If you know someone addicted to prescription pills, please read!!!!!

[dfcjr]

I dont know why I'm writing this here other than I'm home alone and dont know what to do. My twenty-two year old brother died yesterday from an overdose of xanex(spelling) and sleeping pills. This was the fourth time in three years and his body finally gave out. We as a family did everything we could to help him. He would go to rehab, or jail for that matter, get clean and be fine for a few months, but he would always relapse. I myself battled addiction with cocaine when I was in my late teens, early twentys,but have been clean for over six years. I tried to be there whenever he needed, but cant help to think that I influenced his lifestyle with the things that I did. Our family is completely devestated, he was so young. Please if you know someone that is taking prescription pain killers recreationally, please talk to them. Most of the time they are depressed and think the pills help when actually they make you more depressed, its a downward spiral. Especially if you are a younger person ceause I know that pills are the new drugs for the teens of this generation. They will kill you, several of my brothers friends overdosed and lived, but I could see their faces when I told them my brother had died, utter shock. My brother was 6 foot 5 and 250 pounds so he was like their hero. He thought that he could take whatever he wanted bacause he was so big, invincible you know. I do want to clarify that my brother was not a criminal, or a bad kid by any standards. He was a loving, caring person that had a serious problem. Prescription pills are meant to be taken according to the doctors orders, not like candy. This can happen to you.

Thank you for your time
Darrell

[Ritten]

I'm so sorry for your loss Darrell. Addiction is such a hard thing to overcome. My peace be with you at this difficult time.

[Nina51]

so sorry for your loss. :(

[crp]

So sorry for your loss. Realize it was the addiction and not the person and it was in no way your fault.

[dc]

I'm so sorry to hear this. As in any kind of addiction, most start out thinking they are too smart to get addicted, they never see it coming. :(

[Brock Fluharty]

I'm so sorry...my step-dad take Xanex, but not recreationally. He had back surgery twice now. He has had back problems for a long time. The stupid doctors tell him to switch to this medicine to come off of that medicine, then he gets addicted to this one, then that one. One night, he took one too mnay Xanex, and started going crazy, turning the gas on on the stove because he was cold, he snuck out of the house, and took off withthe car,and traded our Jeep for a ***** Am, then he and my mom got into it, she slapped him, he shoved her, ect. They were outside, I watched from my window.....then he took off in the ***** Am going like 100MPH down the street, and my mom went after him......drugs are the problem.....

:(

Brock F.

[Brock Fluharty]

BTW, that is

t
r
a
n
s

a
m

[dc]

Can't we get that word back into the vocabulary? I'm sure that guy sold his car by now.

[dfcjr]

Thank you everyone for the kind words.

Having dealt with addiction myself, and I am not ashamed to admit it, I know first hand how hard those first few years are. I tried to explain that the most important thing to do was avoid the situation. Simply stay away from it. The so-called friends of his, that were giving him pills to take, they didnt care about him. I almost went to jail yesterday when a few of his friends, who I knew were some of his dealers, showed up at my mothers house. I know the only reason they're sorry is that they lost a customer, not a son, brother, uncle, or even friend for that matter.I know I did what I could,it was his decision in the end what to do with his life. I shall see him soon when God comes calling for me to join him.

Oh yeah, forgot this
R.I.P.
David James Garrett
December 12th 1984 - July 31st 2006



And whats up with not being able to write that certain car name?

[ShannonT]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :(



The letters t-r-a-n-s trip the profanity sensor.

[jenlovesty]

I am very sorry to hear for your loss. I lost my brother 6 years ago. He od on coke. He had an addiction for many years, and it finally caught up to him.

Please whatever you do dont blame yourself. An addict can only get help if they realize that they have a problem and want to get help.

Be there for your family. This will be very hard on your parents. Parents should not have to lose a child. Its sucks, but my family has grown closer since we lost my brother.

If you need someone to talk to please feel free to contact me.

[BrianD]

Very sorry for your loss :(

[O'Man]

Sorry :(
Addiction is difficult to overcome. Good for you for doing just that.

[skippy2]

I am so sorry. My family will include you in our prayers.

[Gawain1974]

I'm very sorry for your family's loss. I will pray that your brother and your family find peace.

[Fred_J]

I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost a club brother to Xanax and alcohol. A lot of people don't realize how deadly some of these combinations can be.

[sculptthis]

I am also very sorry for your loss. I would like to say though as you probably know as a recoverying addict-
While drugs cause an acute problem within and of themselves, they are secondary to the problem of why drugs are used in the first place.

[Jamie2337]

My younger sister OD'ed on a combo of whiskey, xanax and methadone. My thoughts are with you. I know you and your family are hurting right now. {{{hugs}}}

[R33f3r]

I know all about benzodiazpene addictions. Right now I am safely getting off of them. I was prescribed klonopin for stress and anxiety. Never abused the stuff but got addicted. The BEST way to come off these higher potent benzos like xanax, klonopin, and ativan is to transfer over to valium a much older, lower potent drug where the withdrawal symptoms are not as bad because it doesn't bind to the GABA receptors in your brain as tightly causing a lesser, smoother ride off the drug. The dr's have NO idea how powerful these drugs can be. Infact they can be fatal if you cold turkey them. It's really hard to OD on benzos, they are rarely fatal unless you starting drinking whilst taking them.

I am sorry for your loss (I know unfortunately many people's lives RUINED by them), but these drugs are worse than heroin, cocaine, and alcohol combined. These are the grandaddy of ALL drug addictions.

Painkillers destroy your liver and the opiate compounds in them are just a milder form of heroin. They should be banned, but the big drug companies push this crap out like candy.

P.M me if anyone wants help getting off of them safely. There is a large community here on the net that specifically helps those addicted by prescription.

[dfcjr]

Thank you again everyone for your continued support. These past few days have been the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I dont think I've done anything but cry and pray , I've only slept 8 hours since Monday.

r33f3r= I agree these drugs are worse than anything I've seen before, MANY of my brothers friends are addicts. My brother was drinking with them, and that is why he od'd. He had od'd three times inthe last year and a half or so, and thats just the times we actually called the EMS. Xanex in particular shuts down your respiratory system so you cant breathe. His body just didnt have the strength to fight off another overdose . He had just gotten out of jail for fifteen days on Thursday. I know he crashed real hard from that cause when I seen him that night and had a long talk with him, I had never seen hjim so depressed. I begged him to call me if he wanted to do anything, told him how much I and everyone else loved him. I dont know how I'm going to deal with this for the rest of my life, I have already talked to my counselor and pastor. Everyone has been so supportive, thank you all again.

Darrell

[Habib]

Very sad. :(

[R33f3r]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7864028#post7864028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dfcjr
Thank you again everyone for your continued support. These past few days have been the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I dont think I've done anything but cry and pray , I've only slept 8 hours since Monday.

r33f3r= I agree these drugs are worse than anything I've seen before, MANY of my brothers friends are addicts. My brother was drinking with them, and that is why he od'd. He had od'd three times inthe last year and a half or so, and thats just the times we actually called the EMS. Xanex in particular shuts down your respiratory system so you cant breathe. His body just didnt have the strength to fight off another overdose . He had just gotten out of jail for fifteen days on Thursday. I know he crashed real hard from that cause when I seen him that night and had a long talk with him, I had never seen hjim so depressed. I begged him to call me if he wanted to do anything, told him how much I and everyone else loved him. I dont know how I'm going to deal with this for the rest of my life, I have already talked to my counselor and pastor. Everyone has been so supportive, thank you all again.

Darrell

So sad, yet so common. When one even stops taking these drugs the wd symptoms can be so severe, that some commit suicide. I knew a lady that could hundreds of these pills a day and be ok, I have heard of people clubbing and taking just 2 with a few beers and killing them. They are safe but when you mix booze with them, it's often fatal. These family of drugs are THE hardest to come off from. Harder than heroin, cocaine, and alchohol, because it takes months to heal and slowly reducing the meds each week to give thge brain time to heal. There is no permanent damage as they do NOT atrophy brain tissue, just do an incredible job on numbing the receptors. I hope who everyone that reads this thread to get help if they start messing with benzos and or crap like vicodin, oxycontin etc.....They are the worst of the worst. Heroin can be kicked in a week or so with methadone, the rest are a cakewalk, but the person MUST decide to quit.

How are you doing today?

[dfcjr]

Hey r33f3r= As good as can be expected I guess. I'm trying to hold it together for my parents, I cant imagine losing a child. He's being laid out today, $900 To RENT a casket!!!!!!!!!! We got his urn and a huge collage of pictures made yesterday. His urn is soooo cool, it looks and feels like a real basketball. I cryed for over two hours straight when my mom showed it to me. When David was in 8th grade he already had college basketball scouts watching him, he was so talented. Thats the worst part of it all, he had sooo much potential, just no drive bacause of those pills.

Two of my brothers so-called friends showed up yesterday. Now these are the two kids that introduced David to pills, so we've NEVER liked them at all. These two idiots show up high as hell with a bottle of pills jingling in one of their pockets. They proceeded to try and tell us how sorry they were, Haaa. Then when I threw them over the porch railing and told them never to come back and dont show up at the funeral, they had the nerve to tell me that I should have some respect!!!! I cant wait to see these kids in a dark alley someday. I know its not their fault, but how do you feed someone who is so obviously sick as David pills, and still call yourself a friend. Pathetic, they have to live with that for the rest of their lives, however short that may be since both of them have od'd several times.

Well the viewing starts at two so I'm off to the familys house.

God bless you all
Darrell

[Unome]

Sorry to hear about your brother.

His 'friends' are....can't use the proper words for them...and you were right to toss them. I think it might be good idea to contact police and say you have some undesirable people who might be attending your brother's memorial service and would like to have someone there to make sure things don't get out of hand. I'm pretty sure if they pull up and see a police car, they're not going to be too enthusiastic about getting out.

[dc]

I know when my Mother went to a rehab, they tell you that alcoholics and drug addicts are the worse enablers. They don't want you to be able to quit, because that means they might actually have a problem. One of the most ironic things I see around drunks is how much they talk about someone else being an alcoholic.

[gaels]

i'm so sorry to hear about your brother. my brothers have both died because of drugs. with one it was heroin, the other was alcohol, xanax, depression and a gun. it's a tough thing to be the survivor when death knocks at the door. all i can say, and you wont believe it right now but it's true....it gets easier to deal with as time goes by.

we all make our own choices. you have nothing to blame yourself for. please keep those thoughts out of your head, it'll take you nowhere.

blessed be
gael

[hawaiianwargod]

May God bless your brother and your family. I will pray for him and also pray to ease your pain.

[dfcjr]

Thanks everybody for your kind words and prayers. I've done nothing but pray myself for the past week. No regrets, my brother was the best little brother I could have ever asked for. I feel alot better after saying goodbye to him. He looked so peaceful in the casket, no more struggling for him. Its still really hard to even get out of bed in the morning but I went back to work today. I only broke down three times. I go to get tattooed on Thursday hopefully. My brothers portrait inside a basketball in the middle of my chest with wings going out to my shoulders. I'm going to get "Beloved Little Brother" above it. I'm also going to put some of his ashes in the ink so that I'll always have a piece of him with me, I cant wait. The people from the funeral home said it was the biggest funeral they had ever had, and they've been around for awhile in my area. I'd say there was well over 1200 people for the viewing on Thursday, and probably 400 for the service on Friday. And for some reason he felt like noone loved him. Thanks again everybody

Darrell

[hawaiianwargod]

Darrell,

Good to hear from you. I like that tatoo idea very much...show us a pic of that tat when its done.
Take care.
HW

[clord]

Sorry for your loss xanax is the worst drug out there and is given out without much thought.

[R33f3r]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7903265#post7903265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clord
Sorry for your loss xanax is the worst drug out there and is given out without much thought.

I agree with that 10000000000%