PSA: how not to kill yourself

[maradydd]

Dear everyone,

If you are planning on committing suicide via overdose, for fuck's sake do not do it with anticholinergics. Anticholinergics are otherwise known as "deliriants" for very, very good reason. If you want to die confused and terrified while your blood pressure pingpongs around out of control, anticholinergics are an extremely effective way of accomplishing that. If you're lucky, the rapid swings in blood pressure will trigger a heart attack (which is also not a lot of fun, especially when you can't tell what's real and what isn't); if not, you're likely to end up in a coma with a failing liver.

Seriously, just don't. It will suck for you, it will suck for whoever finds you while you are still alive and it will suck for the medical professionals who end up treating you. Do yourself a favour: call a friend, call a suicide hotline. You can even call me if you can deal with someone talking you out of it with logic and being pretty much entirely unemotional about the situation.

But yeah, fuck anticholinergics in the ear.

ETA: thanks ephermata for just generally being awesome

Comments

[deza.livejournal.com]

You ok?

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

I'm fine, just upset. Someone else is not okay, but thankfully is in competent hands; enochsmiles is about to drive the person to the hospital.

[neoliminal.livejournal.com]

I feel sorry for you.

[praecorloth.livejournal.com]

I tried to off myself once by trying to (ironically) OD on my anti-depressant. Didn't work but I didn't get depressed anymore either.

In any case, hope your friend gets through it alright.

[digitalsidhe.livejournal.com]

Anticholinergics have ears? Wow! ... I'm not sure if that's really cool, or really messed up.

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

A phenothiazine ring looks kind of like a mouse head with big ears if you squint. Or maybe an elephant head, if you think of the amine group as a trunk.

[mutiny.livejournal.com]

Like my Mom always said "put the barrel of the gun to the soft spot at the back of your throat!"

[kejlina.livejournal.com]

this is the second suicide attempt i've heard of in the past five minutes.

i hope your friend pulls through and that things end up okay eventually.

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

Things seem to be under control at this point and I think we're out of the woods for the most part. Thanks.

[ivy]

Yeesh. Hope everyone makes it through with as little trauma as possible.

[grepmaster.livejournal.com]

Wow. Of all the bleedin' things people do to themselves...

[(Anonymous)]

Word to the wise, DO NOT get toxic on benadryl because the above can happen. Stay very hydrated if you need to use it.

[riseorbleed.livejournal.com]

Ooops, that was me inadvertently posting anonymously.

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

Most of Benadryl's activity is antihistaminic, but it's still a potent anticholinergic, so yeah, same principle. Thanks for pointing it out.

[riseorbleed.livejournal.com]

NP, glad I saw this string. Wish I didn't speak from experience! I am a very lucky person.

[marapfhile.livejournal.com]

yeah, i get fucked up enough on the normal 50mg i take when nothing else cures the non-stop sneezing. i can't imagine deliberately od'ing on it.

(note to the unaware, dramamine is basically the same thing plus a half-assed stimulant that was supposed to cut the drowsy but failed miserably. i expect they'd mix really badly, so if you're already taking benadryl for allergies, don't take anything for motion sickness.)