Dopers Should Be Ashamed

[PrimeTimer]

Another athlete has been caught doping on the drug EPO. Remember cyclist Lance Armstrong? Now it's runner Asbel Kiprop. There are more, I'm just too angry to remember them right now. I am sick of hearing about athletes who use EPO or any other drug for that matter to enhance their athletic performance (to make the big bucks from sponsors and endorsements) while our loved ones are on dialysis and desperately need EPO to live. I think every athlete caught doping should be made to walk through a dialysis center and apologize to every patient.


https://www.theolympian.com/sports/article229498679.html

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Not just a dialysis center, but those in for cancer treatment that need EPO too.  The really sad thing is that the competitive nature of a lot of top athletes and their vision of their class as "survival of the fittest" kinda removes a lot of their humanity. Not saying that all of them are this way but so many just don't have a heart, not because they are heartless, but they can't be half-arsed to care. "Won't happen to me!" or competitive nature and all that.

That rant aside... 

I came into my husband's life when his competitive years were coming to an end. Technically, he still could, but different priorities now. When we started living together, omg, it was like I came with a WADA curse. Always in the fridge, two big boxes of EPO. Naturally, friends went into the fridge to fetch drinks so he was like, damn it, great... this has potential for rumors. We bought a mini fridge for the EPO! And then, there are other prohibited drugs that we never think about like furosemide (Lasix), spironolactone (Aldactone---I kinda miss this drug because it smelled minty fresh!) and metolazone. Guess who had Costco sized quantities? This girl! So, it was again a case of "those are my chick's pills...." WADA says certain sports prohibit a bunch of -lol pills, such as metoprolol, but in this case, it was fine.

It's definitely NOT a funny topic and those who do dope should be chastised severely, but I remember having these weird anxieties that time. And I have to admit, if I went into the fridge and didn't recall how many EPO syringes were left, I'd question it. Thank goodness my nurse kept records. See, not all Russians are dopers. 

[Simon Dog]

I doubt the dopers are hurting dialysis patients, as they are no doubt paying full price, no rebate or discount, prices for the drug and may, in fact, be subsidizing the price dialysis patients pay.

[PrimeTimer]

People who are blessed with healthy bodies should feel fortunate that they don't NEED EPO to survive. You've got one sector of society abusing their healthy bodies and organs while others fight just to stay alive thru dialysis or transplant and can only WISH for the life of a healthy athlete. I've got a brother in hospice right now who was very athletic, a hard worker, well-liked by anyone he met and who would give the shirt off his back to help someone. He's had beautiful smart wives and children and his siblings -a whole support network of people willing to help him. In fact, our little brother paid for his drug rehab twice and still, our brother runs back to the dark world of drugs to finish destroying every organ and ounce of life he has left inside him. He disappeared, making it clear that he didn't need us, didn't want us or just couldn't be bothered. Twenty years later, we get word that he's in a hospice dying of heart and liver failure (from heroin and meth use). Meanwhile, I've got a husband on dialysis who would give anything to be able to turn the clock back to the days when he was a young athlete and not on dialysis and having to take EPO. And he chooses to keep going, he chooses life. My brother in the hospice? He's made his choices quite clear. I grieved over him a long time ago but no, he's back in our lives and we will be grieving again when he passes. People who are blessed with a healthy body need to understand the fight that others are in. Until they do, I have lost patience with dopers. And so I will once again mourn the loss of my brother...only this time will be the last. He is not a cat with nine lives. 

[jambo101]

 Is EPO like Aranesp?

[kickingandscreaming]

EPO is like Aranesp and like Mircea

[Charlie B53]

I can understand people getting loaded.  I used to.

But I cannot understand using a needle to inject anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

Maybe it is just my needle-phobia, but long long ago when I worked out and played football I didn't need anything but wholesome food and exercise.

Maybe I am getting 'old'?

[PrimeTimer]

But I cannot understand using a needle to inject anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

You hit the nail on the head, Charlie. There are idiots choosing to stick themselves with needles to get a leg up on the competition in sports or to get high and wuss out while there are people on dialysis getting stuck with needles to stay alive. I wish the idiots could walk thru a dialysis center and see what folks like you and my husband are going thru.

[PrimeTimer]

So, my brother passed away in a hospice last week while I was in the hospital. He was 60 yrs old and had been a drug addict more than half his life. Heroin and meth. I hadn't seen him in 20 yrs. He'd pop in/out of my life very briefly and then disappear again. One time even one of his adult daughters filed a missing person's report; he told the cops he didn't want to be found. He's actually left behind a bunch of kids, some young, some now adults. He's got grandchildren. And none of them never really got to know him and they certainly never had his support. I feel very sad for them. And so now the grieving begins...again. I have grieved and grieved over the years. A little relieved that he didn't die in some dark alley or get murdered. But mixed in with the grief is some anger. I'm going to try to let go of that as quickly and as best as I can because I want to be healthy and...happy. Like most, I do better when I am happy.   

Funny how one nice "memory page" can reveal so many pictures or glimpses into one's life. This page reveals that my brother apparently had quite a following of friends and happy times. Thank goodness he didn't die in some dark alley. No, he wasn't alone for he had many "friends", went places, did things and lived a life. There are these pictures after-all. My younger brother and I (and the children he had that we knew of) aren't in any of these pictures but, he did have a life. With people and children. Whoever they are. Lots of smiles, laughter and playfulness going on in these pictures. A brother I never knew that said he didn't want to be found. Well, somebody found him. Or he found them. Oookay….whatever.

A "memory page"? Yeah, it's memorable alright. 

[Simon Dog]

Change the word "Ashamed" to "Sign up for organ donation" in the title.