The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWhat do you want to die from?
I've seen a lot of anti-smoking threads here (one going strong in GD now). Anti-obesity, anti-alcohol, (well maybe not here in the lounge). I'll probably go from lung cancer, (I smoke a pack every three days) or liver disease (drink more than most). I am in pretty good shape for 61 years old. I still work construction, and in the many years on the job I have breathed powdered mortar dust, drywall dust and so much more, so I'm leaning toward lung cancer. I have a living will and don't want to spend my kids inheritance on hospital bills. I haven't been to a doctor in 25 years and that was for stitches.
My grandpa died In his sleep of a stroke. That's the way I want go.
hlthe2b
(102,405 posts)Hell on the family, if they are massive, but don't kill quickly, though. That can still result in incredible levels of treatment/diagnostics and medical bills before they finally determine you to essentially brain dead.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)pipi_k
(21,020 posts)well, not actually during sex, but close enough.
He and his wife had gone out bowling, then stopped for pizza.
They went home and got it on.
She got up to use the bathroom and heard some funny noises from the bedroom, thought he was joking around, realized he was not.
Massive heart attack. He was probably already dead by time the EMTs got there
Just 3 months shy of his 53rd birthday.
He was luckier than my second husband, though, who lingered in horrible pain, wasting away from oral cancer that spread into his head and neck. Two miserable years. Died at 49.
If you got a choice, the first one is way better.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)crunch60
(1,412 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)Ive got a stupid auto immune disease and a connective tissue disease. Short story- my body is attacking the healthy cells in my body. So now I've got to start enjoying every second of life.
Challenge accepted. I've got a 1-year old daughter and a great attitude, so it's all good.
I'm going to start living life like there's no guaranteed tomorrow. I only wish I'd done so years earlier.
panader0
(25,816 posts)My kids are gone now. I had my first at age 42. I am thankful to have made it this far. When I was in my 20's I never would have believed I would still be alive at 61. I have a good friend (and excellent guitarist) who is anxious to die and drinks a quart of vodka a day. He wants out of this world. I'd like to go a while longer, as long as I have the ability to walk, talk, and move. (and wipe myself)
At my age, the thought of death comes often. I want a quick, painless exit. If it doesn't work out that wat, I may take matters into my own hands.
I drink too much. I think enough beer will cure anything.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)I just dont want to sit around and wait for death or old age
HarveyDarkey
(9,077 posts)Not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car.
DiverDave
(4,887 posts)Bad harvey BAD HARVEY!!
LOL
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)My mother died at 78 of lung cancer and my father died at 71 from complications of emphysema. He had a bad heart and the effort of his breathing difficulties weakened his heart. I am 73 and have been retired for 2-1/2 years now. But being at home all the time, I just smoke too much.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)What a way to go!
panader0
(25,816 posts)I can think of other things to be smothered by..........
dimbear
(6,271 posts)Needless to say the smotheree wasn't willing in that particular case.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)I'm forgetting the name of the character.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)Like running into a brick wall or being shot point blank. Something where I don't have alot of time to think about how badly I've fucked up my life.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)trof
(54,256 posts)El Supremo
(20,365 posts)Then you will definitely die of acute stupidity.
I'm 61 and get a physical every year.
panader0
(25,816 posts)Why would I go if nothing is bothering me? Besides, I'm sure you have more money than I do.
142 IQ (last time it was tested)
El Supremo
(20,365 posts)But regular exams won't cost you that much.
What are you? Old fashioned Christian Science? Do you even get tetanus shots?
And prostate exams are nothing compared to colonoscopies.
Bertha Venation
(21,484 posts)Honestly.
El Supremo
(20,365 posts)And who are you?
Bertha Venation
(21,484 posts)It's pointless. It's baiting. And you hooked me. Nice job.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Why die of prostate or colon cancer when both can be detected early? Both are really bad ways to go.
Prostate cancer is now checked with a simple blood test. Even if you don't have insurance, it's worth it to go get your blood tested and meet with a doctor every couple of years or so.
Sanity Claws
(21,857 posts)What difference does it make to you? If you chooses to stay away from the doctor, so what? Why judge him stupid?
And frankly, I don't understand the need to get a physical every year. If you're on meds for some reason, then I can understand the need for a physical. But if you're feeling fine and aren't on meds, why bother?
Kali
(55,025 posts)people who go to the doctor regularly die all the time
my grandfather went 40+ years without seeing one and made it to 88
Baitball Blogger
(46,763 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Losing consciousness up in the air like that sounds like a pretty good exit.
Now how to make sure the plane nosedived into the ocean would be the tricky part but yeah, something dramatic and peaceful would be great.
I'll probably go out with an asthma attack in real life. I've got it pretty badly and there's been some close calls. After 10 years the docs still don't have it managed well and every day I struggle to breathe even with monster drugs.
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)a catastrophic left main coronary artery occlusion. He said you go like *that* and it's over before you even know there's a problem.
I want to die of old age...very old age.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)If you have a saddle embolism, which is a clot in the slightly dipped down area behind the heart, (pulmonary arteries) where the blood goes to the lungs. Think of a very flattened U.
I had one there but it wasn't big enough to kill me. The dr said you just drop dead if the clots are big enough.
Scary stuff:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saddle_thromboembolus.jpg
NJCher
(35,753 posts)I watched my dad die of old age and it "ain't pretty." Bit by bit, the body breaks down. Do you really want to go through it in slow-mo? Loss of independence, loss of most of your friends (you're the last man standing), not able to walk. Horrible.
Oh and let's not forget being delusional and thinking you can still manage a business when all you're really doing is running a lifetime of work down the chute.
I vote smothered by kittehs, but if I can't have that, a heart attack would be good. They're painful but since my chances of getting a bullet in the head by the Mafia or the CIA aren't so good, I'll settle for what's known as the Big One.
Preferably in my garden, like one of my great-uncles.
Cher
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)about the aging process, actually. I have elderly in-laws, and it's not pretty for them (my own 82 year old mother is sharp as a tack, though she's slowed down physically).
Whenever I read something that talks about how being healthy will add years to your life, I always think...yeah, but who wants more years added at the end a when you're in a nursing home?
It would be much better if the added years could be included in your 20s...like extra years in there before you hit 30.
Cronkite
(158 posts)Some people think suicide is a "sin", I see it as an expedient method to the end. I have witnessed many people slowly die while modern medicine tries to eek out a few more weeks of bedridden pain and suffering.
I've got a few ideas on how I would do it - most likely a pain med OD would be best. People that use a firearm are inconsiderate- somebody has to clean up the mess.....
Bertha Venation
(21,484 posts)And I would be right there with her.
Bertha Venation
(21,484 posts)drowning or suffocating.
Ptah
(33,044 posts)Wabbajack_
(1,300 posts)Over 80, smoker, (told her to quit when I was 10, didn't fucking listen) who had lung and heart disease died months after surgery to remove an anyerism (sp). She was there unable to speak with the a breathing tube and a feeding tube (she was starving, I feel so bad for Roger Ebert) for months. Not like that. Her sis has Alzheiemer's (sp) not like that either. I had a dog once, got heartworm and was gassed after suffering for days. Not like that.
I had/have asthma, NOT FROM not being able to breath, anything but that.
There is no good way, the least painful, whatever it is.
I'm gonna go cry now.
deaniac21
(6,747 posts)Sanity Claws
(21,857 posts)Iggo
(47,572 posts)DebJ
(7,699 posts)orleans
(34,079 posts)as for me? i'm not sure.
petronius
(26,606 posts)And there should be aliens, and explosions, and no pain, and I'd rather not see it coming, and it should make me look at least sort of bad-ass...
If I can't have all that, I figure I'll just skip the whole thing.
Response to panader0 (Original post)
Post removed
pa28
(6,145 posts)southerncrone
(5,506 posts)AllenVanAllen
(3,134 posts)crunch60
(1,412 posts)kids inheritance, they will do fine. Take a exciting adventure, maybe a trip down the Amazon, it is beautiful . You've earned it.
joshcryer
(62,277 posts)DiverDave
(4,887 posts)In front of an Oregon football game on T.V., just had a sandwich and a beer.
Thats the way I wanna go, down to the Oregon Game on the tube
Peaceful, no pain.
I'm a baby when it comes to pain.
mucifer
(23,574 posts)feeding tube and ventilators. Feeding tubes can cause fluid overload if the body is shutting down and there is no place to put the fluid it can go to the lungs and it can be pretty ugly. Ventilators can keep you around for a long long time when there is no cure for the cause of what is going on. Dehydration at the end of life is part of the natural process. I am a hospice nurse. I see a lot of this stuff.
Sorry, it is a little off topic. But, the people I see dying comfortably at home tend to not have feeding tubes or have come to a point with their chronic illness where they stop using the feeding tube. Feeding tubes can be very helpful for chronic illnesses.
pitohui
(20,564 posts)it does nothing but add further guilt to your misery and dying
i could tell some tales but to avoid personal stories i'll just say, see under michael and terri schiavo
you can tell your loved ones what you want, but they have v. little power to make these decisions if they want to stay out of prison
you're probably getting a respirator/feeding tube, it has happened over and over again to people i know who said (and even put in writing) they don't want
too much money to be paid by keeping people on a machine and money wins
sinkingfeeling
(51,478 posts)and alone.
mikeytherat
(6,829 posts)mikey_the_rat
Taverner
(55,476 posts)of course, this wouldn't be until I am already dying from something else
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)I'm hoping to be around for the end of the universe.
solara
(3,836 posts)surrealAmerican
(11,364 posts)... collapses into one corner. So I guess I'd have to say suffocation, but I'm not ready just yet.
RFKHumphreyObama
(15,164 posts)Although I hope I'm the only fatality because I don't want other lives to be lost
Failing that, pulmonary embolism
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)My fortune teller assures me this will happen in the year 2417.