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> and unable to drink, so certainly terribly thirsty the whole time. I know people that work in hospice, and they say this is a big misconception (the article
by briffle 2y ago
> and unable to drink, so certainly terribly thirsty the whole time.
I know people that work in hospice, and they say this is a big misconception (the article hints at it too). they patients don't die from lack of water, they don't want water because they are dying, and their body can't process it. In fact, as you kind of touched on at the start, giving them IV fluids can cause them to drown since their body can't process the water.
Death is pretty ugly thing, that comes for us all. I got to learn the fun way that in the state of Oregon, it is illegal to disable a pacemaker. Even when the person has a DNR, and it is really the only thing keeping them alive. The best the doctors can do is turn the pacemaker down as low as possible, and hope its not enough to keep the person artificially alive. Which seems kind of really weird, when its also the first and one of the only states that allows medically assisted suicide..
- BalinKing 2y agoI'm no expert myself but recently had a relative in hospice,[0] which prompted me to look into this issue a bit. There are a few papers (for a recent example, Kingdon et al. (2020))[1] that say that the data is actually extremely low-quality on both sides of the issue. Personally, this makes me wonder if "fluids are bad" might just be received wisdom and/or anecdata... hopefully someone will do a better study(ies) at some point in order to get actually reliable data. [0] We did end up following the hospice's recommendations not to administer IV fluids, for what it's worth. [1] https://spcare.bmj.com/content/bmjspcare/11/1/68.full.pdf https://spcare.bmj.com/content/bmjspcare/11/1/68.full.pdf
- Flumio 2y agoThe best thing they can do is shoot me with a nice does of heroin and after the high.just ending it. We know how to end life's.
- FerretFred 2y agoIt's probably ironic that it's never been easier to buy that drug (and others) and decide your own fate compared with trying for a dignified and hopefully pain-free death the "legal" way.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- throwup238 2y agoDoubly so given the epidemic of fentanyl contamination.
- FerretFred 2y agoWe haven't had that (yet) on this side of The Pond but I'm sure it'll happen.
- throwup238 2y agoBrexit benefits! It's the one thing Tories got right in 14 years. *laughs maniacally*
- FerretFred 2y agoI suspect it's the only Europe-UK supply chain that hasn't been affected by Brexit :) Maybe the Tories need to persuade a few drug dealers to go straight and fix the whole supply chain problem.
- throwup238 2y ago> Maybe the Tories need to persuade a few drug dealers to go straight and fix the whole supply chain problem. They'll get Michael Gove right on that!
- FerretFred 2y agoHe's the right man for the job! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48572982 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48572982
- KMag 2y agoGranted death penalty opponents are biased, but it's often said that barbituate overdose is a very unpleasant way to die. I've also heard opiod overdose is unpleasant. I was once helping take down a 10-foot weather balloon full of helium, and took in two breaths in a row of pure helium. I started to get tunnel vision, said "whoah", sat down when I realized I was about to lose consciousness, fell down, and twitched just long enough for my friend to realize I wasn't joking around before I woke up. From my experience, hypoxia from pure helium is slightly pleasant all the way to loss of consciousness. I presume pure nitrogen would be nearly the same. Let my last words be something witty in a high-pitched helium voice. (Side note: pure nitrogen hypoxia would not be a particularly humane form of execution because the condemned would likely fight it by holding on to their last breath.)
- LorenPechtel 2y agoYup, AFIAK hypoxia is the best way to go. Survivors who are rescued in time (or, like you, self-rescue) don't have a bad experience. The MAiD protocol used in Canada likewise appears to not be a bad experience as the only thing the patient experiences is anesthesia.
- _a_a_a_ 2y agoI'm also coming to the conclusion that inert gas hypoxia is going to be my way out. My end has to be, as far as I can make it, painless and polite, meaning a happy exit with minimal inconveniencing of as few as possible other people. Any suitable substance for this seems to be taken off the market, even basic stuff like metal nitrites (as used in curing meat. Try getting hold of a nontrivial amount of this in the UK). I don't have the inclination to follow up Project Peanut; I don't have the background for this. I fully understand why this has been done, to stop people who only intermittently get the urge, but for someone like me it's a major bloody inconvenience, so inert gas it most likely is. (The above is not an opener for a discussion, it's an FYI for a different perspective. Please don't respond).
- Flumio 2y agoAny thoughts on how to inhale it without risking others finding you in a oxygen deprived setup? Like a warning sign or some fan kicking in later?
- Der_Einzige 2y agoOregon pioneered death with dignity so this is a huge surprise.
- CoastalCoder 2y agoDoes the pacemaker law predate the death with dignity law? I'm wondering if it only anticipated pacemakers being disabled for malice or out of negligence.
- LorenPechtel 2y agoAll the US death with dignity laws are lethal prescriptions only, the patient must self-administer. Turning off a pacemaker would be the doctor doing it, not the patient.
- exe34 2y agogive them a switch.