Thomas Kinkade's autopsy results have been released and it turns out the popular painter died of an accidental overdose. How can they tell the difference between an accidental overdose and one done on purpose? Do they ever say one was on purpose? Does it really matter? To the family, I'm sure they prefer accidental. Is it the quantity that determines it? Kinkade died due to a high concentration of ethanol combined with benzodiazepine which is booze and tranquilizers. Why do you need that many depressants? Never mix drugs with booze. His family had told the press he had died of natural causes. Well, they probably threw it out there hoping for the best. They must have known, but thought people would forget about it by now and they are probably correct.
Me on my soapbox again: Benzo drugs were approved for usage of 2 to 4 weeks, and their use beyond the fourth week is horribly dangerous. Every use of a benzo drug diminishes its effectiveness, and many users embark upon an escalating intake. Benzo drugs are so addictive that at least ten percent of users go into convulsions and experience seizures if they quit. Benzo drugs intoxicate a person from head to toe and wrap the user in a chemical warmth that becomes more real and more rewarding than life itself. They are horribly dangerous.
ReplyDeleteOkay, off my soapbox.
Interesting, thank you Barton Fink!
ReplyDeleteThe way you tell between "accidental" or not (IMHO) is the absence of a note or other personal preparations to end one's life.
I don't understand folks who mix prescription drugs and booze, when time and again, you hear of this deadly combination ending the life of so many. Is it some sort of Russian Roulette type thrill? Does the alcohol enhance the effects of the drugs? Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteYes, alcohol enhances the effects of the drugs. It's lovely but dangerous (obviously).
ReplyDelete@Barton--You are a gigantic ass. About the only way you can die from combining benzo's and alcohol is from sheer alcohol poisoning. For instance, the only way to OD on Klonopin is to choke on the fucking pill cap.
ReplyDelete"Does the alcohol enhance the effects of the drugs? Anyone know?" Not really. You can mix up a buttload of chopped-up benzo tabs with a full tumbler of rum and you'll just fall asleep. Don't ask me how I know these things, it was a dark time....
A girlfriend tried to "commit suicide" with a Valium OD back in high school. We just laughed.
But in most states you can go right down to the store and buy distilled spirits off the shelf that will kill you Bonham-dead before you know it.
He also had hypertensive and atherosclerotic heart disease. Enty's Mom will be sad.
ReplyDeleteAccidental overdose means the family can collect on the Insurance....
ReplyDeleteI feel for his wife and daughters. They are really good people.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should have introduced him to uppers. The paintings might have been halfway interesting with them!
ReplyDelete(Yah, yah, I'm evil. But I bet this makes Mooshki laugh...)
B.Profane you are incorrect. The synergistic effect of combining sedatives - including alcohol and most psych drugs is well-known and scientifically proven. Just because you survived your 'dark period' doesn't mean the laws of chemistry and physiology dont exist. It just means you got lucky and didn't suppress respirations to the point of death. Others do it all the time because they believe what you do: hello Heath Ledger.
ReplyDeleteis Ambien considered a benzo?
ReplyDelete@Popnursing, I think what B. Profane meant was don't blame the benzos. Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol.
ReplyDeleteBenzos save my life. I take them every day and I don't need an escalating amount, and I'm not embraced in a warm fuzzy cloud of soft light, either. Sorry. They relieve my anxiety and make me sleepy. I don't take them if I have to drive or stay alert.
If we believed your sermon all benzos would be banned from sale. And many people would suffer greatly. So get off the soapbox, Barton Fink.
Maggs, Ambien is not a benzo. Benzos are the 'epam' drugs. Clonazepam. Tomazepam. Spellazapam. Made that last one up. I can't spell them.
ReplyDeleteKlonopin, brand name, is a popular benzo. It's Clonazepam.
Gotta go with McS on this one - used correctly, benzos are excellent for anxiety disorders. They've saved my ass on several occasions. But yeah, duh, don't wash them down with alcohol.
ReplyDeleteB. Profane - I don't understand why you have to call someone an ass just because you disagree with them. Sounds to me like you got lucky and came out on the other side of your "dark time".
ReplyDeleteOh, it's also the -olam drugs. Loprazolam, triazolam, yaddayaddaolam.
ReplyDeleteI think Ambien is classified as a hypnotic.
ReplyDeletegot it, I'm not on any "pams", just Ambiens for insomnia. Dang hearing about all these people overdosing is pretty scary stuff, I mean I love my wine. Do they get hammered drunk or just buzzed? I mean how much is too much alcohol with those benzo's?? scary
ReplyDelete@B. Profane so you're a medical expert now, also. People can die from Klonopin (clonazepam) and any other benzo. It depends on the amount AND the strength of each pill. A lot of other elements, ie. person's age, health status, what/when they ate comes into play. Also, tolerance plays a factor. Some people throw it up, some don't. To say otherwise is stupid and reckless. Just cuz it didn't work for you doesn't mean it wont kill someone else. People get all kinds of crazy ideas , even in places like this. Don't take that extra pill or mix it, please. I lost a close family member due to suicide, you can't imagine the pain. You laugh @ someone's suicide attempt? You're a sick f*ck.
ReplyDeleteUm, sorry, I am right. Ledger died of OPIATES, you silly twit. Are you actually a nurse?
ReplyDeleteThe OP stated that benzo's are "horribly dangerous." Implicitly, that you should not take them after 4 weeks even if your doc is still prescribing them. Bullshit. Don't combine them with alcohol, of course, but do not NOT take the fucking pills if you are correctly prescribed them, especially for major anxiety.
Look, sure, don't taunt the pharmacological devils. Drug-interaction synergy should have killed off my ass a couple of times, but I'm dubiously blessed with a Wotan-steel liver. Nevertheless, if you need the benzo's, take the fucking benzo's. Take the SSRI's. Bullshit anti-hype against anti-anxiety drugs and SSRI's have killed more humans than Hitler.
No, bullshit, the only way to die from Klonopin is if a crate of it falls on your fucking head. Look up the LD-50 for it. That's why it's freely prescribed to patients who are openly suicidal. OK, granted, that's not really true of other benzo's. You could get yourself into respiratory arrest in combination with orally-ingested Valium, but you'd really have to work at it. 99% of what would be killing you would still be the alcohol.
ReplyDeleteOf course mixing way too many benzo's with hooch will kill you...mixing a case of beer with a nail gun will kill you even faster, and that doesn't require a prescription.
I'm with McSpanky. I take a benzo every day of my life, and I am also not embraced in a warm fuzzy cloud of soft light. I feel no high whatsoever, as a matter of fact, and it's interesting to me that others do and get woefully addicted. (I DO agree with that, but again, it doesn't happen to EVERYBODY who takes them. That aspect IS a shame.) They don't even make me that sleepy; they just take the edge off and do exactly what they are supposed to do. And I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who swallowed a whole bottle of Ambien. Her sister found her and called an ambulance. In the emergency room the nurse laughed and said "Don't worry. Ambien doesn't kill ya." She did sleep for 17 hours.
ReplyDeleteNot that I'd recommend that to anyone. Don't do it. Don't take anything, in fact. Lead a pure and lovely life.
Just leave me my benzos.
I take .5 mgs. of Clonazepam for restless leg syndrome at bedtime. It is a marriage saver. I would have kicked my husband to death by now without it. I've taken the same dose for years. I don't need more, it still works.
ReplyDeleteKinkade had medical problems, and should have only been on his prescribed meds. His gigantic ego must have led him to believe he could take and drink anything he wanted.
Just when I thought B Profane couldn't get any more obnoxious, he goes and proves me wrong. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteDid your best friend once removed who was pre-med for a semester at Yale give you all this medical information while lunching at The Ivy?
When it's accidental there are drugs left over.
ReplyDelete@chopchop - bwahaha!
ReplyDeleteAnybody got a Vicodin (oh, thank you, House)
ReplyDeleteRum is about 30% alcohol, vodka more like 80% - so that makes a difference. The more you drink, the more you forget. Did I take my meds or not?!?!?! Add the heart disease and I can see how there would be problems.
ReplyDeleteReminder: Don't feed trolls here. Please. Now, a round of bacon martinis for everyone! And enjoy your meds if you have 'em!!
I thought vodka was 40%?
ReplyDeleteTo anyone curious: yes, amount of the benzo in his system is important. He might just have had 2 pills worth in his bloodstream, but so much alcohol, he accidentally stopped breathing. It happens all the time, because as someone already mentioned, drunks forget that they've already taken their pill.
ReplyDeleteThey would suspect suicide if he had a huge benzo % in his blood, and usually pill fragments in the stomach.
On a personal note, I think I have just learned why my doctor pretends he doesn't hear when I BEG him for something stronger than the damned Klonopin for my tremendous anxiety disorder. Sneaky mother-fucker!
Must be a drag for Kristen. Don't they share a house?
ReplyDeleteOh, profane, when you "namedropped" me a while back, I thought I sensed some yuckiness. I love you too, honey.
ReplyDeleteAh, Barton. I got your well-intended message.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, when the snarky comments towards each other appear on CDAN, they really stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. You may not agree with it, but finding a mature way to counter it shows character.
That's why I love this site! So many opinions. (Save for those who treat those how they wish to be treated, though I don't find much pleasure calling them names and the like.)
Ledger did not die from opiates. He died from mixing multiple substances and using them in a way which they were not intended. Psych drugs, hard core pain meds, controlled substances of all kinds are a god-send. But they can be very damaging when uses incorrectly. Yes, I'm a real nurse. And you sir, are an asshat.
ReplyDeleteIt's the old cliche Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Bunch of Ugly Paintings
ReplyDeleteAnother "benzos saved me" from restless leg syndrome. I was an exhausted mess for years, and defensive whenever my bf pointed out I was in bed for hours. Benzos give me peace, at a mild dose.
ReplyDeleteMy sleep doctor put it this way: either suffer from a mild addiction with supervised withdrawal if you want to go off or never have a good nights sleep again. Easy choice.
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ReplyDeleteI've already clarified it for my friends: if I don't wake up one morning the overdose was accidental 'cause, hello, the benadryl stops working if you don't chase it with vodka.
ReplyDeleteI just want to be nicer to people, actually. I sometimes feel bad for all the mean things I've said about Demi Lovato, who maybe is just a sandwich shy of her target weight. My goal is not to attack people who have been prescribed benzodiazepine drugs, and I hope I didn't step on anyone's skirt. I just worry a lot about these drugs, having known several people with crippling benzodiazepine problems.
ReplyDeleteureallyannoyme:
ReplyDeleteAbout Benadryl, it's weird but it does the wrong thing for me (when used to sleep; it's fine as an antihistimine). If I take two (the reccommended dose), I'm awake all night. If I take half of one (a quarter-dose) I can usually get some sleep. So maybe try that instead of mixing it with alcohol again.
The more you take any depressants the more likely your breathing is gonna stop... It's science, pure and simple...And yes, you can die from a Benzo OD...ask the many who die from Xanax OD's... Ugh
ReplyDeleteB.Profane is rude.
ReplyDeletenunaurbiz, yes, you made me laugh. As did chopchop. :)
ReplyDeleteB. Profane, you seem to be going through another dark time right now. It must be awful for you to have this much anger roiling around inside. Please, for your own sake, find some help.
The snarky comments about other commenters is driving me away.
ReplyDeleteBarton Fink has only ever had useful, insightful comments IMO, and I will stick by that. Do I take it as gospel? No. Do I think he's a medical expert giving us sage medical advice? Certainly not.
But calling him an ass is just bullshit and I'm over it.
OK. Y'all are right. This is NOT the same CDAN and not the same Enty and not the same anything.
Except bullshit all the fucking time--people having to argue and be nasty towards one another.
Fuck this.
I don't know why docs prescribe benzos so many times when there are non-benzo anxiolytics that work well and can be used long term. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHeather, the non-benzos don't work for a lot of people. I use up to 2mg of Klonopin as needed everyday for three years. I've taken all of the SSRI's for anxiety, buspar, anti-seizure medications etc. I go through extreme bouts of depression and agoraphobia.
ReplyDeleteKinkaid was an alcoholic. Who knows what his blood alcohol level was. Combine that with benzos or barbiturates and Karen Quinlan here you come at the very least.