Accidental Overdose
Filed under: Drugs > Australiastic > Heath Ledger
The toxicology results are in, and the NY Medical Examiner's Office ruled Heath Ledger's death an accident based on using and abusing too many prescription medications.
The actor died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.
The drugs are the generic names for the OxyContin painkiller, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for Vicodin, a painkiller.
And, finally, we have resolution.
[Image via WENN.]
Posted: February 6, 2008 at 11:29 am
Well, Heath, you finally took enough to kill the pain.
DOING OXY'S ARE AS ADDICTIVE AS HEROINE AND COKE, ONCE YOUR ON THEM YOU WILL SELL YOUR SOUL FOR A PILL.
OXY'S HAVE RUINED THOUSANDS OF LIVES BECAUSE THE ADDICT BECOMSE SO ADDICTED THAT THEY SELL EVERYTHING.. THE ONLY DIFFERANCE WITH HEATH WAS THAT HE COULD AFFORD HIS ADDICTION!!
Prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as illegal ones. Why was he taking so much at the same time? People have to be careful. I'm sure it's some relief to his family and friends that this was accidental, and I feel for all of them.
I believe Oxycodone is Percocet not Oxycontin…
Re: A –
I can't believe how misinformed people are about prescription drugs in these comments. One person said Ibuprofen was Naproxen and everyone else believes that hydrocodone, an opiate that is a component in Vicoden, is Vicoden. And now, more than one person has state that Oxycodone is Percocet, whereas oxycodone is a component of Percocet. The brand name for oxycodone on it's own is Oxycontin. It's ironically called "The poor man's heroin" or "Hillbilly heroin". Ironic because almost everywhere in America today you can buy heroin, ounce per ounce, for less than you can buy Oxycontin. I'm guessing we're not going to find out if the presence of Oxy was found in the late thespian's sinuses.
Oxycodone is the generic of PERCOCET, NOT oxycontin.
The doctor who prescribed those drugs should be jailed. Some physician's prescribe painkillers like candy. Prescription painkillers are highly addictive and extremely dangerous. Please people never start taking these drugs. It is better to live with a little pain, than to be strung out or dead.
Re: jesica – No,you're not "first", you're 87th. Now go play in traffic.
oxycodone does not necessarily mean oxycontin. it's included in a number of other pain killers, most of which are less potent and addictive than oxycontin.
Oxyocodone is generic for PERCOCET….not OxyCotin. Get the facts correct before you print a story, huh?! And they said that he was taking the hydrocodone as a cough supressant, not a pain killer….which is very common! And it explained by him having pneumonia
That's very sad; he'll be missed.
But you call that an "accident?" That's straight up reckless!
I'm sure he was suffering a lot to need or want that many different pills, and that's a terrible shame what happened. But c'mon, he took a ton of pills! That was pretty fucking dumb.
Poor guy..
Re: Sad for Heath and others who take too many pills[/re] thank you for posting. it's arguably disturbing that so many people posting comments are sitting in judgment and alluding to or flat out saying that he deserved to die because he was an idiot for taking the pills. I would love to see just how flawless all these people are. He was a son, brother and most importantly, a father. It's heartbreaking what those who love him are having to endure. Show some respect, people, and realize that you too have made mistakes.
Oxycodone is not generic for OxyContin you F@#$ Tard. It is gerneric for Percocet….Get shit right would ya…
At least now this will give his poor family a sense of peace, reassuring and relieved that he wasn't a drug addict who OD'd, and didn't purposely take his own life; it was an accident and it can happen to anyone.What I have to wonder though is why the pharmacist who filled out the prescription meds didn't pick up on the fact that they were a deadly combo and shouldn't be taken together and didn't warn him to not take them at the same time? *Someone's* going to be in alot of shit…
"#308 - OXY'S = HEROINE says –
DOING OXY'S ARE AS ADDICTIVE AS HEROINE"
Honey, if you're going to spout off, at least spell correctly. "Heroin" is a drug. "Heroine" is the female protagonist of a story or movie.
oxycodone is percoset, not oxycontin
Shame
This is an indirect suicide.
Now Heath, can you rest in peace, my lovely old man river.
WTF that doesnt seem accidental to me. any idiot knows not to take all those medications together. idiot
What'sAnOpiate? - You're totally mistaken. Heath was not gay. He was an All-Australian Male and he liked women. I think it's irreverent of you to call him a lesbian when there is no evidence of him being a woman. Check your facts!
Thank you Perez for posting a nice pic of him, not the ones right before his death when he was sick with pneumonia. I'm so sorry this happened to you Heath. RIP
This is soooo tragic. Heath R.I.P. WE LOVE YOU
HEATH R.I.P GOD BLESS YOU!
Damn, Temazepam.
It scares me because I was put on 3 of these medications, all at the same time, by my psych in the very recent past.
They especially noted that Restoril is very addictive, but they don't say much about drug combos except not to drink alcohol…"in excess."
Heath will always be remembered.
Oxycodone is a pain killer for moderate to severe pain and is similar to morphine in it's structure. Look it up. Bad stuff. So is vicodin. Why did he take all these drugs together?
So Sad. I
r.i.p. heath!! but just to make people aware, oxycodone is NOT oxycontin, it's generic for percocet.
I am glad to hear it was accidental. For those of you who still think this means he was moron, think about your life and your friends. Advil says take two, etc… how many do you take? Your friends? Now imagine you've been working non stop for months and have come down with some extreme insomnia. What do you do? Try home remedies, watch a boring television station, finally fall asleep. Only got a few hours, total in a week. NOT enough to fully function on. Remember this has gone on for a while. You receive a prescription for sleep meds. Do as dr. instructs nothing works, instead you get still hardly any sleep and a medicinal hang over,as some ppl get with most otc drugs that are aimed at sleep. Nyquil, tylenol PM etc.
So now you are tired, feel like crap, loopy, basically slap happy. So you get another prescription from your dr. They add this to your previous one. Again take the recomended doses. still nothing, not enough. You know speaking as someone who has had sleep issues in her life and having friends with that sort of issue, I know the video interview of Ledger where they claim he was high, was really just him TIRED out of his mind, frustrated, and depressed. Because trust me after a while you get DEPRESSED. The point he was at, reading the bottle or dr orders don't matter, because all you can think of is SLEEP. So you take a little bit of each, double or triple the dose. UNTIL IT WORKS. This does not make him a junkie for crying out loud. Yes a lapse in judgement, severely, but not a junkie.
So i suppose those out there who still think he is a junkie, are quick to say such things about anyone who takes more then the bottle suggests JUNKIE's.
If that is what makes a person a junkie and scum then on occasion I AM A JUNKIE. MORE THAN HALF THE COUNTRY WOULD BE A JUNKIE.
A junkie does this all the time, daily, hourly, a desperate person not in their right mind due to lack of sleep which has lead to depression, seeking at least 1 good nights rest having the lapse in judgement to take too much and mix too much is merely ACCIDENT.
Have some respect for his daughter and family please and refrain from spreading such lies as if they are truth. The reports are ACCIDENTAL, all prescribed or recommended by a doctor. NOT HABITUAL (which is a sign of addiction)
We've lost a great talent. I never doubted for a second this was a suicide or that he was a junkie. Not all celebs are THAT STUPID.
Shit. When my father was dying over a 3 month period, the doctors prescribed most of those meds to me so I could keep functioning. I was the only one taking care of him, and was so upset all the time that I couldn't calm down, couldn't sleep, couldn't function. After my Dad died, it took me a long time to stop taking those meds and learn to sleep naturally again and stop the constant anxiety…..christ…what a shock that those meds took Heath Ledger.
So sad:( I can't believe…It can't be true, he is dead… I am so sad about his little daughter, Michelle, his parents. It's really difficult to lose someone who you love. I hope someday the will smile, live their live without tears. He was great actor, amazing man. He broke rules about fashion, he wasn't the hollywood one, he was normal. I respect him and I always will. Rest in peace. I know that he didn't commit a suicide. I believed in him. RIP:*
And finally, we have resolution, and we don't need to hear about it anymore!! he was young, died, leave the grief to those who knew him and deserve their sorrow.
Is it just me or are fans are beginning to consume celebrity…
WELL DONE HEATH !! SOME "CELEBRITIES" SHOULD DO THE SAME THING. WORTHLESS MOTHERFUCKER
there is no resolution until the people of the United States rise up and say NO to prescription drugs. The evidence is screaming at us to mistrust our corrupt medical system, yet we continue with "intentional death" and "cover up" and these distractions.
PAY ATTENTION! LEGALLY PRESCRIBED PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS KILLED HEATH LEDGER.
Where is the justice? How many more must suffer at the hands of junk science , propaganda, and chemicals that have no business in the human body, EVER?
SAY NO to prescription drugs. Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate with true integrity in this matter. The rest are all puppets who will only keep this miserable status quo.
Reclaim your freedom! Vote Ron Paul, say NO to Prescription DRUGS!
Or perish.
How can they call this and Anna Nicole's deaths "accidental"? In both cases, medical doctors INTENTIONALLY and UN-ACCIDENTALLY prescribed these drugs and doses. We need to hold doctors more accountable!!! I have had this same thing happen with a dear friend of mine. MULTIPLE doctors misdiagnosed her, gave her wrong combinations of anti-anxiety, anti-depression and sleeping drugs, she was suicidal 3-4 different times as a result and she finally did a detox rehab for 6 weeks to get off of everything. But, we almost lost her and the only thing driving her downhill were the doctors. Get involved in your own diagnoses people! Be pissed that these docs prescribed Heath "legally" right to his own death! Such a waste!!!
Re: TRANS-ORBITAL EXPRESS –
That's funny. Thank you. I was starting to get pissed off at all the idiots angrily commenting about how oxycodone is percocet, not oxycontin. People are so f**kin' dumb and self-righteous in their ignorance. I'm gonna throw in my two cents and say that I believe H.L. was tempting fate. Any semi-intelligent, long term drug user knows that even low doses of opiate narcotics taken in conjunction with diazepam/valium can cause respitory failure, and if ignorance is truly bliss, Heath Ledger was not a happy man. (But he was indeed gay… didn't you see Brokeback Mountain?) G_d rest his soul.
This whole thing is cover up. Very telling that they don't give out amounts of the prescription drugs. I am willing to bet my ass that illegal were also found in his system and left out of the report. Either way, it's a drug overdoes, they can spin it anyway they like. And a lot of you owe Perez and other media outlets an apology. Heath was a drug addict and OD'd.
How can they prove that the overdose was accidental?
honestly, how can you say with that many medications that it's a true accident? not to show any disrespect to heath ledger or his family, but this is yet another instance where people are going to just blame the drugs instead of acknowledge that those levels of controlled substances indicate abuse. hopefully this will serve as a lesson to PEOPLE to be careful with these drugs and use them only as needed and prescribed.
I wouldn't say he was necessarily a drug addict! Has it been documented that he was a repeat prescription drug abuser?? I don't know…..He may have had some symptoms which he was going to different doctors for and they weren't communicating with each other, just giving him whatever to get rid of the symptoms and it killed him. It's such a shame.
My question is: why did he & Michelle break up???
I hate to think that if he would have been with Michelle, and his daughter there would have been less tendency to self-medicate, at least someone else would have been there to see what was going on and maybe have a say in it.
I feel sorry that he died, I would have liked to see him have a really interesting and long career. Just like River Phoenix.
He overdosed. Period. He was abusing drugs and the fact they were "perscription" does not make them any less dangerous. They can induce the same "highs" as illegal drugs and kill ya just as easily too.
so so sad!
OK how do you take that many different types of pills and not know that you're going to die from it? Was he slow?
that's how Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights died too……for fuck's sake they're called PRESCRIPTION DRUGS for a reason!!!!
That's a junkie cocktail & I don't feel sorry one bit for him.
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!! "Prescription drugs" ARE THE new CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just because they are "LEGAL" doesnt mean you should take them all the time your body needs to BREATHE. drug companies are EVIL stop making them RICHER by taking all these unnecessary fucking pills. HALF these meds are OPIUM based ANYWAY so WATCH OUT
God lord. Surely he must have realised he was was mixing too many drugs?
:(
A correction- Oxycodone is not the same as OxyContin. Oxycodone is a painkiller, but it's not as strong as the highly addictive OxyContin
Not to be misconstrued, it's important to note the following:
In the United States, oxycodone is a Schedule II controlled substance both as a single agent and in combination with products containing paracetamol (aka acetaminophen), ibuprofen or aspirin. I believe it's often referred to as codeine.
Robitussin Night Cold contains acetaminophen and many Robitussins contain codeine. The way it is worded, it looks like he took oxycodone as a separate medication but in all likelihood, isn't it possible that it was a content within the robitussin (as was the doxylamine) that was found in his apartment…which he was probably taking for his pneumonia symptoms.
its sad that this happened to someone so young and talented. My prayers go out to the family. FYI though hydrocodone is NOT another name for vicodin it's ibprofen!!!
You will be in hearts forever. We love you and miss you.
Sad yes, but ALL those meds and it's not considered an overdose?! Give me a break! That IS an overdose- check out all the -am endings of many the drugs. Benzos, people, benzos. Not to mention the narcotics. An overdose of depressants.
WTF???? "he was a druggie" since when the fuck have people the posted on perezhilton.com known the inside and outs of heaths life? you think your better than him all of a sudden? your not your fuck all, your losers posting on a msg board about him, in my own opinion it was an accidental o.d but even if it wasn't who the fuck cares, is the simple loss of life not something to be sad about? R.I.P Heath, you'll kickass in The Dark Night
It makes no difference that they were prescribed- he was still abusing drugs. Everyone acts so relieved that the drugs weren't illegal. Of course they weren't He could AFFORD prescription drugs. The clean shit. The GOOD shit.
I don't understand how these "accidental overdoses" keep killing celebrities… These people have money to pay for the best doctors and it would seem that physicians just hand out perscriptions for pretty serious drugs to them so frivilously. Is there no way for the various doctors they visit all over the country, and world to see what types of medication they have been prescribed recently… It's a shame to lose someone else to such a tragic and avoidable mistake. I hope this teaches everyone a lesson… unless your doctor says it's ok to take more than 1 type of medication, you probably shouldn't… and if you're not feeling the desired effects… GO BACK to your doctor, don't just TAKE MORE!!!!!
He seemed like such a wonderful person, and it's really horrible that these things happen to the good ones. It's a real tragedy, but I hope Heath is in a better place.
I am pretty certain that oxycodone is generic percaset not oxycontin…a pretty big difference in that most docs will prescribe percaset but few prescribe oxycontin.
oxycontin is not oxycodone….google it. it is percocet. while no better it is nowhere the same effect or release. regardless, it is time to let him rest in peace. We knew he was under stress over Matilda and was having trouble relaxing and sleeping. He needed to be where Britney is. Hopefully she doesn't end up the same way.
Wake up people. Some of you are in denial. The ME's report specifically said that the death was an "accident, resulting from the ABUSE of prescription medications". Heath was hooked. These meds were used in excess, and the cumulative effects of these medications together in his body caused his death. Pill popping is just as bad as being hooked on illegal drugs.
that is not the generic drug name for OxyContin. Oxycodone and Hydrocodone are just Vicodin and Percocet. Get your info right before you post such serious drug names on somebody's reputation
Oxycodone is not OxyContin. Oxycodone is percocet. OxyContin contains oxycodone, but is not JUST oxycodone.
Well, what do i expect? you're too low-budget for a fact checker, right?!!
Drug over dose, end of story. I wish Heath and his family peace but lets not recognize the obvious and learn from it. Don't do drugs damn it. He was found dead in his apartment with a bunch of drugs next to him. Why was this such a mystery to begin with? May he rest in peace.
So Sad, I hope now he can rest in peace, without stupid stories !
You might want to keep arguing the fact of all these meds. However, percocet and hydrocodone(which is in cough medicine) would explain the pneumonia. Yes Oxycotin may be oxycodone, however, it is in percocet and they are not testing for tylenol on the drug panel which is the other componet in percocet and vicoden. All this speculation is rediculous. He o.d. accidently. Which is the majority of cases. No note was found to say that it was intentional. O.D. on whatever drug/drugs that you want and it most certainly is accidental.
No, its not Vicodin, its Soma.
yeah and who blames the doctors in this? why are they handing out so many drugs? no one needs all that. doctors are drug dealers!
i definitely want to take back the comment i made about hydrocodone bein ibprophen…it is vicodin/lortab…my bad I was mis informed what can i say!! but R.I.P HEATH
Re: RJ – someday you will DIE too and I just hope it will be soon
heartless asshole
vicodin and oxycontin were not found in his apt- who gave/sold them to him and when/where did he take them?
Let's get something straight here. This is NOT an accidental overdose. No one but no one should be taking oxycodone and hydrocodone at the same time. This is what addicts do. Any normal doctor would not prescribe both to the same patient. This bum killed himself plain and simple.
thank god. everyone finally shut the fucked up about what pill is what and what category it was. who gives a shit.
He was an addict. He was just sustituting Herion for prescription drugs. No one takes OxyContin ANd Vicodin unless they have extreme pain from a surgury or accidfent.
Heaths parents need to wake up and stop living in denial that their son had a MAJOR problem with drugs.
Re: Big Mr. p –
Once again, People…Listen! Hydrocodone is in cough syrup. They said early on that he had been taking robitussin for his pneumonia and found a bottle in his apartment. In light of this fact, it's clear he wasn't taking a hydrocodone pill and a separate oxycodone pill, but that it was a component of the cough syrup. For crying out loud, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that….
Oxycodone is NOT Oxycontin, it's Vicodin. BIG difference…not that it matters now.
elvis died from this same deal right, too many drugs is too many drugs so it's a overdose, period stop making it look all nicey nice…..he's on video taking the illegal drugs too. He might have been a great actor but he was a fucked up one it appears.
t
God love him.
That's easy enough to do, im lucky i didn't suffer the same fate with pretty much the same shit. Rest in peace, you were a wonderful actor and Matilda has many good things to hear about her father.
just another h-town pill popper who left a kid behind without a dad - he was a junkie who had a problem and it killed him - he's no innocent - he's done it many times before - this time it killed him - so lets call it what it is - the gay population loves this guy so much cause he played a homo on the big screen!
Re: ME –
YOU f**kin' Google it, bitches. Oxycontin is the brand name for straight Oxycodone HCl, with a time-release, easy to rinse off, shell. It is prescribed for severe pain relief in doses ranging from 5 mg - 160 mg as said drug in the form of pressed pills at all doses, and capsules at lower doses. There is also a generic alternative to Oxycontin available from your pharmacist… guess what it's called? Oxycodone, idiots. And to clarify further, because I can't believe how stupid you are, that's "OXYCODONE", comma, and I was calling you idiots. Oxycodone when combined in small doses with acetaminophen is known as the brand name drug Percocet, generic form Roxicet, among others. Stop stating half-truths without having a clue as to what it is you're talking about. I'm done.
Oxycodone is also a generic name for Percocet, so he wasn't necessarily into the serious drugs. It's a different process with the same base drug that makes both products.
noone takes all those meds together unless they have a death wish an 11 year old know better than mixing all these drugs WTF its called suicide not an accident
uh, so since it's prescription it's not 'bad' so what if he shot himself in the head with a registered gun vs a non registered one…..he's still dead.
stop covering this up with the LEGAL drugs. He overdosed on too many pills, very addictive pills. What's the difference!
pills killed him, no accident as he had to swallow the fucking things ya know!
Oh…so everyone is mad at the Media for insinuating that Heath was on illegal drugs. That they "thought the worse". Well, Holy Cr*p, look at the list of what he was taking…why bother with the illegal stuff when you can get a perscription for whatever you choose? Does this list not scare any of you? He was a drug addict, legal drugs or not. Was obviously so strung out he didn't know what he had in his system and therefore OD'd.
From Wikipedia:
"Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from two of the naturally occurring opiates, codeine and thebaine. HYDROCODONE IS AN ORALLY ACTIVE narcotic analgesic and ANTITUSSIVE. Marketed as Vicodin, Anexsia, Dicodid, Hycodan (or generically Hydromet), Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Novahistex, Hydroco, Tussionex, Vicoprofen, Xodol. Bekadid, Calmodid, Codinovo, Duodin, Kolikodol, Orthoxycol, Mercodinone, Synkonin, Norgan, Hydrokon, Hydrocodone is commonly available in tablet, capsule and syrup form. "
ANTITUSSIVE = ROBITUSSIN
Oxycodone is NOT oxycontin. Heath TOOK Oxycodone, the generic Percocet, a painkiller that lasts 4-6 hours. Heath DID NOT TAKE Oxycontin, a long acting version of oxycodone lasting 12 hours. Oxycontin is the drug that when crushed is very dangerous and quickly addicting.
I guess I will go with accidental overdose because ….WOW the miss information abounds in here….. I am suprised more people don't accidently overdose given the fact that half the people in here don't know the diffrence from a Vicodine and Tylenol, or that ALL opiates are highly addictive as well as 99.9 % of the sedatives. YOU ALL NEED CHILD PROOF LOCKS ON YOUR MED CABINETS
Did they list if he had alcohol in his system ??
Just wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure Oxycodone is NOT Oxycontin. It is Percosette. Oxycontin is oxycodine hydrochloride. Much more serious drug.
Just to clarify…oxcodone is NOT the same as the way more powerful oxyContin…..it is Percocet
oxycodone is actually generic for percocet. Not oxycontin.
So fucking Sad
RIP Heath, you will be greatly missed. May your legacy live on.
Re: Emmy –
oops sorry RIP HEATH!!
And here I was, about to add more on which drugs are what. Glad I skimmed the thread. Perez listed them out of order, maybe because they are listed in the order of how much was found, and Oxycontin, Vicodin and Valium as the first three drugs sounds majorly hardcore. Now he'll sleep forever, free from pain.
How does someone accidentally take like 6 different drugs?? Seriously and it doesn't matter if they were illegal drugs or prescription drugs. He was probably taking them illegally anyone considering no doctor IN HIS RIGHT MIND would prescribe all of those medicines to one person. But then again he is a celebrity so who knows how that shit happens. It is just sickening that we glamourize actors and actresses when most of them are drug addicts and drug under the influence and party and basically do nothing good for mankind except act in a decent movie. fuck holly wood geez
I told you mother effers it wasn't heroin.
HYDROCODONE IS NOT ANOTHER NAME FOR VICODIN THEY ARE BOTH CODINE BASED PRESCRIPTION PAIN KILLERS HOWEVER THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THESE AGENTS IS DIFFERENT, VICODIN BEING MORE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.
My brother died because of the same reasons, mixing prescription pills. He had a respectable job and was a good person. Yet the community we live in labels him "another junkie dead because of drugs." Its just not fair.
prime example of a socially accepted suicide
Rest in peace - you will be missed.
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It is very sad that this man is dead. But just because it wasnt illegal drugs doesnt make it right or okay. I am a nurse and all those pills should not have been taken together. We as a society have switched from street to prescribed abuse. And these doctors are to blame, because instead of treating the problem they treat symptoms. But we seeing more and more of this from Anna Nicole to Britney. People wake up and see where this society is going. These doctors need to held accountable. And dont think because the MD gives it to you that it is safe to abuse.