A Highland Township man was revived in his home after overdosing on heroin last Friday, but his reaction to his own life saving was less than appreciative. The 25-year-old man was found in his Middle Road home around 5pm by his family, who then called for emergency services.
When deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s department arrived at the home, the man was breathing on his own when his family administered CPR. When asked what he had taken, he admitted to recently snorting heroin. The deputies then dispensed Naloxone into the man’s nostrils but immediately began trying to dispel the medication from his nose and told the officers he didn’t want it.
Paramedics from the Highland Township Fire Department and Star Emergency Medical Services were on hand for his treatment but when asked to leave with the technicians to the hospital, the man refused.
Police and fire officials were forced to leave the patient in the care of his brother and hid girlfriend.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, blocks opioid receptors in the brain to counteract the effects of an overdose, and is successful in stopping an overdose 93% of the time. Patients who have been given Naloxone, the powerful opioid reversal drug can be released after being treated with the drug if the patient’s cognition and vital signs return to normal. Patients treated in an emergency room are typically monitored for one hour and then released. Patients are then free to use again despite the close call.
Michigan is dealing with an influx of heroin and fentanyl being cut into street drugs, driving the prices up and causing more and more overdoses due to the synthetic drugs overpowering effects. Oakland had 340 overdose deaths in 2016, the third highest overdose count in the state. Every day 115 people die after overdosing on an opioid in the United States.
Source : The Recover Newsroom
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