ACharmed1 said:

CherryMoon57 said:

beautifulnight71 said:

angel22 said:

angel22 said:

mimi1956 said:

To me he looked haunted.

Yes, something in Prince noticeably changed for the last two years or so. His eyes were different, kinda cold as if something inside of him had died, this unexplainable, frozen look, there was definetely something different. That smile, that energy had just gone. I am still trying to figure out, what really happened to him, it is really painful and is still puzzling me, what had plagueing him so much for the last two years of his life. He wasnt the person anymore, that he had used to be and I cant imagine, it had only been pain issues that changed him so profoundly and not for the good. Something major inside of him was really kinda dying. There was something inside of him, that had died, way before he left the physical world this year. Would be nice to hear your opinions, as I keep on thinking about this alot.

I agree completely with the points you made but I have to comment on the bolded part of your comment. As someone with chronic illnesses and chronic pain for the past 20 years, I can tell you that the daily pain itsef, and the accompanying limitations it causes and coping with that and with the actual pain, WILL CHANGE A PERSON. If the pain goes on long enough without relief, if the doctors can't do much to help, you've tried to find ways to either permanently 'cure' the pain or at least lessen it (in Prince's case, the reported surgery on his hip/s and probably he tried other methods of pain control as well) but nothing has been successful - your soul starts to wither, believe me. It's very difficult to remain the same person, especially I'd imagine if you are a person like Prince who was used to being extremely active and having a full, busy life. Pain changes your personality, it changes your outlook on the world and alters your hopes and goals (which can affect your attitude/belief system/relationships/etc) and it changes your appearance if it goes on long enough and affects your sleep. It truly drains you.

-

I also though wouldn't disbelieve that there were issues beyond his pain that contributed to the visible changes in Prince in these last couple years. Maybe those other issues were directly associated with teh pain and the needed pain control drugs he used, or maybe they were unrelated (although everything in your life starts getting related to a person's chronic pain if the pain is continuous and bad enough...).

-

I wish so much he could've found the pain relief he needed. I hate how my chronic pain has stolen so much of my life and I cry for Prince knowing he experienced the hell of chronic pain and on top of that his was a life far more active and full than mine ever was and having that slowly chipped away by a situation he couldnt control...I just feel for him so much. I hope he's in a perfect place now, pain free and happy, with sparkling eyes and a huge smile again.

-

StephanieThePisces said:

Bunsterdk said:

angel22 said:

Yes, something in Prince noticeably changed for the last two years or so. His eyes were different, kinda cold as if something inside of him had died, this unexplainable, frozen look, there was definetely something different. That smile, that energy had just gone. I am still trying to figure out, what really happened to him, it is really painful and is still puzzling me, what had plagueing him so much for the last two years of his life. He wasnt the person anymore, that he had used to be and I cant imagine, it had only been pain issues that changed him so profoundly and not for the good. Something major inside of him was really kinda dying. There was something inside of him, that had died, way before he left the physical world this year. Would be nice to hear your opinions, as I keep on thinking about this alot.

Exactly! This is the vibe I get too from the last 1-2 years. And I can't shake it either.

I noticed when he appeared on Arsenio Hall in 2014 something was wrong, he came out looking as if it was his last, then in person at the Australian shows it was the same, i'll never forget his face as he walked up to the crowd.

StephanieThePisces said:

angel22 said:

Yes, something in Prince noticeably changed for the last two years or so. His eyes were different, kinda cold as if something inside of him had died, this unexplainable, frozen look, there was definetely something different. That smile, that energy had just gone. I am still trying to figure out, what really happened to him, it is really painful and is still puzzling me, what had plagueing him so much for the last two years of his life. He wasnt the person anymore, that he had used to be and I cant imagine, it had only been pain issues that changed him so profoundly and not for the good. Something major inside of him was really kinda dying. There was something inside of him, that had died, way before he left the physical world this year. Would be nice to hear your opinions, as I keep on thinking about this alot.

I agree completely with the points you made but I have to comment on the bolded part of your comment. As someone with chronic illnesses and chronic pain for the past 20 years, I can tell you that the daily pain itsef, and the accompanying limitations it causes and coping with that and with the actual pain, WILL CHANGE A PERSON. If the pain goes on long enough without relief, if the doctors can't do much to help, you've tried to find ways to either permanently 'cure' the pain or at least lessen it (in Prince's case, the reported surgery on his hip/s and probably he tried other methods of pain control as well) but nothing has been successful - your soul starts to wither, believe me. It's very difficult to remain the same person, especially I'd imagine if you are a person like Prince who was used to being extremely active and having a full, busy life. Pain changes your personality, it changes your outlook on the world and alters your hopes and goals (which can affect your attitude/belief system/relationships/etc) and it changes your appearance if it goes on long enough and affects your sleep. It truly drains you.

-

I also though wouldn't disbelieve that there were issues beyond his pain that contributed to the visible changes in Prince in these last couple years. Maybe those other issues were directly associated with teh pain and the needed pain control drugs he used, or maybe they were unrelated (although everything in your life starts getting related to a person's chronic pain if the pain is continuous and bad enough...).

-

I wish so much he could've found the pain relief he needed. I hate how my chronic pain has stolen so much of my life and I cry for Prince knowing he experienced the hell of chronic pain and on top of that his was a life far more active and full than mine ever was and having that slowly chipped away by a situation he couldnt control...I just feel for him so much. I hope he's in a perfect place now, pain free and happy, with sparkling eyes and a huge smile again.

-

Good points. Chronic pain also affects your sleep habits. I went about 6-8 weeks without getting a full night's sleep. I could go 2-3 hours at a time and then I'd roll over and wake up. It was miserable and affected my mood and appearance drastically.

Wow, you folks will literally believe anything.

TurnItUp said:

Letsgocrazy1 said:

So very sad end. When the plane did the emergency landing, his friends should have done an intervention and made him stay in the hospital. He may have been here today. His loyal fans ignore all the tabloid gossip. Maybe he didn't want to dissapoint fans. But we are not dissapointed, we wanted him to get better.

NOBODY CAN MAKE HIM DO ANYTHING! He had to want to do it himself! We all wanted him to get better, he had to want to get better too. Plus I'm still not going with hip pain being the only pain he was dealing with.

I think he was terminally ill. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and the pain can be debilitating. I take Vicoprofen as needed for the past 10 years. This is not an addiction or a dependency, it is needed to literally function. If P was taking it every day, it would be the norm, HOWEVER without it he would have not been able to function.

My brother was an addict, he quit when he hit rock bottom. No one could help him. NO ONE. He has been clean and sober for 14 years. He never looked like P did in the end. Which makes me believe he did have an underlying issue, not just opiates. Perhaps he took his own life? Perhaps it was accidental, we will probably never know.

I would hope that his family releases the truth if he was gravely ill. No one is demeaning him. Addiction is an illness. Period. No one is above it.

I think his pain ran deeper than we imagine. Mentally and physically. He was greatly flawed and hurt a lot of people. That pain catches up with you later in life. Sometimes it is harder to bear than physical pain.

I wish him peace.

angel22 said:

mimi1956 said:

To me he looked haunted.

Yes, something in Prince noticeably changed for the last two years or so. His eyes were different, kinda cold as if something inside of him had died, this unexplainable, frozen look, there was definetely something different. That smile, that energy had just gone. I am still trying to figure out, what really happened to him, it is really painful and is still puzzling me, what had plagueing him so much for the last two years of his life. He wasnt the person anymore, that he had used to be and I cant imagine, it had only been pain issues that changed him so profoundly and not for the good. Something major inside of him was really kinda dying. There was something inside of him, that had died, way before he left the physical world this year. Would be nice to hear your opinions, as I keep on thinking about this alot.

I so agree. As we get older our past haunts us. I speak from experience. I am not a young one any more.

His son? Mayte? His parents? His life? No one knows. I watched the last Arsenio Hall interview and when he mentioned his son, Prince's whole demeaner changed. He lost a lot when he let Mayte go and his children had since passed.

The article bases itself on the fact that Prince had small pupils hence he was addicted to opoiods. I don't discard him having become addicted to those for all the reasons that have been widely discussed on this forum, but please, the small pupils in the pictures prove nothing. There's a lot of lighting artefacts involved when taking a studio/professional photo os someone, of course your pupils are going to shrink!

ufoclub said:

Wow, people are really "in the dark" about the natrual behavior of the human eye (this in regards to the completely iditoic labeling of the "pinned pupils" in the article). If you look into photography lights or stage lights, your pupils contract.

I once had a black-and-white photo taken, for which the photographer used a vintage positive-image camera. That thing required a crapload of light to get the short we wanted - so much that the photographer only pulled five images and I closed my eyes between shots so my retinas wouldn't burn up. (I still saw spots for several hours, but it could have been far worse.)

My pupils are almost non-existent in the photo - so I guess that makes me a drug addict.

RachB65 said:

beautifulnight71 said:

My impression from many of the posts on this thread is that there's some judgement about people with addiction issues. Addiction is not a character flaw. It does not mean someone is bad person. Addiction is a public health issue. I don't know when Prince started using opiates, how he was using them, or for how long. We will probably never know. If he was an addict, does that take away from all the amazing music and performances he gave to the world? Not at all, not a bit, and definetly not to me. Also, his childhood trauma probably connects to the substance use later on in his life. It's so incredibly sad to me. That he struggled, probably for for many years and did not get the help and support he needed.

sonshine said:

I felt these comments a reader left on the article page are worth repeating here: "I was stunned by Matesa's assertion that she could find evidence of 'pinned pupils' in photographs going back many years. I assumed that, if this were true, others would also have noticed it as well. But after a little bit of research, hers is the only such claim that I can find. So I checked around on what it means to have this look, and started looking at photographs myself. For one thing, Prince's very dark brown eyes often make it difficult to discern the size and shape of his pupils. For another, most readily accessible photos have been taken in artificial lighting conditions which would have had an impact on his pupil size. I couldn't really find any photos that meet the criteria of natural light and eye close-ups where the size and shape of his pupils could be determined. In other words, I don't believe it's possible to reach that conclusion just from the photographic evidence. Some firsthand observation would really be necessary, and I cannot find reports from anyone who knew Prince and has come forward with such a claim. Of course, that doesn't meant someone won't, but I would have thought it would have been on the record by now. (There are claims from alleged "dealers" that his addiction was something more than anyone around him knew, but the credibility of these is yet to be established.) This may sound like denial from a fan, but I looked because I really want to know. If there is such evidence, then it should become part of the inquiry, and part of how the fans understand the artist. It would actually explain a few things about his work ethic. It is relevant information. But I think Matesa's claim can't really be supported in the way she describes, and must be set aside until such evidence can be found. (Her central premise, on the other hand, that he died as a result of isolation, is very much worth considering.)"

I often wonder how it was living in that huge place all alone. That in itself could be such a lonely feeling when it's empty and he was all alone in there. I can't even imagine being in the place at night, all alone.

tmo1965 said:

mimi1956 said:

The shorter hair after 2004 I think, before 2012. Couldn't the light from the flashes when these pictures were taken also have caused that effect. Your pupils adjust to the light. Just a thought.

Someone responding to the article where this author was interviewed, commented that when taking photos in bright lights, that the pupils naturally constrict.

Also, just go out in sunlight and look at somebody's, even your cat or dog and see how they constrict. It's just not proof enough for me to brand him that way, it's not fair to him.

[Edited 6/13/16 10:49am]

setyrmindphree said:

Yes, go to your bathroom mirror. Stand close, open your eyes wide so that you can see your pupil clearly. Then turn the lights on and off. Look at your pupil. There you go, you have just proven that you are a drug addict of 30 years.

Love you

angel22 said:

mimi1956 said:

To me he looked haunted.

Yes, something in Prince noticeably changed for the last two years or so. His eyes were different, kinda cold as if something inside of him had died, this unexplainable, frozen look, there was definetely something different. That smile, that energy had just gone. I am still trying to figure out, what really happened to him, it is really painful and is still puzzling me, what had plagueing him so much for the last two years of his life. He wasnt the person anymore, that he had used to be and I cant imagine, it had only been pain issues that changed him so profoundly and not for the good. Something major inside of him was really kinda dying. There was something inside of him, that had died, way before he left the physical world this year. Would be nice to hear your opinions, as I keep on thinking about this alot.

My husband keeps trying to tell me he looked tired and maybe with all the pain he just wanted to go, that he did what he ahd to do and just wanted to rest. That he had given up.

[Edited 6/13/16 10:51am]

herb4 said:

StephanieThePisces said:

I agree completely with the points you made but I have to comment on the bolded part of your comment. As someone with chronic illnesses and chronic pain for the past 20 years, I can tell you that the daily pain itsef, and the accompanying limitations it causes and coping with that and with the actual pain, WILL CHANGE A PERSON. If the pain goes on long enough without relief, if the doctors can't do much to help, you've tried to find ways to either permanently 'cure' the pain or at least lessen it (in Prince's case, the reported surgery on his hip/s and probably he tried other methods of pain control as well) but nothing has been successful - your soul starts to wither, believe me. It's very difficult to remain the same person, especially I'd imagine if you are a person like Prince who was used to being extremely active and having a full, busy life. Pain changes your personality, it changes your outlook on the world and alters your hopes and goals (which can affect your attitude/belief system/relationships/etc) and it changes your appearance if it goes on long enough and affects your sleep. It truly drains you.

-

I also though wouldn't disbelieve that there were issues beyond his pain that contributed to the visible changes in Prince in these last couple years. Maybe those other issues were directly associated with teh pain and the needed pain control drugs he used, or maybe they were unrelated (although everything in your life starts getting related to a person's chronic pain if the pain is continuous and bad enough...).

-

I wish so much he could've found the pain relief he needed. I hate how my chronic pain has stolen so much of my life and I cry for Prince knowing he experienced the hell of chronic pain and on top of that his was a life far more active and full than mine ever was and having that slowly chipped away by a situation he couldnt control...I just feel for him so much. I hope he's in a perfect place now, pain free and happy, with sparkling eyes and a huge smile again.

-

Good points. Chronic pain also affects your sleep habits. I went about 6-8 weeks without getting a full night's sleep. I could go 2-3 hours at a time and then I'd roll over and wake up. It was miserable and affected my mood and appearance drastically.

His sleep thing though was for most of his life, if you go and read his Rolling Stones and other interviews, even back in the 80's he never slept, couldn't stop creating.

Bunsterdk said:

Agree, it's interesting. And extremely sad. I have noticed it in his eyes too. Can anyone date the three pictures in the article?

The first was taken (guessing) in the last year. The second is from 2004. The third is from around 2007.

Now that I've actually looked at the blog, the whole "pinned pupils" thing is just stupid. The first photograph is taken in very, very strong light. Do you see any pores in his skin (especially in the first image)? No, you do not - and not just because of Photoshop. That is a combination of heavy light-diffusing make-up and crazy strong light - the kind of light that would constrict one's pupils to pin pricks. I know - I've been photographed under that kind of light. As an actor, I work under that kind of light. (It's why, when actors are plunged into darkness at the end of the act - or when they come offstage - they either need to wait a minute before they get up and start moving, or need friggin' glowtape all over so they don't trip over shit.)

Genesia said:

just a note about sleeping, that maya girl (AOA cover) said he usually went to bed at 5/6 am and slept til noon. so WAS actually trying to sleep. was it restful sleep,who knows,but somethin like Fentynl would put you down until you developed a tolerance. sora of the way jackson took propofol as an extreme measure to get rest.

+++ so damn sad. my heart aches,so avoidable....

Bunsterdk said:

Genesia said:

The first was taken (guessing) in the last year. The second is from 2004. The third is from around 2007.

Now that I've actually looked at the blog, the whole "pinned pupils" thing is just stupid. The first photograph is taken in very, very strong light. Do you see any pores in his skin (especially in the first image)? No, you do not - and not just because of Photoshop. That is a combination of heavy light-diffusing make-up and crazy strong light - the kind of light that would constrict one's pupils to pin pricks. I know - I've been photographed under that kind of light. As an actor, I work under that kind of light. (It's why, when actors are plunged into darkness at the end of the act - or when they come offstage - they either need to wait a minute before they get up and start moving, or need friggin' glowtape all over so they don't trip over shit.)

Thanks for dating the pictures. I should clarify that it's not the pinned pupils thing I had noticed. I described that further along in the thread. I agree that it is ridiculous when you think about it.

Also to clarify: I wasn't really addressing the "pupils" thing to you - it was just a further observation.

CROWNS1 said:

sonshine said:

I felt these comments a reader left on the article page are worth repeating here: "I was stunned by Matesa's assertion that she could find evidence of 'pinned pupils' in photographs going back many years. I assumed that, if this were true, others would also have noticed it as well. But after a little bit of research, hers is the only such claim that I can find. So I checked around on what it means to have this look, and started looking at photographs myself. For one thing, Prince's very dark brown eyes often make it difficult to discern the size and shape of his pupils. For another, most readily accessible photos have been taken in artificial lighting conditions which would have had an impact on his pupil size. I couldn't really find any photos that meet the criteria of natural light and eye close-ups where the size and shape of his pupils could be determined. In other words, I don't believe it's possible to reach that conclusion just from the photographic evidence. Some firsthand observation would really be necessary, and I cannot find reports from anyone who knew Prince and has come forward with such a claim. Of course, that doesn't meant someone won't, but I would have thought it would have been on the record by now. (There are claims from alleged "dealers" that his addiction was something more than anyone around him knew, but the credibility of these is yet to be established.) This may sound like denial from a fan, but I looked because I really want to know. If there is such evidence, then it should become part of the inquiry, and part of how the fans understand the artist. It would actually explain a few things about his work ethic. It is relevant information. But I think Matesa's claim can't really be supported in the way she describes, and must be set aside until such evidence can be found. (Her central premise, on the other hand, that he died as a result of isolation, is very much worth considering.)"

I often wonder how it was living in that huge place all alone. That in itself could be such a lonely feeling when it's empty and he was all alone in there. I can't even imagine being in the place at night, all alone.

I have had these same thoughts. It's heartbreaking.

FlyOnTheWall said:

wavesofbliss said: