Narcan--overdose "miracle drug"

Just thought I post this for those with loved one's struggling with heroin and opioid addiction.

I am watching Aljazeera News right now. There's a special on about addiction in america.

This drug, Narcan, apparently it's used in injection form, has reversed over 8,000 plus overdoses. Over 8,000 people died of an overdose from heroin or opioid's in the last year.

They actually think this drug is not only reversing overdoses, but helping with behavior changes too.

Paramedics and Police carry this in something like 29 states (didn't quite catch it but something like this number), and now drug users are carrying it and saving each others lives, and acting as somewhat of a deterrent to the ones seeing and using it. Seems like it might encourage them to use more and more. Not sure how I feel about it.

Huh...never heard of this, but thought I would put it out here.

Also, it apparently works for more than just heroin and opioids, as it jump starts breathing again.

Maybe medical people on here would know more, but thought I would share what I just heard on one of my favorite news channels. :)
 

Marcie Mac

Just Plain Ole Tired
My SO has a morphine pump, and the doctor just gave him a prescription for this as they have had some people overdose if the pump malfunctions (or they start using an alternate way to use morphine even if they have the pump)
 
My SO has a morphine pump, and the doctor just gave him a prescription for this as they have had some people overdose if the pump malfunctions (or they start using an alternate way to use morphine even if they have the pump)

I actually overdosed on Morphine in a hospital after they gave it to me when I broke my tail bone. Good thing a good friend was with me. I felt my blood pressure going down fast, and my friend ran and yelled for a nurse.

I now wonder if this is what they gave me to reverse it.

I find this interesting.
 

Sister's Keeper

Active Member
It's not available to the general public. Paramedics carry it in all states, EMTs and police in some.

It's available either by IV injection in nasal inhalation. It's one of those things, like an epi pen, that after being used the patient should be transported immediately to the ER. It is not without side effects, and over use can cause heart arrhythmias and seizures.

Also, if the patient isn't breathing at all, the nasal inhalant won't work.

It only reverses opiates and it's effects wear off on about 6 hours.
 
I just saw how in I think it was Oakland Ca, they have been handing it out to drug users. They have been saving each other's lives. Something about doing trials and what not in Cali. It might be soon available to public on a wider basis.

I don't know, seems like it would give someone who was too scared to use otherwise, a false sense of security in going ahead and trying to use one of these dangerous drugs. Not sure I like this idea. For certain, some teens will hear about this and try it...teens who were too afraid without a reverse antidote type drug.

Not sure how I feel about this...up in the air on it.
 

in a daze

Well-Known Member
I actually overdosed on Morphine in a hospital after they gave it to me when I broke my tail bone. Good thing a good friend was with me. I felt my blood pressure going down fast, and my friend ran and yelled for a nurse.

I now wonder if this is what they gave me to reverse it.

Yes it was. I give people moderate IV sedation for colonoscopies, etc. I work in the GI lab at the hospital and we have a vial of narcan available in the room to draw up in case the patient gets oversedated.
 
Well thank goodness for narcan. After i felt my blood pressure going down everything went black and then i think in a few minutes I was fine again.

I learned twice now, the hard way, I cannot have morphine. :sick:
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
It sounds like it is being provided to ALL first responders in parts of Canada - not just EMTs, but firefighters and sometimes police too. I have no problem with it in the hands of first responders. It also makes sense for "safe injection sites" to have it. Directly in the hands of addicts? Not so sure.
 

toughlovin

Well-Known Member
It may be a state by state thing. Here I think most first responders carry it. But as a regular citizen you can get trained in using it and then carry it. I think all parents of opiate users shouldngetntrained and have it on hand.
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
It's not available to the general public. Paramedics carry it in all states, EMTs and police in some.

It is available to the public in our state. Not only is it available but it is non prescription and can be bought at the local drug stores. It is available to family members of addicts for free.
 
Yah, I will get this if I can. just to have it on hand.

Not just for probably use for Son. There are addicts all over. Neighbors up north at our cabin, sadly old people moved out and in moved addicts. Nothing we can do, but I "keep an eye" on them. One of the kids ODd and died last year. He stupidly put some type of morphine patches on him and died. I really liked this kid and was rooting for him. If only they would have had this on hand. It could have saved him. Thankfully I was at my main home, and didn't see this...found out about it when we went to open cabin last spring.

I will just hate to see this help undecided kids, start thinking it will be a good antidote to help them start using. :(

Drugs in this country is such a problem. Our current Government has failed at doing all that can be done to help with this. As I am sure we all know.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Our government could help addicts more by adding many more affordable mental health facilities and mandate insurance cover mental health, addiction included, as much as insuance covers other illnesses. They wont because the majority of voters (notice I did not say americans, but the down and out and poor tend not to vote,) doesnt think mental health facilities are worth spending money on. So the less wealthy and people without the means to pay for private rehabs would have to start voting for more enlightened candidates, unlikely.
Stopping drugs or our drug problem is a different issue. As long as there is a market for heroin, meth, cocaine etc, enterprising predators will find ways to get and sell that poisen. I dont see how the supply can be stopped. We already have more people in prison than any developed country and many are there on drug charges, but drugs still thrive, poisening our people. I think maybe we need to have more EARLY services for our at risk little ones. Other than that, what can we do? Is there really an answer to stopoing drug access in a free country?
I truly dont know. Drugs are in every free country. Probably even in countries that are not free. Anyone have a solution?
I am sadly glad that there is now at least this drug to save lives.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
There are bills in the making to make Narcan kits available OTC nationwide.

They will contain 2 injectors/doses of Narcan as Narcan doesn't last a long time, and if the patient still has dangerous levels of opioids in their system when the Narcan wears off, they can relapse right back into the OD.

Narcan works by blowing the opiates off the brain receptors and blocking them from re-attaching.

In the case of opiate addicts, Narcan will throw them straight into precipitated withdrawal.

I actually ODed on oxycodone due to being half awake and stupid. I had a prescription for a sinus/allergy medication that looked a lot like a 40mg oxycodon tablet.

I got up one morning, reached for and grabbed the wrong pill minder and popped one of Stu's oxy 40mg IR tablets.

I started puking 20 minutes later, and 10 minutes after that was having trouble breathing.

Stu called an ambulance. I was administered Narcan via injection in the ambulance and came around within a few minutes. That said, It ain't pleasant even if you aren't an addict. I had a splitting headache, the shakes, a rapid pulse, and an upset stomach. The Narcan started to wear off after a couple of hours at the hospital and they had to give me another dose of it.

I was kept overnight on observation and released the following day. I felt like crud physically and mentally, probably from both the oxy od and the Narcan, but I got over that in a couple, three days.

Narcan is a lifesaver and should be made available as widely as possible.
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Narcan saved my daughter's life when she overdosed on heroin. My husband found her on the couch cold to the touch and eyes rolled back in her head. He and the housekeeper that was there at the time took turns doing chest compressions until the EMT's could get there.

They administered Narcan and my husband said she came around almost immediately and was sitting up talking like nothing had happened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

They did take her to the hospital for observation because they told us that there could be a rebound effect and she could stop breathing again. That didn't happen and she checked herself out of the hospital later that evening.

I don't know if it is legal to buy over the counter in my state but I need to check.

Thanks for starting a thread on this topic!

~Kathy
 
Our government could help addicts more by adding many more affordable mental health facilities and mandate insurance cover mental health, addiction included, as much as insuance covers other illnesses.
It's supposed to be mandated now. The problems lie with high deductibles. Most people cannot afford the high deductibles. Mental Health and Substance Abuse treatments are now mandated under "Obamacare", which I actually cannot stand. Don't want to digress here....so....

100% agree they could and should have more and more affordable mental health hospitals. To me, addiction in like an obsessive/compulsive disorder. These two, mental health and substance abuse should be treated almost in the same manner (mental health facility wise--not jail), but with dual therapies or combination of various theories. I personally like cognitive behavioral therapy with a bit of rational emotive, but I'm old school...

With that said, I do think dangerous drug dealers belong in prison. BIG TIME. The difference lies with addicts VS the dealers I think. Weed out and lock away the dealers, and hospitalize the addicts. I could really rant here, but we probably agree on this...

Stopping drugs or our drug problem is a different issue. As long as there is a market for heroin, meth, cocaine etc, enterprising predators will find ways to get and sell that poisen. I dont see how the supply can be stopped. We already have more people in prison than any developed country

True, and I've recently learned that we do have more people incarcerated because of drugs than any other developed country, AND it costs about $40,000 per person to keep incarcerated per year. I am assuming this is everything included with overhead averaged...food ($2 per person per day), housing, supplies, employees, dental, medical, psychological care (which is really not much to speak of), etc.

If this is truly the case, and I am not sure, but this blows my mind. Not sure where I read or heard it, but heard it twice in the same week (maybe Aljazeera, maybe CNN, can't remember)...surely they can reopen hospitals and make those work.

Also doesn't help that politicians or government officials, police, etc can get their hands very dirty....as in getting involved with the drug market as silent partners and profiting from it as well. Weed them out, lock them up and throw away the key. Dealers and traffickers are no better than murderers. Sadly....guess that's why it's a War on Drugs.

I do think as smart and as efficient as our govt supposedly is, and they do get paid the big dollars, and we do have resources to allot for this, at the very least, more hospitals and separate the dealers and addicts when locking/institutionalizing them up. The big boy Govt officials all talk a big talk and forget to walk the walk. My very humble opinion. Not to say there aren't many DEA, ATF, etc fighting the good war, just that it's probably only a fraction getting paid for it and taking it seriously..

The BIG drug dealers are usually not addicts, these ones are what I am talking about who need prison, long prison stays. Of course, there will always be a market for it, just seems way more out of control than it ever was when we were younger.

There is one person running for Prez that I think will work to fix it, to make it better and build a base to build on, but it would just open a whole other can of worms....lol
 
Narcan saved my daughter's life when she overdosed on heroin. My husband found her on the couch cold to the touch and eyes rolled back in her head. He and the housekeeper that was there at the time took turns doing chest compressions until the EMT's could get there.
WOW! That's amazing that it saved her life. I hope she is well now and doing OK.
 
They will contain 2 injectors/doses of Narcan as Narcan doesn't last a long time, and if the patient still has dangerous levels of opioids in their system when the Narcan wears off, they can relapse right back into the OD.
Yep, this is what they were talking about on the news I was watching. They had a young woman saying she had to use two doses as well to revive her friend.

The rest of your post too is very informative. Thank you.
 

Tired Mom

Member
When I knew my son was coming back from rehab/sober living I asked my family doctor about it. She was able to give me a RX in my son's name. With insurance it was $50.00 for us. The joy of having the pharmacist say that she had to verify that only my son would use this item. Um well hopefully he will never need it and if he ever did need it he wouldn't really be using it on his own. Then the joy of having to go over how to use it with perfect child what it was and how to use it in case he ever comes home to find the difficult child overdosed.
 
Then the joy of having to go over how to use it with perfect child what it was and how to use it in case he ever comes home to find the difficult child overdosed.
I've never liked sharing this type of info with the younger kids. However, I've found when I withhold the info, they get very upset with me and want to know.

While I am sure it's no fun teaching the "perfect" son, it will do a few things...as you probably already know...possibly act as a deterrent if he gets any ideas, it will show him you respect him enough to give him this huge responsibility, and well, sadly, it will give him a bit of an education about nasty real world things...

I pray and hope he never had to administer it! Goes without saying much...:(

I never like the "good" kids having to hear about the "bad" boy's "stuff". ughhh. But oddly, they want to be included and when I do not, they take that as an insult.

You probably know this, just sayin...:)
 
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