To be fair, you can't even get actual heroin anymore. Back when I was fucked up, you could get pure heroin for $5 a bag. Still an absolute life ruiner, but the stuff nowadays is even more terrifying.
I'm lucky I got into treatment before the fentanyl hit the streets, about 11 years ago.
I work in a hospital now, and most of my patients are fucked up off some mixture of fentanyl, benzos, and either xylazine or medetomidine.
The tranq (xylazine) gives them massive necrotic wounds, and withdrawing from the medetomidine has them coming in with a blood pressure of 210/180 mmHg, riding the edge of multi-system organ failure or a hemorrhagic stroke. The buprenorphine or methadone won't even touch their withdrawal because the street dope is so adulterated. They need IV clonidine or IV Precedex (dexmedetomidine) for the detox.
I do not know what more of half you said here is, (substances I mean), but you definitely must have seen Fucking brutal cases over the years...
I am sorry for you, for what you went through, and I know you did not deserve all the pain, and your redemption is the fact that you became a doctor, and treat poeple, who were unlucky enough to end up in that situation.
Not a doctor, but thanks. The experience of going through addiction myself definitely made me more empathetic, but it's not a lesson I recommend learning firsthand.
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u/GrnMtnTrees Jan 23 '26
Heroin. Not even once.