Oxycodone is the generic name for Oxycontin, while hydrocodone is the generic name for Vicodin. Both drugs are classified as narcotics and structured to be released inside the body in a time-release fashion.

As for Heath Ledger, it looks like he probably overdosed on prescription drugs and probably didn't know that the combination of drugs he was taking would kill him. Considering that he was taking extremely potent pain medication plus anxiety drugs plus sleeping medication, the combination most likely shut down his nervous system and caused his lungs and heart to fail. BTW, one of the reasons many senior citizens die from certain chronic conditions is because the combination of drugs they are prescribed have severe side effects which weaken the heart muscles, respiratory system, or digestive/urinary system, so when they suffer the flu which in itself would be treatable, it becomes life-threatening pneumonia for them thanks tho the adverse drug reactions. My stepmother was nearly paraplegic thanks to the eleven different medications she was taking for pain, insomnia, depression, and stomach problems. They eventually had to detox her to pinpoint what was really ailing her.

So I guess all of this talk of him being a heroin addict was false.

Graycap23 said:

But the thing is no one checks, doctors are nothing but pushers, and im really tired that they get "passes" on shit like this. Nothing is regulated. The thing is he was taking what was prescribed to him, he didnt OD by taking 50 pills, he took amounts that were told to take, same as with Anna Nicole Smith, not an OD, since she didnt have more than anything but the amount prescribed to her. The thing is there is no checks and balances, everyone thinks everything can be solved with a pill. I got a headache, take some pills, my elbow hurts, take some pills, my stomach hurts, take some pills, instead figuring out what the hell causes those things people would rather get doped up and push the pain back inside so it will cause more damage later on. The thing is that if heath ledger was a 5 year old kid and he was playing with a cap gun, and the cap shot out and blinded him, that Toy would be banned the next week, why doesnt that happen here? because the drug companies are in bed with everyone in washington. Id like to see which nominee is going to do something about that, my guess, status quo.

It doesn't say anywhere specifically that he had 7 different drugs in his body.

I think, since he was suffering from insomnia, that he took some sleeping pills, woke up and took some more out of frustration and that's tipped him over the edge.

purplesweat said:

done that before, it's a fine line and very easy to accidentally cross especially when you already have other stuff in your system.

With the amount of drugs found in him I would say it's more than just an accidental overdose.

I think his family requested accidental overdose for the cause of death, not wanting to have it called suicide.

Some of you people...

The man didn't kill himself. I do not believe he was addicted either. Not everyone is informed about the dangerous prescription interactions. If one pill is for one thing and another is for a different thing, etc. it can be easy to assume that it is safe to take them together. My grandmother had a sack full of meds before she died and most likely had a reaction after taking a new med (never had an autopsy).

Everyone should get these books:
Dangerous Drug Interactions
http://www.amazon.com/Dan...0312968264

and

The People's Guide To Deadly Drug Interactions: How To Protect Yourself From Life-Threatening Drug-Drug, Drug-Food, Drug-Vitamin Combinations
http://www.amazon.com/Peo...0312155107

Janfriend said:

i dont think it was a suicide but arent all the drugs he took forms of painkillers and sleep aids?

sosgemini said:

2 sleeping aids (ambien didn't work for him), 2 anti-anxiety, and 2 painkillers. I have a friend on meds for insomnia, migraines and digestive problems. They've changed meds on him over the years. He just listens to what the doctor tells him to do

noimageatall said:

okay, it is really dangerous for people to not be informed of interactions, but that can also happen from people not telling their doctors what drugs they're on in the first place, or the doctors not knowing someone's complete medical history (not saying at all that this was the case with your brother, carrielee).

i don't think it's fair at all to assume that all doctors are motivated by money.

luv4u said:

Didn't you read what anyone else said?

An accidental overdose when already suffering from insomnia is a very likely thing.

He was suffering from anxiety, insomnia and something else.

If he awoke because of insomnia then took some more pills while still groggy, that could've easily tipped him over the edge.

He REALLY does not..did not...seem like the type to commit suicide. His life wasn't at it's best but he still had his baby girl to live for. And I really don't think he'd do himself in and leave her behind deliberately. Or at least without a note or something.

purplesweat said:

I still stand by what I said. Just sounds suspicious.

luv4u said:

Have you ever been sleep-deprived for weeks, months at a time? It's nothing like staying up all night. My friend cries in the middle of the night because he can't sleep. He is miserable throughout the day because he didn't sleep and the shit repeats itself. It's depressing and can drive one crazy or desperate for relief. My other friend has anxiety and feels like he is having a heart attack for no apparent reason, it just happens out of nowhere. He's on pills for that

purplesweat said:

He even said he wanted to see her grow up

http://ap.google.com/arti...gD8UL6C3O0


There wasn't alot of drugs in his system, just a bad combination that triggered his brain stem to shut down. Suicide is unlikely, since there wasn't any indication of him being depressed or upset.

It's not like he swallowed 30 some pills in a judy garland manner. He just did the wrong combo, most likely not knowing it.

Its sad that a person is dead, to throw unfounded conclusions upon the corpse is shameful.

Janfriend said:

Exactly. I have my own form of insomnia, where my body just seems to keep itself awake and won't let me fall asleep. It drives me INSANE sometimes and I know if I had pills by my bedside and I woke up AGAIN, I'd probably take some more if I were tired and out of it enough.

Janfriend said:

He adored her. Absolutely adored her. To me, there's no way that suicide would even enter his mind with her around.

purplesweat said:[quote]

Janfriend said:

I think some people are insinuating he was addicted to them and purposely abusing them, like Rush Limbaugh. I don't believe that either

Janfriend said:

There's no evidence of that whatsoever. He's even SAID in interviews the reasons why he'd be taking them all.

People just take one look at him and his scruffy appearance and think "DRUG ADDICT!" without ever READING or really listening to him.

I don't doubt he was going through a hard time but suicide? Nope.

I don't understand why doctors prescribe certain medicines with another that will cause an 'accidental' overdose. This happens way too often that I hate that term.

God rest his soul.

i'll definitely be watching myself after what happened to him as i do have a tendency to go overboard with pills.

duhhhhh, it was the original theory.

I don't c the appeal myself, of this whole thing.

PricelessHo said:

Medication as innocent or common as anti-depressants (actually they're mind altering drugs) can easily kill someone if they happen to take extra dosages. I know this because of this happening to someone close to me, it never occurred that this medication could cause a death. This person took the daily dosage in the morning, then went to sleep for several hours, and woke up at night of the same day and took a second deadly dosage.

.
[Edited 2/7/08 2:24am]

2Jay said:

Appeal? What?

purplesweat said:

Following the bag of shit that is... TABLOID FODDER MATERIAL!!!!

luv4u said:

Nobody commits suicide by taking low doses of medication. It's very silly to think that this case was suicide.

Excessive prescription drugs have taken the lives of Anna Nicole Smith and now Heath Ledger. People really need to consult a physician or at least a pharmacist before they start mixing their medications. It just takes a phone call to a pharmacy to see if mixing this drug with this drug is safe. You just can't mix drugs just because one or more doctors gave them to you. There needs to be a level of common sense initiated at some point by the patient, because you don't take two prescription strength sleep aids and then an over-the-counter sleep aid all in one sitting...unless you don't ever want to wake up again. Many people probably want to blame the doctors when people die from prescription overdoses, but people need to understand that patients lie to their physicians so that they can get more of a drug; and doctors don't know what their patients put in their mouths once they leave the doctor's office. It happens everyday.


Not to mention that when doctors write scripts, they often okay one or more refills of that prescription. He could have been refilling meds from a previous illness or visit because most refills are good for up to a year after initially written. I have Ibuprofen 800mg (a mild pain reliever) that I got back in November of 2006 and up until November of 2007, I could have gotten 2 refills in that period of time by just going back to the pharmacy where I got the original prescription filled and giving them my name. They would have looked me up in their computer and just refilled it. Ibuprofen 800mg may not be as strong a pain reliever as Oxycontin, but they can still kill you if you take too many of them or take them in combination with another drug that may cause an adverse reaction,

I work in veterinary medicine and I've had several occasions where owners come in asking for more Valium or Hydrocodone for their pets when they still should have some left. It's very disturbing. I'll never forget the old dog that came into our emergency clinic one night. Due to the pet's excessive pain, his regular vet prescribed him Methadone. He left and we flushed them down the toilet. That animal was definitely on cloud nine and all the vets in the E-Clinic that night couldn't figure out why he was given such a strong pain killer...neither could I for that matter. Until Anna Nicole Smith, I always believed that Methadone was just used in detox facilities to ween heroine addicts. Most of the drugs that Heath OD'd on are drugs that should never be mixed because half of them cause drowsiness. If you mix that many sleep aids together at one time, I'd be amazed if you did actually wake up.

oh my stars people, nobody knows what happened...if some want to hypothesis that it was suicide so what?

sosgemini said:

very true...

but if this had happened to Joe Schmoe two floors down, suicide may not even be a thought...
motherfuckers are over medicated...period...
regardless of the reasons or afflicttions, doctors are giving out prescriptions like they're M&M's, without much explanation beyond "This will make you feel better."....I live in a really small town, three people here died last year from "accidental oversoses"...2 were senior citizens, 1 was a guy in his early 30's...all had multiple perscription drugs in their systems...it happens...real people die from this shit too and there's not always an underlying issue of suicide, despite what their mental state may be...
I'm not here to praise or mourn Heath Ledger, but this atleast brings light to a larger problem...people are not informed of the dangers of perscription medicine...chalk it up to ignorrance or a lack of common sense if you want, but folks don't deserve to die because they lack either of those...if they did, the wold would damn near be an empty place....
[Edited 2/7/08 7:41am]

People are entitled to have their pain treated. There are specialists who diagnose and prescribe meds for those with chronic pain. http://www.webmd.com/pain...treat-pain
If one drug doesn't work, another prescription is written. In the olden days, patients were undertreated, for fear of addiction, and suffered as a result. It's even considered malpractice, in some states,to inadequately address pain issues.
Patients themselves need to be responsible. Every time a prescription is filled, the pharmacist goes over the medication, and there's a printed form about the drug given to the patient. It states what the medication does,side effects, warnings, etc.
Some people see different doctors, and don't communicate the other medications they have in the medicine cabinet at home.
It would be great, if the responsibility for Heath's death, could be placed on one thing or person.
Unfortunately, all one can do is speculate.

roodboi said:

see, i just don't see it...do i think ledger killed himself? nope...do i think he was a drug addict? yup. oxycodone is not something to f*ck with lightly...that's used when folks are in some major major f*cked up pain...the fact that he was taking it leads me to think this wasnt just overmedication.

IMHO the dude was getting high off that sh*t, needed some help sleeping and acquired numerous sleeping pills and od'd. are doctors at fault? sure...but so was ledger....