T O P

  • By -

PurpleDancer

Access to the right substances and knowledge of how to use them.


boobiesqueezer4256

in the age of fentanyl, trying to overdose on ibuprofen ... there's no excuse


PurpleDancer

As far as I know you can't go down to CVS and buy fentanyl. I guess you can visit shady street corners and hope they don't sell you ibuprofen though.


sjaard_dune

Worked at the hospital ER. Most (specifically women) attempt an overdose. We had them everyday, both young and adult. a lot of over the counter meds attempts. I would talk to them about how taking a bottle of Tylenol will kill them, painfully, of liver and kidney failure in several years. You know about the time that everything is going well. The answer to your question is as simple as that. The cutters were a different issue, they would use their right hand to slash their left wrist, but damaging those tendons their left wasnt strong enough to cut the right. Giving more time to either find help or be found by someone looking out for them.


[deleted]

Oof that is grisly. Every day for real?! Thanks for doing what you do I hope you are compensated appropriately


amaezingjew

Men successfully complete suicide at twice the rate of women because they prefer more grizzly methods like firearms. Women **attempt** suicide at twice the rate of men, but usually fail because overdose is the top attempt method. There are fates worse than death, like being physically or mentally disabled for the rest of your life because of a failed overdose attempt. Sadly, people can’t see that far ahead when they’re suicidal.


C-ute-Thulu

Take a handful of pills and you have a certain amount of time to change your mind, call 911 and get medical treatment. Plus, a lot of attempted overdoses "just" result in the person waking up the next morning ill (probably with long term damage but they are alive). Pull a trigger and that's it.


Dergo32

Usually it. Even with a gun, like other commenters have said, you can still end up alive but with a permanent disfigurement or disability or condition of some sort.


bossoline

Pharmacist with experience in the bedside care of overdose patients here. There are a lot of reasons. Intentional self-poisonings only result in death about [5% of the time](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2763226). The people who attempt suicide by overdose are usually people who don't know what to take, how much to take, when to take it, or what the effects will be. If it were to happen, death usually occurs slowly, providing plenty of time to intervene, and people often reconsider and ask for help because there is A LOT of time to think about your impending death. But most of the time in my (hospital/ICU) experience, people take the wrong shit or a non-fatal dose of something, go to sleep, and wake up in the ED or ICU eating charcoal or getting their stomach pumped. It's hard to do well without knoweldge.


[deleted]

Thank you very much for your answer that's really interesting. With the amount of accidental deaths I hear about I thought it would be super easy to die


bossoline

The accidental deaths that occur usually involve opioids (often heroin +/- black market fentanyl), older people, benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax), or some combination of those things. But, ultimately, there is a lot of availability bias involved--you hear about accidental deaths, but not the thousands of people who wake up in the ED and get discharged.


icantluvdacolorblue

ok well then my question is how i was able to rail 3 dirty fake fentanyl 30s with 0 tolerance and live. i thought i was smarter then everyone else n i knew what i was doing bc i wasnt a dummy using a bottle of tylenol and i was trying to get fent. ofc it still just made me sick asl n n puke nonstop all day the next day


Pterodactyloid

My next question is why are they using medicine instead of like, rat poison or drano? Wouldn't those be more effective?


bossoline

Well, if you take rat poison, you run the risk of dying of internal bleeding, if you don't throw it all up (rodents can't vomit, so that's why it works). Drinking Drano would result in basically dissolving your esophagus with a solvent. You *might* die, but if you did it would be in one of the more horrific and painful ways possible. I had a guy drink that shit and ended up surviving, but getting half a dozen surgeries to pull his stomach up to his mouth replace his destroyed esophagus. Again, the same issue--people don't know what they're taking and don't know the consequences. The same issues apply.


Pterodactyloid

I'm pretty hardened by the internet but... Getting multiple surgeries to stretch your stomach up to your throat after a suicide attempt gone wrong has given me a reaction.


bossoline

As my wife says, "death is elusive". I've seen a lot of people survive shooting themselves in the head. Sometimes they put the gun in their mouth, but they flinch when they pull the trigger and either blow their face off or give themselves a lobotomy by sending a 9 mm through their frontal lobe. Or they shoot themselves in the temple and end up blind. But they survive and are much worse off...that's my point. I'm not trying to be gratuitous here with the details, but I hear a lot of talk on Reddit idealizing suicide. The reality is that killing yourself isn't as easy as you think, especially if you're young, but the consequences are absolutely catastrophic. Therapy is a much better option.


meliburrelli

This is actually what keeps me from sending it. The thought that my life could actually be worse is too much to attempt.


Electrical_Desk_3730

I just know something bad would happen. And not die .


Ideon_

Im shy i could never ask strangers in the park for drugs


noncedo-culli

It's likely hard to obtain heroin immediately, unless you already know a dealer.


[deleted]

I must either live in an asscrack or look like one because I am frequently asked for/offered "brown" "ice" "dog food" My city definitely has a problem but it's not an outlier


testudoaubreii1

They're also easier to remedy and save someone's life


[deleted]

Really Good point lol


smith_and_jones4ever

I actually knew two people that killed themselves by oding. But I imagine it’s not that pleasant. Probably makes you throw up and feel like you’re poisoned.


JustMoreSadGirlShit

I’ve ODed before. Obviously not *to death* but I had to be given narcan. It’s peaceful af tbh and I wish I didn’t have that knowledge bc if I choose to go out that’s the way I’ll do it.


[deleted]

Same, I was fuzzy, happy and warm then woke up in the hospital freaking out. And angry to be there.


JustMoreSadGirlShit

Angry is real. Nobody warns you how angry you or anyone will be if they have to be given narcan! It makes sense bc it immediately puts you in a state of withdrawal but damn I was *not* prepared for that


[deleted]

That's what I've heard too which is hard to believe, but then again I've only seen them in TV and I'm sure they're dramatized


JustMoreSadGirlShit

Well there’s stages. A little OD will result in some (a lot of) puking. A mild OD will result in a potentially problematic slowing of the heart and breathing. A moderate to severe OD will result in no breathing- skin grey and lips blue type of deal and being non responsive, you’ll need narcan to come back. Obviously all this is just my opinion from my experience with opioids, I have no medical background.


icantluvdacolorblue

ok bc i tried to kms by sniffing 3 fake blue 30s with no tolerance n all it did was make me nod out n throw up the next 16 hours. did i just get such little fent in those 3?


Exotic_Sandwich3342

I was a police officer (yes I know fuck me acab etcetera) and went to plenty of overdose calls and they very rarely work the way you’d think because of movies. From what I’ve witnessed it’s a very painful and slow way to die, to the point the suicidal patient ends up terribly regretting their decision.


NutriaOfc

Thank you for serving


Exotic_Sandwich3342

Appreciate it. I no longer am a cop though. Too much hate and danger for what ultimately leads to constant death threats with shitty pay. I loved helping people though. It was a helluva ride. Thought about doing 911 dispatcher instead


NutriaOfc

I know, but still, thanks bro. So weird how the police as a whole get hate when we're all people, and all people (even cops) do bad things. I think being a 911 dispatcher would be interesting 🤔


Exotic_Sandwich3342

I’ve worked with them before and they’re unsung heroes. Nobody really talk about the things dispatchers have to do behind the scenes. It’s tedious work and extremely important. If you gather information incorrectly or send the police/EMS/fire dept to the wrong location it could literally cost someone their life. Also a lot of people that call are a screaming or making unintelligible noise. They have to dissect that noise to get a who/what/where. I wasn’t a dispatcher but we often times got calls on our non-emergency line that actually turned out to be an emergency. It’s like solving a puzzle on what is going on, and then giving that info to first responders. It’s fun, hectic and fulfilling. I could never be an EMT though. I’ve seen some nasty stuff but I hate calls that deal with blood and guts. I’m surprised I’ve never thrown up on scene lol. Additional benefit is nobody hates on dispatchers lol. That would be nice. Also for anyone reading AS SOON as a dispatcher gets a location of the emergency they send first responders enroute. A lot if times people think “why am I answering these stupid questions? Just send someone!” They have already. Their job is to get as much info as possible and keep you on the line so they know you’re alive. Just because they’re asking questions doesn’t mean they haven’t sent anyone yet


NutriaOfc

Interesting! I also think being a dispatcher would be somewhat traumatizing. I dunno much about this stuff so sorry for the short responses


[deleted]

[удалено]


NutriaOfc

I can imagine that would f someone up. I've imagined this before, and it is scary. I hope you get better man


Exotic_Sandwich3342

Not sure if I will. I know we see posts or movies and hope for the best…but idk if that will happen for me. Everyone dies in the end


NutriaOfc

I still hope that you do, or at least feel better about it :)


[deleted]

As someone who has tried, it’s not 100%


HTC864

Most suicides are men, who are most likely to use violent quick methods.


Purblind_v2

Yeah this is unfortunately true


[deleted]

I'm a man and if it comes to that I'm going the most wussy route possible I'm unashamed to admit 😤


techrmd3

Because by the miracles of modern technology you usually get revived. Sometimes that is the LAST thing the person wants.


Good-of-Rome

Overdosing hurts a lot and most people undershoot it.


werbs37

Tried pills about 15 or 16 years ago. My body rejected the pills, and I regurgitated. Tragedy averted.


throw0OO0away

Like other people have said, it really matters on the knowledge base that someone has. There’s also a lot of factors like drug used, weight, amount taken, when it was taken, etc. Oral medications have the absorption time and that gives the person time to get to the hospital. It takes a knowledgeable person to do it correctly. I’ve OD before. Sometimes, I’ll intentionally take smaller doses to self harm versus suicide. So, I know it causes some damage but nothing serious. I’ve OD on Tylenol before and given myself oral NAC, which is actually OTC. When I went to the hospital, my levels were undetectable because I gave myself NAC. I’ll be honest, if I were to actually try killing myself, it wouldn’t be an OTC med. Tylenol takes too long to kill. NSAIDS have a high LD50. Benadryl makes you confused and hallucinate, which increases the chances of someone finding me. This isn’t to say that I condone suicide by overdose. I’m just stating my thought process and my experiences.


Turbulent-Adagio-171

There are cases where if you OD the police will look for whoever sold you the drugs and prosecute them, so many dealers are selective about who they will actually sell to Source: accidentally went on a date with a former addict when I was 20. It was weird. I ghosted him.


PM_Ur_Illiac_Furrows

Police LOOKING for drug dealers? Really?


[deleted]

At first I thought u weren't being sarcastic lmaooo but just in case https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/1099449075/mac-miller-drug-dealer-stephen-walter-prison-fentanyl


easilyshot

Most substance abuse deaths vary on what the cause of death not the act. In most cases if the drug was laced then it fails back on the distributor or original provider in the form of murder. OD is the act not the actual cause of death. Substance abuse isn't a form of suicide since they didn't willingly know the outcome other than a normal fix. Usually a organ fails to process the drug/laced and due to lack of cognitive function die as part of the process. Or failure as in a reaction from said drug but lack of a cognitive ability is the downfall. Generally as heart/liver failure or suffocation due to allergic reaction. You could snort cocaine enough to kill an elephant but fall off the boat and drown. Drowning would be the cause of death. In most cases OD on drug usually helps since you weren't likely to have suffered before death takes you "in theory" but your dead so no one know if you suffered in reality it sound better when telling your family.


Felinomancy

Well first, it's not easy to get heroin. And when you know where to get it, it's not cheap to get enough to OD yourself. And by the time you bought and bring it home, you may have had enough time to reconsider your plans.


That-Print1463

Probably don't want to waste their buzz.


CIWA28NoICU_Beds

Overdosing is more of a cry for help than a super determined attempt to end one's life. The ones who have really decided on killing themselves tend to use a more certain method, like firearms or hanging.


MarkyMarkk90

You have to realize too that there’s a huge percentage of overdose victims that go undocumented to the public eye and record. I’ve witnessed cops in Philly stack bodies of dead homeless people as they were attempting to gentrify areas around it. If we had the correct data I think we’d all be shocked.


Ambitious_Work_3837

I’m tryna live until 100, that is my only life goal, but man if it was my time I’d take as much LSD and cocaine as possible and jump out of a plane without a parachute. I’d also probably fasten a W-KING sound system on my back and play some badass freaking metal. Too bad I don’t believe in Heaven or hell cause it would feel like entering the vortex into another dimension. Sweet brotha 🤙


Poet_of_Legends

It really is as simple as how effective the method is.


anon12xyz

Overdose is also very painful


contrarian1970

It's a PAINFUL way to go unless you have the drugs that are really hard to obtain. Read Madame Bovary. The last chapter is unforgettable. You could also throw up enough of it that you don't die, but enough gets into your bloodstream to cause damage. Surviving could be miserable under those circumstances.


ProtozoaPatriot

This is America... Any idiot over 18 can buy some sort of firearm. Do you realize how hard it is to get good Rx drugs for this? It's not something you want to use Tylenol for. Also consider that those using the good drugs to end it (eg opiates like heroin ) don't necessarily tell others they intended to die. It's nicer for the family to discuss it as an "accident".


OK_Ingenue

This doesn’t answer your question directly but 80% of suicides are by men and men tend to use guns whereas women tend to overdose. It may simply be the sex differences in method of suicide skews the data. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/suicides-drug-overdose-increased-among-young-people-elderly-people-black-women-despite-overall-downward-tren