Remember last week how cocaine was listed as a contributing cause to Billy Mays' death but that heart disease was the real reason? Well, it seems the medical examiner might have just been trying to make the family happy with that decision. It turns out it wasn't the right decision or the right cause of death. According to a report on TMZ today, the actual cause of death should be Acute Drug Toxicity. Billy had a bunch of drugs in his system when he died. In addition to cocaine he also had Xanax and Vicodin in his system and it was the long term use of all of these drugs that caused him to die. Are there any doctors out there who actually prescribe what they should or are they all willing to write extra prescriptions for the right price?
most docs are honest, but enty you of all people should know that MONEY can buy absolutely anything.
ReplyDeleteobvs there are those in the medical profession w/ no ethics. truly sad.
ReplyDeletesadder still is that mays sought comfort in drugs and taints his legacy. such a shame.
Agreed QS and you can also get prescription drugs on the street so it may not have actually been prescribed to him.
ReplyDelete^^^i forgot about the 'street pharmacists'.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they told the truth.
ReplyDeleteI still believe that's what happen to Heath Ledger and Mary Kate Olson's doctor was part of the cover up. She's just wealth enough to get away with it.
Big business owns all. ALL!
ReplyDeleteNothing worse then seeing a doctor you think is pretty good prescribe medicine you don't really want for something that doesn't really hurt, but decided to get checked out anyway.
And then realize he has a pen, prescription pad and squishy stress ball from the very same pharmaceutical company that manufactures the medicine he just prescribed.
Biased Healthcare FTW!
not on my dollar, i agree! the olsen girls probably have very GOOD 'clean up crews'.
ReplyDeleteWould this affect his life insurance if he has any?
ReplyDeleteGrr. According to TMZ it "should be"? I read a report yesterday saying the autopsy found normal amounts of prescription drugs in his system for long-term pain for his prescription. Only the cocaine was out of place. Unless the coroner goes ahead and changes the cause of death on the certificate, TMZ "should" shut up about their opinions about the cause of death. The man has a family.
ReplyDeleteWow - just ... wow.
ReplyDeleteAt least he's in the ground (laid to rest).
ReplyDeleteOxiclean commercials aren't the same.
And why why why couldn't this have been Paris???
Rocket Queen - I agree.
@rocketqueen and a bit of moxy
ReplyDeleteI think you're reading it wrong. The M.E. initially said cocaine was not a factor, but a review by the M.E.'s office is now saying that it was a leading cause. When the M.E. initially said it wasn't he hadn't examined the toxicology yet.
Not to defend TMZ, but they aren't saying what should or shouldn't happen regarding his autopsy findings, they're merely reporting that the M.E.'s own office is against his initial ruling and have changed it to include cocaine as a leading contributer to his death. That affects his insurance policy....etc.
Either way, like wise old Penny says: Drugs are bad.
He was a pitchman, maybe he could talk doctors into writing prescriptions for anything.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine taking that many drugs at once. Hell, I just take Benadryl and I'm out for hours.
Momster -
ReplyDeleteI recently got perscription Benadryl - ugh talk about being dead behind the eyes. I couldn't do it and lived with the hives.
And Trogdor - I get (got) it. I guess - I just wish and I know, I know he was a celebrity so fair game...He just did a lot of good.
And I do mis his obnoxious voice on the tv at the gym.
@bits of moxy:
ReplyDeletesince I had my second kid, and when they are BOTH crying, I have started getting hives (stress I guess). I use the Benadryl spray on. I can't take regular Benadryl either because it just knocks me out. Maybe try that?
@trogdor - so I read the article again at TMZ, but I still don't see any justification for the opinion of this "famed medical examiner" to trump the final report of the person who actually performed the exam. There was still no mention of the fact that this man was prescribed pain pills - regardless, I see what you're saying. It just sounds too much to me like one of those "celebrity lawyers" weighing in on a case that they aren't actually working on.
ReplyDeleteFor Mays' family's sake, I just wish these people would butt out. I'll be interested to know if the report conclusion actually changes. If so, fine.
Ahhhhhhhh...the good old days of Dr. Feel Good in New Orleans. My Mother had terrible back pain and he would give her RXs for the best stuff ever.
ReplyDeletehow about fumes from those products?
ReplyDelete@moxy - I <3 Billy Mays. I would drunkenly fall asleep to him hawking products late at night and wake up with the phone in my hand and taco bell all over my shirt. I still don't know what to do with my 86 pounds of Mighty Putty =/
ReplyDelete@rocketqueen - I don't think the prescription pills had much to do with it, it was only found in trace amounts. Mays was already suffering from atherosclerotic heart disease.
"Cocaine is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. And it can cause heart attack, it can cause spasm of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood, and it, in fact, can cause sudden death. So, cocaine is a major problem for people who are at risk for coronary artery disease -- and even a person who is perfectly healthy and has a perfectly normal heart can have a premature heart attack directly from cocaine. Cocaine causes an intense increase in the sympathetic nervous system, which causes release of adrenaline and causes a major stress on the heart and the cardiovascular system."
*Dr. Chris Granger.
Point being here, I think, why did the assistant M.E., Dr. L. Chrostowski, dismiss cocaine from the final results? Shoddy work or trying to help Mays family cope by excluding the drug angle? Pretty big ethical concern there.
Man, three comments from me today and I'm already soooo tired. I think I'll have a benedryl-tequilla shake and see how it goes ;]
trogdor: Nothing worse then seeing a doctor you think is pretty good prescribe medicine you don't really want for something that doesn't really hurt, but decided to get checked out anyway.
ReplyDeleteExcept when they prescribe for something you never had checked out in the first place. Good doctors are hard to come by these days. I believe it's because folks who go to medical school have some serious money coming from somewhere. To leave any of these folks unemployed would be a travesty so they all get jobs. I've told more than one doctor that their opinion/diagnosis was BS and I had no intention of paying. They never came after me. Ever. They knew.
You know what? Unless I know otherwise, I'm not going to blame the doctor(s), I'm going to blame the addict. I work for a hospital and know with the certainty of experience how addicts work the hospital system, jumping from ER to ER, getting their various rxs. You think celebrities don't do some variation of that routine?
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget the Rush Limbaugh method... send one of your paid minions out on the street to get your shit.
Please. Addicts will do ANYTHING for drugs and the responsibility lies squarely on their shoulers.
I'm sorry Billy Mays died, but unless we later find out he was force-fed cocaine and pills against his will, he bears the responsiblity.
Well.. this obviously doesn't hold for the cocaine [But .. Hello!?!? He lived near Tampa. And all you need to do is score is head down to Ybor City and you can score, I hear.] .. but there are lovely little things called "pain clinics" [aka "Pill Mills"] in Florida. You can get your hands on scripts for any thing you want.
ReplyDeleteSo .. Billy likely had no issue getting drugs .. no issues at all. You don't need minions .. you don't need anything but to strut your ass into one of these clinics and complain away. Docs don't care .. for the most part they even suggest the pharmacy to go get the shit from. No doubt they get kick backs.
My Uncle has turned into a Vicodin/Oxy junkie thanks to these places in Boca. Broward County is the worst .. but hardly the only county .. where you can partake of the all you can ingest drug buffet that is Florida.
Back a few months ago .. there was a push in the state to shut this nonsense down .. however it failed apparently - I can't even find any reference to it now. No doubt thanks to the contributions to good God lovin' Republicans from Pharma.
@Quint, it just goes to show you how much influence Mary Kate really has.
ReplyDelete@Little Miss Smoke I totally agree with you.
damn.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is DO.NOT.FUCK.WITH.THE.PITCH.MEN!
ReplyDeleteShiiittt, first Shamwow! Guy being arrested for having meth and beating up a hooker and now this shit? Is it that hard to stay clean pitchmen? Seriously, when did the infomercial buisness turn as hard core as the hip hop buisness?!
Jeez, and I can't even convince my vet to give my dog drugs for her fear of thunderstorms. I've gotta find me some of these unethical folks...
ReplyDelete