Ghassan overdoses at his mother’s house
Preferred Name: Ghassan
Gender: Male
Age: Late 30s
Who is Ghassan?
Ghassan lives in Sydney. He describes his ethnic background as ‘Lebanese’: he was born in Australia but his parents were born in Lebanon and France. At the time of the interview Ghassan was accessing drug treatment in a residential rehabilitation service. Ghassan works full-time as a painter and has a young child. Overdose is an important issue to Ghassan as he has lost a number of friends to it and experienced it himself ‘about six times’. Although he has not used take-home naloxone yet, Ghassan felt it could be especially useful to keep at home where his mum could use it if needed.
Brief Outline:
Ghassan describes an occasion when he overdosed in his bathroom at home. He had just been released from prison and was living with his mother, Abila. Ghassan consumed heroin in the bathroom while Abila, who was ‘none the wiser’, was at home. However, Abila became worried when she realised that he had been in the bathroom ‘for ages’. Ghassan’s friend Joe, who had also just consumed heroin, managed to open the door for Abila and they found him overdosing in the bathtub. After paramedics revived Ghassan with naloxone, Abila was very upset, saying ‘I thought you were going to die!’ and ‘don’t ever do that to me again!’
We didn’t want my mum to know about the heroin, so we decided to mix it up and have it in the bathroom. Joe went first and I asked him to leave the equipment in the bathroom so I could do my own afterwards. At first mum was none the wiser about what we were doing.
Eventually, mum and Joe became worried about me when they realised that I had been in the bathroom for ages. They later told me they kept knocking on the door but there was no answer.
Joe managed to open the door and they came in. My mum found me in the bathtub just knocked out. They splashed hot and cold water on my face to trying to wake me up, but I wasn’t coming to.
Mum called an ambulance and the next thing you know, I’m waking up, with the Narcan [naloxone] and the ambulance. Afterwards, she was very upset, like she was in hysterics, saying ‘I thought you were going to die!’ and ‘Don’t ever do that to me again!’
After I woke up the paramedics reminded me that once the Narcan [naloxone] wears off, the heroin will kick back in. They warned me that if I used heroin again too soon, I might overdose again and said, ‘we’ll be back to wake you back up’.
Reflecting on this event in the interview, Ghassan explained the benefit of keeping naloxone at home. He told us that naloxone ‘would be good at home because my mum has found me in the bathroom and she’s had to call an ambulance, [but] if there was naloxone at home, then she could just administer it herself’.
It was 2001 and I had just got out of jail and was living with my mum, Abila. One day, my friend Joe visited me at home and we decided to take some heroin together.
We didn’t want my mum to know about the heroin, so we decided to mix it up and have it in the bathroom. Joe went first and I asked him to leave the equipment in the bathroom so I could do my own afterwards. At first mum was none the wiser about what we were doing.
Eventually, mum and Joe became worried about me when they realised that I had been in the bathroom for ages. They later told me they kept knocking on the door but there was no answer.
Joe managed to open the door and they came in. My mum found me in the bathtub just knocked out. They splashed hot and cold water on my face to trying to wake me up, but I wasn’t coming to.
Mum called an ambulance and the next thing you know, I’m waking up, with the Narcan [naloxone] and the ambulance. Afterwards, she was very upset, like she was in hysterics, saying ‘I thought you were going to die!’ and ‘Don’t ever do that to me again!’
After I woke up the paramedics reminded me that once the Narcan [naloxone] wears off, the heroin will kick back in. They warned me that if I used heroin again too soon, I might overdose again and said, ‘we’ll be back to wake you back up’.
Recounting different overdose experiences, Ghassan (M, late 30s, NSW, non-prescribed opioids) says he is ‘really aware’ of it, and, like Emma, consumes small amounts of heroin first to test for strength.
I’m really aware of [overdose…] like, three or four months [ago], I was [not taking any heroin] and I relapsed. That first shot I had, I was really careful to have like a quarter of a cap. So even [from] that quarter of a cap, I’d be on the blink in the toilet for eight hours. I’d wake up, I’d still have that fit in my arm. So, it’s, like, yeah, really, really aware of it.
Ghassan (M, mid 30s, NSW, non-prescribed opioids) also describes how reduced tolerance contributed to his first overdose. He had recently left a youth justice facility and, at the time, wasn’t aware that it could be dangerous to consume the amount of heroin he had previously taken. Ghassan was with a friend who quickly called an ambulance, and the paramedics injected him with naloxone.
So, I was locked up for a period of time and then I got out, and I never knew about tolerance levels and stuff. So I went out and used the exact same amount [of heroin] that I was using prior to being locked up. Luckily I was at a friend’s place, and his sister was there and she was a [heroin user] too. So, I’ve [taken the heroin], and then the next thing I know, I’m waking up in […] hospital throwing up all over, like the instant withdrawal and all that kind of stuff. Just didn’t know how I got there. That was the first time [I overdosed].
While Ghassan (M, mid 30s, NSW, non-prescribed opioids) says administering take-home naloxone is easy, he often consumes heroin alone and knows he wouldn’t be able to give it to himself if he overdosed.
Like, [giving naloxone is] not hard. We use needles anyway. I know how to use it. It’s pretty self-explanatory. For me it is, anyway. But, like, my head tells me I know better and it says, ‘You’ll be careful, you won’t need it.’ And I always, I use [heroin] alone [and] that’s the scary part too. I’ll go by myself […] and it’s dangerous, it’s really dangerous because if something does happen, I’m not going to be able to snap out of it and give myself the injection […] I don’t know, I’m really weird too, like, it depends how much I have. If I have a lot, if I score a big amount, I’d go to the injecting room. If I don’t, if I’m doing a little bit, I’ll do it at home. I don’t know, it’s just weird.
On one occasion Ghassan’s (M, mid 30s, NSW, non-prescribed opioids) mother called an ambulance to respond to his overdose, so he thinks keeping an intra-nasal naloxone product at home is a good idea.
Like, for me, it would be good at home because, like, my mum has found me in the bathroom and she’s had to call an ambulance. So if there was naloxone at home, then she could just administer it herself. […] I reckon the nasal spray [would be the best product], 100%. Yeah, I think people using it, they [might] start freaking out with the needle. Whereas if you just stick it up someone’s nose, how easy is that? I know [my mum might think] ‘Oh, do I need to do it in the vein or do I need to do it in the muscle?’ That kind of stuff, so with [the nasal spray], you just go up the nose.