PeteSilas said:

cloveringold85 said:

.

Yes, that is what I believe. He was barely eating or sleeping, from what was told. If his diet only consisted of 5-Hour Energy drinks and pain pills, it would make sense why he was looking gaunt.

was he really looking that skinny? to me, the stated 112 pounds wasn't far off from what he always weighed, that's only a few pounds however, autopsy results have been known to be way off. to me it's his eyes that don't look right, prince was always clear eyed and he just didn't look right, his makeup didn't look right either but he always was small, some have said things like you could see his backbones through his clothes but compared to how whitney houston looked at the mj thing, he looked ok.

.

I thought Prince was looking unusually thin in his last couple of years. He wasn't as buff as he was in his younger years (not as filled-out). He would have looked better with another 10-lbs or so.

TrcikyChristopher said:

cloveringold85 said:

PeteSilas said:

was he really looking that skinny? to me, the stated 112 pounds wasn't far off from what he always weighed, that's only a few pounds however, autopsy results have been known to be way off. to me it's his eyes that don't look right, prince was always clear eyed and he just didn't look right, his makeup didn't look right either but he always was small, some have said things like you could see his backbones through his clothes but compared to how whitney houston looked at the mj thing, he looked ok.

.

I thought Prince was looking unusually thin in his last couple of years. He wasn't as buff as he was in his younger years (not as filled-out). He would have looked better with another 10-lbs or so.

that's just age though, or at least what i thought. however, even when he was younger and even in his prime, he probably didn't weigh much more than 120, not that much of a difference. Now, Bruce Lee lost a lot of weight to where ever muscle showed but he didn't look particularly healthy in some of his pics, in the face and eyes. Muhammad Ali was scarcely recognizable due in only part to his weight in his last days.

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

TrcikyChristopher said:

That is not what I said. At all. What I said is that he did die of an overdose.

That does NOT negate anything else.

I did not say that he said to himself "I'm done". Far from it.

As I stated years ago, he was allegedly prohibited due to his allegedly wavering beliefs from specific ways to help himself. Those beliefs also allegedly prohibited him from getting a full hip replacement years earlier. Compound that with supposed "faith healing", and there's a perfect storm of trouble.
As such, he allegedly used what seemed to be his usual methods of pain regulation which ended up killing him.

The 2 alleged issues were not necessarily correlated.

If you have to say "allegedly" after every other word, why did you even bring it up? ...Somebody who knows someone who heard from this other guy that knows somebody that has been to Minnesota allegedly said...fill in the blank...

funkstterr and tricky are ok with me, they don't have to say any more just to satiate our curiosity, if there is that much more, people being people, it'll come out.

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

TrcikyChristopher said:

That is not what I said. At all. What I said is that he did die of an overdose.

That does NOT negate anything else.

I did not say that he said to himself "I'm done". Far from it.

As I stated years ago, he was allegedly prohibited due to his allegedly wavering beliefs from specific ways to help himself. Those beliefs also allegedly prohibited him from getting a full hip replacement years earlier. Compound that with supposed "faith healing", and there's a perfect storm of trouble.
As such, he allegedly used what seemed to be his usual methods of pain regulation which ended up killing him.

The 2 alleged issues were not necessarily correlated.

If you have to say "allegedly" after every other word, why did you even bring it up? ...Somebody who knows someone who heard from this other guy that knows somebody that has been to Minnesota allegedly said...fill in the blank...

Hey LoveSymbol: TC is not providing information, we're just being invited into a circle jerk. NEWS FLASH: Living and breathing can lead to DEATH as in no one here gets out alive. Maybe that's what happened to Prince...one of my 'sources' just told me.

Prince would have turned 60 next month. Saw this on a magazine rack the other day.

.

.

.

.

.

[Edited 5/18/18 17:33pm]

[Edited 5/18/18 17:34pm]

PeteSilas said:

cloveringold85 said:

.

I thought Prince was looking unusually thin in his last couple of years. He wasn't as buff as he was in his younger years (not as filled-out). He would have looked better with another 10-lbs or so.

that's just age though, or at least what i thought. however, even when he was younger and even in his prime, he probably didn't weigh much more than 120, not that much of a difference. Now, Bruce Lee lost a lot of weight to where ever muscle showed but he didn't look particularly healthy in some of his pics, in the face and eyes. Muhammad Ali was scarcely recognizable due in only part to his weight in his last days.

.

Yes, that is true; we lose muscle-mass/tone as we age.

.....And, there was a tragic plane crash in Cuba today and a school shooting in Texas. We should all count our blessings.

TrcikyChristopher said:

LovePaisley said:

TrcikyChristopher said:

That is not what I said. At all. What I said is that he did die of an overdose.

That does NOT negate anything else.

I did not say that he said to himself "I'm done". Far from it.

As I stated years ago, he was allegedly prohibited due to his allegedly wavering beliefs from specific ways to help himself. Those beliefs also allegedly prohibited him from getting a full hip replacement years earlier. Compound that with supposed "faith healing", and there's a perfect storm of trouble.
As such, he allegedly used what seemed to be his usual methods of pain regulation which ended up killing him.

The 2 alleged issues were not necessarily correlated.

OK, so grossly reading between the enormously blurry lines, you said there's a clue in the testing. Which is said to have only shown mild anemia. In addition, what would be prohibited as a JW: blood products, i.e. bone marrow transplant. The family (I believe Chazz) early on said Prince was feeling ill from immunotherapy (and then never commented on it again, weird). Then there's this: "The cancers most closely associated with anemia are: Cancers that involve the bone marrow. Blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma interfere with or destroy the marrow's ability to make healthy blood cells. Other cancers that spread to the bone marrow can also cause anemia." And there all of it is: pain, fatigue, weight loss, gastro issues. Even remission. *Listen to the lyrics of Black Muse* And now I'm gonna go crawl back under my rock, because I have officially lost my damn mind.

so the REAL mystery remains why he family can't just say,'Prince was bravely struggling with______'

WHY the secrecy??? It makes no sense. Not for the fans and certainly not for his legacy.

Bodhitheblackdog said:

ding ding makes no sense.

-

What else makes no sense: If Prince knew that he had some serious condition, why when he saw Dr S those couple times in April did he never mention it -- even though he submitted to the Dr's exam and blood test in an apparent attempt to learn more about his physical woes? (Yes I've posed this question a few times, but it's one of many pieces here that just doesn't remotely fit).

-

i dont see how a blood-related disorder like leukemia is a possibility because i cannot believe prince would have allowed a blood draw if he had something like that and was desperate to hide it.

-

I will say this: If tricky did indeed have a source, perhaps it was the same person who provided info to People Magazine in this April 22, 2016 article (or maybe tricky just read this article?):

http://people.com/celebri...th-source/

"Prince may have been struggling with an “ongoing illness,” which weakened his immune system...“The people close to him were very concerned for his health and indicated he’d been undergoing treatments which made his immune system weak,” the source tells PEOPLE."

-

HOWEVER: People published lots of articles about Prince after this, and I don't think it ever mentioned this "illness" again. So it might be -- especially after the actual cause of death was revealed -- that the source proved unreliable, which would be understandable, as nothing in the investigation files indicated he was receiving "treatments" for anything (other than those stuff he was prescribed in April for alleged pain and opioid withdrawal).

Bodhitheblackdog said:

LovePaisley said:

TrcikyChristopher said: OK, so grossly reading between the enormously blurry lines, you said there's a clue in the testing. Which is said to have only shown mild anemia. In addition, what would be prohibited as a JW: blood products, i.e. bone marrow transplant. The family (I believe Chazz) early on said Prince was feeling ill from immunotherapy (and then never commented on it again, weird). Then there's this: "The cancers most closely associated with anemia are: Cancers that involve the bone marrow. Blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma interfere with or destroy the marrow's ability to make healthy blood cells. Other cancers that spread to the bone marrow can also cause anemia." And there all of it is: pain, fatigue, weight loss, gastro issues. Even remission. *Listen to the lyrics of Black Muse* And now I'm gonna go crawl back under my rock, because I have officially lost my damn mind.

so the REAL mystery remains why he family can't just say,'Prince was bravely struggling with______'

WHY the secrecy??? It makes no sense. Not for the fans and certainly not for his legacy.

[Edited 5/18/18 18:38pm]

cloveringold85 said:

Prince would have turned 60 next month. Saw this on a magazine rack the other day.

.

.

.

.

.

[Edited 5/18/18 17:33pm]

[Edited 5/18/18 17:34pm]

Prince don't look a day over 40

Does a doctor have to reveal illnesses that have nothing with the issue at hand--which is the procurement of drugs? Anyhow, this is a long shot, but I just looked up AIDS and lukemia. And it said HIV and lukemia, not AIDS. COuld it be that that HIV hadn't developed into AIDS but instead he got lukemia. I doubt it, but who knows?

PeteSilas said:

peggyon said:

It is my understanding an HIV/Aids + person can have safe sex if they use a condom and are taking anti-retrovirals which render their viral load low.

I am not certain the lab results were given to us in a truthful manner. It would be interesting to acutually see the lab paperwork.

There has been a fair amount of secrecy within the family and it is possible they had a discussion with the police and the release of the "labs" may be a way to quell "the masses" and protect the legacy.

Personally, I feel he had untreated AIDS. He may have had treatment in the past though.

Any other condition/disease does not have that stigma and would have been shared long ago IMHO

If he did have AIDS, he likely experienced shame, especially within his JW belief-structure. He was not likely an IV drug user and it is much more difficult to be infected by women, so....This is where I feel the family is struggling with management of the legacy. They may feel this will "turn-off' segment of his fan base.

TC states it is not HIV/AIDS but is not coming up with an alternative that would explain so much secrecy.

everything you say is correct but two people allegedly close to the inner circle have said it wasn't aids, i kinda go along with that, even though the secrecy thing still boggles my mind. but.., as i have said, personally, i would rather lose a hero to aids than drugs, but that's just me. I fucking hate drugs.

purplerabbithole said:

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

Bodhitheblackdog said:

so the REAL mystery remains why he family can't just say,'Prince was bravely struggling with______'

WHY the secrecy??? It makes no sense. Not for the fans and certainly not for his legacy.

Medically the alleged scenario makes no sense either. What serious disease is a guaranteed recovery with treatment...as in he would have lived had he been treated, all those serious diseases are a crap shoot even with treatment...also it makes no sense to say that his religious beliefs allowed a partial hip replacement, but not a full hip replacement...etc.etc.etc...so giant rock of salt

Just a thought: maybe if Prince had been suffering from a serious illness, treatment may not have "cured" the disease but could've made the condition manageable so that Prince would've had a better quality of life and lived with the disease without it ultimately being terminal. There are many diseases these days that, if treated correctly, will let the patient have an almost normal life...but without any treatment, can be fatal.

.

Did TC (or someone else) say that had Prince had proper medical treatment, whatever alleged illness he had would have been "guaranteed recovery" (as in=CURED), or was it that if he'd been treated it would have prevented the tragedy that ultimately happened? To me, that's an important distinction to be clear about.

.

ETA: As an example, I have a friend who developed a very serious heart condition many years ago. Long story short, she was fortunate and had a heart transplant, does need to take medication daily, but she's lived almost 20 years now with that new heart and works a full time job and and is quite active and lives a quite full life, and looking at her you'd never know the extent of what she's been through and that she's still considered a heart patient with a 'serious' condition to be monitored and managed continually for the rest of her life. But had she not had that heart transplant, well, she wouldn't be here now and she would've deteriorated to deathly ill beforehand.

[Edited 5/18/18 18:56pm]

LilaLiebe said:

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

LilaLiebe said:

Just a thought: maybe if Prince had been suffering from a serious illness, treatment may not have "cured" the disease but could've made the condition manageable so that Prince would've had a better quality of life and lived with the disease without it ultimately being terminal. There are many diseases these days that, if treated correctly, will let the patient have an almost normal life...but without any treatment, can be fatal.

.

Did TC (or someone else) say that had Prince had proper medical treatment, whatever alleged illness he had would have been "guaranteed recovery" (as in=CURED), or was it that if he'd been treated it would have prevented the tragedy that ultimately happened? To me, that's an important distinction to be clear about.

.

ETA: As an example, I have a friend who developed a very serious heart condition many years ago. Long story short, she was fortunate and had a heart transplant, does need to take medication daily, but she's lived almost 20 years now with that new heart and works a full time job and and is quite active and lives a quite full life, and looking at her you'd never know the extent of what she's been through and that she's still considered a heart patient with a 'serious' condition to be monitored and managed continually for the rest of her life. But had she not had that heart transplant, well, she wouldn't be here now and she would've deteriorated to deathly ill beforehand.

[Edited 5/18/18 18:56pm]

Yes, lots of serious conditions can be managed. I thought the dude was implying that he would have been cured, maybe I misinterpreted that...but either way if he had any serious untreated condition it would show up in blood work...according to his blood work, his body was functioning properly...

No. Not EVERY single serious health condition and/or disease will always appear in blood work. Particularly if the blood work performed is not specific to a disease or condition the doctor might suspect. Prince's blood work done by Dr. S -- what PRECISELY was checked? I have a thyroid condition. If the doctor doesn't order the blood work that would specifically test for my (thyroid) hormone levels, all my other blood basic work...white cell count, hemoglobin, metabolic panel, etc...would show "normal range" so going by only those results, I'm perfectly healthy and all is normal! But if I'm not treated for my thyroid condition, I will get sick and feel like shit and things will get worse and worse for me healthwise. So again, no, no all serious conditions or diseases will ALWAYS show up in blood work.

[Edited 5/18/18 19:24pm]

LilaLiebe said:

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

LilaLiebe said:

No. Not EVERY single serious health condition and/or disease will always appear in blood work. Particularly if the blood work performed is not specific to a disease or condition the doctor might suspect. Prince's blood work done by Dr. S -- what PRECISELY was checked? I have a thyroid condition. If the doctor doesn't order the blood work that would specifically test for my (thyroid) hormone levels, all my other blood basic work...white cell count, hemoglobin, metabolic panel, etc...would show "normal range" so going by only those results, I'm perfectly healthy and all is normal! But if I'm not treated for my thyroid condition, I will get sick and feel like shit and things will get worse and worse for me healthwise. So again, no, no all serious conditions or diseases will ALWAYS show up in blood work.

[Edited 5/18/18 19:24pm]

I said his body was functioning, his liver was good, his kidneys were good, his cell counts were good etc. This would be very unusual if he had a very serious life threatening condition.

Not true. I reiterate: there ARE serious conditions that can exist in a person that may not show up as abnormalities in blood work, i.e. heart rhythm problems, benign yet still serious tumors (such as brain), hormonal imbalances.

RJP1205 said:

Here is what we know for certain:

Prince died of a fentanyl overdose and the coroner has ruled it an accident.

The pills came from somewhere, but there has been no definitive statement on where they came from.

No charges have been brought.

Everything else is just supposition.

I was told he was "ready", that he was preparing people, TC was told whatever he was told (but it, too, indicated an underlying illness.) Neither of these comments are provable, neither of them with sources that can be backed up.

No one gets through life completely free of illness, disease, depression, anxiety. We, each of us, deal with our own issues whether they are health, emotional, physical, spiritual. Prince would be no different, and that is a fact.

Prince did look smaller in his later years, he did appear to be wasting, but that could be due to him not eating properly, not drinking enough water, it could even be age. I work with elderly and disabled, we also have a program for HIV/AIDs and have quite a few clients with these conditions.

(Someone earlier got upset that both were mentioned together, but if someone's CD4 level drops below 500, they are diagnosed with AIDS at that point, and even if the CD4 level rises above 500 again, the diagnosis remains AIDS). If their CD4 level remains above 500, has never dropped below 500, the diagnosis remains HIV. So the two diagnosis are tied together. (Another point, if their CD4 remains above 500 and the viral load is untraceable, they are not considered to be "contagious" and can engage in sexual intercourse.) People with AIDS don't usually die from AIDS - they die from an AIDS related infection. It could be conjunctivits (pink eye) that causes their death (I had a friend with AIDS who developed pink eye and died). It could be the flu, pneumonia, and any other condition. Their immunity is suppressed so they are open to getting infections and their body is unable to fight it off. End stage AIDS is a wasting disease, if they manage to make it that long without developing an infection that brings about their death.

Cancer is also another wasting disease. As the condition progresses, they waste away. Wasiting is defined as loss of 10% of body mass within the past 60 days. When someone with this condition (cancer) begins wasiting, it is usually quick and not over a period of 2 years (which others have pointed out that Prince's appearance began to change over the course of the past two years).

He was getting the flu, which might indicate that his immune system was compromised. Or the flu like symptoms could be related to withdrawal symptoms. There are a lot of conditions that cause the immune system to become compromised, not just the two listed above. The following conditions can cause immunosuppresion:

• Ataxia-telangiectasia
• Complement deficiencies
• DiGeorge syndrome
• Hypogammaglobulinemia
• Job syndrome
• Leukocyte adhesion defects
• Bruton disease
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

Now that does not mean Prince had any of these things. PERIOD.

One of the things that everyone seems to forget, when it comes to his appearance change, to apparent weight loss, is that Prince was 57 years old. I don't know about all of you, but at 52, I'm definitely starting to look my age. I bend down and my knees don't quite want to raise me up again (this has just started happening within the past year). My back aches, I have aches and pains all over the place. My health isn't as good as it once was (though it wasn't ever the best). Working with other people my age and older, I've seen some that lose their appetites and are wasting. I've seen some who have suddenly seemed to decline healthwise, within a short period of time. I've seen some who suddenly develop all kinds of health conditions and are taking 30 + medications per day. Prince wasn't young any more. To believe that he was perfectly healthy at his age...well, I see too many people my age with all kinds of conditions to believe there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

Regardless, the only thing we know for certain, he died from a fentanyl overdose which the coroner has ruled an accident. Period.

TrcikyChristopher said:

LilaLiebe said:

LOVESYMBOLNUMBER2 said:

LilaLiebe said: Yes, lots of serious conditions can be managed. I thought the dude was implying that he would have been cured, maybe I misinterpreted that...but either way if he had any serious untreated condition it would show up in blood work...according to his blood work, his body was functioning properly...

No. Not EVERY single serious health condition and/or disease will always appear in blood work. Particularly if the blood work performed is not specific to a disease or condition the doctor might suspect. Prince's blood work done by Dr. S -- what PRECISELY was checked? I have a thyroid condition. If the doctor doesn't order the blood work that would specifically test for my (thyroid) hormone levels, all my other blood basic work...white cell count, hemoglobin, metabolic panel, etc...would show "normal range" so going by only those results, I'm perfectly healthy and all is normal! But if I'm not treated for my thyroid condition, I will get sick and feel like shit and things will get worse and worse for me healthwise. So again, no, no all serious conditions or diseases will ALWAYS show up in blood work.

[Edited 5/18/18 19:24pm]

Thank you for that. I had mentioned that earlier in the thread. It really depends upon what blood work was performed as to whether the labs would have revealed an underlying condition. Chances are the doctor ordered a CBC and a drug test. Only a few conditions would show up with the CBC. He may have ordered an ALT or AST to check for liver function. But even that wouldn't show any other condition except for what it is checking for.

I definitely agree he looked quite thin, but I wouldn't say he looked like he was "wasting." I think that's a kind of hindsight observation. If you go back to the org prior to his death, no one was using words like "wasting" at the time.

-

Prince got very thin at other times in his life (in the mid-90s, around 2010), so him being underweight wasn't unprecendented. And honestly, I think the more "natural" look his afro provided is contributing to some people's perception that he appeared "off."

-

I do think this drifting back into AIDS and cancer talk is a little unfortunate. Those rumors came out very early on but as more info has been revealed, it's because less plausible.

-

Who knows, perhaps Prince told these alleged insiders he had some disease to deflect attention from his battle against drug addiction. It's really impossible to know about this third-hand info from "insiders."

benni said:

Here is what we know for certain:

Prince died of a fentanyl overdose and the coroner has ruled it an accident.

The pills came from somewhere, but there has been no definitive statement on where they came from.

No charges have been brought.

Everything else is just supposition.

I was told he was "ready", that he was preparing people, TC was told whatever he was told (but it, too, indicated an underlying illness.) Neither of these comments are provable, neither of them with sources that can be backed up.

No one gets through life completely free of illness, disease, depression, anxiety. We, each of us, deal with our own issues whether they are health, emotional, physical, spiritual. Prince would be no different, and that is a fact.

Prince did look smaller in his later years, he did appear to be wasting, but that could be due to him not eating properly, not drinking enough water, it could even be age. I work with elderly and disabled, we also have a program for HIV/AIDs and have quite a few clients with these conditions.

(Someone earlier got upset that both were mentioned together, but if someone's CD4 level drops below 500, they are diagnosed with AIDS at that point, and even if the CD4 level rises above 500 again, the diagnosis remains AIDS). If their CD4 level remains above 500, has never dropped below 500, the diagnosis remains HIV. So the two diagnosis are tied together. (Another point, if their CD4 remains above 500 and the viral load is untraceable, they are not considered to be "contagious" and can engage in sexual intercourse.) People with AIDS don't usually die from AIDS - they die from an AIDS related infection. It could be conjunctivits (pink eye) that causes their death (I had a friend with AIDS who developed pink eye and died). It could be the flu, pneumonia, and any other condition. Their immunity is suppressed so they are open to getting infections and their body is unable to fight it off. End stage AIDS is a wasting disease, if they manage to make it that long without developing an infection that brings about their death.

Cancer is also another wasting disease. As the condition progresses, they waste away. Wasiting is defined as loss of 10% of body mass within the past 60 days. When someone with this condition (cancer) begins wasiting, it is usually quick and not over a period of 2 years (which others have pointed out that Prince's appearance began to change over the course of the past two years).

He was getting the flu, which might indicate that his immune system was compromised. Or the flu like symptoms could be related to withdrawal symptoms. There are a lot of conditions that cause the immune system to become compromised, not just the two listed above. The following conditions can cause immunosuppresion:

• Ataxia-telangiectasia
• Complement deficiencies
• DiGeorge syndrome
• Hypogammaglobulinemia
• Job syndrome
• Leukocyte adhesion defects
• Bruton disease
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

Now that does not mean Prince had any of these things. PERIOD.

One of the things that everyone seems to forget, when it comes to his appearance change, to apparent weight loss, is that Prince was 57 years old. I don't know about all of you, but at 52, I'm definitely starting to look my age. I bend down and my knees don't quite want to raise me up again (this has just started happening within the past year). My back aches, I have aches and pains all over the place. My health isn't as good as it once was (though it wasn't ever the best). Working with other people my age and older, I've seen some that lose their appetites and are wasting. I've seen some who have suddenly seemed to decline healthwise, within a short period of time. I've seen some who suddenly develop all kinds of health conditions and are taking 30 + medications per day. Prince wasn't young any more. To believe that he was perfectly healthy at his age...well, I see too many people my age with all kinds of conditions to believe there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

Regardless, the only thing we know for certain, he died from a fentanyl overdose which the coroner has ruled an accident. Period.

disch said:

I definitely agree he looked quite thin, but I wouldn't say he looked like he was "wasting." I think that's a kind of hindsight observation. If you go back to the org prior to his death, no one was using words like "wasting" at the time.

-

Prince got very thin at other times in his life (in the mid-90s, around 2010), so him being underweight wasn't unprecendented. And honestly, I think the more "natural" look his afro provided is contributing to some people's perception that he appeared "off."

-

I do think this drifting back into AIDS and cancer talk is a little unfortunate. Those rumors came out very early on but as more info has been revealed, it's because less plausible.

-

Who knows, perhaps Prince told these alleged insiders he had some disease to deflect attention from his battle against drug addiction. It's really impossible to know about this third-hand info from "insiders."

benni said:

Here is what we know for certain:

Prince died of a fentanyl overdose and the coroner has ruled it an accident.

The pills came from somewhere, but there has been no definitive statement on where they came from.

No charges have been brought.

Everything else is just supposition.

I was told he was "ready", that he was preparing people, TC was told whatever he was told (but it, too, indicated an underlying illness.) Neither of these comments are provable, neither of them with sources that can be backed up.

No one gets through life completely free of illness, disease, depression, anxiety. We, each of us, deal with our own issues whether they are health, emotional, physical, spiritual. Prince would be no different, and that is a fact.

Prince did look smaller in his later years, he did appear to be wasting, but that could be due to him not eating properly, not drinking enough water, it could even be age. I work with elderly and disabled, we also have a program for HIV/AIDs and have quite a few clients with these conditions.

(Someone earlier got upset that both were mentioned together, but if someone's CD4 level drops below 500, they are diagnosed with AIDS at that point, and even if the CD4 level rises above 500 again, the diagnosis remains AIDS). If their CD4 level remains above 500, has never dropped below 500, the diagnosis remains HIV. So the two diagnosis are tied together. (Another point, if their CD4 remains above 500 and the viral load is untraceable, they are not considered to be "contagious" and can engage in sexual intercourse.) People with AIDS don't usually die from AIDS - they die from an AIDS related infection. It could be conjunctivits (pink eye) that causes their death (I had a friend with AIDS who developed pink eye and died). It could be the flu, pneumonia, and any other condition. Their immunity is suppressed so they are open to getting infections and their body is unable to fight it off. End stage AIDS is a wasting disease, if they manage to make it that long without developing an infection that brings about their death.

Cancer is also another wasting disease. As the condition progresses, they waste away. Wasiting is defined as loss of 10% of body mass within the past 60 days. When someone with this condition (cancer) begins wasiting, it is usually quick and not over a period of 2 years (which others have pointed out that Prince's appearance began to change over the course of the past two years).

He was getting the flu, which might indicate that his immune system was compromised. Or the flu like symptoms could be related to withdrawal symptoms. There are a lot of conditions that cause the immune system to become compromised, not just the two listed above. The following conditions can cause immunosuppresion:

• Ataxia-telangiectasia
• Complement deficiencies
• DiGeorge syndrome
• Hypogammaglobulinemia
• Job syndrome
• Leukocyte adhesion defects
• Bruton disease
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

Now that does not mean Prince had any of these things. PERIOD.

One of the things that everyone seems to forget, when it comes to his appearance change, to apparent weight loss, is that Prince was 57 years old. I don't know about all of you, but at 52, I'm definitely starting to look my age. I bend down and my knees don't quite want to raise me up again (this has just started happening within the past year). My back aches, I have aches and pains all over the place. My health isn't as good as it once was (though it wasn't ever the best). Working with other people my age and older, I've seen some that lose their appetites and are wasting. I've seen some who have suddenly seemed to decline healthwise, within a short period of time. I've seen some who suddenly develop all kinds of health conditions and are taking 30 + medications per day. Prince wasn't young any more. To believe that he was perfectly healthy at his age...well, I see too many people my age with all kinds of conditions to believe there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

Regardless, the only thing we know for certain, he died from a fentanyl overdose which the coroner has ruled an accident. Period.

That's true disch. And my saying that he appeared to be wasting isn't a definitive diagnosis that he was "wasting" in the true sense of the definition of wasting. There is no way he lost 10% of his body mass within the past 60 days of his life. He did look smaller, he looked as though he was losing weight. (The last picture at Paisley Park, where it is from behind and he is holding the guitar really made me question his health at that time, because he just didn't look healthy.) But that weight loss could be age related, it could be because he wasn't eating, wasn't drinking. And that large afro definitely made his frame look a lot smaller than normal.

And I want to add, Prince did not have AIDS. He would not have been performing if he had AIDS. His immune system would have been extremely compromised, which would have left him open to way too many possible infections and conditions and his body would NOT have been able to fight them off. It would have caused him to not be able to perform. Being in an enclosed space like the small venues that he was performing in, with hundreds of people crowding around him, all those germs -- he would have gotten very sick, very quick. He did 22 shows, starting February 16th. He flew in planes, which is a breeding ground for germs. Can we please put this one rumor to rest finally?

benni said: