After an overdose
You came back. This part matters.
For you, or for someone you’re worried about. Surviving an overdose is the single biggest risk factor for the next one, and the weeks right after are when it’s highest. Almost nobody gets told that.
There’s a team for exactly this
Santa Clara County runs a Post-Overdose Support Team. Their entire job is people in the situation you’re in right now. They are not police, they are not a hospital, and they are not going to lecture you.
Call the Post-Overdose Support Team · (669) 326-4406Why tolerance is the thing that kills people
If you stopped for a while — a few days in a hospital, a stint somewhere, or just a break — your tolerance drops fast. The amount that was normal before is not normal now. Most fatal overdoses after a break happen at doses the person had taken many times.
If you use again, use less than you think you need, and don’t use alone. Those two things are most of the difference.
Get naloxone before you need it again
Whoever is around you should have it and know how to use it. It’s free, no ID and no prescription.
If you’re the friend or the family
The thing that helps most is being reachable and not making it a confrontation. People who feel judged use alone, and using alone is what turns an overdose into a death.
Get naloxone into the house. Learn the five steps. Put the Post-Overdose Support Team number in your phone before you need it.