think overdose isn’t relevant to you? think again, with Brenda Zane
Host: Brenda Zane, brenda@brendazane.com
Instagram: @the.stream.community
The Stream Community: online and app-based community for moms of kids experimenting with substances or struggling with substance use disorder
Free ebook: “HINDSIGHT: 3 Things I Wish I Knew When My Son Was Addicted to Drugs, by Brenda Zane. Download here
Show Sponsors:
Crossroads Academy - residential treatment for adolescent boys age 14-18 in Ogden, UT
CMC: Foundation for Change - nonprofit organization staffed by addiction professionals with one mission: to provide evidence-based help and hope to the families of those struggling with substances
Family Addiction Specialists - boutique concierge practice in New York, New York serving high-net-worth clients and their families struggling with substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, depression, anxiety, insomnia, complex family dynamics and conflicts, and other emotional and life issues
AllKindsofTherapy.com - comprehensive, independent fact-based online directory for Family Choice Behavioral Healthcare Interventions (FCBHI) and substance abuse industry for troubled teens and young adults
Shameless Mom Academy - The Shameless Mom podcast is a top rated show in iTunes, with listeners in over 140 countries. Sara Dean leads a private online community of thousands of Shameless Moms and coaches other Shameless Mama business owners to build thriving business they truly love
Wonder: A Confident Living Company - providing therapeutic support services for pre-teens, adolescents, young adults and their families by combining individual and parent coaching with family therapy
N.O.A.C. (National Opioid Action Coalition) - corporate social responsibility initiative that helps federal, state, and private sector programs extend their reach in communities affected by the opioid crisis and achieve positive, measurable results in prevention, treatment, and recovery
Mighty Parenting Podcast - weekly podcast filled with real, raw, and relevant talk about raising teens and parenting young adults in today's world.
Resources:
http://www.brendazane.com/inthegrip - Brenda Zane’s story of her son’s second fentanyl overdose
http://www.brendazane.com/hopestream/1 - Hopestream podcast episode sharing Brenda Zane’s journey through her son’s addiction
https://www.brendazane.com/media/wisdom-teeth-removal-teens-opioids- blog post on teens and wisdom tooth removal leading to opioid misuse
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-drug-take-back-locations F.D.A. guide to safe prescription drug disposal
https://www.getnaloxonenow.org/#home - where to get Narcan/naloxone
Article about and photo of Isotonitazene
Research/Statistics
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/rules/2020/fr0618.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/index.html
https://www.upstate.edu/poison/news/covid-impact-on-treatment.php
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sample-otp-covid-19-faqs.pdf
https://drugfree.org/overdose-awareness-day/
https://teens.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/overdose_data_1999-2018.pdf
Show Transcript:
Brenda Zane
Welcome to a special bonus episode of hope stream is an episode I wish I didn't have to make but it is a subject that is near and dear to my heart and to hundreds and thousands of other people who have been affected by drug overdose. I won't go into my personal story here, you can listen to that on episode one of this podcast. And you can also read specifically about our son's overdose experience and how it impacted our family on my website at BrendaZane.com/inthegrip. And so if you want to hear more about why this is super important to me why it's something I'm very passionate about, you can check those out.
01:35
What I do want to focus on today are three things that really apply to every person in our country. And these are the three things I really want you to take away from this episode. The first is that people who are not addicts are dying from overdoses or what you could also call chemical poisoning. Number two is that we need to be extra aware and vigilant right now during class. Because overdoses are on the rise again. And number three is that there is a very, very simple thing that you can do to save someone's life, even if you don't know anyone who's using drugs.
02:13
I want to thank a really special group of people and organizations who have sponsored this episode. They all do amazing work in the field of addiction and recovery, and their generous supporters of hope stream. They include Crossroads Academy, Family Addiction Specialists, CMC Foundation For Change, The Shameless Mom Academy, All Kinds of Therapy, Wonder, the National Opioid Action Coalition or NOAC, Andy Baskett, Alexandra Cameron, and the Mighty Parenting Podcast. So thank you so much. And please do check them out. If you are looking for resources. This is an awesome group of people and organizations to start with.
02:58
I think it's common for people to hear about the opioid epidemic and overdose and feel like you're very detached from it, because it hasn't necessarily hit your immediate family. Or maybe you have a kid who's just smoking pot and drinking, getting into a little bit of trouble. But something like an overdose doesn't really even seem in the realm of possibility. I hope that you will keep listening because overdoses are so much closer than you think. And there are hundreds of thousands of parents who were sitting in your shoes, thinking that it wasn't relevant to them. And now they are visiting the grave site of their son or daughter. This is very real, and it's much, much closer to home than you think.
03:45
To begin, I will give you a lay of the land on where we are today with drug overdoses from a statistical standpoint. And there is good news followed by bad news. The good news is that from 2017 to 2008 overdose deaths actually went down for the first time. In 2017, there were approximately 70 - 72,000 deaths from drug overdose. And in 2018, there were just over 67,000. For context, that is more people who die from guns and car accidents and breast cancer. So, a decrease of even 3,000 deaths is positive news. And it's partially due to the increase in access to Naloxone, which is something I'll talk about in a few minutes. And something very important to note is that of the 67,000 overdose deaths in 2018, opioids were involved in nearly 47,000 of those, and 32% of those involved prescription opioids. So if your perception is that these overdoses are only happening to homeless heroin junkies that you see intense on the side of the road or in an alley downtown, you're going to want to listen to the rest of this episode because it is, again, much closer to home than you think.
05:09
Now for the bad news, sorry, I know we all have a lot of that right now. But it can really be summed up in this case in two words COVID and fentanyl. So let's start with COVID. As everything related to this pandemic of 2020 isn't bad enough, there is more startling news. A recent AMA brief showed that more than 40 states have reported increases in opioid related mortality since COVID hit with the national average increase thought to be around about 18%. And there are areas that are seen much much higher rates like Denver, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment looked at the first six months of 2019 and then the first six months of 2020, there was an increase of 83% in fatal overdoses in 2020. And the number of fentanyl related overdose increased 354% in that same time frame. that is not a typo folks, that is not a miss-speaking - 354%. So, it's all over the board when it comes to the increase across the country. But these numbers are really, really incredibly scary. When we talk about COVID and overdoses, isolation is a major cause. And obviously, because of the mandate to isolate more people have been overdosing alone, where there is nobody there to help them. And so more of the overdose cases are going straight to the morgue. Rather than get having somebody be able to get to the emergency department. And for this episode, I wanted to get some perspective. from folks who are dealing with addiction and helping families with this problem every single day, and Lin and Aaron Sternlicht from Family Addiction Specialists, were generous enough to hop on the phone with me and talk a little bit about both this idea of isolation, but some other really important factors that are happening right now with overdoses and with just addiction in general.
Aaron 07:28
Yeah, I think when people think of overdose, they generally think primarily of opioids, especially because we're hearing about it so much in the news as we have been in the past few years, especially with the increase in fentanyl, but there's also so much overdose from other prescription medications, especially from benzodiazepines, like Xanax, and and also a lot of overdoses from alcohol. And then there's also a lot of stimulant overdoses from drugs like meth or cocaine. So You can really overdose from any number of of substances, and any of them can be fatal. So it's so important for people to be aware that people do not just overdose from opioids.
Brenda 08:13
Yeah, I think that's a really good point. Aaron, and also, I think sometimes people are not aware of the combination. You know, every time you look on the bottle, it'll say don't take, you know, with alcohol, but I think a lot of people ignore that.
Aaron 08:27
Yeah, and especially people who are abusing drugs or getting their drugs illegally. Oftentimes, they're not just taking one substance. I mean, I know as a person in recovery. At the end of my drug addiction, I think I was on five or six substances pretty much on a daily basis. opioids are always my my drug of choice, but I was on a combination of things including Xanax, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, so anybody who mixes drugs, even if they're intentionally getting high or unhinged. getting high such as taking a medication. And but then you know, maybe even just having something innocent like two or three beers or glass of wine, it can be fatal or or can lead to an overdose.
Brenda 09:12
And what about the isolation factors? I think we're all feeling a little bit crazy from the isolation that has been imposed upon us. And now, you know, it's starting to lift. I mean, we're recording this in late August. But there still is a lot and I think people also have sort of, kind of gone into this mode of like, I can't go out I can't do this, because it's been so long. What would you say to somebody who's got a friend or relative who's you know, they haven't seen in a while they've been making a lot of excuses for not getting together. It feels like those people could be at greater risk to
Lin 09:52
Get in touch with them. As much as you can, you know, also another recommended way to get into in touch with them regularly and kind of really check in with them is to do Zoom or FaceTime. So you can really see, even if you're not physically seeing them and kind of honoring their request, you can still see their eyes, you know, their facial expressions, and you know, how they kind of live and how they look on a day to day basis it because sometimes, you may have assumptions based on their past history, and it's very common for loved ones to just automatically assume that they're relapsing, and they're doing really poorly. Another thing that I wanted to point out, sometimes parents perceive overdose, whether it's accidental, or intentional, as like one isolated event that could really change their life or it could be a source of enlightenment or some kind of epiphany that would lead them to kind of sobriety. But oftentimes what we see in our practice is that that's not really true. Overdoses whether it's once or twice, you know, hospitalizations that alone really doesn't lead to a person wanting to get sober sometimes, you know, they feel more powerful actually or invincible. They have survived whereas parents falsely hope that oh, this was the rock bottom that we were waiting for and now, hopefully my son or daughter or husband will see a light or try to get help after this incident and that's usually not the case.
Aaron 11:26
Yeah, I think a lot of times, people who are addicted to drugs are feeling so helpless and hopeless and are often either actively suicide suicidal or passively suicidal, meaning that and I can also speak for myself that when I was at my lowest point, I didn't want to kill myself, but I also didn't really care what happened to me so you know, if I got hit by bus or overdose, it kind of just would have pulled me out of my misery and it wasn't on the front. forefront of my mind, you know, on a day to day basis. But I say that to say that I think when people are in active addiction, and they're feeling depressed and isolated and lonely, they might not necessarily care what happens to them. So an overdose wouldn't be something that necessarily scares them.
Brenda 12:19
Yeah, what do you do about that? Right? I don't know how you have a conversation with somebody about that. To let them know that there is hope, you know, because a lot of a lot of people just don't think that they can ever get out of it. And I'm sure you may have felt the same way or just you know, it gets to a point where it's so bad that they just figure I'm never ever gonna get out of this.
Aaron 12:45
Yeah, absolutely. Just feeling stuck feeling like either number one that they can't get out of it or that there's just no point to get out of it because drugs is kind of the only thing that brings them happiness into their life, and we all know now that that's one of the impacts that addiction has on the brain. It depletes the brain's ability to produce brain chemicals that make you feel good. So that's why oftentimes, people in addiction report feeling depressed. And sometimes there is an underlying depression issue, but sometimes it's induced by the drugs. So that's something they can they can figure out once they get sober.
Brenda 13:24
I don't have as much experience in in talking about alcohol, and I find this interesting. It's always alcohol poisoning, not alcohol overdose. And I don't know why that is, because we talk about drug overdose, but not drug poisoning,
Lin 13:42
whereas overdose sounds like oh, you're gonna die. Alcohol poisoning sounds like you had a bad night.
Brenda
Right, right. Like it's the alcohols fault. Like you got some bad gin there. I don't know, that's so weird. But if somebody you know, because people do drink pretty regularly, I think it's more commonly accepted, obviously normal in society. So how would you know if somebody was kind of excessively drinking? Are there signs to look for? If somebody has sort of ramped up their intake, but that maybe they're kind of good at hiding it?
Aaron 14:21
Well, first of all, there's there's obvious, some obvious symptoms. So if the person is blacking out, if they're constantly smelling like alcohol, if they're slurring their speech, you know, those are obvious signs that that they're drinking too much. And it's also important to know that alcohol poisoning, all it takes is is one night of excessive drinking. So they don't necessarily have to be a daily drinker. It can be somebody who's a binge drinker or just has one bad night and they can overdose from alcohol. If somebody is at the point where they're vomiting or if they're experiencing seizures, or if they're having any type of mental confusion or irregular breathing, those are signs Where you should immediately seek out medical attention because the person might be headed towards alcohol poisoning that they won't be able to come back from.
Lin 15:09
Something I see so commonly in and out of my practice is that people are drinking casually drinking a glass of wine or two while taking antidepressant and it became so normalized that oh, you know, I feel a little bit off, or I felt extremely fatigued or I couldn't really remember, I just passed out, but people kind of meant tend to minimize those symptoms and there was like one or two nights of you know, again, like bad nights or something was off. But, you know, even four to six Tylenols mixed with alcohol could be lethal. A lot of people don't know that a lot of people don't really recognize that or they don't really take it seriously. But that's another thing that you know, happens commonly, but something to really watch out for.
Brenda 15:55
Right and I have heard that - and I this kind of logically makes sense that since COVID hit that antidepressants have been prescribed more. And I don't have a percentage or anything but that makes sense. And so if somebody is now newly taking, you know, an antidepressant or something like Xanax or you know something to help them sleep, that combination with alcohol, you know, maybe they normally drink two or three glasses of wine at night, now they're adding a new prescription. And that could be super, super dangerous as well.
Lin 16:33
A also create, you know, almost like an unexpected therapeutic effect. For example, you know, they may feel really spontaneous or they feel like Oh, they could just pass out when they suffer from chronic insomnia or, you know, physical pain. So they may accidentally kind of like like that effects of you know, mixing medication with alcohol without fully knowing the long term consequences.
Brenda 16:57
Anything else you guys want to throw out there that that people need to know in this this day?
Aaron 17:04
I'd say since it is Overdose Awareness Day, you know, if you suspect that your loved one has an issue with drugs or alcohol seek out help immediately. Because, you know, stopping the problem earlier is much easier than trying to stop the problem later. So, you know, do whatever you can to reach out for help. Because otherwise you can hold on to a lot of regrets and self blame, if anything, were to happen to that person and you did not attempt to do something. So if it means having a hard conversation with them or doing whatever is necessary to make them realize that you care for them, you love them and you're concerned about them.
Brenda 17:43
It's one of those things where I think a lot of times people don't believe that something like an overdose is in the realm of possibility for them or their family or their friends. And I've talked to and I'm sure you guys have to, you've talked to them. Families and enough people who say that it could have never happened to our family. And it did. And so that I think is what we're all trying to avoid and to make people aware of is, it is it's just, it's so close. And it's so tragic when it happens whether or not the person dies, the person doesn't even have to die. You know, my son survived miraculously, his two fentanyl overdoses, but I'll tell you what our family went through something so unimaginable with that, that when you talk about overdose, it doesn't just have to be that the person died in the with the overdose. It's very, very traumatic, even if they do survive.
Lin 18:43
My message to family members is that you know, especially in the beginning of the recovery or in the beginning of like getting help, they may not be sober and clean in the way that you would like them to be right. It may not be exactly like Such a hopeful picture in the beginning, but then you know, if they're starting if they are getting better if they're trying to always offer compassion, support and empathy and you know, you guys can heal as a family.
Brenda 19:15
So good Lin, because it is so tempting to have a picture in your mind of what this should look like and when it doesn't go that way to get discouraged. But yeah, you're right, it's so it looks different for everybody. And we really have to set aside our assumptions and our desired outcomes for that other person.
Brenda 19:35
I want to move on now and I really could talk with Lin and Aaron all day because there's just so much information that they see in their practice. But I want to move on to the second big factor that's going on here during COVID.
Brenda 19:51
Aaron mentioned it and that is fentanyl, which is increasingly killing more people than prescription opioids or heroin. It's important to know that fentanyl is a legal drug. It was developed for end of life cancer pain management. But the fentanyl that's killing people today is being made illegally mainly in Mexico and China. So when you hear about the drug busts and the overdoses and the seizures, that's the fentanyl that we're talking about the illegal fentanyl, not somebody cancer medication. So when you add COVID and illegal fentanyl, you get a nightmare.
20:30
Millennium Health which is a national laboratory service recently looked at over 500,000 urine drug tests that showed an increase of 32% for non prescribed fentanyl. So again, that's illegal fentanyl. 20% for methamphetamine and 10% for cocaine just when they were looking at mid March through May. So that's a massive increase in these drugs being present in drug tests. So what was already a surge happening is really now a tsunami.
21:07
And there's another angle to COVID that's caused drug use to be particularly deadly. And this is because the pandemic has crippled the illicit drug supply chain. This could be its own podcast episode, and maybe it will be I've got it on my list, because it's really, really massive and important, but I will give you a cliff notes version here of what's happening. First of all, you've probably heard of Wuhan China because it was the epicenter of the coronavirus in China. What you might not know about Wuhan is that it was also the capital of the chemical production for the illegal fentanyl market. Vendors there shipped huge quantities of these chemical precursors around the world and their biggest customers for the basically the ingredients for fentanyl were the Mexican drug cartels but Coronavirus, disrupted all of that - it disrupted the production of the chemicals that are used to make illegal fentanyl, which then caused a ripple effect that's cut into the profits of the Mexican traffickers.
And it's driven up the street drug prices across the US and will haunt us back open now, because we're recording this in August of 2020. So production is back up, but the supply levels aren't at the same level that they were pre-COVID. And again, that's a whole different podcast. I could go on and on about this. But basically, higher prices mean more crime. And I think we're seeing that across the board in our country. So I'll leave it at that for now. But that is one of the big reasons that we've got such a disruption here in the US with overdoses.
In addition to those chemical precursors being cut off that supply being cut off in Wuhan, the borders to and from Mexico and Canada have also been closed since March of 2020. And they're close to everything except essential travel, which is basically commercial trucking. And this means that fentanyl from China, which normally travels by air into Vancouver, BC and Alberta, primarily in Canada, and then it comes down across the border into the US. That flow has been crimped as well. And so the same for heroin and fentanyl for Mexico, it hasn't stopped altogether. But the supply has definitely been crimped. And so people with substance use disorder are now having to turn to new dealers or unfamiliar drugs that they're unused to. They're not used to the dosing of those new substances. And it's creating really, really deadly consequences.
Brenda 23:44
One of the new drugs that are showing up recently in the US and overdose reports is Isotonitazene - I'm probably butchering that. So if you're a medical professional, maybe you could let me know how to say that but the street name is Iso, I-S-O, and it has just as of August 2020, been classified as a schedule one narcotic with the DEA. It's a synthetic opioid. It has no approved medical use. It's not an approved pharmaceutical product. And it's not approved for any medical use anywhere in the world. So it is kind of what's called online and on the street, a research drug, even though it's not really being used in any official research.
Evidence from the overdose cases suggests that people are using Iso as a replacement to heroin or other opioids. And they're either doing this knowingly or unknowingly. And if you go to the show notes, there's an image there of what these Iso pills look like. And they actually are coated with the letter M as in Mary, so people would have no idea what they're taking. And the cases of ISO overdoses have been pretty limited to a few states in the Midwest. So this isn't something that's is a widespread issue yet in the US. But what it does is it just shows how these new drugs are floating around and people are having to turn to different substances because of COVID. And when they are able to get those usual substances, they can be at a much, much higher risk for overdose.
Brenda 25:18
That's the lay of the land. Basically, after a one year dip overdoses are back on the increase at a rate of about 18% nationally, again, some states are trending closer to 40 to 80%. This is after that one, first-ever dip from 2017 to 18. Second, fentanyl is a monster that is ravaging this country. And the isolation of COVID is causing more people to abuse these substances alone in isolation where they can't be saved if they overdose. So sorry for all the negativity I know that that's not a fun topic, but I just wanted to give you a benchmark of where we are.
Brenda 26:03
Now I also have two positive things I can talk about. One is Naloxone. And you may recognize more the brand name which is Narcan and our can is the only reason that my son is alive today. It saved him from two fentanyl overdoses. So I am a pretty huge fan. And I spend a lot of time advocating for Narcan distribution and speaking about it to help people understand that it is the number one easiest way that you can be involved actively in the opioid epidemic. And you can help save lives especially now. And you can think of Narcan as an epi-pen for overdose. It's a nasal spray. So it's similar to using an allergy medication super easy. There's no injection. It's nothing complicated. Basically, if you can give yourself allergy medicine, you can administer Narcan and potentially save a life and I say potential be cut and not will, because it really depends on the substance and the amount of the substance that somebody has used. And in many cases, one or two doses of Narcan will bring that person back and they can get to the ER for stabilization. There are times when more than one or two doses are needed. So if somebody has taken a large quantity of fentanyl or something else that was laced with fentanyl, it can take more doses. But it does work. And it does bring people back. It lets people get into the ER and that that's where they can get stabilized physically. But that also allows them to get opportunities to talk about treatment and to getting into treatment programs. So one thing with Narcan is that it will keep people alive and give them an opportunity to get into a program where they can get into detox and get some help.
Brenda 27:58
And then the second positive thing that I'll talk about around this opioid crisis and COVID specifically has to do with medication assisted treatment. And you'll hear this talked about as MAT and it helps prevent overdoses by keeping people in recovery, stable and not seeking illegal drugs. And there are three drugs in particular that help people not use opioids. And these are specific to opioids. They're not currently approved for or effective with chemicals like meth, meth or cocaine or benzodiazepines. So it's great that there's medications that really, really do help people stay off opioids. However, getting those medications has been quite a hurdle in the past. And people have to go into a clinic daily in the case of methadone, or to a doctor's office to get Suboxone or Naltrexone and the brand name for Naltrexone is Vivitrol. So there has been quite a bit of a hurdle for people to get these medications, which of course, we don't want. If somebody is wanting to get medication to stay off of opioids, we want to make it as easy as possible.
So, of course, with the challenges of COVID, it's made it almost impossible for people to get that medication or for them to get it in a safe way. So not having to wait in line with 50 other people shoulder to shoulder to get a methadone dose. And so relapse an overdose is going to be much more likely if people aren't getting their medications. So the good news here is that finally SAMHSA, which is the US the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the DEA, they have provided increased flexibility now for providing these medications, so that people can actually take doses home where in the past they weren't able to, or they can fill a prescription for more doses than they've previously been able to. Because a lot of times people are having to drive and travel an hour, two hours or more to a doctor to get their medication, which is not realistic. If you're dealing with isolation, if you're dealing with quarantine, it just doesn't work. So this is really a life saving change that many people in the treatment field have been pushing for for years. It's something that has just been one of those really challenging things. And so even though it took a pandemic to make it happen, it's a really positive thing.
Brenda 30:40
It's also really important to talk about common times when people experience an overdose. And one of these times is when people are just out of jail or just coming out of a treatment program. And that sounds a little odd, but the reason is because when you've been in jail or if you've been in a treatment program, you're tolerance level has gone way down. And if you it's very common for when people get out, to want to just use wants to just try it one more time. And if they do that, and they use the same amount that they did when they went into treatment or went into jail, that level of the substance can be fatal. And this is so so common to see people within 24 hours of release from incarceration or from a treatment program. They will be in the emergency department with an overdose. So this is really important to be aware of, if you have a friend or a family member, in that situation, really take note of where they are, what they're doing. Make sure you absolutely have Narcan in the house or that they are carrying it themselves. Because it could definitely be a lifesaver.
Brenda 31:57
Another time when people are more susceptible to overdose is when they try a new drug, and this happens when let's say somebody has been using prescription opioids, they've become dependent on those opioids. And then they are transitioning because they can't afford or they can't have access to those prescription pills anymore. They're turning to a street dealer to get either illicit opioids or potentially heroin or fentanyl, and they just don't know how much their body can handle of those substances. And especially in the case of fentanyl, you don't know how much is in the tills that you're taking or whatever you're getting.
Brenda 32:41
And then another time when people are very unexpectedly overdosing is when they're new users or when they're experimenting. These tend to be young teens who are partying, they're taking pills along with alcohol and that is a truly deadly combination. parties that these younger tweens and teens are going to there may be a big bowl of pills. And the kids just grab a few and see what happens. It is, honestly it's just Russian Roulette. And so many teens in this situation end up taking these pills at a party drinking alcohol, they fall asleep, either at the party or they come home, and then they don't wake up the next morning. And that is such a tragedy. So these are things to be really, really aware of. and teens. So let's talk about that for a minute. Because I know many of my listeners are the parents of teens and you're worried about your kids kind of venturing into this world.
Brenda 33:47
In 2018, we lost 4,663 young people between the age of 15 to 24 to overdose. So think about that. That is like ever single kid in a large High School dropping dead in one year. That is just a staggering number of of young people. And the overdoses that we're talking about here those 4,663, include opioids, but they also include cocaine, heroin, meth, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. But almost 60% of those include fentanyl. So 3,618 of those overdoses included fentanyl. So these kids are getting fentanyl more than half of the time that they're taking a substance and overdosing. And sometimes they may know that they're getting it, but most of the time, they don't.
Brenda 34:45
And there are two things here that I want to be really, really clear about. The first is that you must talk to your kids about fentanyl. They won't know that they're getting it and young kids and young adults who are not addicted to anything are dying because of because of fentanyl. So they're experimenting, it could be their very first time ever, ever taking a pill in their life. So this is not the time to be timid or to avoid the dreaded you know, air quote, drug conversation is that's just not an option anymore. So you need to let them know that this is also not just an oxy thing. So some kids think, Oh, this is just an Oxy thing, Oxy's sometimes cut with fentanyl. And that is not the case. So kids are also overdosing on Xanax and other things that are laced with fentanyl. And I guess I'd have you think about it this way. If you're uncomfortable with this conversation, think of how uncomfortable it's going to be. If you find your son or your daughter in their bed, and you can't wake them up. This happens all the time. I'm I'm really not being alarmist here. is very, very real.
Brenda 36:02
The second thing that I want to be really clear about is that you need to get to your pharmacy and get some Narcan. And you may be saying, I don't even know anybody who does drugs. I'm just listening to this because I, you know, thought it was kind of interesting. But you still need to carry Narcan because it's really the one thing that you can do that is going to save a person's life. And even if you don't know a single person who's using these drugs, you might be walking down the street and see somebody who's not breathing. You know, it's it's not uncommon to be walking down the street and see somebody sort of slumped over at a bus stop or, you know, on the side on the sidewalk in an urban place. There's another very common place where people overdose that you might encounter them just in your everyday life and that's in the bathroom of either a fast food restaurant or a grocery store. library. Now I know libraries aren't open at the current time, but they will be reopening at some point. And what you'll notice is that there may be a person in the stall next to you that is kind of slumped on the floor. This is very, very common place that people overdose. So again, not being alarmist, but this is the simplest thing that you can do. And really the best slash worst case scenario is that you would never need to use it, but you had it just in case.
Brenda 37:30
I will wrap this up with a final really practical comment about where people get these prescription drugs, and also what you can do to help another very easy thing that you can do to help. So the way that people are getting these prescription drugs, if they aren't prescribed to them is through diversion. And this happens when you're away from the house, maybe you're at work. Maybe you're away for a weekend and your son or daughter goes into your medicine cabinet. And that leftover Vicodin from your knee surgery two years ago is sitting there on the shelf and they just swipe a few to take to a party. Or you have some friends over for dinner. And the wife had a really, really painful c section and she has become dependent on her pain medication and she goes to the bathroom at your house and finds the Oxy from your teenage son's wisdom tooth removal. And by the way, one of the most common ways kids get introduced to opioids and can often become addicted is when they're 18 or 19. They get their wisdom teeth removed, and they are prescribed opioids. So I'll also link out to a blog post that I wrote specifically about the wisdom tooth issue in the show notes.
So that's how it goes. And, again, the really, really simple way to stop diversion of these drugs is to just not keep them around. And don't keep any especially prescription narcotics are benzos in your home, that you aren't taking and actively monitoring. And if you are taking them, that's fine. Just be sure you're monitoring how many pills are in your bottle, because it's very easy for people to swipe one or two. And then you get confused about how many you've taken. So just make sure you're actively monitoring that. And then get rid of them as soon as you're done taking them. Don't flush them down the toilet, which is the thing that a lot of people do, because then the drugs get into our water system. So you can take them almost any pharmacy will have a safe Dropbox. You can also just search online for a prescription take back. And again, I'll put a link in the show notes for a directory for that if you're looking.
Brenda 39:49
I know that this is a lot of information. And I thank you for listening. It is so so important. And please again, check out the show notes. There's going to be a ton of research there - all of the statistics that I talked about. And also I'll put information there where you can get Narcan, the articles and everything else.
And again, I want to thank the sponsors of this episode. You can find them on the show notes and links to their websites. And if you're a mom or if you know a mom, that is having a hard time with a child who is maybe experimenting with with substances or they might be an active addiction, they may also be in a treatment program or entering the the nerve wracking phase of recovery. You can let her know about our private online community called the stream. It's a very safe and supportive place for moms to be it's away from Facebook. It's just a it's been called an oasis for moms. For for those who are going through a hard time with their kids, and you can learn more about that on my website.
And there's also a link on my website to download in ebook that I wrote called hind sight three things I wish I knew when my son was addicted to drugs. pretty self explanatory, but if you are somebody that you know could use that, feel free to go there and download it. It's BrendaZane.com/hindsight and I think you'll get a lot out of that. Thanks again for listening. Please, if you have 30 seconds to review and rate the podcast that would mean the world to me. And then I will meet you back here next week.