Heath Ledger Died from an Accidental Overdose, Says Medical Examiner
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand
According to the New York City medical examiner, Heath Ledger's death was due to an "accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs." For those hip to different medications, the official cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine." Apparently, these are the generic names for Oxycontin, Valium, Xanax, Restoril and Unisom. There was no word on how much of each he took, or whether a heavy dose of one was what ultimately did him in, but a spokeswoman did note that his death was due to "the cumulative effects of these medications together."
This ruling finally came two weeks after the actor was found dead by a masseuse in his rented SoHo apartment in New York City. Original reports claimed the apartment belonged to Mary-Kate Olsen (which turned out to be false), and the masseuse actually called Olsen several times before calling for an ambulance in an attempt to get the young actress to send her security crew. This was the part I had the most trouble with -- if you found this dude unconscious on a floor, would you want an ambulance there or Mary-Kate Olsen? Whatever the case, it's obvious Ledger (may have) had a pretty strong addiction to pain killers and sleep medication, if it was taking that many pills to knock the guy out. It's my belief that too many young kids today are sucking these pills down like they're water, not really understanding what they do or how they can harm you. Hopefully Ledger's death will provide enough of a wake-up call to those who are currently suffering from their own addictions.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-06-2008 @ 11:43AM
kevjohn said...
I too hope his death will get people to check their drug-inhaling activities, but I doubt it will make much of a difference. I guess it's just the cynic in me.
A good general rule should be if you're putting more than two pills in your mouth at a time, you'd better be damn sure you know what you're doing. But I'm no doctor, and I just made that rule up. Still, seems like a good idea to me.
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2-06-2008 @ 12:46PM
mike green said...
so, playing the joker killed him after all
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2-06-2008 @ 12:47PM
Mimi said...
I don't think there's any proof that Ledger was "addicted" to painkillers and sleeping aids. That's an irresponsible statement.
According to the more reliable sources, Heath had been given a couple prescriptions in Europe to help him sleep in as well as having some from US doctors.
Self medicating, mixing drugs and not telling doctors what other meds one is taking is all too common. The elderly do it all the time, as do people with multiple doctors...with often tragic results.
In cases where a patient uses drugs without proper medical supervision, it's called "abuse". The patient is acting out of ignorance as to dosages, possible interactions and cross purposes. It's stupid and very unwise, but millions do it every single day.
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2-06-2008 @ 1:52PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Dude was on hill-billy heroin and xanax and valium? How could he even function?!
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2-06-2008 @ 3:31PM
Sam H. said...
I have to agree with Mimi: the reports specifically state that all of the medications he took were within normative levels, but the reaction between them caused a toxic reaction. This happens all the time, unfortunately, as balancing drug interaction is as much art as science. Art that can kill people.
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2-06-2008 @ 3:58PM
Erik Davis said...
It's pretty well known that the guy had an addictive personality, and if you're combining that much stuff (even in regular dosages), it's pretty obvious your body has a high tolerance and so it's taking more to do the job. Those are definitely signs of addiction. But since there is no hard proof, I have gone ahead and amended the post.
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2-06-2008 @ 4:42PM
Ed said...
WOW, I'm not sure what is more disturbing your ignorance or your arrogance. The gut died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, there is no evidence he was addicted to any of them. Prove otherwise with some facts and not a bunch of hollywood hear-say.
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2-07-2008 @ 12:30AM
Christopher said...
WOW!...Accidental Overdose...man that is so fucking sad!! Man was Heath that "STUPID" taking all those meds....Anybody knows not to mix Valium and Xanax, then add some sleeping pills on top of that!!! That is asking for a death wish, or to go out a "Hollywood Legend"! I guess this will play across the news for another 60 days!! Man, the news & Hollywood is making a bigger stink over Heath, than the death of Brad Renfo & they both died the same way...hmmmmmmm!
What is sad that he left a promising career and a daughter to boot behind!
To blame his anxiety on the roles he took his just a cope out!
Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse!
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