I wrote this shortly after a member used SN. I then decided not to post it and took a break from this site.
This seems like a good place to post it.
This will be my last post regarding SN as I feel I have exhausted my opinion ( which has changed over time). I figured this was an appropriate place to post my latest thoughts and research on SN.
I want to point out that while I started off highly critical of this method, I have never been affraid to be wrong or change my mind regarding any aspect of my life. In just a few weeks I did infact change my mind from "no way" to "viable". However, I did not stop researching SN. I read about pigs and their anatomy, how other mammals react to SN. I tried to go deeper into SN than just for the purpose we talk about. Looking into how it works on meat and also what other elements react with SN. Carbon Dioxide came up a lot. When I found out about the action of SN on CO 2 (Carbon Dioxide) I started to shift back to being unsure of this method. This research raised some red flags for me.
Why Carbon Dioxide is important is I think there is a huge misconseption that if you are able to move your lungs and take in fresh O2 there is no feeling of suffocation. However, the feeling of Suffocation actually has nothing to do with Oxygen.
Our bodies have a unique built in Carbon Dioxode Alarm. We are hardwired to go into panic mode and feel as if we are suffocating when our bodies are exposed to to much Carbon Dioxide. Or we are unable to move and expel Carbon Dioxide from our blood and through the lungs at a fast enough rate to be in balance with our Oxygen intake.
If you use a site like Researchgate.net , or just dig deep enough on other research , chemistry, and medical websites. You can find a lot of information about SN , many of them state that SN causes impairment of not just O 2 transport but CO 2 transport as well.
This has been my biggest fear and concern with SN. If your body is unable to get rid of Carbon Dioxide , even if you are breathing in and out, your Body will trigger its Suffocation Alarm. There is no way to guarantee you will be unconscious before to much CO 2 build up takes place.
Because of this and other variables I will cover below. I do not think the peacefulness of this method to me can be assigned a numeric value. I would say it is (x) where (x) is the value of the Individual. Therefore it is impossible to tell how any 1 individual will respond, or establish any realistic baseline.
In my opinion Exit International has been extremely reckless with its claims on this method, and has not even looked at the CO 2 side of this.
The CO 2 issue for me is the most important unknown, because it will no doubt be a key factor in the Peacefullness catagory. If oxygen deprivation is taking place at a slower pace than CO 2 Elimination is occuring a person would indeed have some sensations of being suffocated.
As I said , I started off thinking SN was a poor choice, I then changed my mind based on conversations , member posts, and documents from not just SS and Exit but other sources. Now I am back to thinking this method is just not reliable for the Peacefulness requirement to be met in every case, mainly due to the (x) factor.
It is true there are unknowns in every method. Some people just succumb quicker than others. However with SN the unknowns and the vastly different experiences make it almost impossible to even set a margin or base line to work with. The way a person responds to SN truly seems to be all over the place in almost every catagory that most people care about. Those being: Peacefulness, Time, and Suffering.
With SN the varibales that factor into a persons response to SN seem to play a much larger role than in other methods. Just some of those variables that make up (x) are: Metabolism, Blood Pressure, existing pulmonary conditions, existing digestive issues , genetics , existing blood disorders, medications, red blood cell turn over rate, the liver enyme bilirueben, blood iron levels, tissue iron levels, and the bodies current PH level could all very well cause complications with this method. Most of these variables would not have nearly as much significance in other methods.
I think we need to be realistic about the possibility that this is not as peaceful as Exit wants us to believe. This is not a fine tuned and dialed in method, and honestly because of the variables it may never be. It may provide a peaceful and quick exit for some, others may have a very different experience.
As I see it, SS has done far more research on this than Exit, and I appreciate all of the people who I have spoken with on this method, I respect all your opinions and insights.
Based on accounts of members of this forum, as well as Exit, and my efforts to sort through the prolife propaganda on the internet and uncover real scientific information. I have come to my own conclusion and want to emphasize 2 main points.
1) SN can go in many different directions regardless of preparation or lack of preparation because of all the variables (and more) that I listed above.
2) More information about how SN interacts with the transport and elimination of CO 2 in relation to O2 needs to be uncovered and considered.
It is impossible to know what a person is actually feeling during some of what appears to be some of the more distressing symptoms. This of course is true in any act of dying.
I am not trying to convince anyone of anything with this post, I am a person who believes in choice, but I also believe in protecting people, it is the claims and initial research of Exit that has put this method on the radar. I believe The last thing a person who is suffering deserves is a false promise of a peaceful exit only to possibly suffer in the end.
In my Opinion there is danger in taking on a "label" and never question it. Be it ProChoice or ProLife, Republican or Democrat. The danger exists because some people will take an extreme stance and become the face of that movement.
When a person goes from being 'Pro-anything" to an extremist of that cause, they begin to see things through a very narrow lens. I believe this is true of Exit International.
As we lost another wonderful member, I can't help but think that she deserved a better end than : a Burning throat, burning stomach, vomiting, and gasping for air. These are not things I would associate with Peaceful. For me personally, gasping for Air would induce anxiety, fear, and panic and for me those symptoms are far worse than any physical pain.
Moon, I hope you are in a better place now, dancing on the moon showered in starlight and smiling down on us. I am deeply sorry for what you experienced. At least now you are out of pain. I Wish you had stayed with us.
Finaly, in the short time I have been here I have come to care greatly for this forum and it's members , I do not wish any of you suffering in life or in death.
......
In my research I have discovered that SN is coming under heavy investigation as a major contributing factor to the formation of Cancer Cells. SN is being used in so many products, and in some countries if the amount is under a certain microgram, the manufacturer does not have to list it as an ingredient. So in a way SN is going to kill a lot of humans through low dose chronic exposure, especially in countries that have diets made up of processed foods.
