Tag Archives: tranquilizer

Corey Haim’s Death: Did Medications Play A Role?

Police reportedly found Vicodin, Valium, muscle relaxers and antipsychotic medicines near body. By Gil Kaufman Corey Haim Photo: MTV News After Thursday’s news that the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office told actor Corey Haim’s mother that his likely cause of death was pulmonary congestion , TMZ reported that strong medications that were found at the troubled “Lost Boys” star’s bedside. The Coroner’s office said Haim had pulmonary congestion, an enlarged heart and water in his lungs, but, according to TMZ that has not been definitively pinpointed as the cause of death in the 38-year-old actor’s demise on Wednesday. Though toxicology tests are still pending, the site said police also found pill bottles containing the powerful painkiller Vicodin, the tranquilizer Valium, an antipsychotic medication (Haloperidol) and Soma, a muscle relaxer, in the apartment Haim shared with his mother. The site reported that a well-known but unnamed Los Angeles psychiatrist prescribed all the medications to Haim on the same day, just days before he died. Haim publicly struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol for much of his career and prominent addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky told MTV News in the wake of the actor’s death that addicts sometimes are fooled into thinking that because they’re taking legal medications prescribed by a physician that they are not subject to the same abusive tendencies. “It’s so easy to get these medications, and sometimes well-meaning physicians who don’t understand addiction prescribe them for legitimate reasons,” said Pinsky, who did not treat Haim and did not have any first-hand knowledge of the circumstances of his death. “But they start taking them and don’t realize the trouble they’re getting into.” Shortly before his death, Haim had complained of flu-like symptoms and had spiked a high fever. He collapsed at his mother’s bedside early Wednesday morning and died a short time later. His manager, Marc Haislip, told Us Magazine that Haim will be buried in his native Canada in Toronto, Ontario, where he was born. Haim’s family, “want to do it back home,” he told the magazine. “But there will be a memorial in L.A.” No dates for either event have been announced yet, but it was reported that the family plans to reach out to friends in Hollywood for donations to fund the burial and service, as Haim was reportedly . Haim’s family, including sister Cari and father Bernie, have reportedly joined his mother Judy, who is very ill with cancer, in Los Angeles. Related Videos Remembering Corey Haim MTV Rough Cut: Corey Haim Related Photos Corey Haim: A Life In Photos

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Corey Haim’s Death: Did Medications Play A Role?

Michael Jackson Was Very Thin, Sickly Before Death, Autopsy Finds

At the time of his death, Jackson was suffering from multiple ailments and using half a dozen medications. By MTV News staff Michael Jackson Photo: Phil Klein/Reuters Following the filing Monday of an involuntary-manslaughter charge against Conrad Murray in connection with the death of Michael Jackson, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office released its full autopsy report on the King of Pop, according to multiple reports . The coroner concluded that Jackson died of “acute propofol intoxication” after Murray administered a dose of the powerful anesthetic sufficient for “major surgery.” Murray was using the drug to ease Jackson’s insomnia, but an expert cited in the autopsy said there were no reports about the use of propofol in insomnia relief. At no point was recommended equipment — from a controlled infusion pump for intravenous administration to monitoring machines — present in Jackson’s home when Murray gave the singer the tranquilizer. The report also contained detailed information about the state of Jackson’s body after his death at age 50. At the time of the autopsy, he weighed 136 pounds, was measured at 5-foot-9 in length and was described as “extremely underweight for his frame.” White patches of skin, the result of a pigmentation disorder called vitiligo, were present on his body, particularly his chest, abdomen, face and arms. The autopsy noted “frontal balding” on Jackson’s head and on a bandage on the tip of his nose. He had dark tattoos close to each eyebrow and one pink tattoo close to his lips. His body was covered with small scars on his nose, knee, shoulder, neck and wrists. The report concluded that at the time of his death, Jackson was suffering from “chronic lung inflammation, respiratory bronchiolitis, diffuse congestion and patchy hemorrhage of right and left lungs.” In addition to propofol, the autopsy discovered Jackson’s blood contained traces of lidocaine, diazepam, nordiazepam, lorazepam, midazolam and ephedrine. During an arraignment hearing Monday, Murray pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison . Related Photos Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos Related Artists Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson Was Very Thin, Sickly Before Death, Autopsy Finds