Has anyone had to deal with the death of an addict? My brother died from an overdose and I feel so horrible about it because I feel like theres something I could've done to stop it. And I'd give anything to go back in time and just try to fix him even if he ended up hating me. I really wish I would've done somehting.

I've never actually had a family member die because of addiction, but a few of my family members got really close to killing themselves. But you shouldn't feel guilty because of the choices they were making in their lives. I'm sure you impacted their lives in a positive way, it's just so hard to get through to an addict. They are not themselves and are only living for a single purpose.

How does one deal with the on-going gut-wrenching fear that your family member is going to overdose and die?  My son (28) has been addicted to crack cocaine for over 8 yrs, complicated by the fact that he is a type 1 diabetic.  At this point he is using every 2-3 days.  He says he hates himself, wants to quit, but is not going to meetings, seeking medication therapy, etc.  I'm pretty much beside myself.

I never had to deal with an addict I know dying but I did hear of this one guy who died from an overdose and I guess hes been an addict for a while. I saw his mom a few times and she mentions him every time I see her. Shes still so depressed about it and he doesn't leave her mind for an instant. we always think of the addicts and the stuff they go through but a lot of people just dont think of the pain and heartache the family goes through, especially the addict who usually never thinks of this.