The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alpra

[clamum]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine"

Or, as zanejohnson would call it... "breakfast."

As much as I don't like the zanejohnson shit talking here, that was sorta funny.

And shit, that sounds like a damn good breakfast to me, but I'll skip the temazepam and doxylamine.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Is it possible to take all of that accidentally? I'm not being a smartass, I really don't know.

Do you think taking that many pills could be "Accidental".. prescribed or not, in my right mind I wouldn't pop that many (key phrase being "in my right mind")

Honestly if those were all prescribed to him by his doctor I hope his license is pulled.

I doubt they were all prescribed in the same session....if they even were all prescribed by the same doctor at all. And remember that usually one of the first things you're asked at a visit is "are you on any medications". Most docs wouldn't prescribe Xanax if they knew he was on Valium, for example, unless his specific complaint was that valium wasn't working. More likely he just didn't tell them about his other prescriptions. So Ledger obviously lied to some extent to obtain all those prescriptions.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: aplefka

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: aplefka
Man a lot of you guys are idiots.

I highly doubt it was that he took all those pills to abuse them, seeing as they were all legitimate subscriptions. It was a known fact he was sick at the time and given several different drugs to get over it fast.

Unbelievable that people can kick a man not only when he's down but when he's dead too.

You highly doubt it... but you don't know. Your speculation is equally clueless, so slow your roll.

Equally clueless? He was unable to sleep and had some kind of issue with pain. This was what I was first informed of within days of it happening. Within those same few days it was stated that the mix of the drugs he was prescribed (by different doctors) was lethal. He was successful, always seemed to be level-headed and somewhat shy of the limelight, and had a girlfriend and a kid. All of these are facts.

Meanwhile people are saying he killed himself based off of the facts that he had prescription drugs in his possession and that painkiller abuse is prevalent these days. That's it.

It seems to be a lot more of a stretch to call suicide than accident given all of the above information. I don't even care that much, I mean yeah it's sad a young, successful person lost his life and his loved ones are being affected(?) by it, but what bothers me is that so many people are so quick to assume the worst and make accusations and generalizations about him. Show some respect.

I don't see anything overly disrespectful in this thread. If you do then you might be a little sensitive for ATOT. I think what you're trying to say is, "Leave Heath alone!" However he's not being trashed in this thread though, so...

You claim he was "level-headed". Is this a personal observation or just something you assumed from reading news stories about the guy? You seem so quick to jump to his defence that I assume you knew him.

 

[Old Hippie]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine"

Or, as zanejohnson would call it... "breakfast."

:laugh:

 

[Old Hippie]

Some of that stuff can float around in your system for a long time. Combine that with a hefty tolerence, and you have the makings of acute drug intoxication leading to an accidential death.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie
Some of that stuff can float around in your system for a long time. Combine that with a hefty tolerence, and you have the makings of acute drug intoxication leading to an accidential death.

lets not down play this here....he was a known heroin user and was found to have taken oxycontin. oxycontin = heroin. He was blowing lines of the oxy's with the 20 dollar bill. He od'ed on heroin.

Its crazy that the over the counter drugs are stronger and more pure and easier to get than the illegal ones.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: aplefka
Man a lot of you guys are idiots.

I highly doubt it was that he took all those pills to abuse them, seeing as they were all legitimate subscriptions. It was a known fact he was sick at the time and given several different drugs to get over it fast.

Unbelievable that people can kick a man not only when he's down but when he's dead too.

Sick at the time?

No offense, but my doctor doesn't prescribe me:

Vicodin
Valium
Xanax
Restoril
Oxycodone
and OTC Sleep meds

for common illnesses.

I'm not saying he offed himself, but I'm saying at the very least he was very irresponsible with his medication. When you start mixing those types of medications, you have to be very, very careful.

No shit.
If I had more than one of those my doctor would tell me "no more until you bring the rest back". She wouldnt let me be on 6 hard drugs at the same time.
I seriously think this a classic case of a celebrity doctor abusing his prescription pad, and now it finally caught up with him.

 

[alkemyst]

Most celebrities don't see one doctor...they are travelling around the world and see who is available.

In reality, it didn't matter he was taking 6 pills...it's the combo of only a couple that did him in.

Regardless though, what's the problem anyway?

 

[aplefka]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: aplefka

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: aplefka
Man a lot of you guys are idiots.

I highly doubt it was that he took all those pills to abuse them, seeing as they were all legitimate subscriptions. It was a known fact he was sick at the time and given several different drugs to get over it fast.

Unbelievable that people can kick a man not only when he's down but when he's dead too.

You highly doubt it... but you don't know. Your speculation is equally clueless, so slow your roll.

Equally clueless? He was unable to sleep and had some kind of issue with pain. This was what I was first informed of within days of it happening. Within those same few days it was stated that the mix of the drugs he was prescribed (by different doctors) was lethal. He was successful, always seemed to be level-headed and somewhat shy of the limelight, and had a girlfriend and a kid. All of these are facts.

Meanwhile people are saying he killed himself based off of the facts that he had prescription drugs in his possession and that painkiller abuse is prevalent these days. That's it.

It seems to be a lot more of a stretch to call suicide than accident given all of the above information. I don't even care that much, I mean yeah it's sad a young, successful person lost his life and his loved ones are being affected(?) by it, but what bothers me is that so many people are so quick to assume the worst and make accusations and generalizations about him. Show some respect.

I don't see anything overly disrespectful in this thread. If you do then you might be a little sensitive for ATOT. I think what you're trying to say is, "Leave Heath alone!" However he's not being trashed in this thread though, so...

You claim he was "level-headed". Is this a personal observation or just something you assumed from reading news stories about the guy? You seem so quick to jump to his defence that I assume you knew him.

:roll:

Fantastic post with the whole sensitive thing. When you don't have a good argument resort to the personal attack. Played flawlessly.

And of course I don't know him personally, no need to be an ass about it. I've seen plenty of interviews and read stories though and it's pretty obvious to see the difference between genuinely good celebrities versus the prima donnas. I've already explained my logic behind defending him but if you haven't figured it out before no sense in writing it again.

 

[prism]

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: MisterJackson
Jesus that's a fucking combo of drugs. He obviously wasn't thinking of his daughter while taking that many meds.

Thats what I thought at first, but how good can your judgement be if you are only getting 2 hours of sleep a night at most? I feel bad for what he was going through.... I cant imagine not being abl to sleep...

Waaaah, what a horrible life he must've had

 

[Kung Lau]

Hmmm. I might have to talk with my doctor. I'm currently taking Oxycontin and Effexor

 

[ShOcKwAvE827]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau
Hmmm. I might have to talk with my doctor. I'm currently taking Oxycontin and Effexor

shouldn't have to worry about that. SSRI's and SNRI's are pretty safe and extremely hard to OD on. They aren't downers like the benzos Ledger was on.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau
Hmmm. I might have to talk with my doctor. I'm currently taking Oxycontin and Effexor

I would get off the oxy immediately. not because of conflicts with drugs just that it is the most potent, abused and addictive PK around. Many peoples lives are being ruined by it.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau
Hmmm. I might have to talk with my doctor. I'm currently taking Oxycontin and Effexor

are these meds helping you? not being a smartass, i just wonder if you feel better on them.

 

[911paramedic]

I don't know the exact dosage, but somebody I know tried to commit suicide with sleeping pills and benzos. (valium is a benzo(diazapine)) It will seriously knock you out, but the dose required is SO high it would be really hard to do it. (I think it was like 500 tablets of what she took would work, instead of the bottle of 30)

But, if you get so "relaxed" from the sleeping pills and benzo's, the narcotics will effect your breathing, which is a problem...

That's what kills heroin users, they suffocate because the narcotic effect stops their breathing, meanwhile their heart is working just fine.

 

[Poulsonator]

It's a good thing a dangerous plant like marijuana is illegal. Looks like the war on drugs is working!

/sarcasm

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: Slick5150
Unfortunately, a lot of people like him see multiple doctors in different cities who will all prescribe him something without really checking what else he's already on. Leads to very dangerous combinations.

Not saying that's what happened here, but its certainly possible that he didn't even realize how much he was putting into his system.

That isn't what happened here, He was seeing doctors in different countries since there is no international database for pharmacies.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski

Originally posted by: Slick5150
Unfortunately, a lot of people like him see multiple doctors in different cities who will all prescribe him something without really checking what else he's already on. Leads to very dangerous combinations.

Not saying that's what happened here, but its certainly possible that he didn't even realize how much he was putting into his system.

That isn't what happened here, He was seeing doctors in different countries since there is no international database for pharmacies.

The only thing that just doesn't sit right with me about that is when I visit my Doctor or get a prescription, they ask me if I'm currently taking any medications. They even ask about OTC stuff too.

So while not hard to withhold information, it would exhibit a willingness to lie for drugs.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Thats a completely different scenario. In that case, that drug cocktail is prescribed and acrefully made so that they interact with each other. And while it is the only thing keeping sick and elderly people alive, you KNOW that all those drugs are wrecking havok in their body.

When I'm sick, I'm not going home and taking an Aspirin, Tylenol's, Nyquil,
and other drugs to fix my sickness.

This was a suicide, I don't know how the hell the police ruled it as accidental.

When I heard the story, I said the exact same thing. I don't care what the medical examiner rules. When you pop that many pills, you obviously don't care if you survive the experience or not. Just because you do something that only has a 40% chance to kill you as opposed to 100%, that doesn't mean it isn't suicide.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: aplefka
Man a lot of you guys are idiots.

I highly doubt it was that he took all those pills to abuse them, seeing as they were all legitimate subscriptions. It was a known fact he was sick at the time and given several different drugs to get over it fast.

Unbelievable that people can kick a man not only when he's down but when he's dead too.

Sick at the time?

No offense, but my doctor doesn't prescribe me:

Vicodin
Valium
Xanax
Restoril
Oxycodone
and OTC Sleep meds

for common illnesses.

I'm not saying he offed himself, but I'm saying at the very least he was very irresponsible with his medication. When you start mixing those types of medications, you have to be very, very careful.

No shit.
If I had more than one of those my doctor would tell me "no more until you bring the rest back". She wouldnt let me be on 6 hard drugs at the same time.
I seriously think this a classic case of a celebrity doctor abusing his prescription pad, and now it finally caught up with him.

Exactly. When I was seeing a pain specialist we tried morphine pills, they didn't do much for me at all. I had to bring the remainder back to him before he'd write a prescription for something else (oxycontin in my case).

 

[SlickSnake]

All it takes is a loose mix of drugs like these mixed with ALCOHOL to kill people. ALL of these drugs have adverse or enhanced effects when mixed with ALCOHOL. Why did they not list ALCOHOL as a cause of death, when you know he had to have some in his system when the booze is flowing freely where ever he goes. One of the side effects of alcohol abuse is the fact you can't SLEEP! What a revelation!

R.

. P. for another hapless victim of ALCOHOL plus prescribed DRUG poisoning :brokenheart:

 

[miniMUNCH]

When I tore 3 ligaments in my ankle my doctor prescribed me tylenol and 'live with it'.

I'm going to miss Ledger though...rip.

 

[pradeep1]

It is easy to get into a situation of overdosing. Say for example you take a sleeping pill, so you get sleepy and you forget how many you've already taken. Then you take another one and then maybe you've had a few drinks, and your leg muscles hurt and you pop a Vicodin. All of a sudden, the interactions can go from being relatively benign to deathly severe pretty quickly. Ledger had a lot more going on than this, but the life threatening overdose complications are quite common and a good many people die each year from mistakes like this.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: pradeep1
It is easy to get into a situation of overdosing. Say for example you take a sleeping pill, so you get sleepy and you forget how many you've already taken. Then you take another one and then maybe you've had a few drinks, and your leg muscles hurt and you pop a Vicodin. All of a sudden, the interactions can go from being relatively benign to deathly severe pretty quickly. Ledger had a lot more going on than this, but the life threatening overdose complications are quite common and a good many people die each year from mistakes like this.

LOL, WHAT?!?!

Yeah that shit happens all the time. I can't keep track of all the pills I'm popping while drinking and taking sleeping pills!! Oh my.

Vicodin
Valium
Xanax
Restoril
Oxycodone
and OTC Sleep meds

Please tell me how the hell any combination of two of those would be "benign" lol. He was a pill head. Let's be honest here.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Citrix
oxycodone??? wow docs just give that out candy dont they.

No way. CELEB doctors hand that out like candy. Regular doctors for regular people who rip you a new one if you asked for it.

I got some of that stuff when I got my ingrown toenail pulled out (with pliers!). I'm 6'2" and was about 230lbs at the time. My doctor told me to take three per day, and I had two refills. I took *one* 5mg pill and it was like I was flying through the mystical land of rainbows where time stopped to eat honey-flavored clouds with me.

I don't know how the hell people can take tons of these things.