Hydrocodone (Codeine), Oxycodone (OxyContin) and Heroin are opioid derivitives (Of differing strengths but all opioids pretty much react the same in the body) and as such there is a built tolerence to them and an extreme physical addiction. Meaning as you take them the more you need.
So if I take 1 Vicidon every 4 hours, eventually it will no longer mask the pain and I either move to a stronger dosage or I take more.
Eventually, you get to the limit in dosages and just take more and more pills, not just to mask the pain but to maintain "normal". Most people addicted to heavy pain medications are not looking to get high, but to alleviate the pain.
As your tolerence builds you can take un-Godly amounts of these. However, eventually, you experience a tolerence break and all of a sudden 1 could kill you.
It's like a Heroin addict (since they are all opioids this is a great example), he/she can do say 20 bags a day, but all of a sudden one day they shoot up a small amount and go into Cardiac arrest.
Is this an overdose?
Opioids in and of themselves you truly cannot OD on, however, once you achieve tolerence break you're dead.
But tolerence break is also very Russian Roulette, because you can achieve it today and OD on one shot or pill, and be revived and go back out and get back to 20 bags and not have any problems. (This is also why some Heroin addicts will carry a coke syringe with them, so if they OD they shoot the coke and it pumps them back up.)
Now tolerence break for an Alcoholic is different in that it takes years and one drink won't kill you, you have just fucked up your liver enough so that when you drink you don't need to drink as much to get drunk. That's why alcoholics may die of poisoning because they are used to drinking a 1/5th a day and all of a sudden they only needed a few shots but they drink the whole bottle anyway. Tolerence break for an alcoholic though is permenant..... once you break you will require less and less to get drunk... and that is because the liver is shot.
So basically if you are desiring to overdose and kill yourself on an opioid alone it is near impossible, the amounts you would have to take would be almost unprescribable.
So in order to commit suicide from opioid poisoning, you need to follow it with alcohol, or another CNS depressant.
For Vicidons, Percocets, Percodans, Tylenol 3's, etc. what is with them (Acetaminaphen, Asprin, Ibuprofen, etc) has more of a chance to kill you before they actually do.
That's why almost 95% of cases you hear the person OD'd on Opioid pain pills there was alcohol or other drugs involved.
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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"
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