Long before his death Michael Jackson was “a living corpse”, say people who claim to have seen him abuse a powerful tranquiliser that may have contributed to his heart failure.
Sources say he became addicted to the drug after it was prescribed to relieve the pain caused by skin-lightening peelings.
The Jacksons family’ lawyer, Brian Oxman, says, “Michael’s death wasn’t unexpected, given the medication he used. We’d been worried about it for quite a while.” After his death police removed 28 types of medication from his home.
Michael was the third celebrity victim of incorrect use of prescription drugs in the three years. In January last year Oscar-winner Heath Ledger died after swallowing five prescription pills and an over-the-counter sleeping medication. In February 2007 celebrity model Anna Nicole Smith died after taking a combination of nine medications.
The tragedies highlight the dangers of abusing prescription drugs and the potentially fatal consequences of taking them in certain combinations.
It’s easy to get multiple prescriptions, experts warn.
“Patients will see one physician, get a script and see another,” American pharmacologist Professor Thomas Lackner says. “Michael might have gone to a pain clinic and a primary-care physician; he might have gone to a psychiatrist. The doctors don’t always communicate with one another.”
This “pill burden” increases the chances of accidental overdose (the term refers to the number of tablets or medications a patient has to take regularly). So it’s important to co-operate with a doctor and to try to use as few different pills and as low dosages as possible.
A medication isn’t necessarily safe because it can be bought over the counter, doctors caution. Many products that used to be available only on prescription are now available more freely to make them more affordable and accessible.
- For more detailed guidance on the safe use of medications see the latest issue of YOU.
