Anna Nicole Smith: Too Many Sedatives

What we can learn from the tragic death of former Playmate and model Anna Nicole Smith is that prescription drugs can be abused and that abuse can turn deadly. The 39-year-old Smith died as a result of an "accidental" overdose of sleeping medication, combined with several other sedatives that were in her system.

According to the official autopsy report, Smith had nine different prescription drugs in her body at the time of her death. Although the amounts of each drug in her blood were at therapeutic levels, every one of the sedatives she was taking carries the warning to "tell your doctor" if you are taking the others.

These are the drugs listed on Anna Nicole Smith's autopsy report, along with their normal therapeutic usages:

• Chloral hydrate, a sedative, is used in the short-term treatment of insomnia and to relieve anxiety and induce sleep before surgery. It is also used after surgery for pain and to treat alcohol withdrawal.

• Benadryl (diphenhydramine) an antihistamine which can also used to induce sleep, because it causes drowsiness. It is the most common over-the-counter sleep aid sold.

• Klonopin (clonazepam) is used to control seizures. It is also used to relieve anxiety.

• Valium (diazepam) is used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures and to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal.

• Oxazepam is used to relieve anxiety. It also is used to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal.

• Temazepam is used on a short-term basis to help patients fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

• Lorazepam is used to relieve anxiety.

• Nordiazepam and Tamazepam active metabolites of Valium, which can remain in the system for up to 100 hours.

Klonopin, Valium, Oxazepam, Temazepam and Lorazepam are all benzodiazepines, which are sedatives that slow down the central nervous system. They should never be taken simultaneously.

Anna Nicole Smith had the traces of seven different sedatives in her system, she was taking Benadryl, which can also cause drowsiness, and on top of all of that she took liquid chloral hydrate (Noctec), which she was known to swig right out of the bottle, instead of mixing a measured amount with water or fruit juice as directed.

Although the medical examiner ruled that all of the sedatives in Smith's system were at normal therapeutic levels, the truth is there is no way all of them should have been in her system at the same time.

Whether or not her doctors knowingly prescribed this lethal combination of drugs for Smith, or they were obtained illegally by "doctor shopping," the fact remains that she took them all and it killed her.

Her sad case is a great example of why prescription drugs should only be taken as directed and why physicians must be informed of all other medications their patients may be taking.

More Information:

• Drug Overdose Deaths Double in Five Years
  
• The Danger of Sedative Overdose
  
• Anna Nicole Smith's Death 'Accidental'
  
• Anna Nicole and Prescription Drugs
  When to Call 9-1-1

More About Anna Nicole:

Drug Combo Killed Anna Nicole Smith's Son
Anna Nicole Smith: An Accidental Overdose?
Anna Nicole Smith Biography

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