Venting?!

Oh my word! Can we keep the opiates to a minimum?! Don't do them! And if you do or your family/friend does them then be aware of what an overdose looks like! If you can't wake them up easily, they don't listen to reason, hallucinations, continuos vomiting! Call 911! Don't "let them sleep it off" or "put them to bed." That might be the beginning of their permanent sleep. It is sickening how many people I have known that have died from opiate overdose and I only work on one 19 bed unit. Common! Yes, I am half yelling. These things happen often because of emotional pain. Oh how I wish I could slip in and somehow talk to these people before this situation happened. Somehow communicate the fact they are chosen and dearly loved. How much does it change things to know that you are known inside and out and loved not anyway but because of that?