Hellooooooooo.

[apocalypsos]

Accidental overdose killed Heath Ledger

Dear people who immediately jumped to the "Strung-out drug addict" and/or "committed suicide" options,

*smacks upside the head*

Sincerely,

Me

Comments

[anglepoiselamp.livejournal.com]

I was pretty sure about it from the start. Accidental overdoses happen more easily than most people think they do. :(

[scary-being-me.livejournal.com]

Especially with the types of meds he was on for his insomnia.

It's really a shame. I feel bad for his little girl. For her sake, I'm glad none of the rumors were true.

[rhyana.livejournal.com]

Don't go over to ONTD, then. Your hand will get tired.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been avoiding ONTD for a while now between that and the Britney news.

[rhyana.livejournal.com]

The Britney stuff cracks me up though.

"UPDATE #2045614
Britney has entered a Costco! Let's see what she comes out with!"

Hades, you'd think it was necessary to know every freakin' step that woman has made for the last year, like we're going to be tested on it or something. Sheesh.

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised by the findings -- Heath was never in the tabloids as a partier (despite the pictures and stories that are suddenly surfacing - WTFever).

[jellicle.livejournal.com]

I hope now people let him rest in peace and stop trying to put a stain on his image.

[pie-is-good.livejournal.com]

I did wonder if maybe he had been hiding a drug problem somehow, but I'm so glad to hear my worry was unfounded,

Still, you know, I wish he was still around.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I had the passing thought he might have, but it didn't really seems plausible, particularly considering the press didn't have footage of him anywhere near drugs until after he died, and even then it was like, "Look, he's in a room with a guy doing drugs!" or something. You'd think if a guy with a clean reputation like his had been around drugs and somebody had evidence of it they would have sold it to the tabloids faster than a jackrabbit on speed.

And amen on that. :(

[shardofnarsil.livejournal.com]

Did you read the statement Heath's family made? I got all kinds of teared up at my cubicle.

[beanarie.livejournal.com]

Oh. God. Same here. Between this and what his sister said a while back about how to her Heath Ledger was just her little brother, my heart bleeds for these people.

[astaria51.livejournal.com]

I pretty much figured this the whole time, and it makes me hugely sad. I guess I'm one of those weird people who would rather something be under your own control than a stupid accident...I don't know. The whole thing is a tragic mess and I mostly feel horrible for his little girl and all the rumors being bandied about (especially now that Mary Kate Olsen's being brought into it).

It's so easy to be given medications for similar, or even unrelated, problems that have overlapping effects, and the problem is that people who don't feel good just want to feel better :C I know I'm guilty of going "oh, fuck it" and popping Tylenol PM, cough syrup and sedative anti-convulsants in the same night. I could have had something bad happen too. I feel like celebrities, who are under an extreme amount of stress, have doctors prescribing them anything and everything to feel better with no real concern for what might happen if they're incautious or even if they are.

I don't know. It's just so damn sad.
I'm really angry at the people who have been spreading things around, as well.

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

He was found with, what, 5 different drugs, including -azepams and major sleeping pills, wasn't he? If those were all prescribed by a single doctor, I suspect the man is incompetent. *And* the pharmacist, who is specifically required by law to keep track of drug interactions. Of course, being a movie star tends to mean that you don't necessarily see the same doctor twice in a row, simply due to location issues..

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

He got some in the US and some in the UK. I think I read something about him catching the respiratory thing in London or wherever it was he was filming over there. So it's a safe bet he didn't get them all from the same guy.

[astaria51.livejournal.com]

If those were all prescribed by a single doctor, I suspect the man is incompetent. *And* the pharmacist, who is specifically required by law to keep track of drug interactions. Of course, being a movie star tends to mean that you don't necessarily see the same doctor twice in a row, simply due to location issues..

If they were, I too think the doctor is incompetent - should really be sued for malpractice, honestly. Any good doctor should know not to do that.

However, I'm pretty sure there was something mentioned about two different doctors.

Side note: it amuses me whenever people bring up -azepams because I take Clonazepam for my epilepsy. It's actually been a big problem when I run out without a refill or in the wrong state because it's a controlled substance and pharmacies aren't licensed to administer "emergency doses" without a prescription...even though I take .5 mg of it -- 2 doses of that would definitely not be enough to make you high or even that sleepy.

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I figured. It's still a huge freaking shame, but thank God his family doesn't have to hear anymore "OMG he was a sekrit crazy drug-addict and he committed SUICIDE!" bullshit.

[notrafficlights.livejournal.com]

Well, look at it this way: Even if he did "Accidentally overdose" you have to take a huge amount of calmatives like diazepam and temazepam for them to have any effect on the other drugs you're taking or your body, which is why they're so widely used. It's also quite likely he was physically addicted to temazepam (nevermind the others like oxycodone, holyshitcakes), as it has a documented physical dependency that in many people causes required increasing doses for it to have any effecacy. And don't even get me started on the addictive qualities of doxylamine (which I've had personal experience with). There's a reason that shit is banned in Australian public hospitals. It will fuck with your head, guaranteed.

And only sleeping two hours a night while on that combination of drugs pretty much fulfils the definition of "strung out". So if you want to get pedantic, he was a "strung-out drug addict", just not in the cocaine-snorting, Britney-esque-partying most celeb retards go. He did it in the nice, quiet, good Australian boy, medically-addicted way. :(

Sadly, this just makes me even more morose about the whole thing, because you really do have to take a lot of those drugs to overdose, even if you don't mean to. Which means he was either really messed in the head from his work, or he was a fucking idiot. Either way, it's really sad and I feel crappy for his family and all the paparazzi bullshit they're having to deal with. Poor fucks.

[gypsyjr.livejournal.com]

*joins in the smacking*

Man, celebrity is so weird... it's like we put people on pedestals so we can knock them off again at a moment's notice.

[sabra-n.livejournal.com]

If he was taking two things ending in "codone" it does sound like he was having drug problems to me- that said, it was always way too soon to call suicide.

-blue