Running for shelter
Scientist reveals surprising overdose statisticsBy CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune Chronicle
Article Photos
Fact Box
Trumbull County 2003-07
Drug-related deaths by age
- 16-20 - 10
- 21-25 - 25
- 26-30 - 17
- 31-35 - 20
- 36-40 - 21
- 41-45 - 45
- 46-50 - 33
- 51-55 - 22
- 56-60 - 12
- 60+ - 5
LIBERTY - Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk sees a trend in overdoses and prescription drug abuse in Trumbull County, and it's not what one might expect.
Speaking last week at the 28th annual Probate Practice Seminar in Liberty, the county's forensic pathologist flashed a photo of someone shooting up a dose of heroin.
''This isn't the problem in our county. This is more appropriate,'' he said, flashing another photo of a typical mother, father and soccer-playing daughter.
''One person's party-dose is another person's 'coma-dose,''' Germaniuk, who is running for county coroner, told a large crowd Friday the Metroplex Hotel & Conference Center.
Germaniuk stressed to lawyers and a collection of health professionals that the most common overdoses he sees while performing autopsies are white males between ages 41 and 50 taking two or three narcotics and probably cocaine with an alcohol ''chaser.'' The narcotics may or may not be prescribed.
The most common months for the drug deaths are January, March and September.
Once the chief medical examiner in Washington, D.C., Germaniuk concocted a scenario of the father - a plant worker who developed a back problem and became dependent on painkillers. His wife was a hospital employee, who sprained her ankle and was confident she could handle a pain patch she was prescribed. The athletic daughter also developed problems from a sports injury and peer pressure.
The key, Germaniuk pointed out, is the tolerance and buildup of drugs in the system along with mixing of prescribed drugs.
''One (pill) makes me feel good. Two makes me feel better. Three and I'm dead,'' he said.
The findings reflect statistics Germaniuk gathered from 2003 through 2007.
Among the county's 13,073 deaths during the five-year period, 2,971 were referred to the Coroner's Office; 1,203 were accepted and autopsied or analyzed; and 211 were drug-related. Germaniuk said the 211 figures exclude accidents, homicides and suicides that could have involved drugs.
''Some may think we run around putting toe tags on dead folk, but we are a barometer,'' he said.
The doctor also followed a musical history of drug abuse and death, at one point singing the chorus of the 1966 Rolling Stones hit ''Mother's Little Helper.'' He compared the rise of OxyContin deaths that started to show up in 2004 and the surge in cocaine use that he compared to ''water in the gutter after a rainstorm in Trumbull County.''
The forensic pathologist insisted that pain clinics must be monitored better and kids must be educated ''early and aggressively.''
He suggested patients and physicians be better educated and rehabilitation used as families, friends and loved ones monitor each other.
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Dschweck
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10-07-08 11:11 PM
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bruskii;None here sportsfan..Not my gig to tell lies to Dr's to obtain dope.Way ahead of yourself on the little blue pill comment.Go back to your 'happy powder'.
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bruskii
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10-07-08 1:26 PM
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Look around you Dschweeck .they be a whole world outside your gm behind .Stop being the problem & start helping with solutions .Probably you gots some of them drugs in you medicine cabinet .right next to little blue pill for when you hooks up with you jail bait . now, can you help fix this mess or are you just going to spew poison from you keyboards .
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Dschweck
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10-07-08 1:02 PM
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Dr bruskii,You are Very well versed on the Killer drugs out there?Did you learn all that from?Google or maybe they are the reason for your wonderful English?
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gardiner01
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10-07-08 12:32 PM
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Oh, and why is this article titled 'running for shelter'? I guess that's par for the course when you have a paper that is written for a 6th grade reading level. And in this county, 6th grade level is ALOT LOWER than it used to be.
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gardiner01
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10-07-08 12:30 PM
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Billdog, I agree 100%. I have young adult children, and have seen and heard alot: these younger people are taking tons of prescription drugs. Now, who has prescribed those drugs? There are several doctors in this area who run Rx mills...or else they are so backward in their education they believe that benzos and opiods are being requested for honest reasons. Several years ago I went up against one of these doctors..it was really unpleasant. And not too fruitful.
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Billdog
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10-07-08 11:58 AM
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The reality is that there is a serious drug problem in the country as a whole. It is because of access and uncrastrained distribution. Drug companies, and Dr. need to start taking some responsability in this problem.
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bruskii
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10-07-08 9:27 AM
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true that Tom Smith .But we all know that the folkses be liking them oxyContins, VI-Codins , Hydro-Codones , Xanaxes , & the such .Folkses be trading & selling their legit drugs for all kinda stuff . + they all be boozing it up .Then you puts vodka in you cough syrups & then you od .
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TomSmith
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10-07-08 8:45 AM
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Drug related deaths is a awful big span.. If he really wanted to show this is an issue, I think breaking it down by the kind of drug the person died from would be better or even if it was a drug and not a drug related homicide. He did a pretty crappy job at trying to prove is point.
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bruskii
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10-07-08 8:33 AM
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sad commenteary bout legit drugs up in here .
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