Judy Garland Overdose PDF

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Judy Garland Overdose story and details of her autopsy and toxicology report...

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1 OVERDOSE

On June 22, 1969 actress and singer Judy Garland, age 47, was found dead in her home in London, England of an apparent overdose. After an autopsy and toxicology report, it was found that Judy had died of an accidental barbiturate overdose. Garland had been no stranger to prescription drugs that she learned to rely on for sleeping during the night, energy during the day, and for keeping off “extra weight” in order to keep her fame. These drugs had been pushed on her since the start of her fame as a teenager and remained a part of her life until the day she died. The Coroner, Gavin Thurston, announced to the press that it was an accidental circumstance to a person who was accustomed to taking barbiturates over a very long time and that she simply took more barbiturates than she could tolerate. At the time of her death, barbiturates were often prescribed as a sleep-aid and Judy’s blood contained the equivalent of 10, 1.5 grain Seconal capsules. Seconal was prescribed as a sleep-aid and possesses anesthetic, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic properties, it’s important to note that it was widely addictive and abused. Barbiturate overdose symptoms include difficulty thinking, poor coordination, decreased level of consciousness and, difficulty breathing. “Complications of overdose can include noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. If death occurs this is typically due to a lack of breathing.” (Wikipedia, 2010.) Garland's physician noted that a prescription of 25 barbiturate pills was found by her bedside half-empty and another bottle of 100 barbiturate pills was still unopened. It was also stressed that Garland was living on borrowed time, not only from her history of prescription pill addiction but from the deterioration of her withered body from the drugs, alcohol, weight fluctuations, mental health issues, and many suicide attempts.

2 OVERDOSE References Wikipedia. (2010, April 17). Barbiturate overdose. Retrieved October 7, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbiturate_overdose...