How has the opioid crisis affected you?

Worked as a gas station clerk for about 2 months. One night this girl came in looking very frantic and asked to use the washroom. About 20 mins later I went to check on her. She was dead. Apparently she had slit her wrists in order to avoid paying her debts to her drug dealers. Edit: Thanks to everyone for the kind words. Also I found out because the police let my manager know what had happened about 2-3 weeks later, and he let me know. The first thing I did after seeing the body was check for a pulse, and call 9-1-1.
— The-Darkest_Knight

My brother is a heroin addict. My parents keep wondering where they went wrong. It's stressful for them especially because we kicked him out (he was on his like 246th last straw) and he's homeless. He keeps losing his phone so we don't know how he is doing most of the time. He won't try to get help and just hangs around his old friends. I have no relationship with him anymore because he actually scares me and I'm so so so mad at him but I worry about him every single night. I just want him to survive this more than anything EDIT: I just want to say thank you to all the wonderful people who responded. Many of you were recovering addicts or family members of an addict. I loved hearing recovery stories and hearing from ppl who can relate to me. It's hard as hell and it sucks but I opened my Reddit app to see so many responses from kind ppl. If anyone can relate to me, please feel free to PM me and we can talk. There's not much we can do but support each other
— ltislit

Pharmacist here. Lots of paperwork. There’s been a massive crackdown in FL and law enforcement came for the pharmacies. Now we have to vet every prescription which takes time. Some of it is good. We have a state database now which makes it easier to weed out the doctor shoppers and take care of the legitimate patients. I still see some doctors writing for combos I’m not comfortable filling, but it’s no different than any other drug interaction with non-controlled substances. I’m glad that medical marijuana is legal here too. A few of my patients have been able to DC their opioids or reduce doses and they say their pain control is better. I love that we can finally dispense naloxone on protocol now. I talk to all of my opioid patients about it. I’ve had them bring in their spouses and kids so I can show the family how to use it in case of an accidental overdose. I want to promote safe use of all medications.
— Trytofindmenowbitch

Personally? 1 close family member dead. 1 good friend dead. 3 acquaintances dead. 1 friend in recovery for 5 years and doing great. 2 family members still oscillating between recovery and using. Not great statistics. It's just awful.
— aparadoxian

Had a good friend kill themselves after relapsing, sister in law was a Backpage hooker during her fight with addiction, and I can't get official transcripts of my dad's autopsy after drifting into the pill world because we were working on an estranged relationship and my step mother somehow got a solid next of kin dedication after 2 whole years of marriage and fights every attempt to get information released until I gave up.
— TTMcBumbersnazzle

I used to do loads of oxycontin with a buddy of mine, he started owing money to our dealer and the guy stopped fronting and selling to him. He switched to heroin after that and two weeks later his mom found him dead on the couch in the garage. He had Crohn's disease and his doctor when he was 12 prescribed him 200 30mg oxys every month. I believe the doctor either killed himself or moved after he was investigated for drug trafficking. My friend was 20. I haven't touched the stuff in 4 years because of that.
— Spikemaui21

good high school buddy died of a fentanyl OD last year. I'm an EMT and even though we covered it in school i'm not currently allowed to give naloxone(a drug that negates the effects of opiods), I need to do additional training to relearn how to give the most benign drug in my arsenal. They give this stuff out in prefilled syringes to anybody who wants it, to carry around like an Epi-pen. but i'm not allowed to use it due to the current legislation.
— INFIDELicious45

My father has had a pain disorder that sufferers usually commit suicide in the first 5 years. Seriously, thats why it took that long for the insurance to pay out, they waited to see if they had to. He's had it for 20 years with the help of opiods. Now they want to try other options. First of all, my father is in his late 60s. This has worked for 20 years. Leave him the hell alone. Secondly, he's not addicted. He doesn't take them constantly, only when a flare up is bad enough that he can't get out of bed. Which leads me to my last point, without these meds, my father is housebound or wheelchairbound on a good day and we would have to keep him on suicide watch. With them, he has a normal life, is able to walk and drive because they don't affect him anymore, is able to play with his granddaughter. Even if he was dependent on them, I wouldn't give a shit because it means I have my father alive and living a normal life. Help those who need help but don't hurt those who need these medications.
— Aliaga_Hollysword

It makes it harder and more expensive to seek legitimate care for my back injury since FL’s drs have been cracked down on so hard by Pam Bondi. Not that I’m seeking opioids for care, I just want LEGITIMATE pain management that doesn’t tell me I’m full of shit before they look at the MRI and see I’m not lying.
— Angiec4045

My boyfriend is an opiate addict. I'm tired of worrying if he is okay, if he is high, where he is-- you get the picture. We have been together for a long time but I'm beyond done and will probably be breaking up with him in the next couple of days. He had been doing well for a couple of years but I noticed him starting up the same old pattern of behavior and was planning on breaking up with him but then his brother passed away of an overdose. I love him and couldn't abandon him then, so I stuck around. I threw down some ultimatums about his drug use and things seemed okay for a few months but here we are now, with the same shit going on the past couple of weeks. Sucks. He is a wonderful guy but I'm exhausted. I'm terrified that he is going to die and I can't stick around to watch it, but I'm also scared that if he does die I won't even know because we have no friends in common and there isn't really anyone I can touch base with just to make sure he is okay. Oh man, I really needed to type this out. Stream of consciousness. Sorry for the shitty writing.
— Unfunhero

Cousin was in a nasty car accident, didn't walk for 6 months, ended up hooked on painkillers and ate a bullet 2-3 years later.
— somedude456

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