accidental overdose
Whoa.. same painkillers Dr. had me on.
Accidental pill overdose killed Ledger By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer
7 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.
The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.
The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.
Borakove wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger's blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.
"What you're looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together," she said.
The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs in his bedroom and bathroom.
Ledger's family returned to the actor's hometown of Perth, Australia, on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.
In a statement released through Ledger's publicist, the actor's father, Kim, said Wednesday: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."
Heath Ledger was discovered by his masseuse Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.
Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," had returned to New York from London, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film, days before his death. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" had taken a toll, saying he couldn't sleep.
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.
Accidental pill overdose killed Ledger By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer
7 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.
The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.
The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.
Borakove wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger's blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.
"What you're looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together," she said.
The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs in his bedroom and bathroom.
Ledger's family returned to the actor's hometown of Perth, Australia, on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.
In a statement released through Ledger's publicist, the actor's father, Kim, said Wednesday: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."
Heath Ledger was discovered by his masseuse Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.
Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," had returned to New York from London, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film, days before his death. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" had taken a toll, saying he couldn't sleep.
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.
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accidental my butt: anyone who would combine (pain-anti anxiety-sleeping- and mood disorder) drugs is looking to harm themselves. Or there just plain stupid. 0 -
oxycodone= Oxycontin, hydrocodone=Percocet/Vicodin, diazepam=Valium, temazepam=?, alprazolam=Xanax, and doxylamine=?
That either a very good doctor, or a very bad one.0 -
Probably got the meds from a W*lm*rt pharmacist. 0 -
OMG!!!
what was he doing wandering around all DOPED up like that.
He should have been in the NUT house while he worked through his problem not an apartment in SOHO.0 -
Sometimes things just sort of work themselves out.
Select-fire- You're not also on painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety meds, and others too are you?0 -
Different ppl react to drugs differently....Some cant take but a very very little while others need a lot more....the ones that need more are the ones that can take different drugs together and not have any effect on them at all....
Even alcohol affects ppl differently...I am sure there are some on here who can drink a full case of beer (24) in a very short time and still be on their feet, while others might only need 2 beer to be completely passed out....
I know of a lot of ppl who have taken sleeping pills, tranquilers, pain meds etc and still functioned better than you or I on a good day..
BR NOT classic0 -
He probably developed tolerances to alot of the drugs, needing more and more to get the effect. 0 -
quote:The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.Geez-us! Heath was a walking pharmacy there, wasn't he?
If he was taking that much (whether for genuine problems or perceived), I'm pretty sure he wasn't long for this world one way or the other (no judgement meant).0 -
+1quote:Originally posted by daveald
accidental my butt: anyone who would combine (pain-anti anxiety-sleeping- and mood disorder) drugs is looking to harm themselves. Or there just plain stupid.0 -
am I the only one who doesn't give a flip, when, where, how or why he died? Sad, that is all I need to know, and not as sad as when the old guy next door died. I guess celebrity just does not much interest or impress me. 0 -
quote:acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.
Oxycodone and hydrocodone are both opiates, and in the same drug class. Diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax) and temazepam (Restoril) are all benzodiazepines in the same class.
Doxylamine is an over-the-counter sleep inducing antihistamine. You can find it in NyQuil (as well as Unisom, as the article states).
Left out of the article, *all* of these drugs are mood-altering (ie can get you "high"), and with the possible exception of the NyQuil, all are potentially addicting prescription drugs.
The point is, while patients may often be switched BETWEEN drugs, no physician would EVER prescribe these medications simultaneously to the same patient since most of them do the same thing. When you start the next one, you discontinue the first one.
This doesn't look so much like a doctor-mistake, as patient mistake; the presence of multiple kinds of sedatives and painkillers taken simultaneously strongly suggests prescription drug abuse and/or addiction on Ledger's part.
Its possible that Ledger was "doctor shopping" and obtained these prescription medications from different physicians, though where he got them should be known to the investigators.
In terms of suicide vs accident, in these cases, the line is always blurry. Drug addicted patients often mix drugs, take them in large quantity and can be clinically depressed. Small amounts of drugs distort the judgment. At what point does self-destructive behavior become obviously suicidal? Without good evidence of obvious suicidal intent (ie huge amounts of drugs, a note, or other evidence), any investigator will err on the side of classifying this as an accident.0
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