The first time I remember seeing Heath Ledger was in “A
Knight’s Tale”.
Well passed ‘teen movies, even those with
Shakespearian-based scripts, I’m looking at you 10 Things I Hate About You, I
thought to myself: another brilliant Australian up-and-comer to join the
rapidly increasing queue to grace Hollywood screens.
I’m not a star-struck fan and was never one of those
teenagers with movie-star idol posters plastered all over my bedroom walls, but
this kid’s got talent.
And then came those scene-stealing roles that totally blew
us away like Monsters Ball. And finally leading-man status and an Academy Award
nomination. By now, we were just used to having another famous Australian up
there with the rest of the world's great talent churning out an endless array
of diverse, yet illustrious film roles.
We had no idea. It was not endless. It was not what we
expected.
When people who I’ve never met but greatly admire die, I’m sad.
I have never before felt that heart-wrenching overwhelming shock that lasted
for days after I heard the news. This time it was somehow more personal. As
soon as I read the detailed list of the first report of his deathbed scene, I
intuitively knew how he died.
Ten days later the final medical examiners report confirmed
my suspicions.
Hollywood is ‘Xanax-city. Feeling down, pop a Xanax. Feeling
stressed, pop a Xanax. Need to perform at your very best, pop a Xanax. A-list
stars feel the pressure to provide A-grade performances when working on multi-million-dollar
films. There's too much money at stake. The intense stress, both internal and
external, is immeasurable. The studios are risking billions, paying the stars
millions, and the actors are unnaturally subjected to more pressure than we
mere mortals can imagine.
Heath Ledger, himself, admitted that after the worldwide
release of A Knights Tale with its instant paparazzi-bulb-flashing stardom, his
stress levels increased ten-fold.
Xanax is the trade name of the generic
anti-anxiety/tranquillizer prescription drug, alprazolam, listed in Ledgers
toxicity report. The other anti-anxiety drug was diazepam, or more commonly
known as Valium. These drugs are from a class of commonly prescribed
tranquillizers known as benzodiazepines or simply referred to as benzos.
According to the National Health Study, approximately 10
million scripts of benzos are written annually in Australia alone with its
meagre population of 20 million compared to 300 million in the US.
Many doctors will write a script for benzos faster than a
speeding bullet. But the real danger is that too many of them do not know the
long-term effects these drugs have on your system, how to give their patients
the correct advice when administering or monitoring the dosages, and – more
frighteningly - how to manage their patient’s benzo withdrawal program.
Firstly, this is how benzos affect your body – or more
importantly – your brain. Benzodiazepines increase, or rather, enhance your
brains main neurotransmitter, commonly known as GABA. Eventually, and this can
be as quickly as 3 to 4 weeks if taking a daily dose, your brain will stop
producing its own GABA and rely totally on the artificial benzo.
GABA is the most important neurotransmitter because it
affects just about everything else. Primarily it enhances the brains other
neurotransmitters such as Serotonin and Dopamine. All of the brain’s
neurotransmitters have important functions such as the voluntary movement of the
muscles, wakefulness, sleep, memory function, sensory transmission - especially
pain, and much, much more.
The problem is that from this point on your brain needs more
benzo as tolerance starts the downward spiral, and the brain needs higher and
higher dosages to obtain the same effect. If the patient is not given the
correct dosage or management advice, that insidious and often-undiagnosed
disorder known as Benzo Withdrawal Syndrome (BWS) will start it's ugly and
potentially dangerous descent.
BWS is known by experts in the field for its severity and
prolonged nature. It may take years to fully withdraw from benzos, even with
proper care and supervision. Without this knowledge, the unwitting patient can
suffer from over 30 symptoms, the most common being unrelenting insomnia,
severe pain and mood changes. People who have been taking benzos for a
relatively short time can experience withdrawal symptoms even whilst taking the
drug. In addition, if you have been taking them for a prolonged time, and then
suddenly stop, dire circumstances may happen. Or, at the very least, more pain,
more depression and unrelenting insomnia.
When we now read about Heath Ledger's complaints, does this
sound familiar? Everything points to extreme Benzo Withdrawal, but no-one is
exclaiming its dangers. In fact, most GPs and even hospital doctors admit they
know very little about Benzo Withdrawal. Some even refer their patients to drug
rehabilitation centres – an absolute no-no according to benzo counsellors.
Benzo withdrawal is the exact opposite to alcohol or street drug dependency.
You don’t want to abruptly eliminate the benzo from your body, as they often do
in drug rehabilitation. The brain needs the benzo. One must gradually withdraw
the artificial benzo until the brain can eventually increase its own GABA.
Sudden cessation of benzos can cause severe problems such as seizures and
blackouts.
When in BWS, the counsellors advise against taking any
medication or drugs whatsoever. Paracetamol is probably the only thing the body
can cope with for pain relief. Nothing else. Even codeine is forbidden. Also,
one should totally refrain from alcohol, caffeine, and all stimulants. There is
a strong protocol to be followed and without this knowledge, the patient is
easily put at great risk.
The Ashton Manual, the acknowledged benzodiazepine ‘bible,
warns:
“Drug interactions: Benzodiazepines have additive effects
with other drugs with sedative actions including other hypnotic's, some
antidepressant's (e.g. amitriptyline [Elavil], doxepin [Adapin, Sinequan]),
major tranquillizers or neuroleptics (e.g. prochlorperazine [Compazine],
trifluoperazine [Stelazine]), anticonvulsant's (e.g. phenobarbital, phenytoin
[Dilantin], carbamazepine [Atretol, Tegretol]), sedative antihistamines (e.g. diphenhydramine
[Benadryl], promethazine [Phenergan]), opiates (heroin, morphine, meperidine),
and, importantly, alcohol. Patients taking benzodiazepines should be warned of
these interactions. If sedative drugs are taken in overdose, benzodiazepines
may add to the risk of fatality.”
The real problem is that there are extremely few experts in
treating BWS; they will not include your local doctor, hospital, or drug
clinic. However, there are good BWS specialists that can be extremely helpful,
but they are usually found in specially funded tranquillizer recovery clinics.
One must ask, why don’t doctors know about this? The problem
is they simply don’t. Is it their fault or the pharmaceutical companies that
profit from these addictions? There is little or no dissemination of
information within the community, the medical fraternity or from the
pharmaceutical companies about benzodiazepines. And, according to BWS counsellors
working in the field, there is insufficient research or empirical studies on
the effects of benzos and BWS management to assist them with their intensive
workload's.
Why? Who is at fault? Who is responsible for remedying the
situation? Why are the people who write the scripts uninformed about the
after-effects and potential dangers associated with benzodiazepines?
Can our beloved Heath Ledgers death be at least one catalyst
that will draw this devastating travesty to the public's attention to demand
more information?
I hope so.
Disclaimer:
This article is presented solely as an opinion and is not meant to be
interpreted as medical treatment or diagnosis. If you or someone you know require
help, seek qualified medical assistance. No content on this site should ever be
used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other
qualified clinicians.
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