[anax]

I saw 'Two Hands' a couple of years ago, but I've just heard of the sad death of Heath Ledger, so thought it fitting to say what a fine film I thought it was. It's the movie that brought Heath some of the respect that led to his role in Brokeback Mountain.

Two Hands is a story that turns contemporary ocker Australian wit into a good story. It mixes country innocence and city seediness, in a decent enough story. The acting is great, and I'm sure I'm extra partial to the film for its realistic setting on the streets of Sydney.


Heath Ledger was just 28, when he died a few hours ago. They're still not saying if it was deliberate or an accident with the prescription drugs found by his body. Either way it's a very sad event.

[Glesgalass]

Whatever it was, it was a total waste. How terrible!!! Such a young man, younger than my youngest son. If it was drugs, even prescription ones, why would a young man like that feel the need for them?

What I noticed when I was in America was that you can buy much stronger "over the counter" medications there than you can in Australia.

Just over 3 years ago my American daughter in law died in her sleep. The cause of death was multiple drug toxicity. This was NOT illegal drugs of any kind, but a combination of Chinese, herbal and prescription medication. I'd never seen anything like it in my life. She had hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of different herbal medications. I was totally shocked and asked my son how he could have let her do that. He said that she felt as though they were helping her.

She had nerve damage in her arm resulting from a pedestrian car accident when she was in New Zealand for work (she was a United Airlines Hostess) and had a number of operations on it. In Australia and the UK she would have been on workers compensation, but not in America.

Now you know why I don't have any respect for the American Government.

Elda

[anax]

That's a horrible tragedy you describe glesgalass. And it's only three years ago that your daughter-in-law died so it must still be badly effecting all who were close to her.

I've heard that President Bush has delayed making some public announcement about the dangers of prescription jobs until the circumstances of Heath Ledger's death are clarified. I reckon that message is an important once, especially if stronger prescription drugs are available over the counter in America.

I remember speaking to a doctor who dealt with patients suffering drug and alcohol problems. She told me that the patients she was most concerned about were those hooked on prescription drugs.

Perhaps the current division of legal/illegal drugs gives a false impression that prescription drugs are safer.

[Glesgalass]

t seems to be the combination thereof Anax. That is of prescription, herbal and street drugs, but it can be just the combination of herbal & prescription like what happened to my daughter in law.

What a lot of people don't realise is that some of those herbal medications can interact badly with prescription meds and it's not doctors who are expert in this, but pharmacists.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine was admitted to hospital for a scheduled operation. They had to cancel it because she had just started taking some herbal tablets the week before (forget what they were, but I think it was garlic tablets) and these tablets apparently thin the blood, so they couldn't go ahead with the operation because of the danger of her blood not clotting.

I always tell people to consult a pharmacist before using any kind of herbal medications, expecially if they are already taking prescription ones. And, of course, some herbal ones interact with other herbal meds.

Elda