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Diprivan in Michael Jackson's Medicine Cabinet?
While it may be of no surprise to find out that another fallen star has a wide array of drugs in his medicine cabinet, I was still quite shocked about the reports of Diprivan found in Michael Jackson's home.
If true, I can't think of one reason to have Diprivan -- also called propofol -- in your home.
Diprivan is an injectable drug used to either put someone to sleep before surgery or sedate and keep someone calm on a breathing machine in the hospital.
It's an extremely strong sedative and one that causes unconsciousness and often stops breathing -- that's why it's only given to people on a ventilator breathing machine.
Reports have suggested that Jackson suffered from insomnia but Diprivan is not used (or at least certainly shouldn't be used) to treat insomnia -- or any other medical condition.
Diprivan acts very quickly in the body and also leaves the body very quickly. Someone would lose consciousness within seconds and wake up within 10 to 15 minutes after receiving a shot of Diprivan. In the hospital, a continuous infusion is usually given in the vein and it may take the person an hour or so to awaken.
There have been reports of other drugs in the Jackson home as well, including Demerol and Oxycontin. Both of these are narcotic painkillers and are used to treat severe forms of pain.
Oxycontin has received quite a bit of attention in recent years due to the high rate of reported abuse. More than 12% of 18- to 25- year olds reported using the drug for nonmedical reasons in 2006, according to federal figures.
The particularly troubling thing about all of these drugs in the Michael Jackson case is that they all can slow -- and even stop -- breathing if too much is taken.
It's not known at this point if Diprivan -- or any other drug -- contributed to Jackson's death. However, reports were that he was found not breathing but had a slight pulse. All these drugs could have slowed and potentially stopped breathing, which would have eventually -- within a few minutes -- stopped the heart.
And then if you combine 2 or more of these drugs, the risk of an overdose and death goes exponentially higher. The much awaited toxicology results should be ready in a few weeks and hopefully that will solve the mystery of Jackson's death.
If true, I can't think of one reason to have Diprivan -- also called propofol -- in your home.
Diprivan is an injectable drug used to either put someone to sleep before surgery or sedate and keep someone calm on a breathing machine in the hospital.
It's an extremely strong sedative and one that causes unconsciousness and often stops breathing -- that's why it's only given to people on a ventilator breathing machine.
Reports have suggested that Jackson suffered from insomnia but Diprivan is not used (or at least certainly shouldn't be used) to treat insomnia -- or any other medical condition.
Diprivan acts very quickly in the body and also leaves the body very quickly. Someone would lose consciousness within seconds and wake up within 10 to 15 minutes after receiving a shot of Diprivan. In the hospital, a continuous infusion is usually given in the vein and it may take the person an hour or so to awaken.
There have been reports of other drugs in the Jackson home as well, including Demerol and Oxycontin. Both of these are narcotic painkillers and are used to treat severe forms of pain.
Oxycontin has received quite a bit of attention in recent years due to the high rate of reported abuse. More than 12% of 18- to 25- year olds reported using the drug for nonmedical reasons in 2006, according to federal figures.
The particularly troubling thing about all of these drugs in the Michael Jackson case is that they all can slow -- and even stop -- breathing if too much is taken.
It's not known at this point if Diprivan -- or any other drug -- contributed to Jackson's death. However, reports were that he was found not breathing but had a slight pulse. All these drugs could have slowed and potentially stopped breathing, which would have eventually -- within a few minutes -- stopped the heart.
And then if you combine 2 or more of these drugs, the risk of an overdose and death goes exponentially higher. The much awaited toxicology results should be ready in a few weeks and hopefully that will solve the mystery of Jackson's death.
26 Comments:
There may be no legitimate reason to have popofol in your home but if you are a chronic user of oxycontin and then attempt to stop on your own as I guess Michael may have been doing in order to get himself ready for the rigors of his upcoming 50 concerts, then if he were successful in stopping Oxy he would have experienced severe insomnia for a period of time while his body adjusted to the absense of narcotics. I imagine he was substituting propofol for Oxycontin untill he was able to sleep on his own. I have no idea if this would work.
Why would MJ stop Oxycontin before the tour? The painkillers are what made him functional. These drugs are life-savers and it is as wrong to assume opiates cause addiction anymore than alcohol causes alcoholism. It is morally negligent for the press to continue to generalize to the whole population from those few who are problematic addicts. Most people are addicted to the caffeine they have every morning (getting nauseous and headachey and agitated if they miss their coffee); however there are few who would be willing to give up coffee on that basis. Adults should be able to go to their doctors and request opiates without being assumed to be drug-seeking addicts; they should be allowed to make an informed decision for themselves about the pros and cons of addiction. Opiates are the safest and most effective painkillers by far. Yet too many people are being made to suffer for longer than necessary or diverted to far less effective/more physically dangerous drugs, including such things as obsolete anti-depressants, anti-convulsants and anti-psychotics, all in a morally dubious effort to avoid legal difficulty. Opiates were completely unregulated throughout the Industrial Revolution, - research this time yourself to see how problematic for society it was that the majority of people took opiates for pain on a regular basis. Then compare it to the situation since drugs were so tightly regulated. The addicts and street vagrants never went away; instead, society created a huge criminal black market AND a huge publicly funded government bureaucracy to fight it, - a non-cure exponentially worse than the disease ever was throughout the whole history of humankind since these drugs have been existant.
Drugs should be unregulated - a hundred years of a failed experiment is more than enough. People should instead be HONESTLY taught the dangers of opiates, how they CAN NOT (not SHOULD not) be abused by their very nature, and how to recognize the signs of a developing problem. Anna Nicole and, very likely, MJ, died NOT from opiates, but from chloral hydrate dand diprivan...very dangerous drugs that possibly wouldn't have killed them if opiate therapy hadn't been such a legal pariah.
I have given propofol to hundreds of ICU patients, invariably on mechanical ventilators. It is imperative that ventilatory support be immediately available when propofol is given since apnea, though usually temporary, is most common with the initial dose.
If Michael's doctor indeed used diprivan to sedate him at home then he killed him, no less than had he pointed a gun at his head and pulled the trigger. A responsible medical professional would have known better.
The toxicology tests will certainly verify if the drug was used, but not why the drug was in MJ's medicine cabinet!
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While I agree w/ the author that propofol should only be used in hospitals for patients on ventilators or in surgery/procedures, I must strongly disagree w/ the assessment that one should not use multiple narcotics. Most people should not be on multiple narcotics, but some patients w/ chronic pain syndromes will be on a long acting drug like Oxycontin or Methadone and have a short acting narcotic for break through pain. I think the author does a disservice to people w/ chronic pain by the staatements made
I suffer from chonic pain & the pain will made you try anything for relief. After trying many pain meds, I now know most pain comes from abuse & the person needs to make a choice to find some way to deal with the pain other then strong meditcations. It's a very hard thing to do. Pain can wear on a person & rob you of your life's dreams.Doctors play a very big role
in good & bad pain management. It's a very fine line.
I suffer from chonic pain.The pain will made you find relief.I now know that most pain come from abuse.It's very hard to walk the fine line.Doctor play a big role in good & bad pain management. Patients need information to help make the choice.I beleive it can become a horrible cycle emotional pain, physcial pain & insomnia. Opiate uses is very hard on the body. MJ was looking for a way to function with his family/kids & a way to excape his pain & the dark times of living with abuse.
There is no legitimate reason for any person to have this type of surgical anesthetic inside their home. However, there IS a reason that some people choose to abuse Propofol or Diprivan, and that is to escape the physical world and leave to a deeply relaxing narcotic sleep and then awaken refreshened and re-energized. Propofol abuse is rare and seen mostly among anesthesiologists and other medical professionals with access to these dangerous surgical drugs. Another highly notable aspect of Propofol or Diprivan abuse is that the overwhelming majority of abusers have experienced some combination of severe emotional, sexual , or physical trauma AND abuse within their lives. This is one drug where the only possible outcome can be death, and the people that seek this drug will truly find their everlasting sleep.
The Captian said a mouth full. RIP, Michael, finally. Such a sad human.
Most performers who rise to the top and are seen as IDOLS come to believe in their own minds that they are entitled to anything they wish.
It was mentioned that he had a bad back,if so, a chiropractor should have tended him daily.
Divas and Idols are way too pampered and most are medicated either with alcohol or pills.
When will the madness and medness end? If sleep-rest was his ultimate goal, he surely made it!
Should be another lesson to all the other medicated performers still on the side lines.
My husband suffers from sleep apnea. There were times that I wondered if he was breathing. It is miserable and he now rests better with a cpac machine.
Michael had several plastic surgeries and maybe he had a combination of apnea and insomnia?
As far as any medication... Who could tell him NO?
He decided it and that was that... The pressure must have been intense and his lack in judgement should have been maintained by an honest Doctor. But he needed relief in order to function pain free and rehearse 6-7 hours a day and try to get some rest. The real question is why was he pushed against a contract of 50 concerts at 50 years old with only one day rest in between?
He was in a panic! He had financial obligations that forced him to overdue it!
He also suffered a real history of physical and emotional pain from old multiple fractures and by being accidentally burned.
When it comes to pressure, how many of us listen to our physicians or our body when it signals a problem? Maybe Michael really didn't know how high the risks were? One thing that is certain here, hIs physicians should be held accountable for abusing Michael's body with a cycle of toxicity.
Who's responsible here for meds being given to over compensate for a lack of sleep, anxiety, a poor diet, weight management and over exertion?
Intervention was the only answer and no one close to him could get to him to stop this cycle of addiction... It was too late.. Most of his real friends didn't even recognize his symptoms or he was isolated from them.
A national data base within pharmacies should be implemented to pull a persons data as to prevent multi- filled prescriptions by multi- physicians. This may not solve everyone's problems (international work) but it would save lives.
There is no credible reason to have Diprivan in your home given the potential for disaster. However, painkillers such as Oxycontin are absolutely legitimate if you suffer severe, chronic pain.
Every time there is a celebrity death and the toxicology report shows narcotics or other painkillers, everyone goes nuts and ascribes motives that cannot be proven. It is disappointing and frankly sickening.
As someone who has suffered from spinal osteoarthritis, I can attest to its debilitating effects. It isn't simply "back pain" as most people think of it; spinal cord compression caused by bone degeneration leads to sometimes severe referred pain elsewhere, and the arthritic mechanism itself can cause neuralgia which is untreatable with over-the-counter medication. Imagine, having taken the maximum dose of aspirin for your body weight, that you are flat on your back in bed sweating profusely because of the pain, wondering how you're going to get to the bathroom. Or, walking outside with the light breeze on your skin making you feel as though you're being slapped continuously because of neuralgia. Your life soon revolves around the relief of pain, pain that is so bad that it makes you nauseous, unable to sleep, work or eat. You will do almost anything at that point for relief. Some people, desperate for help, turn to illegal drugs because that's the only option they have: Not all drugs work for everyone, and some illicit drugs are remarkable painkillers. Being jailed for pain relief is the height of injustice, but thanks to our "war on drugs", that's the sort of thing that happens.
I have at times taken as much as four grams of aspirin a day combined with narcotics and a potent anti-neuralgic just to be functional. After years of trying different medications, I've managed to ditch the narcotics. But, the drugs I take now have other side-effects. I will gladly put up with those side-effects because I can now lead a mostly normal life.
Pain medications work very differently on different people, which is why we have so many of them. It is utterly irresponsible for the press to imply that because you have a refillable prescription for narcotics that you're somehow an addict. There are people with chronic pain who have prescriptions for methadone and even heroin. Does that make them a drooling addict on skid row? Hardly.
It is cruel to subject people to chronic pain when their doctors, fearful of being targeted by ignorant law enforcement or sensationalist reporters, refuse to prescribe drugs that are perfectly legal and well-suited to the purpose of pain control. If Jackson in fact suffered from conditions that warranted the use of potent painkillers (and there are indications that he did), then I would be the last person to chide him for their use. Was he an addict? Possibly -- these drugs can lead to dependency -- but the side-effect of dependency is minor compared to the pain being treated.
Michael Jackson is gone unfortunately.. He is the greatest entertainer that has ever lived.. The man has been in pain for a long time, both physical and emotional, I work as a pharmacist, I c lots of people, in fact, 98% of the population are on anti-depresant for minor things like break up, this man had to endure lots and ofcourse , he will take things for his pain, some suplied those medicines to him.. I know that, he didn'y intend to kill himself, accidents does happen even under medical supervision, so, This is IT.. I pray that his soul rest in peace. Please, let all those misarablepeople, who have no real friends and whole when they pass on , no one will even think of LEAVE MJ alone.. Aperson whole gave so much and who is in the Guiness Book as the Most CHARITABLE Can't be bad.. Also, have u ever seen a BLACK PERSON commits a crime and not get immprisoment when there is EVIDENCE,, Come on now.. If truely MJ was guilty, nothing would have prevented imprisonment.. So please LEAVE HIM ALONE, LET HIS SOUL REST..
MJ STILL IS THE MOST LOVED AND GREATEST ENTERTAINER, RIP..HIS MUSIC WILL GO ON THRU ALL GENERATION..
I am glad he was appreciated even in death...
Hey Hey Hey every one, where was every one when people were abusing MJ emotionally and..
We all have to remember that those medicines, ( yes, they are not drugs but medicines.. depending how u used them ) These medicines are not somthing u can just get over the counter at ANY PHARMACY..NO mattter who u r.. A doctor, REGISTER DOCTOR, must have written a valid prescription for this man, Diprivan, Shouldn't even be given in a home except under medical supervision and with a ventilator..How can a sensible medical practitioner leave such a medicine to a non medical practitioner without supervision.. come on.. Why would a dr want to give some on diprivan in the home, u should only use it in a hospital environment.. These Dr's.. Don't blame MJ.. Blame the Dr's... No oxygen in the MJ's home, but diprivan was there, SOME ONE GAVE HIM THOSE MEDICINES.. THEY KILLLEDD HIM...Even if he was an addicts, some one had 2 give u those type of meddicine a DOCTOR, MEDICAL PRACTIONER..
MJ we all know had a lot of pain,, pain threshold varies for lots of people..
Oxycontin is common pain medicine, but it has to be given on prescription, u can't just buy it in any pharmacy, so a Dr must have given MJ that med, Diprivan, this can only be given with a ventilator in place and by a qualified medical practitioner, so, how did it get to MJ'S house, by who, without the required equipments,, People,, Prescription medicines, these are abuse daily even by u reading these article, might be abusing these medicines.
A doctor must be involved in MJ's death.. iNFACT ALL THESE PEOPLE..
I know, they will say, who can say no when MJ wants somthing, as a medical practitioner, I have been in a position where I have to say no to many people..
u r there to save lives and help people, not just to make money, or be a celebratie.. u r duty bound.. These dr's killes MJ, by just giving him these medicines and unsupervised,,, Am sure they maybe showed him how to use the dipriva,, so, they ae accountable...
drugs are a nasty thing,and quite very dangerous,therefore,instead of concentrating on the mighty dollsr,we need to,i think,focus on educating people of it's real danger,and prevention.and focussing on the negative is just that-negative!The Jackson are trying to mouurn for the lost of their loved one,so please PEOPLE let them mourn this great man,this legend,MICHAEL JACKSON,R.I.P MY BROTHER,you brought so much joy into peoples lives,especially OFF THE WALL,AND although most people still think of me as a gangster,thug,etc.MICHAEL JACKSON made me believe in myself,to never give up,and to always look forward to the future,and for that,i want to thank this great man,and,also JOESPH,AND KATHERINE JACKSON,FOR WITHOUT THEM bringing MICHAEL into the world,i'd probably still be out there doing dirt,and hurting the people around,or worse-dead,but stead i now have a great life,family,and job,THANK'S......SEAN&PATRICIA DISHMAN OF DETROIT,MICHIGAN,ANF NOW OF LAVEEN,ARIZONA....WE LOVE YOU MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, if narcotics and sedatives were un-regulated, then MJ might still be alive? Is that what you are suggesting? The reason these medications are regulated is because some people would abuse them and overdose. I'd bet the whole reason he came to propofol was because the effects from the narcotics were no longer 'enough'. De-regulate the narcotics and he may have been dead much sooner.
O.M.G. I CAN'T BELEIVE THIS ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON, BUT THEN AGAIN MAYBE HE WAS SUFFERING FROM ALOT OF PAIN DUE DO HIS BROKEN LEG YEARS BACK,PLUS HIS DEPRESSION TOO,TO MAKE HIM NOT SLEEP. SO HE WASN'T BEING LOKKED AFTER THE PROPER WAY FROM HIS DOCTORS THAT HOW I LOOK AT IT. NO ONE SHOULD OF GAVE HIM THE OK TO DO THIS TO HIMSELF OR HE WOULD OF STIL BEEN ALIVE. I BLAME HIS DOCTOR.. BOTTOM LINE.
I have to say as a standard layman. And also unfortunately an individual who has experimented with recreational drugs. And who has conducted research on everything prior to stay as safe as possible is after reading for about a half an hour on the Internet about information readily available on propifol/diprivan that Mike is right.
That drug has no place anywhere but in a medical facility equipped with machinary capable of maintaining vitals during it's administration. As it is so powerful and the necessity of it's use being strictly in a hospital setting. It would be impossible to use it for a sleep disorder. As there are so many variables that can effect the outcome of how it is tolerated such as age, prior medication used, etc etc. that it is imperative that you can sustain a patients vitals through the duration of the initial dose for compensatory dosage reasons. And it acts and exits the body so quickly that a miscalculation is certain death that is avoidable only in the presence of mechanical life support.
I don't see any verifiable proof it was administered. I also read on the net that the doctor suggested hebquit taking Demerol and substitute it for one of the cutting edge opiate cessation medications above even methadone And the source cited it as being more potent than demerol. Which is just not true. Which I would interpret as responsible health advisement.
I don't think there is any way to know until toxicology reports come back. Either way. If I were the MD and I heard him requesting diprivan or saw it around the house I would probably have taken it out of the house and wrote some immediate and extremely strong worded letters to the family if it was something he had access to and probably immediately resign as he would easily die taking it outside a hospital.
Hey I have had this drug when I had a colonoscopy. This stuff made me feel like I slept 100 years. I don't think he did it for the pain I think he did it for the insomnia. I told them after I woke up if they could bottle that stuff I would take it.
As far as his pain goes Lupus is very painful and I don't know what other pains he had.
I just understand as I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and I can understand why he wanted out of his pain.
He was a junkie.
He had been to rehab in the past. How could he not know that he had a problem.
All one had to do was look into his eyes, he looked messed up all the time.
Too bad he died.
Yes, the Doctors should be held accountable but, Michael took the drugs i'm sure no one had to open his mouth and shove them down his throat.
I am a 51 yr old female and my doctor prescribed SOMNOTE 500 MG. to help me sleep. I read that it is also a form of drug used to help put someone to sleep during an operation. Now I am concerned about taking this particular drug. Does anyone have information on this one???
While it does seem very wrong for such a drug to be in his home their has to be a solution for people like myself who suffer w/ pain. Mine is Fibromyagia and the pain I suffer is very similar to his in the fact my wide spread pain started at a very young age due to lack of sleep (apnea), lax joints, and the stress of feeling like a freak show at a very young age and continued into adult hood. The medication world and prescribers and regulators need to recognize that their has to be a solution long term for pain and that their is an answer w/ opids and sleep aids and sleep machines such as CPAP....as I am sure their is for those w/ out apnea and suffer w/ lack of sleep. the right combination of meds for each person NEEDS to be better regulated and not assumed each person is going to react the same to each med in relationship to a disease......Then lets not ASSUME that the mental stress and struggles people go through are the cause of every little thing and that since a person acts out in a strange way (mine is over eating which has been regulated to a normal weight but the fibro still exhists) that they are mentally impaired. Maybe the stress, mine and michaels being made out to be a freak show, needs to be regulated and stressed more about accepting others then the stress of not being "Normal" would not bring so many people in to chronic pain which would then lesson the needs and reasons for pain meds..... As my young twins are running around me I am trying to type this....so I hope it is clear that I am expressing their is a need for sleep aid, pain meds together and their NEEDS to be more of a concentration on getting the "tylenol" to be cleaned out of the liveres so people don't become harmed by these meds and that the sleep aids are necessary But NOT in the strenths MJ was taking....First and fore most EDUCATION of acceptance needs to be in our school systems at a very very young age. Too many oppinions out their on what is acceptable and what is not and it is effecting everyone more than I think society as a whole would like to see! It's all well and good if your on the positive side in a mild form....but when it is too much or in a negative form it can be deadly....
your all giving good points, butt bottom line the man was a very rich junkie who had his doctor give him super seditives for junkie reasons, doctor should walk by means of just plain stupid and MJ rest in his golden grave..!
michael jackson is not dead! he faked his death and now he is in a different country.
michael jackson is still alive!
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