Heath Ledger's Accidental Overdose - Discussion Thread (Was: Breaking News)

[opinionista]

I DON'T think it was deliberate, but it WAS as a result of his own extreme actions.  Not quite completely accidental.  

I can agree with that. Like I said earlier, my take is that he was trying desperately to sleep and took extreme measures. Obviously, I know absolutely nothing about his private life so it is just a theory based on what has been reported about his final days. He probably did it before and was fine the next day, so he tried again.

[SFEnnisSF]

The thought of that toxic cocktail of so many different drugs in his system all at once is just so upsetting to think about. 

I agree with Mel.  I feel angry at the drug industry, at irresponsible doctors, and just sort of angry at these circumstances in general. 

Me too.  See my post above.

[Verona]

To have mixed that many is beyond imagining for me, I would be so paranoid of what they would do.

You might not be, if you'd taken them and felt they did "nothing." That's all I'm saying.

Me, I'm the same way you are. I took half of an Ambien and felt so horrible I never did it again. The idea terrifies me. Meanwhile, my mother can take two and feel nothing. So she's not afraid of them at all. She takes so many pills that she's convinced they "do nothing" on their own, she has to take a bunch of different ones. It's crazy. I try so hard to make her stop, but she won't. She feels she knows her own body, and if they were doing her any harm, she'd feel bad physically. That's the main problem, I think. People confuse what they feel physically with the physical effect the drug actually has on their body.

[Phillip Dampier]

And I'm mad as hell about it.  

Ask your doctor if being mad as hell is right for you.   

I had thought Ambien was somewhere in the mix of media reports, and it would have been interesting to see a non-generic, heavily marketed prescription drug in the mix of this as a way to really open this issue up for Americans.  A lot of folks outside of this country may not realize big pharma relentlessly advertises prescription drugs on television.  At evening network news can be up to 80% advertising for drugs, marketed by Hollywood stars or through saturation advertising (how many have seen the animated bee with the Zorro-like accent?)

In the last 10 years, lifestyle drugs are being promoted at levels that suggest to people it's perfectly normal to be taking prescription medication of all types, sizes, and dosages, for conditions nobody heard of a decade ago (do we need two expensive pharmaceuticals for "restless leg syndrome" or "urine deficiency"?)  Americans are increasingly finding it normal to have a medicine cabinet with a half dozen drugs in it.  And for "stress/anxiety," I've seen people who have been on up to 10 different kinds of them, with the leftovers still sitting on the shelf.

So I'm not that surprised by this, especially with some of the doctors catering to important people who basically give them what they want, no argument or questions asked.

[Verona]

Ask your doctor if being mad as hell is right for you.   

I had thought Ambien was somewhere in the mix of media reports, and it would have been interesting to see a non-generic, heavily marketed prescription drug in the mix of this as a way to really open this issue up for Americans.  A lot of folks outside of this country may not realize big pharma relentlessly advertises prescription drugs on television.  At evening network news can be up to 80% advertising for drugs, marketed by Hollywood stars or through saturation advertising (how many have seen the animated bee with the Zorro-like accent?)

In the last 10 years, lifestyle drugs are being promoted at levels that suggest to people it's perfectly normal to be taking prescription medication of all types, sizes, and dosages, for conditions nobody heard of a decade ago (do we need two expensive pharmaceuticals for "restless leg syndrome" or "urine deficiency"?)  Americans are increasingly finding it normal to have a medicine cabinet with a half dozen drugs in it.  And for "stress/anxiety," I've seen people who have been on up to 10 different kinds of them, with the leftovers still sitting on the shelf.

So I'm not that surprised by this, especially with some of the doctors catering to important people who basically give them what they want, no argument or questions asked.

The "restless leg" one says that "intense gambling or sexual urges" are a possible side effect. 

[RossInIllinois]

And are you claiming that Heath did just that? Were you in the room with him when it happened?

Ya Think? Well lets see. who do you think put the pills in his mouth and who swallowed them?

[mvansand76]

Ya Think? Well lets see. who do you think put the pills in his mouth and who swallowed them?

I'm sorry, your reply just doesn't make any sense to me.

[RossInIllinois]

Is there a report of the actual amounts, or concentrations, of these drugs in his system?  I would like someone who knows how to interpret that to tell us their opinion. 

My disappointment [not the right word, not sure what is, right now] now is with Heath.  He was a very intelligent man, and he surely must have known some of the bare minimum info on those drugs.  I know that his directors loved him, and felt a special connection with him, but to the film industry, he was a commodity required to make a money-making film, like a camera, or a microphone, or the lumber required to build a set.  But even more necessary to keep working, because cameras and lumber are replaceable, and big stars are one of a kind.  So a film industry that wants to pull in the money would keep him working, and commodify him.  Very short-sighted, but raking money in often is these days.

So I don't really hold the set doctors or any other doctors too responsible here.  It was up to Heath to act responsibly for his own safety and well-being.

Heath was young (and thus possibly still in the "I'm immortal" stage), extremely fit and physically courageous ("I can handle this, I'd like to try.").  He was highly creative and brimming with ideas he wanted to accomplish (the music videos, managing Grace Woodroofe, preparing to direct The Queen's Gambit, and who knows what, besides the films he was acting in).  He was pining for his daughter (and I believe that was agony for him).  He was crossing many time zones frequently (which is extremely depleting and confounding).  He was without a girlfriend (and I think he's demonstrated that he is happiest when in a relationship).

I can't imagine the stress he lived with.  I wish he could have found a balance between that time two years ago when he was self-reportedly just making lunch, washing the lunch dishes, making dinner, taking care of his girls, and the supersonic, hyper-paced life he had been living recently. 

You have to hold the abuser responsible. Also the Abusers Loved ones. This is why Brittney Spears was committed because an abuser has no clue of what they are doing. They just want to get high on what ever they have at hand. When someone like Heath is on set he has access to the company Dr that will perscribe meds for the talent. When you are on multiple movies there are multiple Dr's and that means multiple drugs.  This added to maybe his regular Dr's perscriptions can equal a deadly cocktail. The abuser is responsible for his own actions no one else. This is why Brittney Spears had to be committed. It's to bad Heath didn't have people in his inner circle that cared more about him.

[Jeff Wrangler]

The "restless leg" one says that "intense gambling or sexual urges" are a possible side effect. 

 

And not too very long ago you weren't even allowed to advertise prescription medications on television. 

[ednbarby]

Does it matter whether he meant to or not?  If he did mean to, it's because he was deeply depressed and his doctors were completely incompetent.  (Nowhere on that list is an SSRI or even a MAOI anti-depressant.)  If he didn't, what does it matter if he took them all at once or at different times throughout the previous 12 hours?

He's gone.  Way too soon.  As Leslie said, any way you look at it, it's a tragedy.

I can't believe that even we here can't leave him alone.  If we're going to bicker about whether he "did it to himself or not," we're as bad as the media.