Why you should rethink assumptions of people who overdose

After her doctor prescribed pain medication, Kate became dependent, writes Alison Lai

TODAY is International Overdose Awareness Day, and to help raise awareness of the risks of overdose I wanted share with you the story of someone who has experienced it first-hand.

I shall call her Kate, a young woman who grew up in southern Tasmania.

Private school educated, she describes her childhood as idyllic.

Owning her own small business, Kate “wasn’t a big drinker”, being very focused on building her life in Hobart.

However, her life took an unexpected turn in her late twenties when she injured her lower back and she was prescribed opioid pain medication by her general practitioner.

She was prescribed a range of opiate medications to manage her pain and started with panadeine forte, moving through tramadol, endone and eventually oxycodone.

Twelve months after starting her treatment Kate had developed a dependency on her medication, a dependency which would ultimately take over her life for the next seven years.

During this time Kate’s treatment journey has included detox and pharmacotherapy treatment.

She has experienced relapse and extreme moments of depression, an accidental overdose and two suicide attempts.

To this day, Kate is still receiving support and treatment from a counsellor and is slowly rebuilding her life.

Kate approached us recently because she is determined to share her story with the hope that it will bring greater awareness to the issue of overdose and an understanding of the people that experience them in Tasmania.

We asked Kate what she would like us to say to people about the issue.

She wants you to know that behind every overdose there is a person, with their own story and experiences and that overdose can happen to anyone.

Kate wants to challenge any assumptions or judgment you might have about people who overdose or have a dependency on any type of substance.

Tasmanians who use drugs, whether it be pharmaceutical medications or illicit substances come from all walks of life, and the shame and judgment they feel can stop them from seeking help.

Kate never imagined that her life story would involve a drug dependency that would almost end her life.

She wants to ensure that this is not the defining moment that casts a dark shadow over all the other wonderful aspects of her life.

Kate told me that “it would hurt me to the core of my being if I’d died when I’d overdosed and my family and friends’ grief was my legacy

and what ended up defining my memory”.

She also wants you to know that people in these situations feel hesitant to talk about these issues openly.

While Kate was acutely aware her dependency on her medication was becoming problematic it took her years to tell her GP because she was afraid of disappointing them.

Also, on her first accidental overdose an ambulance wasn’t called because of concerns of what people would think.

Kate wants everyone who is using drugs, particularly those using prescription medication, to be overdose aware.

Telling me that she “felt safe because it was a prescribed medication”, Kate doesn’t believe the seriousness of potential overdose or opiate dependency was explained to her by her health professional.

Kate told me it wasn’t until a health professional explained to her how long term use of opiates for chronic pain was contributing to her pain, that it “finally made sense” and she booked herself into detox.

Kate wants you to think about how you can help others to feel comfortable to talk to you about their drug use.

In a lot of cases people associate drug overdose with illicit substances like heroin, or with the tragic stories of loved ones who may have died by suicide.

This is indeed a reality, but many are surprised to learn that the majority of overdoses in Tasmania involve pharmaceutical medications and were accidental.

It is something that we need to be comfortable to talk about more often with the people we care about.

So on behalf of Kate, I encourage you to take a moment to think about how you can become more overdose aware, and what you can do to help reduce the risks of overdose for someone you love.

The National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is available free 24 hours a day on 1800 250 015.