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

[MaineWriter]

I'll bet if he could speak out today he'd say something like "I would have never thought what I took would do me in". He desperately wanted to get rest and sleep; that's a pity. He was a good man and at worst, unwittingly made a serious mistake. I wouldn't label him with anything less.

Mark it on the calendar...a statement from Herr Kaiser I actually agree with.

L

[serious crayons]

Mark it on the calendar...a statement from Herr Kaiser I actually agree with.

I second your endorsement of the statement you quoted, and I'll also add this one:

If a tree falls on your parked car, it's an accident; if you are driving your car and hit a tree because you answer you cell phone, it's still an accident.

No one will ever know exactly what happened that led to this tragic outcome. It's beside the point anyway.

[Verona]

I don't see, RossInIllinois, your point at trying to define and redefine "accidental" and confuse the point, leaving a cloud over Heath himself. "Nicer and kinder" than what? If a tree falls on your parked car, it's an accident; if you are driving your car and hit a tree because you answer you cell phone, it's still an accident.

I also don't understand the point about how people take medication. You may well be a perfect direction follower and can reach out to your doc in a moments notice if you have a question, but most people are not like this. Why do you think those little plastic boxes with days and numbers on them were invented? because most people forget when and how their meds are to be taken and lose track.

I fortunately have never been on anything other than aspirin for a headache here and there, but I have seen how meds work with people.

Even if Heath wasn't confused about when he last took the dose that should have lasted 8 hours or whatever and took them knowing they were over the prescribed amount, do you think it would have been the first time? you yourself call him an abuser; so he probably felt his body had a toleration it did not. That is not, imo, a reason to defame him, it's an honest and understandable mistake.

We all tend to suffer from a need for instant gratification. Got a headache, take a pill, and it should go away in 2 minutes. Can't sleep, take a pill, and cruise off to never never land in 2 minutes. When the medicinal aids do not give the instantaneous relief or desired effect, lots of people take more. I know many people who double the label instructions for tylenol or advil on a regular basis. Same with vitamins which is now becoming a bigger concern that they don't get flushed out harmlessly as once was believed.

even with dangerous pesticides. I know first hand that if a label instructions say one tablespoon per gallon of water, many, many people will double or triple it or more to 'make sure it works'.

so, I suspect Heath, having been accustomed to possibly over doing recreational booze and drugs thought nothing of taking an extra pill or two and thought nothing of combining the meds. I'll bet if he could speak out today he'd say something like "I would have never thought what I took would do me in". He desperately wanted to get rest and sleep; that's a pity. He was a good man and at worst, unwittingly made a serious mistake. I wouldn't label him with anything less.

 

[Lynne]

Well said, Herr Kaiser.  And Leslie, speaking of marking the calendar, I added 1/22/2009 to our forum calendar today, as if we'd ever forget.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

"This is not rock star wretched excess," said Cindy Kuhn, a pharmacology professor at Duke University. "This is a situation that could happen to plenty of people with prescriptions for these kind of drugs."

Kuhn said some of the drugs are long-lasting and Ledger could have taken them over a period of several days. The medical examiner's office wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger's blood.

I'll just add, if it is at all useful:

22 months ago, I had a stroke. At least one month prior I knew I was ill, and for more than two weeks prior I was under the care of a doctor (I will also say, obviously, this person is no longer my doctor).

In any case. For several days before my stroke, when I first thought I had a bad flu, and my then doctor finally decided I had plurisy (...no comment...) I was actually in pain, and I was taking two doctor prescribed medications (only): Hydrocodone Bitartrate (every four hours) and Hydrocodone Acetaminophen (every eight hours).  Be aware: I was a person who normally hated to take even a baby aspirin. A nice cup of tea was my usual--anyway. Now I take five prescribed medications a day. Whatever. You get the idea.

So. I have my stroke. I am found a few hours later, and I taken to the hospital in an ambulance; my lips was blue and the paramedical people did what they were supposed to do, and I survived. (Thank you, paramedical people.) But:

Very early in the wee hours of the next day, a doctor (who later became a friend) came to my bed (I was still in the ER) and asked one of my friends watching over me (yes, the powers-that-be let two friends, one at a time, into the ER--I was in BAD shape) to come outside and talk. The reason? After my blood workup, the doctors (who knew me from Adam, meaning not at all) decided I was a drug addict. Dire as the situation was, my friend laughed.

No, I was no drug addict.

I had been taking exactly the medications prescribed by a single physician. No more and no less.

And Heath can no longer speak in his own defense.

Anyway. For whatever it's worth.

[MaineWriter]

I'll just add, if it is at all useful:

22 months ago, I had a stroke. At least one month prior I knew I was ill, and for more than two weeks prior I was under the care of a doctor (I will also say, obviously, this person is no longer my doctor).

In any case. For several days before my stroke, when I first thought I had a bad flu, and my then doctor finally decided I had plurisy (...no comment...) I was actually in pain, and I was taking two doctor prescribed medications (only): Hydrocodone Bitartrate (every four hours) and Hydrocodone Acetaminophen (every eight hours).  Be aware: I was a person who normally hated to take even a baby aspirin. A nice cup of tea was my usual--anyway. Now I take five prescribed medications a day. Whatever. You get the idea.

So. I have my stroke. I am found a few hours later, and I taken to the hospital in an ambulance; my lips was blue and the paramedical people did what they were supposed to do, and I survived. (Thank you, paramedical people.) But:

Very early in the wee hours of the next day, a doctor (who later became a friend) came to my bed (I was still in the ER) and asked one of my friends watching over me (yes, the powers-that-be let two friends, one at a time, into the ER--I was in BAD shape) to come outside and talk. The reason? After my blood workup, the doctors (who knew me from Adam, meaning not at all) decided I was a drug addict. Dire as the situation was, my friend laughed. No, I was no drug addict.

I had been taking exactly the medications prescribed by a single physician. No more and no less.

And Heath can no longer speak in his own defense.

Anyway. For whatever it's worth.

Thank you, John.

L

PS, I am so glad to have you back...I have missed you so much. Love and hugs.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Thank you, Leslie.


(Hugs Leslie)


 

[MaineWriter]

Thank you, Leslie.


(Hugs Leslie)


 

Oh....

Now Leslie gets teary. We are obviously not over the emotional stuff here...

Let's see, for a moment of levity..

"Sauteed elk should be served well salted. Who knew!"

Leslie hugs John...

[Verona]

Robert Ali, of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine, said the mix of drugs would have meant Ledger's brain would not have been able to regulate his breathing. "All the drugs he took affect the central nervous system," he said. "Used together, the brain will not be able to process when it needs to breathe."


That's EXACTLY what I thought probably happened! 

Poor sweetie.    Sometimes I miss him so much I can hardly stand it.

[HerrKaiser]

Shit...I better get a drink.