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One overdose can devastate a family, and for people undergoing rehab in Bendigo, the fact is more than mere knowledge – they feel it keenly.
Andy Milvert* is currently undertaking rehabilitation for an addiction to alcohol and methamphetamine.
“My brother, he committed suicide from overdosing on prescription medication,” he said.
“It’s one of the reasons I drink so much.”
It came as a big shock to Mr Milvert and his family when their beloved brother took his own life in 2013.
The impact was dramatic and they are still dwelling on what more could have done to prevent the tragedy.
His brother experienced bullying at school and there were other emotional factors that Mr Milvert thinks contributed to his untimely death.
“He wasn't much of a drinker or a drug user – he was on anti-depressants and and anti-psychotics because he had a personality disorder,” he said.
He said factors – such as bullying in school – impacted his brother.
On International Overdose Day, Mr Milvert is calling for just that – awareness.
“Just awareness would be one of the things. It came out of the blue, you know. Maybe he needed to be looked after more in psychiatric facilities.”
Harry Broome*, who was also undergoing rehab in Bendigo, said he himself had overdosed “a few times”.
“Sometimes it was just for fun, taking too much juice, but I ended up waking up in an ambulance,” he said.
“It was a bit of an eye-opener, but it didn't make me change my ways until I've been here in rehab.”
“It was mainly by accident, from partying too hard [with] illicit drugs…I never overdosed on prescription pills myself.”
“I wasn't in the right head space with my life. I was using it as an escape I guess.”
He said relocating to Bendigo from Melbourne for rehabilitation had made a huge difference.
“It's helped a lot in getting away from Melbourne and the city, getting away from it all.”
The message he wanted to champion was one of safety.
“If you’re going to party, try and do it safely. Keep it in moderation if going to go down that path.”
These men’s messages come at time when deaths caused by overdose outstrip the state’s road toll.
In Victoria in 2014, there were 384 fatal overdoses, compared to 249 road deaths.
The figures were a rise from 367 overdose deaths in 2012 and 342 in 2010.
Of last years fatalities due to overdose, a staggering 314 were due to prescription drugs, while 135 involved heroin and 52 involved ice (compared to 36 in 2012).
Juanita Davies, acting services manager with the Salvation Army's alcohol and drug program in Bendigo, said there were certainly some misconceptions about overdose.
“It can happen to anybody,” she said.
“Overdose is such a common thing to occur. There’s a bit of a misconception that it's perhaps suicide-related. It’s very easy for them to accidentally overdose.”
“Because of the link between prescribed medications and overdose...we make sure we are teaching clients about the interactions between prescription medications and illicit drugs as well so we can prevent accidental overdose.”
“We are always operating from a risk management perspective – it’s about drug awareness and education as well as relapse prevention, and looking at how can they use in a safe way, if they are going to use.”
She said strategies like a real-time method of monitoring prescription medications, as well as looking at the availability naloxone (which reverses the effects of opiates) would be “a good place to start”.
*Names have been changed to protect identity.
Lifeline: 13 11 14.