Michael Jackson and his doctors
The memorial service is over and though Michael Jackson's body has not been buried, theories swirl about in relation to his pharmaceutical drug abuse.
Clearly the doctors attending him found it difficult to deny the star tranquillisers, opioid painkillers or even anaesthetic drugs like Propofol. It was said by a biographer as late as 2005 that “no doctor was in a position to say no to Mr Jackson”. Recent evidence obtained by CNN, shows he was dependent on Xanax or Alprazolam -- a rapidly acting and highly addictive tranquillizer that is the favourite of the world's fast set. Police documents obtained by CNN indicate that Jackson was taking up to 40 pills of Xanax per night in 2004. Documents obtained by the LAPD indicate that he received prescriptions from doctors in California, New York and Florida. Amongst these physicians, were a cardiologist and a dermatologist? His cardiologist, Dr Conrad was there at the time of Jackson’s death performing CPR and it has been reported that the star received injections of Demerol or pethidine daily. The question arises as to why a cardiologist would treat pain and insomnia. In Australia this addictive opioid is no longer used for analgesia. Such unfettered access to tranquillisers and other drugs by the rich and famous is not new. Marilyn Monroe was evidently prescribed huge amounts of Nembutal -- a drug implicated in her demise by her psychiatrist Dr Ralph Greenson. He is the first one on the scene and discovers Monroe's lifeless body as he peers through the French windows of her house in California. Dr Greenson also treated Tony Curtis, Vivien Leigh and Frank Sinatra.
Even that late president John F Kennedy had his own private physician who is reported to have provided him with amphetamines, testosterone, barbiturates and pain killers for his wartime back injury – a veritable cocktail of dangerous drugs. Kennedy was once quoted colourfully saying to an aide, about his regular injections “I don’t care if it’s horse piss, it works” His doctor was struck off in 1975 for inappropriate prescription of controlled substances
Elvis Presley was treated by Dr George Nichopoulos known as ‘Doctor Nick’. This man wrote thousands of prescriptions for addictive medications to keep Elvis going . Nichopoulos was charged in 1982 on 14 counts for abusing his licence to prescribe. In 1995 he became the road manager for Jerry Lee Lewis. Our own Heath Ledger accidentally overdosed on prescription drugs amassed from different prescribers across the world. Xanax was amongst his preferred list, found at autopsy.
Jackson's friend, Uri Geller described the difficulty people had denying him his drugs of choice. “When Michael asked for something, he got it”
How complicit were doctors in the downward slide resulting in the death of Michael Jackson? The old edict of Hippocrates still resonates today. ‘Primum, non nocere’. First do no harm. Yet it is clear that those facilitating Jackson's access to phenomenal quantities of prescription drugs should be guilty of unethical behaviour, if not criminal negligence. Patently, Michael Jackson was damaged emotionally by his early life and the relentless pressure placed on him by his father. The last few years left him battered by media criticism. Such people are primed for addiction to prescription medication and a capacity to pay a physician up to $150,000 per month retainer just adds to the risk.
The medical profession is easily seduced by celebrity. The smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd, act as potent stimuli to doctor’s egos. They receive recognition, fame and excessive remuneration. Persuasive arguments for the high level of prescribing to Jackson will no doubt be found in defence of irresponsible medical practice, should this affair hit the courts in the US. Perhaps it is time to shine a light in the shadowy world of stars and their physicians before too many more die uncertain deaths.
12 July 2009
29 June 2009
Michael Jackson and his doctors
A View from the Cross
Dr Raymond Seidler
The recent death of Michael Jackson has some echoes to the passing of the previous king of rock, Elvis Presley. Both rock music megastars had physicians at their personal beck and call.
Cardiologist, Dr Conrad Murray was with Jackson in the moments before he died having allegedly injected the star with Demerol, known in Australia as Pethidine, a highly addictive opioid pain reliever. Tapes from the 911 call indicate Dr Murray was performing CPR on Jackson prior to his transfer to hospital.
It is clear that Jackson had a chronic pain syndrome, and had become addicted to potent painkillers. His pain was associated with previous injuries sustained in falls and misadventure in his extraordinary musical career. Over time with unrestricted access to prescription medication, Jackson certainly became dependent. He received one injection per day and always had a doctor to give it to him. “No doctor was in a position to say no to Mr Jackson.” Published: June 27, 2009
The injectable narcotic Demerol had been a concern for a long time. This drug is no longer recommended for pain relief in Australia as a result of its potent addiction potential.
The concept of having one's own private physician is not new. Many celebrities travel with a full-time doctor. It is unusual to have a cardiologist on call, however. The maintenance of an ethical relationship between physician and star remains problematic. Dependence on strong painkillers seems to be a common thread through many tortured lives lived large on the public stage. And it is clear that the responsibility for maintaining this addiction can be laid at the feet of the personal physician. These doctors are extraordinarily well-paid and are often in the thrall of their star patients whose constant demands must be almost impossible to manage in an ethical and sustainable way. Thus the doctor becomes co-dependent on his patient, by virtue of the financial imperative and the desire to keep the patient happy and working.
Michael Jackson was not a well man and had been struggling to improve his health prior to a gruelling planned tour of the world. This pressure would have been manifest in the treatment provided by Dr Murray and may well have reflected a departure from what would be considered acceptable by the vast majority of medical practitioners.
Dr George Nichopoulos was Elvis Presley's private physician. He was known as ‘Dr Nick’. He wrote thousands of prescriptions for addictive medication for Elvis and then tried to detoxify him from his drugs of choice. This process was largely unsuccessful. Nichopoulos injected Elvis with placebo medication and always was present at every consultation with any other medical practitioner. In 1980 Nichopoulos was formally charged on 14 counts of abusing his licence to prescribe. He was finally struck off in 1990 and became a road manager for Jerry Lee Lewis.
Beguiling as the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd, is for many otherwise circumspect practitioners who become seduced by their extraordinarily talented patients and their impossible demands
.The list of tainted doctors goes on for decades..President John F. Kennedy had a number of doctors attending him whilst in office but one in particular was known as "Dr Feelgood". Doctor Max Jacobson provided the President with injections allegedly containing amphetamines and other controlled substances, including testosterone. Kennedy remarked colourfully "I don't care if it is horse piss. It works." Doctor Jacobson's medical licence was revoked in 1975 for inappropriate prescription of controlled substances.
Modern history is littered with celebrities whose lives are tragically cut short and are closely connected to private physicians. Marilyn Monroe, whose doctor prescribed excessive amounts of Nembutal for anxiety and insomnia and with which she took her life. Heath Ledger, whose cocktail of prescription drugs, led to his recent demise.
It may be timely to have more professional oversight of those doctors who self select to treat stars. Medical ethics are easily corrupted in the rarefied atmosphere of the megastar.
Dr Raymond Seidler
The recent death of Michael Jackson has some echoes to the passing of the previous king of rock, Elvis Presley. Both rock music megastars had physicians at their personal beck and call.
Cardiologist, Dr Conrad Murray was with Jackson in the moments before he died having allegedly injected the star with Demerol, known in Australia as Pethidine, a highly addictive opioid pain reliever. Tapes from the 911 call indicate Dr Murray was performing CPR on Jackson prior to his transfer to hospital.
It is clear that Jackson had a chronic pain syndrome, and had become addicted to potent painkillers. His pain was associated with previous injuries sustained in falls and misadventure in his extraordinary musical career. Over time with unrestricted access to prescription medication, Jackson certainly became dependent. He received one injection per day and always had a doctor to give it to him. “No doctor was in a position to say no to Mr Jackson.” Published: June 27, 2009
The injectable narcotic Demerol had been a concern for a long time. This drug is no longer recommended for pain relief in Australia as a result of its potent addiction potential.
The concept of having one's own private physician is not new. Many celebrities travel with a full-time doctor. It is unusual to have a cardiologist on call, however. The maintenance of an ethical relationship between physician and star remains problematic. Dependence on strong painkillers seems to be a common thread through many tortured lives lived large on the public stage. And it is clear that the responsibility for maintaining this addiction can be laid at the feet of the personal physician. These doctors are extraordinarily well-paid and are often in the thrall of their star patients whose constant demands must be almost impossible to manage in an ethical and sustainable way. Thus the doctor becomes co-dependent on his patient, by virtue of the financial imperative and the desire to keep the patient happy and working.
Michael Jackson was not a well man and had been struggling to improve his health prior to a gruelling planned tour of the world. This pressure would have been manifest in the treatment provided by Dr Murray and may well have reflected a departure from what would be considered acceptable by the vast majority of medical practitioners.
Dr George Nichopoulos was Elvis Presley's private physician. He was known as ‘Dr Nick’. He wrote thousands of prescriptions for addictive medication for Elvis and then tried to detoxify him from his drugs of choice. This process was largely unsuccessful. Nichopoulos injected Elvis with placebo medication and always was present at every consultation with any other medical practitioner. In 1980 Nichopoulos was formally charged on 14 counts of abusing his licence to prescribe. He was finally struck off in 1990 and became a road manager for Jerry Lee Lewis.
Beguiling as the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd, is for many otherwise circumspect practitioners who become seduced by their extraordinarily talented patients and their impossible demands
.The list of tainted doctors goes on for decades..President John F. Kennedy had a number of doctors attending him whilst in office but one in particular was known as "Dr Feelgood". Doctor Max Jacobson provided the President with injections allegedly containing amphetamines and other controlled substances, including testosterone. Kennedy remarked colourfully "I don't care if it is horse piss. It works." Doctor Jacobson's medical licence was revoked in 1975 for inappropriate prescription of controlled substances.
Modern history is littered with celebrities whose lives are tragically cut short and are closely connected to private physicians. Marilyn Monroe, whose doctor prescribed excessive amounts of Nembutal for anxiety and insomnia and with which she took her life. Heath Ledger, whose cocktail of prescription drugs, led to his recent demise.
It may be timely to have more professional oversight of those doctors who self select to treat stars. Medical ethics are easily corrupted in the rarefied atmosphere of the megastar.
24 May 2009
More from Miranda off centre
Miranda Devine is wrong. Abstinence is the preserve of only a few drug dependent users. The majority need help to abstain and are at constant risk of relapser. What they don't need is a columnist advancing an argument for a failed expensive treatment modality which has seduced users into believing that a naltrexone implant is a quick fix. This expensive unresearched and faulty
technology exploited a loophole in the Therapeutic goods Administration rules to import devices from China and implant them at huge cost into heroin users. The techniques used by the purveyors were more akin to used car salesmen than medical practitioners and psychologists.
Documented case histories abound of people selling off family property to purchase the naltrexone implant only to find it did not work after a few weeks and relapse into heroin use with thousands of dollars in debt. Worse still may have overdosed when they relapse assuming the implant will protect them. I have seen a number of users who have sustained catastrophic medical outcomes as a result of failed implants. Operations to retrieve such implants are costly and scarring physically and psychologically. every drug treatment service in Sydney will corroborate these cases of meltdown after insertion of the devices.
methadone and buprenorphine do not drug users into an addicted haze. Most get their lives back on these scientifically validated treatments that are not sold like snake oil. Methadone in particular has created more successful outcomes than any other scientifically validated treatment. Journalists, doctors and lawyers take it every day and are undetectable form the normal population. Miranda Devine has set treatment back by supporting naltrexone when the entire treatment world has forsaken it. She needs to research the worldwide literature before shooting from the hip.
technology exploited a loophole in the Therapeutic goods Administration rules to import devices from China and implant them at huge cost into heroin users. The techniques used by the purveyors were more akin to used car salesmen than medical practitioners and psychologists.
Documented case histories abound of people selling off family property to purchase the naltrexone implant only to find it did not work after a few weeks and relapse into heroin use with thousands of dollars in debt. Worse still may have overdosed when they relapse assuming the implant will protect them. I have seen a number of users who have sustained catastrophic medical outcomes as a result of failed implants. Operations to retrieve such implants are costly and scarring physically and psychologically. every drug treatment service in Sydney will corroborate these cases of meltdown after insertion of the devices.
methadone and buprenorphine do not drug users into an addicted haze. Most get their lives back on these scientifically validated treatments that are not sold like snake oil. Methadone in particular has created more successful outcomes than any other scientifically validated treatment. Journalists, doctors and lawyers take it every day and are undetectable form the normal population. Miranda Devine has set treatment back by supporting naltrexone when the entire treatment world has forsaken it. She needs to research the worldwide literature before shooting from the hip.
21 May 2009
Irish Malaise - a letter to SMH
Dear Editor,
Your abbreviated two column report into terror perpetrated on up to 30,000 children in Ireland's workhouse styled schools by the church needs more discussion. Australia's connection cannot be denied as a number of disgraced priests and brothers found their way here to establish similar institutions in this country. It appears that generations of systemic abuse took place under the watchful gaze of educational authorities who did little to protect the most vulnerable in the community. That young children were woken with beatings every morning in a ritualised brutal dehumanising system that masqueraded as schools is terrifying enough, but add to this systemic paedophilia with perpetrators shielded from prosecution by their holy orders is criminal. Perhaps this explains why so many young Irish people have left home never to return.
Your abbreviated two column report into terror perpetrated on up to 30,000 children in Ireland's workhouse styled schools by the church needs more discussion. Australia's connection cannot be denied as a number of disgraced priests and brothers found their way here to establish similar institutions in this country. It appears that generations of systemic abuse took place under the watchful gaze of educational authorities who did little to protect the most vulnerable in the community. That young children were woken with beatings every morning in a ritualised brutal dehumanising system that masqueraded as schools is terrifying enough, but add to this systemic paedophilia with perpetrators shielded from prosecution by their holy orders is criminal. Perhaps this explains why so many young Irish people have left home never to return.
More Miranda Madness
Dear Editor,
Miranda Devine's extraordinary defence of rugby league and those men within it who perpetrate violence beggars the imagination. the diatribe goes on to excuse urination in public places and violent behaviour because' men have to express 'what it feels like to be male and to have testosterone surging through young bodies'. Her excuse for clubland rape is that women are responsible in some way for the actions of predatory men. To extrapolate further that decades of androgynous feminism have destroyed chivalry is just arrant nonsense. she needs to take a long hard look at how boof headed musclebound overpaid football players have become the new aristocracy.
Miranda Devine's extraordinary defence of rugby league and those men within it who perpetrate violence beggars the imagination. the diatribe goes on to excuse urination in public places and violent behaviour because' men have to express 'what it feels like to be male and to have testosterone surging through young bodies'. Her excuse for clubland rape is that women are responsible in some way for the actions of predatory men. To extrapolate further that decades of androgynous feminism have destroyed chivalry is just arrant nonsense. she needs to take a long hard look at how boof headed musclebound overpaid football players have become the new aristocracy.
13 April 2009
Naltrexone 2009
For many heroin users, and their desperate families, the prospect of a quick fix for addiction to this all consuming drug has been a tantalising reality. Naltrexone implants have been inserted into thousands of Australian heroin users over the past decade despite serious concerns about their safety raised by drug treatment agencies around the country. These implants are not registered with the therapeutic goods administration and are either produced here or imported from China. Clinics around the country have been inserting these devices, utilising a loophole under the special Access Scheme, by claiming that heroin dependent patients are critically ill and at risk of death.
These implants do not come cheap. Each one costs the user or their family $5000. More than 3050 implants have been inserted in Australia over the past five years. Dr George O'Neil, a retired obstetrician and gynaecologist has been manufacturing and implanting these devices in Western Australia for the past 10 years. He has received $1.7 million from the Medical Research Council, $3.8 million in Federal government grants for industry and $8 million from the West Australian government. His website claims to be successful in 85% of cases and he has the ideological fervour of a man who believes absolutely, that he produces the panacea for opioid dependence.
In The Medical Journal of Australia a recent editorial has called for an independent review, of naltrexone implants in Australia. Emergency department doctors at two Sydney teaching hospitals have reported major morbidity in 12 patients after implants. There is further evidence from Prof Louisa Degenhardt in the same journal in 2007, that between 2000 - 2004 there were five deaths associated with naltrexone implants.
I have reported my concerns to the TGA on two occasions only to be told that because naltrexone implants were used under the special Access scheme, that they were under the radar. Having seen young patients, whose parents have cobbled together the huge amount required to such an implant, desperately unwell within weeks of insertion and begging to have the implant removed as a matter of urgency has caused great consternation. I have referred for such patients to a local teaching hospital in the last year. None of them seem to have had the procedure clearly explained, nor was there adequate follow-up by the clinics involved.
The Pharmaceutical Services Branch of New South Wales Health says it does not have the jurisdiction to control Special Access Scheme medications. Here we have playing out, the inevitable bureaucratic buck passing that ends when broadsheet newspapers produce a deluge of evidence by investigative journalists that leave government departments looking embarrassed. Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that the TGA will not release its records of adverse events surrounding naltrexone implants under freedom of information laws.
In the last two weeks I have contacted the Health Care Complaints Commission regarding serious adverse outcomes in two of my patients, whose families were seduced by the prospect of the easy solution to a difficult problem. and fell for the slick advertising of the Naltrexone implant clinic.
Desperate drug users and their families will reach out for any potential solution that is marketed as a way out of a life of hopelessness. We as the medical profession must scrutinize such claims for clear unequivocal evidence of efficacy before giving tacit support.
The Therapeutic goods administration needs to shut down this loophole in the Special Access Scheme and announce all adverse reactions for naltrexone implants as a matter of urgency by instituting a full investigation into it’s failure to protect the most vulnerable Australians.
These implants do not come cheap. Each one costs the user or their family $5000. More than 3050 implants have been inserted in Australia over the past five years. Dr George O'Neil, a retired obstetrician and gynaecologist has been manufacturing and implanting these devices in Western Australia for the past 10 years. He has received $1.7 million from the Medical Research Council, $3.8 million in Federal government grants for industry and $8 million from the West Australian government. His website claims to be successful in 85% of cases and he has the ideological fervour of a man who believes absolutely, that he produces the panacea for opioid dependence.
In The Medical Journal of Australia a recent editorial has called for an independent review, of naltrexone implants in Australia. Emergency department doctors at two Sydney teaching hospitals have reported major morbidity in 12 patients after implants. There is further evidence from Prof Louisa Degenhardt in the same journal in 2007, that between 2000 - 2004 there were five deaths associated with naltrexone implants.
I have reported my concerns to the TGA on two occasions only to be told that because naltrexone implants were used under the special Access scheme, that they were under the radar. Having seen young patients, whose parents have cobbled together the huge amount required to such an implant, desperately unwell within weeks of insertion and begging to have the implant removed as a matter of urgency has caused great consternation. I have referred for such patients to a local teaching hospital in the last year. None of them seem to have had the procedure clearly explained, nor was there adequate follow-up by the clinics involved.
The Pharmaceutical Services Branch of New South Wales Health says it does not have the jurisdiction to control Special Access Scheme medications. Here we have playing out, the inevitable bureaucratic buck passing that ends when broadsheet newspapers produce a deluge of evidence by investigative journalists that leave government departments looking embarrassed. Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that the TGA will not release its records of adverse events surrounding naltrexone implants under freedom of information laws.
In the last two weeks I have contacted the Health Care Complaints Commission regarding serious adverse outcomes in two of my patients, whose families were seduced by the prospect of the easy solution to a difficult problem. and fell for the slick advertising of the Naltrexone implant clinic.
Desperate drug users and their families will reach out for any potential solution that is marketed as a way out of a life of hopelessness. We as the medical profession must scrutinize such claims for clear unequivocal evidence of efficacy before giving tacit support.
The Therapeutic goods administration needs to shut down this loophole in the Special Access Scheme and announce all adverse reactions for naltrexone implants as a matter of urgency by instituting a full investigation into it’s failure to protect the most vulnerable Australians.
10 April 2009
Miranda Devine has revealed tragic consequences of uncontrolled home births. The alarming figures for death and disability should make women think twice before embarking on home birthing, particularly in outlying areas.
The ideological bias against hospitals is reminiscent of the anti-vaccine lobby. So now we have the madness of isolative home birth practice followed by an unvaccinated baby and all the attendant problems that can arise. It is time for some regulation from legislators to prevent such catastrophic outcomes.
Dr Raymond Seidler Kings Cross
The ideological bias against hospitals is reminiscent of the anti-vaccine lobby. So now we have the madness of isolative home birth practice followed by an unvaccinated baby and all the attendant problems that can arise. It is time for some regulation from legislators to prevent such catastrophic outcomes.
Dr Raymond Seidler Kings Cross
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
