8 Chilling Tales of Real Life Opioid Addiction Overdoses

As an opioid addict, you might feel like you’re the only one suffering.

However, you couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Millions of others are suffering just as badly as you on an everyday basis. While some are able to overcome their demons and escape the clutches of drugs, others are not so fortunate.

Here are eight real life stories of people who were addicted to opioids and lost their battle. Take heed from these cautionary tales, and use them to inspire your own recovery.

1. Laura Hope Laws

Many opioid overdoses result in death.

Laura was only 17 when she took a fatal combination of morphine, alcohol, and cocaine. What started her addiction? While playing varsity soccer, she suffered a broken jaw and was prescribed pain relievers. That was all it took for her to start on the path to heroin.

2. David Pease

David started using drugs at the age of 15 when his parents divorced. His father knew about his drug use, but never forced him to go into treatment. Unfortunately, this lack of discipline lead him to overdose on heroin one night when partying with friends. Because his friends were afraid of getting in trouble, they waited for hours before taking him to the hospital.

3. Ian Eaccarino

Ian began using marijuana and tobacco in eighth grade. This simple experimentation eventually led him to try snorting heroin in college. He struggled, going in and out of drug rehabilitation, before eventually relapsing and dying in his sleep after an overdose.

4. Mark Bauer

Mark experimented with pot and drugs in high school, and after lecturing him, his parents thought he was finally done lashing out. That’s why they were so surprised to find him dead in his bed one Friday morning. The autopsy showed he had mixed oxycodone, morphine, amphetamines, and acetaminophen all at once.

5. Jason Surks

Jason’s mom worked for a community-based substance abuse prevention program, so she always thought her son would never do drugs. However, while in college to study pre-pharmacy, he overdosed on prescription drugs. Even being surrounded by the knowledge of drug’s harmful effects could not stop him from addiction.

Heroin Addiction in the US: An Epidemic That Continues to Grow

As heroin abuse and addiction continue to grow in America, it’s important to realize who this is affecting, why it’s occurring, and what we can do to put an end to this epidemic.

6. Ian Brown

Ian’s abuse of drugs started in high school when he obtained opioid prescription painkillers from his friends. However, because these drugs were so expensive, he eventually switched to black-tar heroin to save money. After going through rehab, multiple arrests, and declaring to the world his hatred of drugs, he eventually succumbed to an overdose.

7. Daniel Katz

Daniel loved playing ice hockey, but that didn’t stop him from experimenting with drugs in his free time. By the age of 17, he had entered an intensive outpatient treatment program. This worked for a while, but he went back to oxycontin and cocaine after starting college. He eventually overdosed at the age of 25 after years of trying to get clean.

8. Ryan Haight

Ryan was just 18 years old when he succumbed to opioid painkillers he had purchased online. Ryan’s mother had no idea that her son took drugs, as he was a straight A student who played baseball and tennis. She discovered him dead in bed one morning.

While these stories are depressing, they should serve as a reminder to you just how dangerous drugs are. Delaying your recovery, by even one day, could put you at risk of death.

Keep in mind that in most of these stories, it wasn’t simply the addict that suffered. It was their families who found them dead in bed or stood by their side after multiple attempts at rehab.

Ready to begin your recovery journey? Call 800-678-5931(Paid Advertiser) to learn about available treatment programs for drug and alcohol addiction.