- Jun 22, 2004
- 12,074
- 9
- 81
A good friend of mine from UT died this morning.
He was in my immediate group of friends. I met him my freshman year in the honors dorms, and stayed good friends with him throughout college and post-graduation. He studied for the LSAT with me, and we ended up taking the exam in the same room. Several of my friends talked to him almost daily -- as recently as last night. Not sure exactly what happened, but whatever it was, it was senseless. I love you man.
Twenty-three years old, too young.
UPDATE:
I found this out just last night. A few of his closest friends learned of the following almost immediately after his death. They arrived in Maryland before me, and learned of this before I arrived. In an effort to keep the family's strife to a minimum, they withheld this until the services and memorials were complete.
So, it was what we all feared from the beginning, an accidental overdose.
My friend suffered from debilitating migraines, and began different pain management therapies while in college. As with a large percent of opiate users, he became addicted to the therapies intended to improve his quality of life.
He was statistically and genetically disadvantaged to begin with -- both of his parents are addicts. One is an alcoholic, the other abuses pain medication.
Sadly, none of us (save one friend that I will discuss later) knew the extent of his addiction. We knew that he popped Vicodin and Norco and Oxycontin, but they were his prescriptions. Over the past four years, he built up a tolerance to the effects of the opiates. Eventually, his doctor wrote a script for Fentanyl patches. These are 72-hour extended release patches normally prescribed to cancer patients for pain management. He also took various oral opiates for break-through pain. Pain that the Fentanyl did not mask.
The weird thing, however, is how functional he was. He would have the patch on, take 4 Vicodin, and drink alcohol -- and still be completely functional, lucid, and able-bodied. This was an eerie display of his tolerance.
Fast forward to a few months ago. He and another friend of ours (though, not a good friend) made a pact to tell each other what they were doing, in an attempt to stay safe, but not tell anyone else. Intelligently, my friend told people about the other friend's habits, and there was a mini intervention. However, the other friend did not do the same for my friend. He kept the pact he made until recently, after his death.
Here is what he got himself into.
Fentanyl is an extremely hard hitting opiate, but is metabolized just as quickly. That's why it is delivered with a 72-hour extended release patch. A quick internet search of Fentanyl patches turns up a common abuse practice: Cutting a slit in the patch and squeezing the Fentanyl gel out to freebase.
Yes, he was freebasing what was essentially morphine.
Although he developed a ridiculous tolerance to the opiates, it is impossible to develop a tolerance to the respiratory suppression characteristics. As with most barbiturate overdoses, he felt like he wasn't getting an adequate high, upped the dose, and went into respiratory arrest.
Oddly, the way they found him was not typical for an opiate overdose. Most of the time, he user is found sitting or relaxing in a chair or bed. They simply fall asleep due to the slowed respiration. My friend was found halfway between the couch and the phone -- he most likely upped the dose, took the hit, and immediately knew something wasn't right, but did not make it to the phone in time to save his own life.
He was an addict. A twenty-three year old addict with enabling medical doctors.
He was in my immediate group of friends. I met him my freshman year in the honors dorms, and stayed good friends with him throughout college and post-graduation. He studied for the LSAT with me, and we ended up taking the exam in the same room. Several of my friends talked to him almost daily -- as recently as last night. Not sure exactly what happened, but whatever it was, it was senseless. I love you man.
Twenty-three years old, too young.
UPDATE:
I found this out just last night. A few of his closest friends learned of the following almost immediately after his death. They arrived in Maryland before me, and learned of this before I arrived. In an effort to keep the family's strife to a minimum, they withheld this until the services and memorials were complete.
So, it was what we all feared from the beginning, an accidental overdose.
My friend suffered from debilitating migraines, and began different pain management therapies while in college. As with a large percent of opiate users, he became addicted to the therapies intended to improve his quality of life.
He was statistically and genetically disadvantaged to begin with -- both of his parents are addicts. One is an alcoholic, the other abuses pain medication.
Sadly, none of us (save one friend that I will discuss later) knew the extent of his addiction. We knew that he popped Vicodin and Norco and Oxycontin, but they were his prescriptions. Over the past four years, he built up a tolerance to the effects of the opiates. Eventually, his doctor wrote a script for Fentanyl patches. These are 72-hour extended release patches normally prescribed to cancer patients for pain management. He also took various oral opiates for break-through pain. Pain that the Fentanyl did not mask.
The weird thing, however, is how functional he was. He would have the patch on, take 4 Vicodin, and drink alcohol -- and still be completely functional, lucid, and able-bodied. This was an eerie display of his tolerance.
Fast forward to a few months ago. He and another friend of ours (though, not a good friend) made a pact to tell each other what they were doing, in an attempt to stay safe, but not tell anyone else. Intelligently, my friend told people about the other friend's habits, and there was a mini intervention. However, the other friend did not do the same for my friend. He kept the pact he made until recently, after his death.
Here is what he got himself into.
Fentanyl is an extremely hard hitting opiate, but is metabolized just as quickly. That's why it is delivered with a 72-hour extended release patch. A quick internet search of Fentanyl patches turns up a common abuse practice: Cutting a slit in the patch and squeezing the Fentanyl gel out to freebase.
Yes, he was freebasing what was essentially morphine.
Although he developed a ridiculous tolerance to the opiates, it is impossible to develop a tolerance to the respiratory suppression characteristics. As with most barbiturate overdoses, he felt like he wasn't getting an adequate high, upped the dose, and went into respiratory arrest.
Oddly, the way they found him was not typical for an opiate overdose. Most of the time, he user is found sitting or relaxing in a chair or bed. They simply fall asleep due to the slowed respiration. My friend was found halfway between the couch and the phone -- he most likely upped the dose, took the hit, and immediately knew something wasn't right, but did not make it to the phone in time to save his own life.
He was an addict. A twenty-three year old addict with enabling medical doctors.
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