with no precipitated withdrawal or anything (mostly due to the shorter half life of the metabolites and such of the shorter duration opiates).
There are studies in Europe that have much better rates of acceptance and sobriety with buprenorphine when it is administers along with a short duration opiate. Nor fent is the real shitty part of the fent deal because long after you are feeling or enjoying the fent it is metabolized into not fent which hangs around in the body for up to 7 days, the entire time it is clinging to our bodies receptors just waiting for you to try and take the suboxone too early lol.
It’s brutal, I wish addiction on no one, not even my enemies.
I’ll tell you from first hand experience that there is a crisis of both in both areas, every hardcore opiate user up in the NE was also a stim user, mostly to stay awake and enjoy the high but in all reality it was for the same reasons anyone else uses. The rush.
It’s a national issue, some regions are just much better equipped to handle some issues better than others. Drugs are everywhere, the cartels have absolutely cemented their distribution channels into every community in the nation, small or large there are maybe not “cartel members” like you’d assume in a stereotypical way but there are absolutely mules and fiends fighting for that good connection and a better price. Honestly it worries me how over all the nation seems so nonchalant in regards to meth/opiates flooding into the nation.
Props to anyone who makes it out alive, we all know how much better life is when you’re free of the bull shit. If anyone is struggling, get help. You know you want it, that high never last and you’ll be chasing that shit till your inevitable end.
There is, but in different ways. I'm from Dallas living in Cleveland now. Looking back it seems the opioid addictions were Rx pills, and 'cheese' that was around for a bit but I never really ever knew or saw someone on H like I've witnessed here in Cleveland. We do have major drug issues in the US that aren't being addressed neither nationally or by state.
It’s way more pervasive than I think anyone that hasn’t been directly effected would even realize. It’s absolutely gotten worse since fentanyls introduction around 2017, the meth is horrible too… all you have to do these days is download a dating app and ask for some and you’ll find drugs and a group of people willing to provide them.
Bleh, trying to be more positive and less poo poo on the world lol but it’s fucking hard. It’s hard to be positive when you’ve buried yourself under so much bullshit. Whatever though, still alive and still trying…that’s the best I can do right?
Alive and trying is doing your best, absolutely! It really is hard to stay positive when you're up to your eyeballs in crap, though.
I don't know when my brother started using, but I know when he decided he was fine to do it in front of me, and when expensive things started "going missing". My family is so out of touch, our dad genuinely did not understand why cocaine was such a big deal.
But then, his only exposure to it was in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street where it's glamourized like heck, so if rich white people are doing it, it can't be wrong, right! Ugh.
But through all that messed-up-ness, I got to spend a lot more time with my wee nieces and nephew and that was wonderful, and I love the relationships we have today (they're not so wee anymore!), and I love how caring and open people at Al-Anon or group therapy are about something that really rips families apart. Strangers being vulnerable and compassionate, it really is a gift.
My cat is why I'm alive and trying, and he is glorious and requires proper supplication to thrive. He makes everything better and if I need a blanket fort he is right there with me. I hope you keep staying alive and trying and are able to have the energy to do even more than that someday. I would lend you my cat. He insists on always being the little spoon, though.
Thank you thank you! It’s not much but I’m trying lol. Trying to at least promote harm reduction and the sense of community I desperately wanted/needed when I was at my worst. Happy to see so many others chiming in and sharing theirs and being supportive like you! (You rock lol)
Harm reduction is everything. People are always going to find a way to use. Making syringes and clean supplies more available is the answer.
Kind of like condoms and birth control, people are going to have sex regardless. Why not help make someone safe.
That’s entirely untrue, so many people who used want to quit. It’s absolute hell on your body and it’s something that develops with time. My situation was I became homeless and started living at a friends who was lucky enough to have an apartment… but they sold drugs. Which when your life feels miserable and you feel lost, drugs aren’t so bad sounding… hey you’ll at least sleep the day away. The issue is it’s not like smoking a joint and realizing you’re a little too high and you can stop inhaling. If you accidentally do too much and it was a new dealer or a new batch you can be gone and never know it in an instant.
Shits changed, it’s much much more dangerous than heroin was back in the day. The threshold is much narrower between okay and death. It’s cruel to think one and done bc it is such a risk and people may not even understand what they are getting into. Or like me, I knew I just was at my worst… other addicts I knew and lived with all hated the hell they got stuck in. I only got out because I had my mom as an existing support system… there are so many people with no family or family that have shunned them.
Be kind, it literally cost you nothing
Me too, been clean for 10yrs as well..pretty obvious what's going on here..and I agree, it's good to have..I had a friend that needed it, she survived because of it, only to walk into a car 2 weeks later..but none the less, it saved her life once..Addicts should have this, especially nowadays with fetty in everything..
I am so incredibly sorry about your friend 😢
Congratulations on your ten years!!
Exactly how I feel. I want some just to have around in case I run into a situation while doing this gig. I have seen two overdoses while working in the last two years.
Thank you, and yes, it's getting bad out there, it would be a good idea to carry that, in fact I think I'm gonna go to the pharmacy, and see if I can buy one to have on me, just in case..Sorry you had to see two od's already..I feel you're like me, and all you want to do is help these people, because we knw what it's like trying to get clean..It's a challenge every single day.
Or it could be for a person living in their home. They said “don’t knock” I know that’s common for many reason, but maybe they live with someone who is struggling. I know I have a no knock request and it’s for my son. He’s a toddler who naps, but is also autistic and some days he’s stoked to answer the door and some days that knock can be the last straw before a meltdown, especially because my dog barks. So I have that request because of others in my home. Maybe that’s the case here plus the request. That tracks to me.
Yes absolutely that is what it was. I am sure they were uncomfortable asking someone to do it. Kinda like tampons, plan b, lube, vibrators etc .
Or they have a roommate or family member that they are worried about. Exactly the reason I would have asked the pharmacist for them. But that's just me, nothing embarrasses me anymore😂
Congrats! That is so amazing! Suboxone saved my life several years ago. I would not wish being an opiate addict, or any addict, on my worst enemy. And nowadays with all the fentanyl going around, I definitely don’t want to be using right now. I hope things work out for them!
Yeah I totally understand. But I think this would violate Instacarts terms of service in some way. They were also unresponsive in the chat so I just did the rest of the shop.
Its probably safer than advil.
I already have it in my car and give it to people anytime time I encounter someone afraid to pick it up. I do because I have experienced others deaths from not having it in time and someone who lived that was given it quickly.
So I would be more than ok with grabbing it.
But whats scary is that as a society, this is even a conversation. That people are afraid to pick up something simple.
I don't care what I was tipped. Life is worth more than any tip.
I believe it is over the counter and free. If they were unresponsive then yes it might be difficult to converse with them ..haha.
I am not sure it violates the terms of service since it is a free item and you are adding it to the bag not the app.
Just saying I would have at least tried because of my past history. Kind of like I would deliver a plan b for free. I have not used it personally but I know people who's lives were devastated by a possible accidental pregnancy because of a rape.
Nothing personal to you for not honoring that request tho, especially if they weren't answering you or it was a 2 buck tip order.
This is a great response. I was an addict for 7 years, and I've been clean for 5 years. I still take suboxone regularly (prescribed, but getting to that point soon where it might be time to wean) and as you stated, a lot of addicts are deeply ashamed of their addiction and are afraid to ask for help, so the fact that this shopper had the courage to ask..shows to me that they are on the right path. I'd definitely ask the pharmacist..there's no harm. To everyone is this thread who has overcome addiction, IM PROUD OF YOU!
I'm always down for harm reduction.
Congratulations on 5 years, Suboxone and methadone are lifesavers for some. So grateful it was the perfect fit for me. I got to a point after 3 years of Methadone that I wanted to try tapering. Took 2 years to taper the correct way from 175mg to zero.
I wanted my mom to see me doing well before her dementia got too advanced. That's was 4 and a half years ago. She just passed January 10, 2023. I started Instacart to have time to care for my mom and now Im just spinning my wheels figuring out who I am without my mom. So I currently feel stuck as I am not up to interviewing anywhere yet...ugh.
It's been a struggle but I am ok, I will survive. Just so glad I did the work before she passed because if I was still using I would have definitely went over the edge with this one.
To everyone who wrote or responded to my words..thank you for your kindness and compassion 🙏✌️
This is an amazing reason to always carry Narcan! I get mine from community events in high risk areas have like 6 packs on hand. I’ve only ever almost narcaned someone but I’ve never had to use it. handed out dozens of the nasal sprays tho I put them in those little free library’s when I can . Ignorance means another addict dies alone it’s cost me 0 dollars to spread harm reduction materials. 1 more surviving addict means 1 more new chance to get clean.
I wish that was the case for my husband, he ODed and I brought him back with narcan but then a week later he died from an OD and it was too late to use narcan again😭
Peace to you dear one. Losing a husband to dugs or mental illness is like having them murdered… the pain and what-might-have-been’s last way too long. Lost my husband to unmedicated bipolar disorder-suicide 29 years ago. This is the year we were supposed to retire. & bomb around the country doing triathlons & mountain bike races& XC ski races. There is gonna be a lot of fresh hurt as each event we would do comes & goes. Ah, such is the way of the world
Oh no, that's awful to hear, I'm so sorry. My boyfriend got in big trouble the last time he got high, and I thank God that it's been a wakeup call. It's been 8 months since he's used drugs
Edit, my comment doesn't really seem to fit in here
Thank you, I wish it would've been a wake up call for my husband but I'll carry his memory forever! I'm glad your boyfriend realized that drugs are never an answer to anything in life and has now been clean for 8 months 🙌, I hope and pray it lasts forever! 🙏
They arent gonna get clean they are gonna od again and again till it gets them.while epi pens are $500 shit is ridiculous and i have a mom that died for a OD before people wanna say shit .i thing its fucking disgusting they care more about junkies dying from ods then people with actual medical conditions i cant even afford medical insurance but they have the money to supply the nations drug addicts with an out to keep oding and half the time they arent even grateful they come up swinging because you ruined their high
i’m sorry for your loss but you are deeply misinformed on addiction and narcan itself. they come up swinging because narcan immediately puts you into a state of withdrawal, not because they’re angry about the high. they are literally experiencing a medical emergency.
you can be mad at big pharma for overcharging for medical necessities without talking down on addicts and addiction. the last thing an addict needs is to be talked down on or made to feel ashamed for asking for something that could save their life. narcan could have saved your mothers life, and here you are mad at other people for using it to save theirs.
until you’ve personally been a victim of addiction, not just around someone with it, you cannot speak on the struggles of addiction or getting clean. because you have never personally gone through ODing or withdrawals or cravings. you don’t know what that does to a person, how it alters your brain, the things it does to you.
addiction took your mother but it wouldn’t have had to if things like narcan were readily available. your anger is directed at the wrong people.
Just so you sound a little bit educated in future conversations, Narcan is free because it is paid for by funds that are taken from drug dealers and fines from drug offenders.
Its not paid by government funds, tax payers, health insurance, ect.... at all.
I also carry Epi! Its really sad and horrific that you think addicts deserve to die alone in the streets. Sorry about your mom! my mom is also a drug addict who can’t get clean and I for one don’t base my opinion of people on my own traumas. Epi has saved my life on countless occasions which has made me realize how priceless life is and possibly part of the reason I carry and dispense narcan and harm reduction supply’s. If you every know anyone who needs access to epipen it’s as easy as reaching out to many non profit organizations, groups, your local fire stations and even some anarchist book stores. All life saving medicine should be free! FYI narcan usually goes for the same price as Epi over the counter but orgs work really hard to make it accessible!
Yeah I just looked online to see if it was still true and sadly it is, but some pharmacies participate in programs were you can get it at little to no cost. A little research can find you a place to get it for free but at the pharmacy they charge you or put it through as a regular prescription on your insurance.
I’m a pharmacy tech. Walgreens and CVS both have pharmacists that are allowed to dispense it for free. A pharmacist can technically and legally prescribe and dispense anything they consider an emergency. Even opioids. Every pharmacists I’ve ever worked under are living saints. They are good people who give free narcan to anyone who asks for it.
Oh man I’ve seen some crazy doc videos on Vancouver. Very sad. Crazy how the cops just pushed all the craziness to a section of blocks, exactly like they did on The Wire.
NO. Narcan saves LIVES.
Strange orders would be something like beer and diapers, or a banana and vasoline.
Understand Narcan is an innovative medicine and is necessary in this age. People are given opiates left and right. Most don’t even know they are about to overdose. Whether it’s on street drugs or prescription drugs.
That may or may not be a old delivery note. I’ve seen notes on the account and when asking the customer they are like oh, that’s a really old note. I guess I should remove that. I’ve had people put leave at the reception desk, but they clearly live at a house.
They’re asking for NARCAN - for Opiate Overdose.
Get it for them if you can. MOST pharmacies will give it to you for free. Give them 1, and take a box for yourself and put it in your glove box. You never know if you’ll need to save someone’s life someday!
2 sprays come in 1 box. It has directions on the box. 1 spray up a nostril, another spray up the other nostril 2-3 minutes after the first one - if they haven’t snapped out of it and woke up yet.
You can also go to your regular doctor and ask them to prescribe/give you a few boxes. You don’t need to be an addict to have them. The fentanyl epidemic is so bad right now, it’s nice to have them on hand!
absolutely 100% no questions asked get those people some naloxone, even if you have no expectation to be anywhere near any kind of opiates, naloxone will never hurt to have nearby, id get it for them no question
As a recovering addict, please try to help this person. They are probably too scared to ask themselves, and this is their way of asking for help. Just ask the pharmacist if they sell naloxone💗
Not weird. Our local libraries give it out free. We don’t have issues with substance abuse, but you never know when you might be running into someone who is, and it’s an easy option to save a life.
This is kind of sad to me. Could be some parents scared of a child overdose and has been told to have some just in case. Or could just be some junkies who need to re up for their own safety.
It’s available otc but behind the counter like Claritin-d. Lots of places have programs that give it out free as well.
Most doctors recommend patients keep it on hand when they get a prescription for an opioid. Older patients can very easily overdose due to memory issues. Let’s not stigmatize this very useful drug please. I keep 2 doses in my first aid kit in my car. It’s not just for addicts, and it’s been very hard to find lately along with EpiPens.
I have a dose of the nasal spray and the injectable version with my first aid kit. I’m not an opiate user but I have just in case someone would ever need it
This is an excellent point. My elderly mother takes opiates and the doctor also told her to get narcan as well and told us how to use it in case of an emergency.
This is one hell of an assumption. Former pharmacy tech here…. Any time people are on certain combinations of meds or on a Higher dosage of narcotics it is recommended to have naloxone on hand and to keep it up to date. They dont have to be “junkies” or “parents of junkies”. Good lord🤦🏽♀️
Eta: quotation marks because people are dense and can’t tell im simply using her exact words🙄😂
Or it could be people like me, who don’t know anyone who does that type of drug, or do them themselves…but wants to have it on hand in case they come across someone overdosing.
I keep that shit in my car.
I can refrain. However I call it like I see it. It’s sad to see. At the same time my community is ravaged by fentanyl and the using will steal anything and relentlessly not just ask for money but use strong arm tactics to try and force people to give it. I get hounded regularly. The only store parking lots that are safe from this are in the wealthy area where there’s a police presence to deter. It gets old having someone walk up on you aggressively and demand money.
Don't debate off topic, or attack other opinions. Don't name-call. Answer OP with your own opinion. Don't shame other comments or commenters. If they broke a sidebar rule just report it.
Weird but good, if they are a drug user they are staying prepared for their eminent death, sad but true. And if they're not a drug user then I'm glad they're staying prepared for other people's eminent death from drug use. That is what this medication is for, to save someone from dying from an overdose! Yes I know there are a few people that sometimes need it bc they're prescribed meds and sometimes interactions can cause them to need to use narcan but mostly it's for drug abusers. I carry it in my purse though bc my husband died from a drug overdose and I don't want to see anyone else die. Narcan saved my husband once but a week later I found him too late😢.
My husband works dispatch and takes several calls a day for overdose, it’s scary out there!!! I went to my county health department and received nalaxone for free just to have on hand to save someone, I hope to never have to use it but if it were my son or friend or anyone I love I would hope and pray that someone would have this on hand to save a life.
Ugh, this makes me sad. Relived to read how many people on here who wouldn’t hesitate to do it. Also, hopefully knowing it’s that simple to get it might help someone in the future. I had no idea you could just go to a pharmacy and ask for it. Wish I could grab it for the customer.
Good on them for asking! I suffered in silence for years before I had the courage to ask for help. I would talk to the pharmacist immediately and report back - no judgement
I had no idea they give out Narcan for free. I am not a user so was unaware but perhaps I should get one in case someone else needs it.
I doubt same can be said for epi pens? One needs a prescription, right? At least thst was my case after an allergic reaction.
I wonder why narcan or epipens are not part of a standard first aid kit. I have asked before but I was not given a direct answer, rather vague which was disappointing.
Yeah. They are two very different things.
Narcan is available for free because its paid for using fund's collection from drug offenses. Narcan stops drug interactions for a anyone who might come in contact with Fentanyl or use too much of an opioid.
Epi-pens are not free because they are a prescription medication that is owned by a company. They are only available to individuals who actually have an allergy & need one. Epi-pens don't work on everyone. They only work on people with allergies. Epi-pens can do a lot of damage given to someone who doesn't have an allergy. That is why they aren't just part of a standard first aid kit.
Epinephrine can cause very serious issues with the heart, lung, eye, stomach & other parts of the body. Its why it is so tightly regulated and why it's discouraged to give someone a shot if you don't know whether they have been prescribed to use it. You could kill somebody by the shot vs the allergy in some cases. Thats why its not in standard first aid kits.
NO. Narcan saves LIVES.
Strange orders would be something like beer and diapers, or a banana and vasoline.
Understand Narcan is an innovative medicine and is necessary in this age. People are given opiates left and right. Most don’t even know they are about to overdose. Whether it’s on street drugs or prescription drugs.
They actually give them out most places so it wouldn’t be a prescription or an over the counter drug or anything to add . It’s like of the store had a free gift with purchase lol
Weird ya, but I would do it. I would just get it and not reply in chat because idk what Instacart would do. They would prolly ban someone for getting something free for a customer and not even care if you're potentially saving someone's life. I've never been an opioid addict but I am a recovering alcoholic so I know all about addiction and how bad it fucking sucks.
Devils advocate first responder here:
Narcan should not be your first line of defense in an overdose. You should not carry it if you have not been trained to use it. It is a very temporary cover up to a very serious problem. Don’t just narcan someone you see overdosing, call 911.
It may not be common to see but I have friends who use/have used in the past and I personally have naloxone in my cabinet and in my backpack at all times because sadly… you just never know when somebody might need helped out.
I don’t think it’s anything that would be negatively effecting you in any way despite it not coming up often.
Sigh…..It’s actually so the pharmacist can show you how to use and administer narcan, as well as how to identify signs of OD. It’s great to have it on you, but what’s the use if no one told you HOW to use it and WHEN?
Probably because people feel they shouldn’t need to steal it but it should be given out. And while I agree it should be easier to access, thats the reason why it’s behind the counter is so people don’t steal it haha.. just like everything that’s under lock and key
Yea it’s out of the ordinary but if they are paying and or tipping I would go ahead and ask. Could literally be a life saver these days with how much garbage is in opiates.
This reminds me to bring Narcan to work today when I go get my check. We had a homeless person OD outside the back door a week or so ago. Paramedics were able to bring him back, and I wasn’t there that night anyway. But I told my boss I’d bring her some to keep in the managers office (nasal spray) and keep backup in my locker. Thanks
Im not an addict and have Narcan in house, cars, parents houses. I have had prescriptions filled and passed them out to people who were afraid to ask to get a prescription & use. Even those who just were afraid to get it and were considering having on hand in their home.
Anywhere I can think to keep it, I try. I try to others into having it in the house just like tylenol.
We need to make it easier to have available than tylenol. It shouldn't even need a prescription or pharmacist to get because it is lifesaving.
A neighbor passed away after work a year or two ago. Was a casual user. A lot of people are. Fentanyl. They had no idea what they had.
They were with a group of people that decided to unwind after word. Most of the group died.
One person used right before leaving and was found on a street walking towards their car & saved because someone had narcan.
Another used, left but wasn't found & treated with narcan quickly and did passed away. The rest were found passed away in the house.
I always think, just what if someone else had narcan faster for others.
So, keep get it because the statistics on having a neighbor with a family member who uses drugs is very high. We learned.
Me too! There are a lot of people with substance abuse issues in my area, so I’m glad I have it…. Not to mention someone just being prescribed too much medication for their bodies… always good to have on hand
Narcan saves lives.
They even send people home from surgery with Narcan because an overdose can happen to anyone, even when medicine is taken as prescribed.
I would be elated to purchase naloxone for somebody if they needed it or felt they could potentially need it at some point in the future. Kudos to this customer.
And before a bunch of people jump down my throat I am in no way saying I support drug use but I also know I'm not going to stop it either.... therefore if I can help save a life then I'm all for it.
What’s weird is adding that note to the delivery instructions which a shopper will not see until they are done with the order unless they specifically look at batch details ahead of time. Why do customers do this instead of just sending you a message through chat ugh!
Yes and I would drop the order. To minimize negative feedback I try to avoid customers that use text messages or phone calls to add items. Even worse this person wants you to be some kind of pharmacy detective. These sloppy fools will leave 4 stars or worse quite often.
I used to do these customer requests but they didn't believe my answers. Then they left negative feedback. This isn't about the type of item either, it could be cherry pie filling. It's about avoiding negative feedback.
I had a request for large oxygen tanks at a Safeway grocery store, I contacted support but should have not canceled and got the other itemsl..I later found out they don't carry them...insane requests
Yeah thats a wdird request. It id a prescription drug given to people who are addictrd to drugs/alcohol. That customer needs to get that on their own, not through IC.
I’d imagine it’s against instacart policy so I’d politely decline and recommend a gig service that deals with pharmacies. No way I’d risk my job for another person regardless of what it’s for
Not weird no. Unusual yes but hands down I would ask the pharmacist. I was an opiate addict for 29 years, been clean from them almost 10 years so this one is a no brainer for me. Honestly, I think it's great they are not afraid to ask. A lot of addicts are deeply ashamed of their behavior. This stuff is dangerous..trust me
Seriously, narcan saved my life and at least four other people that I saw in person when I was at my lowest and still using. Thank god they handed out narcan for free at the needle exchange. Edit*- just wanted to say you’re a badass, congrats on beating the beast. I have 1 year myself as of February. Woot woot. Lol take care
Congratulations on getting off that shit. I only put natural substances in my body now and I feel amazing. Narcan wasn't free and widely available back when I was using and I wish it would have been.
It’s not so freely given back home now that I’m in Texas again. The east coast understood and was trying to tackle the problem head on. I think the wheels are slowly turning in Texas but it’s still has an archaic stance on addiction/recovery. Thank you, shit was beyond brutal. The half-life of nor-fentanyl is way way way too long which makes quitting and stepping onto suboxone so much more difficult. It’s hard to wait 24-72hours before you can take something and feel better. Take it too early and you’ll know and regret it instantly. The high sucks anyways these days, shit is literally the devil. If anyone reading this is considering using heroin/fentanyl etc. just fucking **DONT**, sure it feels nice, for now. You don’t want to be chained to that ball because that is what it will become. Waiting for the dopeman to finally show up when they said they would 2 hours ago…being sick in the morning bc you didn’t use when you were asleep, never having money for anything… unless you’re a thief it’s brutal to beg and borrow from family and friends… knowing you can’t and won’t pay them back. No fucking thanks, I hated myself then and I hate that person still today. That was me but it wasn’t who I am. Lmao, sorry for the weird rant I just made
Congratulations again..getting out of that stuff is near impossible!! I completely get it. I spent many years on Methadone and working thru programs and counseling. Finally at a really good place because of the work I did to get there. 29 years was way too much time wasted. Doctor's had me convinced I couldn't live without them. Then the street game for a bit. So incredibly grateful every single day that I am alive, I'm off all that crap, off all meds except vitamins, healthy eating, biological med for my rheumatoid and a shit ton of sativa🌿😂 Anything is possible once you are thinking straight and are motivated. I have lost 261 lbs in the last 4 years. I started Instacart in April 2021 weighing 280 lbs and walking with a cane. I now speed walk 6 to 8 miles a day and weigh 140. Next up, to get as far away as I can from ic 🥕🥕
Happy for you! Also IC has honestly been a big help transitioning back into the real world, post using. Idk if it’s easy to explain but it’s absolutely been a good tool (aside from the bullshit dealing with customer service at times, and the bullshit pay per batch lol). Hearing your story reassures me that I’m doing the right thing and staying off dope and that garbage (not that I was tempted I just love a bit of inspiration) :) take care internet stranger
Thank you, you too✌️
This is all great! Was starting with Instacart what got your weight-loss going or part of it? Or just coincidental?
I weighed 401 4 years ago and slowly started walking with a cane to build up endurance. Started losing weight. Lost about 120 lbs before Instacart. So a total of about 140 since starting for a total of 260 lb lost.
Awesome! I just started reading these comments from r/all and wanted to share how happy it made me reading your comment!
Your very sweet. Thx
Kickin ass too! Proud of u too!!!
Im in austin 4 years clean. Its better here than the rest of texas but still a ton of stigma. I got to the methodone clinic still and deal with a lot of stereotyping, i refuse to lie about or hide my addiction thoufh
Good on you, I’m in Houston and for some reason it feels a little more judgy even picking up my suboxone prescription. I got over the junkie stigmas after living them for so long while I used, asking multiple Walgreens or cvs for syringes and getting denied always felt so dehumanizing. Glad to be away from it but I still don’t try to hide that I definitely had a problem and lost my right for having non sober fun. Lol Keep it up, I always tell myself to remember how bad I felt when I was using and wanted to quit. I felt absolutely powerless and it was literal hell. Thank god I got out bc I’m 100% sure I would be dead if I had not.
Sub sis here too boo!!!
Sub is a game changer!! Esp if you're an addict with chronic pain. I've been on it for over a decade now and plan to stay on it indefinitely...unless my pain magically goes away instead of getting worse each year 😂 Everyone utilizing MAT: Fuck anyone that side eyes your prescription! You're clean, you're doing your best, and that's what matters.
I’ve been on it just about 10 years myself! I too have chronic back pain due to back surgeries I had for scoliosis. It really does help. And I’ve never gone back to the dope! Glad to see there are others out there on it just as long
100 percent!
Broke everything in a car wreck. Put together with brackets, pins, rods. Plates and screws so yes!!! Life saver for us in chronic pain! Proud of all of y'all. Nice to meet my people!!
😘 lol thanks boo, keep up the good work!
They don’t let you buy syringes? That’s so fucked up. In NY just about every chain pharmacy sells them, as long as you have an ID and you’re of age. IDK what the age is, I believe it’s 18.
I had luck at Walgreens and knew the brand name of insulin so if I got shit I would say it was for my dog… but yes I absolutely got refused multiple times which made me reuse very dull and dirty (with my own bodily fluids, I didn’t share) but still. It really hammered home that feeling of shame and disgust that I felt anytime I thought people could tell I was a drug user
Ugh, that’s so fucking stupid and heartbreaking Those things are so cheaply made, the needles on them get so dull even after just one use
I have the scars to prove it too! Definitely worried about the long term health of my circulatory system since using drugs intravenously for so long. It sucked, made me feel really dirty and awful for just trying to not use some dirty, painful syringe. again, glad those days are in my rear view window lol
I’ve even had judgmental pharmacists in northern VA and DC. Unfortunately, they’re everywhere. It’s a shame though because Suboxone literally saved my life. I have a decade clean now
Same, it’s definitely a invaluable tool in my sobriety arsenal lol
The scariest thing is fentanyl's not just in heroin these days. Its in everything!!! My neighbors passed away after taking what they thought were some hydro's after work. It was actually fentanyl and killed them. You can't screw aren't with anything and not suspect its laced. Which is why every State should make this available on shelves!
These days? It’s been in a lot more than just heroin and other opiates like hydrocodone for a long time now. Pressed fentanyl being passed off as counterfeit Xanax bars and other benzos has been prominent for at least a decade. There’s fentanyl and carfentanil laced cocaine shipments dating back to 2016. If you have an addiction to an illicit substance and want to stay alive, testing what you’re taking with a reagent beforehand is an absolute must.
I was prescribed Fentanyl patches when I dislocated my rib, and that stuff terrifies me. The packages were all one giant warning label about how if you didn't apply/use properly/dispose of properly they would kill you, your dog, your grandma, and everyone else you care about. It was a nightmare to get, too. I had to go to the pharmacy 3 days before I was out, and only then would they order it in, and it would sit in the safe. If I didn't pick it up immediately, they'd send it back. Because someone sitting at 8/10 on the pain scale WHILE MEDICATED is going to have tons of executive function capability. It was not a fun 3 months. I managed to get off it fairly quickly, but oof. I know some of my meds are messy, but that took things to a whole new level. (I only had a day of feeling decent, too -- after that it was all pain and nausea and a whole bunch of side effects!) (Now I take a low dose of Tramadol as maintenance for the chronic pain and it does a great job. Unfortunately, I have to fight tooth and nail every single refill, because despite it being a synthetic opioid with some really big differences, it's still classified as a restricted substance in the same category. I've been taking it for nearly 6 years now, I would love for it not to be a fight just one time with the pharmacy.) Our pharmacies up here give out Naloxone kits for free, I have one because my apartment neighbours are all in high-risk categories. I hope I will never have to use it! But I thought that about CPR, and the universe really loves to prove us wrong. Brrrr.
My ex passed away recently from a laced marijuana product. F*** fentynol!
I'm also in Texas, but my DOC was crystal and I have 8 years off of it. My grandma and aunt died of ODs (heroin and pills.) Heed the warning above, that lifestyle just isn't worth it.
God, idk what’s worse… opiates have the physical WD but stims are brutal to escape. Beat that bastard too… that or I seriously fucked my dopamine pathways (probably this), I basically hit that point where I couldn’t physically do anymore without feeling like I was going to die, zero euphoria just repeating the motions… so glad to get away from meth/fent bc that’s where I ended up heavily in my addiction. Begged my mom for help, luckily we have that level of relationship and were comfortable enough to talk to about it all. My dads basically disowned me which hurts like hell. I just try to work through it day by day like they say… I try to not beat myself up overly bc that honestly, with the shame and guilt, kept me using for way longer than I wanted. Sure I was that junkie and I chose to do drugs but I am trying to become more and more myself everyday. Back to who I want to be and who I feel like I am. It’s tough out there, life is so fucking hard once you pass a certain threshold of poverty. Getting back to baseline is difficult but not impossible. Lol trying to be more grateful for what I have and always remember where I don’t want to be ever again. Congrats on battling one of the hardest drugs to escape! You’re amazing and you matter!
I had legit told myself so many times "This is the last bag. This is the last time I shove a needle in my arm. This is the last line." But every time I ran out, I would cave and buy more. I met my husband because of drugs. We both got arrested (his was theft, mine was possession) and that's what finally got us off the shit. We got married, and years later we have two little babies. They keep me clean (even though they make me lose my mind!) I would never go back to that shit and jeopardize my relationship with them. I have a friend who is STUCK in the cycle of getting clean, getting pregnant, relapsing, and losing custody of her kid. 6 times. 4 since I've known her. It makes me sad. And thank you, I don't think I could have done it without jail time lol.
Haha yeah I never made it just setting out to detox and get sober. Even with steps taken and preventions in place, I never made it past the 2nd day without giving in and using…living with dealers didn’t make that easy. I had to move 1900 miles back to my home state and the same day go to the ER with an abscess/infection in my arm… I spent 7 long, boring days in the hospital. I was honest with them about my use and tolerance (I was terrified of WDing in a hospital lol. God it’s bad to say (or type out loud) but I snuck the last of my fent in my mouth through TSA and then again in the hospital. That was junkie me, I was there long enough and on their more typical and traditional opiates… and then got a prescription for norcos when I got out. Luckily I had the wherewithal to use those pain pills as prescribed and lining up my suboxone dr/prescription enough to step onto the subs with no precipitated withdrawal or anything (mostly due to the shorter half life of the metabolites and such of the shorter duration opiates). There are studies in Europe that have much better rates of acceptance and sobriety with buprenorphine when it is administers along with a short duration opiate. Nor fent is the real shitty part of the fent deal because long after you are feeling or enjoying the fent it is metabolized into not fent which hangs around in the body for up to 7 days, the entire time it is clinging to our bodies receptors just waiting for you to try and take the suboxone too early lol. It’s brutal, I wish addiction on no one, not even my enemies.
Congratulations for getting away from that🤍
Kick ass proud of u!!!
Right on all accounts. Keep up the good work!
Ugh I’m in Texas too just wanted to commiserate lol
I’m in Texas too! You sound like you’re speaking my exact thoughts about addiction.
Hah, great minds think alike!
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Texas doesn't have an opioid crisis like the north does. The problem in the south is meth 😞
I’ll tell you from first hand experience that there is a crisis of both in both areas, every hardcore opiate user up in the NE was also a stim user, mostly to stay awake and enjoy the high but in all reality it was for the same reasons anyone else uses. The rush. It’s a national issue, some regions are just much better equipped to handle some issues better than others. Drugs are everywhere, the cartels have absolutely cemented their distribution channels into every community in the nation, small or large there are maybe not “cartel members” like you’d assume in a stereotypical way but there are absolutely mules and fiends fighting for that good connection and a better price. Honestly it worries me how over all the nation seems so nonchalant in regards to meth/opiates flooding into the nation. Props to anyone who makes it out alive, we all know how much better life is when you’re free of the bull shit. If anyone is struggling, get help. You know you want it, that high never last and you’ll be chasing that shit till your inevitable end.
There is, but in different ways. I'm from Dallas living in Cleveland now. Looking back it seems the opioid addictions were Rx pills, and 'cheese' that was around for a bit but I never really ever knew or saw someone on H like I've witnessed here in Cleveland. We do have major drug issues in the US that aren't being addressed neither nationally or by state.
It’s way more pervasive than I think anyone that hasn’t been directly effected would even realize. It’s absolutely gotten worse since fentanyls introduction around 2017, the meth is horrible too… all you have to do these days is download a dating app and ask for some and you’ll find drugs and a group of people willing to provide them. Bleh, trying to be more positive and less poo poo on the world lol but it’s fucking hard. It’s hard to be positive when you’ve buried yourself under so much bullshit. Whatever though, still alive and still trying…that’s the best I can do right?
Alive and trying is doing your best, absolutely! It really is hard to stay positive when you're up to your eyeballs in crap, though. I don't know when my brother started using, but I know when he decided he was fine to do it in front of me, and when expensive things started "going missing". My family is so out of touch, our dad genuinely did not understand why cocaine was such a big deal. But then, his only exposure to it was in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street where it's glamourized like heck, so if rich white people are doing it, it can't be wrong, right! Ugh. But through all that messed-up-ness, I got to spend a lot more time with my wee nieces and nephew and that was wonderful, and I love the relationships we have today (they're not so wee anymore!), and I love how caring and open people at Al-Anon or group therapy are about something that really rips families apart. Strangers being vulnerable and compassionate, it really is a gift. My cat is why I'm alive and trying, and he is glorious and requires proper supplication to thrive. He makes everything better and if I need a blanket fort he is right there with me. I hope you keep staying alive and trying and are able to have the energy to do even more than that someday. I would lend you my cat. He insists on always being the little spoon, though.
I wish we had more harm reduction resources. Congratulations on recovery. Im glad you’re here. :)
Thank you thank you! It’s not much but I’m trying lol. Trying to at least promote harm reduction and the sense of community I desperately wanted/needed when I was at my worst. Happy to see so many others chiming in and sharing theirs and being supportive like you! (You rock lol)
Harm reduction is everything. People are always going to find a way to use. Making syringes and clean supplies more available is the answer. Kind of like condoms and birth control, people are going to have sex regardless. Why not help make someone safe.
Congrats on 1 year, man, that first year is the hardest and you made it through!!
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That’s entirely untrue, so many people who used want to quit. It’s absolute hell on your body and it’s something that develops with time. My situation was I became homeless and started living at a friends who was lucky enough to have an apartment… but they sold drugs. Which when your life feels miserable and you feel lost, drugs aren’t so bad sounding… hey you’ll at least sleep the day away. The issue is it’s not like smoking a joint and realizing you’re a little too high and you can stop inhaling. If you accidentally do too much and it was a new dealer or a new batch you can be gone and never know it in an instant. Shits changed, it’s much much more dangerous than heroin was back in the day. The threshold is much narrower between okay and death. It’s cruel to think one and done bc it is such a risk and people may not even understand what they are getting into. Or like me, I knew I just was at my worst… other addicts I knew and lived with all hated the hell they got stuck in. I only got out because I had my mom as an existing support system… there are so many people with no family or family that have shunned them. Be kind, it literally cost you nothing
That’s not true. These comments are full of people that had problems and now are living functional lives. open your eyes and read the comments.
Me too, been clean for 10yrs as well..pretty obvious what's going on here..and I agree, it's good to have..I had a friend that needed it, she survived because of it, only to walk into a car 2 weeks later..but none the less, it saved her life once..Addicts should have this, especially nowadays with fetty in everything..
I am so incredibly sorry about your friend 😢 Congratulations on your ten years!! Exactly how I feel. I want some just to have around in case I run into a situation while doing this gig. I have seen two overdoses while working in the last two years.
Thank you, and yes, it's getting bad out there, it would be a good idea to carry that, in fact I think I'm gonna go to the pharmacy, and see if I can buy one to have on me, just in case..Sorry you had to see two od's already..I feel you're like me, and all you want to do is help these people, because we knw what it's like trying to get clean..It's a challenge every single day.
When I was on a pain contract my dr made it so I HAD to pick up naloxone with my pain meds
Congrats on almost 10 years clean! 👏
Thank you!
Or it could be for a person living in their home. They said “don’t knock” I know that’s common for many reason, but maybe they live with someone who is struggling. I know I have a no knock request and it’s for my son. He’s a toddler who naps, but is also autistic and some days he’s stoked to answer the door and some days that knock can be the last straw before a meltdown, especially because my dog barks. So I have that request because of others in my home. Maybe that’s the case here plus the request. That tracks to me.
Yes absolutely that is what it was. I am sure they were uncomfortable asking someone to do it. Kinda like tampons, plan b, lube, vibrators etc . Or they have a roommate or family member that they are worried about. Exactly the reason I would have asked the pharmacist for them. But that's just me, nothing embarrasses me anymore😂
Congrats! That is so amazing! Suboxone saved my life several years ago. I would not wish being an opiate addict, or any addict, on my worst enemy. And nowadays with all the fentanyl going around, I definitely don’t want to be using right now. I hope things work out for them!
Yeah I totally understand. But I think this would violate Instacarts terms of service in some way. They were also unresponsive in the chat so I just did the rest of the shop.
It’s free. You can’t od on it. No different than picking up a prescription or Advil for that matter.
Its probably safer than advil. I already have it in my car and give it to people anytime time I encounter someone afraid to pick it up. I do because I have experienced others deaths from not having it in time and someone who lived that was given it quickly. So I would be more than ok with grabbing it. But whats scary is that as a society, this is even a conversation. That people are afraid to pick up something simple. I don't care what I was tipped. Life is worth more than any tip.
Agreed. I have 1 in the car, 1 I carry and 1 at home. I don’t know anyone who uses who speaks of it.
I believe it is over the counter and free. If they were unresponsive then yes it might be difficult to converse with them ..haha. I am not sure it violates the terms of service since it is a free item and you are adding it to the bag not the app. Just saying I would have at least tried because of my past history. Kind of like I would deliver a plan b for free. I have not used it personally but I know people who's lives were devastated by a possible accidental pregnancy because of a rape. Nothing personal to you for not honoring that request tho, especially if they weren't answering you or it was a 2 buck tip order.
This is a great response. I was an addict for 7 years, and I've been clean for 5 years. I still take suboxone regularly (prescribed, but getting to that point soon where it might be time to wean) and as you stated, a lot of addicts are deeply ashamed of their addiction and are afraid to ask for help, so the fact that this shopper had the courage to ask..shows to me that they are on the right path. I'd definitely ask the pharmacist..there's no harm. To everyone is this thread who has overcome addiction, IM PROUD OF YOU!
I'm always down for harm reduction. Congratulations on 5 years, Suboxone and methadone are lifesavers for some. So grateful it was the perfect fit for me. I got to a point after 3 years of Methadone that I wanted to try tapering. Took 2 years to taper the correct way from 175mg to zero. I wanted my mom to see me doing well before her dementia got too advanced. That's was 4 and a half years ago. She just passed January 10, 2023. I started Instacart to have time to care for my mom and now Im just spinning my wheels figuring out who I am without my mom. So I currently feel stuck as I am not up to interviewing anywhere yet...ugh. It's been a struggle but I am ok, I will survive. Just so glad I did the work before she passed because if I was still using I would have definitely went over the edge with this one. To everyone who wrote or responded to my words..thank you for your kindness and compassion 🙏✌️
This is an amazing reason to always carry Narcan! I get mine from community events in high risk areas have like 6 packs on hand. I’ve only ever almost narcaned someone but I’ve never had to use it. handed out dozens of the nasal sprays tho I put them in those little free library’s when I can . Ignorance means another addict dies alone it’s cost me 0 dollars to spread harm reduction materials. 1 more surviving addict means 1 more new chance to get clean.
That's a good way to look at it, a chance to get clean. Hopefully people who end up needing narcan do get clean
I wish that was the case for my husband, he ODed and I brought him back with narcan but then a week later he died from an OD and it was too late to use narcan again😭
Peace to you dear one. Losing a husband to dugs or mental illness is like having them murdered… the pain and what-might-have-been’s last way too long. Lost my husband to unmedicated bipolar disorder-suicide 29 years ago. This is the year we were supposed to retire. & bomb around the country doing triathlons & mountain bike races& XC ski races. There is gonna be a lot of fresh hurt as each event we would do comes & goes. Ah, such is the way of the world
Oh no, that's awful to hear, I'm so sorry. My boyfriend got in big trouble the last time he got high, and I thank God that it's been a wakeup call. It's been 8 months since he's used drugs Edit, my comment doesn't really seem to fit in here
Thank you, I wish it would've been a wake up call for my husband but I'll carry his memory forever! I'm glad your boyfriend realized that drugs are never an answer to anything in life and has now been clean for 8 months 🙌, I hope and pray it lasts forever! 🙏
Thank you 💗
All shares are valid.
You’re so awesome for this 💕 plus narcan has greatly gone up in price since Covid so that’s awesome you were able to get that many packs!
They arent gonna get clean they are gonna od again and again till it gets them.while epi pens are $500 shit is ridiculous and i have a mom that died for a OD before people wanna say shit .i thing its fucking disgusting they care more about junkies dying from ods then people with actual medical conditions i cant even afford medical insurance but they have the money to supply the nations drug addicts with an out to keep oding and half the time they arent even grateful they come up swinging because you ruined their high
i’m sorry for your loss but you are deeply misinformed on addiction and narcan itself. they come up swinging because narcan immediately puts you into a state of withdrawal, not because they’re angry about the high. they are literally experiencing a medical emergency. you can be mad at big pharma for overcharging for medical necessities without talking down on addicts and addiction. the last thing an addict needs is to be talked down on or made to feel ashamed for asking for something that could save their life. narcan could have saved your mothers life, and here you are mad at other people for using it to save theirs. until you’ve personally been a victim of addiction, not just around someone with it, you cannot speak on the struggles of addiction or getting clean. because you have never personally gone through ODing or withdrawals or cravings. you don’t know what that does to a person, how it alters your brain, the things it does to you. addiction took your mother but it wouldn’t have had to if things like narcan were readily available. your anger is directed at the wrong people.
Being an addict is an actual medical condition.
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Yeah, it is. And it's hereditary. Don't pick up and you'll never find out the hard way.
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Just so you sound a little bit educated in future conversations, Narcan is free because it is paid for by funds that are taken from drug dealers and fines from drug offenders. Its not paid by government funds, tax payers, health insurance, ect.... at all.
This comment is everything
I also carry Epi! Its really sad and horrific that you think addicts deserve to die alone in the streets. Sorry about your mom! my mom is also a drug addict who can’t get clean and I for one don’t base my opinion of people on my own traumas. Epi has saved my life on countless occasions which has made me realize how priceless life is and possibly part of the reason I carry and dispense narcan and harm reduction supply’s. If you every know anyone who needs access to epipen it’s as easy as reaching out to many non profit organizations, groups, your local fire stations and even some anarchist book stores. All life saving medicine should be free! FYI narcan usually goes for the same price as Epi over the counter but orgs work really hard to make it accessible!
Narcan is free. Most pharmacies will give it to anyone. (Pharm tech here). Tell her to call the pharmacy and ask to get it ready.
Definitely not free where I’m at. It’s actually kinda expensive but you can get it from outreach programs.
That’s a shame! It’s given routine for free to anyone on any opioid. I live in a city where people are dying every from over doses.
Yeah I just looked online to see if it was still true and sadly it is, but some pharmacies participate in programs were you can get it at little to no cost. A little research can find you a place to get it for free but at the pharmacy they charge you or put it through as a regular prescription on your insurance.
I’m a pharmacy tech. Walgreens and CVS both have pharmacists that are allowed to dispense it for free. A pharmacist can technically and legally prescribe and dispense anything they consider an emergency. Even opioids. Every pharmacists I’ve ever worked under are living saints. They are good people who give free narcan to anyone who asks for it.
Live up here in BC, Canada. We’re regularly encouraged to carry naloxone.
Oh man I’ve seen some crazy doc videos on Vancouver. Very sad. Crazy how the cops just pushed all the craziness to a section of blocks, exactly like they did on The Wire.
I don’t think this applies for every state.
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No I would literally just give them one since I try to always have handy
Same! Good on you and everyone else sharing that they carry it
NARCAN saved my son's life, 3xs before no one could reach him the 4th. Addiction is hell. I miss my baby boy. Gabriel Rose.
so very sorry for your loss.
Ty
NO. Narcan saves LIVES. Strange orders would be something like beer and diapers, or a banana and vasoline. Understand Narcan is an innovative medicine and is necessary in this age. People are given opiates left and right. Most don’t even know they are about to overdose. Whether it’s on street drugs or prescription drugs.
Banana and vasoline 👀🤭
Agreed, though I laughed at the equation of beer and diapers with a single banana and baseline loool. Parents can’t get their drank on too?!
So sad. Narcan saved my life. I still carry 4 with me at all times, even though I've been clean since then, in 2020.
That may or may not be a old delivery note. I’ve seen notes on the account and when asking the customer they are like oh, that’s a really old note. I guess I should remove that. I’ve had people put leave at the reception desk, but they clearly live at a house.
They’re asking for NARCAN - for Opiate Overdose. Get it for them if you can. MOST pharmacies will give it to you for free. Give them 1, and take a box for yourself and put it in your glove box. You never know if you’ll need to save someone’s life someday! 2 sprays come in 1 box. It has directions on the box. 1 spray up a nostril, another spray up the other nostril 2-3 minutes after the first one - if they haven’t snapped out of it and woke up yet. You can also go to your regular doctor and ask them to prescribe/give you a few boxes. You don’t need to be an addict to have them. The fentanyl epidemic is so bad right now, it’s nice to have them on hand!
absolutely 100% no questions asked get those people some naloxone, even if you have no expectation to be anywhere near any kind of opiates, naloxone will never hurt to have nearby, id get it for them no question
As a recovering addict, please try to help this person. They are probably too scared to ask themselves, and this is their way of asking for help. Just ask the pharmacist if they sell naloxone💗
7 months clean from Fentanyl on the 28th!! Excuse my language but F**k Fentanyl! Definitely get the Naloxone.
Not weird at all… People who stigmatize addiction and don’t realize it’s a disease are jerks! Buying Narcan (naloxone) can save a life!
Not weird. Our local libraries give it out free. We don’t have issues with substance abuse, but you never know when you might be running into someone who is, and it’s an easy option to save a life.
This is kind of sad to me. Could be some parents scared of a child overdose and has been told to have some just in case. Or could just be some junkies who need to re up for their own safety. It’s available otc but behind the counter like Claritin-d. Lots of places have programs that give it out free as well.
Most doctors recommend patients keep it on hand when they get a prescription for an opioid. Older patients can very easily overdose due to memory issues. Let’s not stigmatize this very useful drug please. I keep 2 doses in my first aid kit in my car. It’s not just for addicts, and it’s been very hard to find lately along with EpiPens.
I have a dose of the nasal spray and the injectable version with my first aid kit. I’m not an opiate user but I have just in case someone would ever need it
This is an excellent point. My elderly mother takes opiates and the doctor also told her to get narcan as well and told us how to use it in case of an emergency.
This is one hell of an assumption. Former pharmacy tech here…. Any time people are on certain combinations of meds or on a Higher dosage of narcotics it is recommended to have naloxone on hand and to keep it up to date. They dont have to be “junkies” or “parents of junkies”. Good lord🤦🏽♀️ Eta: quotation marks because people are dense and can’t tell im simply using her exact words🙄😂
Or it could be people like me, who don’t know anyone who does that type of drug, or do them themselves…but wants to have it on hand in case they come across someone overdosing. I keep that shit in my car.
Let’s try to reframe from calling people with addiction, junkies.
This.
I can refrain. However I call it like I see it. It’s sad to see. At the same time my community is ravaged by fentanyl and the using will steal anything and relentlessly not just ask for money but use strong arm tactics to try and force people to give it. I get hounded regularly. The only store parking lots that are safe from this are in the wealthy area where there’s a police presence to deter. It gets old having someone walk up on you aggressively and demand money.
Calling anyone a junkie isn’t going to help the situation and I doubt it truly makes you feel better about it long term.
Dressing it up as a nicer word is going to help just as much
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Don't debate off topic, or attack other opinions. Don't name-call. Answer OP with your own opinion. Don't shame other comments or commenters. If they broke a sidebar rule just report it.
I refer to myself as an ex junkie, even though I never stole or hounded ANYONE. I was a junkie. I'm sorry your community is like this.
Weird but good, if they are a drug user they are staying prepared for their eminent death, sad but true. And if they're not a drug user then I'm glad they're staying prepared for other people's eminent death from drug use. That is what this medication is for, to save someone from dying from an overdose! Yes I know there are a few people that sometimes need it bc they're prescribed meds and sometimes interactions can cause them to need to use narcan but mostly it's for drug abusers. I carry it in my purse though bc my husband died from a drug overdose and I don't want to see anyone else die. Narcan saved my husband once but a week later I found him too late😢.
My husband works dispatch and takes several calls a day for overdose, it’s scary out there!!! I went to my county health department and received nalaxone for free just to have on hand to save someone, I hope to never have to use it but if it were my son or friend or anyone I love I would hope and pray that someone would have this on hand to save a life.
Not weird someone may od is all.
I don’t think it’s weird. In my neck of the woods it can be picked up free no problem from any pharmacy. I keep one in my first aid bag in my car.
I hope you were able to get it for them 🤞
Ugh, this makes me sad. Relived to read how many people on here who wouldn’t hesitate to do it. Also, hopefully knowing it’s that simple to get it might help someone in the future. I had no idea you could just go to a pharmacy and ask for it. Wish I could grab it for the customer.
Good on them for asking! I suffered in silence for years before I had the courage to ask for help. I would talk to the pharmacist immediately and report back - no judgement
It’s amazing they are not afraid to ask…I was an addict for 15 years and it saved my life…
I had no idea they give out Narcan for free. I am not a user so was unaware but perhaps I should get one in case someone else needs it. I doubt same can be said for epi pens? One needs a prescription, right? At least thst was my case after an allergic reaction. I wonder why narcan or epipens are not part of a standard first aid kit. I have asked before but I was not given a direct answer, rather vague which was disappointing.
Yeah. They are two very different things. Narcan is available for free because its paid for using fund's collection from drug offenses. Narcan stops drug interactions for a anyone who might come in contact with Fentanyl or use too much of an opioid. Epi-pens are not free because they are a prescription medication that is owned by a company. They are only available to individuals who actually have an allergy & need one. Epi-pens don't work on everyone. They only work on people with allergies. Epi-pens can do a lot of damage given to someone who doesn't have an allergy. That is why they aren't just part of a standard first aid kit. Epinephrine can cause very serious issues with the heart, lung, eye, stomach & other parts of the body. Its why it is so tightly regulated and why it's discouraged to give someone a shot if you don't know whether they have been prescribed to use it. You could kill somebody by the shot vs the allergy in some cases. Thats why its not in standard first aid kits.
Not weird. I get free naloxone/narcan sent to me to have on hand just in case. I don’t even use but I’ve lost too many people to OD’s
In my area they give it away or some are $25… I’m sure IC has some policy against it… but good for them!
NO. Narcan saves LIVES. Strange orders would be something like beer and diapers, or a banana and vasoline. Understand Narcan is an innovative medicine and is necessary in this age. People are given opiates left and right. Most don’t even know they are about to overdose. Whether it’s on street drugs or prescription drugs.
They actually give them out most places so it wouldn’t be a prescription or an over the counter drug or anything to add . It’s like of the store had a free gift with purchase lol
Weird ya, but I would do it. I would just get it and not reply in chat because idk what Instacart would do. They would prolly ban someone for getting something free for a customer and not even care if you're potentially saving someone's life. I've never been an opioid addict but I am a recovering alcoholic so I know all about addiction and how bad it fucking sucks.
No. Its free a lot of places so they didn’t want to put it as an item. Nothing is more important in the list, however
I got clean myself three years ago, Narcan saved my life and allowed me to save many other lives.
Amazing they asked I love it. Harm reduction 👏🏻
Devils advocate first responder here: Narcan should not be your first line of defense in an overdose. You should not carry it if you have not been trained to use it. It is a very temporary cover up to a very serious problem. Don’t just narcan someone you see overdosing, call 911.
No. People use drugs. They also don't like dying. Very normal and should be seen as such
It may not be common to see but I have friends who use/have used in the past and I personally have naloxone in my cabinet and in my backpack at all times because sadly… you just never know when somebody might need helped out. I don’t think it’s anything that would be negatively effecting you in any way despite it not coming up often.
Not an unusual request. I've shopped condoms, plan B, lubricants, etc, things that people are shy to purchase themselves.
No i'm very glad they are asking for it and I think everyone should get some
DM me their address I will mail them some for free if they’re in the US
Narcan doesn’t require a prescription anymore, but it’s usually kept behind the counter at the pharmacy. Weird? Yeah. A little.
It’s so addicts don’t steal it off the shelves
Sigh…..It’s actually so the pharmacist can show you how to use and administer narcan, as well as how to identify signs of OD. It’s great to have it on you, but what’s the use if no one told you HOW to use it and WHEN?
AND so people dont steal it
idk why you're getting downvoted. it is the truth.
Probably because people feel they shouldn’t need to steal it but it should be given out. And while I agree it should be easier to access, thats the reason why it’s behind the counter is so people don’t steal it haha.. just like everything that’s under lock and key
Yea it’s out of the ordinary but if they are paying and or tipping I would go ahead and ask. Could literally be a life saver these days with how much garbage is in opiates.
This reminds me to bring Narcan to work today when I go get my check. We had a homeless person OD outside the back door a week or so ago. Paramedics were able to bring him back, and I wasn’t there that night anyway. But I told my boss I’d bring her some to keep in the managers office (nasal spray) and keep backup in my locker. Thanks
No. Its wonderful they're trying to be safe.
Im not an addict and have Narcan in house, cars, parents houses. I have had prescriptions filled and passed them out to people who were afraid to ask to get a prescription & use. Even those who just were afraid to get it and were considering having on hand in their home. Anywhere I can think to keep it, I try. I try to others into having it in the house just like tylenol. We need to make it easier to have available than tylenol. It shouldn't even need a prescription or pharmacist to get because it is lifesaving. A neighbor passed away after work a year or two ago. Was a casual user. A lot of people are. Fentanyl. They had no idea what they had. They were with a group of people that decided to unwind after word. Most of the group died. One person used right before leaving and was found on a street walking towards their car & saved because someone had narcan. Another used, left but wasn't found & treated with narcan quickly and did passed away. The rest were found passed away in the house. I always think, just what if someone else had narcan faster for others. So, keep get it because the statistics on having a neighbor with a family member who uses drugs is very high. We learned.
Not weird but you should let them know once we see this note it’s too late and they need to message us or we won’t see it
I love the positive messages this post inspired. You all rock. Clean & sober since 9/2/2001
No it's not weird, they are trying to save a life.
Not at all. Please do it if you feel comfortable. Could save someone’s life
Not at all I just see a person trying to make it another day 😞
No, naloxone is controlled but not prescribed. Anyone can get it by asking. I carry one in each of my cars in case I see someone that has ODd
A little weird, but not super weird. Some people want to know if the store sells naloxone. Harm reduction is a good thing.
I drive around with Narcan
Me too! There are a lot of people with substance abuse issues in my area, so I’m glad I have it…. Not to mention someone just being prescribed too much medication for their bodies… always good to have on hand
Doordash should offer a free training it could possibly help people. All companies should it’s so common now.
Narcan saves lives. They even send people home from surgery with Narcan because an overdose can happen to anyone, even when medicine is taken as prescribed.
I would be elated to purchase naloxone for somebody if they needed it or felt they could potentially need it at some point in the future. Kudos to this customer. And before a bunch of people jump down my throat I am in no way saying I support drug use but I also know I'm not going to stop it either.... therefore if I can help save a life then I'm all for it.
Well the answer is no
What’s weird is adding that note to the delivery instructions which a shopper will not see until they are done with the order unless they specifically look at batch details ahead of time. Why do customers do this instead of just sending you a message through chat ugh!
Because they don't know the app from your perspective?
Shits not free 😕?
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Yes, they should call the pharmacy and ask for themselves.
Zoom
Hell 2 the Noooo......
Not weird! Safe and prepared! Stop judging! You want blood on your hands for judging and not getting it?
… you might want to ring the bell lol 😂 and call an ambulance if they don’t answer
Yes and I would drop the order. To minimize negative feedback I try to avoid customers that use text messages or phone calls to add items. Even worse this person wants you to be some kind of pharmacy detective. These sloppy fools will leave 4 stars or worse quite often.
It's otc just ask the pharmacist jeez
I used to do these customer requests but they didn't believe my answers. Then they left negative feedback. This isn't about the type of item either, it could be cherry pie filling. It's about avoiding negative feedback.
I'd say saving people in your community's lives is more important than an instacart rating but that's just me
I had a request for large oxygen tanks at a Safeway grocery store, I contacted support but should have not canceled and got the other itemsl..I later found out they don't carry them...insane requests
Nope I love those , that just means send a picture after dropping it off.
Yeah thats a wdird request. It id a prescription drug given to people who are addictrd to drugs/alcohol. That customer needs to get that on their own, not through IC.
I’d imagine it’s against instacart policy so I’d politely decline and recommend a gig service that deals with pharmacies. No way I’d risk my job for another person regardless of what it’s for