Heath Ledger Died

[Gemini Cricket]

Accidental overdose.

That's a lot of meds to take all at once. Yikes.

[blueerica]

[innerSpaceman]

Waaaaa, somehow this is even sadder than suicide ... to me at least. I mean, it's horrible if the guy was suicidally miserable ... but absolutely horrific if he were just going for a much needed night of decent sleep ... only to have that sleep be indecent and forever.


Waaaaaaaa! and

[Disneyphile]

Yeah, Ken said that it's just a lethal combination, rather than an overdose. The poor guy probably didn't know that the drugs couldn't be taken together.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

It IS terribly sad. Though I hope it will wake up doctors who would prescribe all of those, pharmacists that would fill all of them, and people who might make the mistake of taking all of them at once. (Yes, I know that they might have come from different physicians and pharmacies - but isn't it a doctor's responsibility to ask what else the patient is taking?)

Painfully ironic that Ledger's last short film was a music video of sorts set to "Black Dog" by Nick Drake (one of my very favorite musicians) who died of an accidental perescription overdose, as well... just after recording of that song.

[SacTown Chronic]

I hope such stupidity shines a light on the scrouge that is "legal" drugs in America. I'm losing (figuratively, not literally -- at, least not yet) family members left and right due to over-reliance on either drug "cocktails" or good old-fashioned pain pills.

This country is killing itself with drugs that can pass the company piss test.

[Disneyphile]

I know what you mean, Sac.

Docs and patients are too quick to reach for the meds nowadays, and people are the most medicated they have ever been in history.

Case-in-point: I made a frantic call to my EAP about 10 years ago. I was going through a very rough time, and just really needed someone to talk to and point me in a positive direction. Before I could finish talking about what troubled me, the "counselor" on the line interrupted me and said "Ok, well let's find you a doctor who can get you some good meds to help you cope." I immediately hung up the phone, disgusted. I eventually vented to a friend, and then pushed myself to get over it. It took a couple years, but I did it.

Now, I understand that sometimes meds are necessary to help with true bonafide chemical imbalances, but even Ken thinks that people are too quick to reach for the pills instead of tackling the underlying issues. Medicating is easy. Actually building that bridge and getting over it takes a lot of time and work. And, some folks (docs and patients), just don't want to take that time and work.

[innerSpaceman]

My mom's been in and out of rehab from the addiction to prescription drugs prescibed by doctors, at the doceges precribed. For decades.

I laugh the evil and saddened laugh when people chide me for my illegal drug use of comparatively harmless substances.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I agree that as a society, we're over-reliant on meds. Still, those with a chemical imbalance can definitely do well with a combination of, say, behavioral therapy and one specific prescription that helps the imbalance. But frequent check-in appointments and continuing efforts to work through things are certainly necessary even in that case.

[lashbear]

My doctor prescribed Temazapam for me, and wouldn't give the script to me unless I affirmed that I was not on any other calmative/sedative/hypnotic meds or alcohol.

...If Heath had all of those at once, there's either a shonky doctor involved, or he was knowingly mixing them himself.