Prince death: It could be weeks before autopsy results are known

[poledriver]

Prince death: It could be weeks before autopsy results are known

Los Angeles: A day after the death of pop icon Prince cast a purple shadow across the world, authorities started work on the pressing question of why the 57-year-old singer/songwriter died so suddenly.

All eyes are now on the Ramsey, Minnesota office of county chief medical examiner Dr A Quinn Strobl, who is leading the autopsy on the body of Prince Rogers Nelson.

In a curious footnote, which speaks to both modern media culture and America's obsession with celebrity, Dr Strobl has created a social media account and will be publicly releasing details of the autopsy.

Using the Twitter handle @MidwestMedExam, the account has already published an outline of the autopsy and a photograph of Dr Strobl.

An accompanying media release notes that Dr Strobl is board certified in anatomic, clinical and forensic pathology.

It says information regarding Prince's "medical and social history" will be gathered and that anything considered relevant will be "taken into consideration".

"Results of tests may take days and weeks depending on the type of testing," it says.

A reported overdose of the narcotic painkiller Percocet only days before he died has also emerged as potentially key factor in the sudden death of the star.

It has been widely reported that Prince's private jet had made an emergency landing so he could seek medical assistance for what has variously been claimed as "flu" or "flu-like" symptoms.

At the time Prince's publicist told US media the singer had been suffering from the flu, but details have surfaced in US media that the catalyst for that emergency was actually concern for Prince's condition after taking a dose of Percocet on his way home from recent concert in Atlanta.

Percocet, which has several other trade names including Endocet, is a combination paracetamol and the semi-synthetic opioid oxycodone. Its generic name is 'acetaminophen and oxycodone'.

In 2009, a US federal advisory panel voted to recommend a ban on Percocet because of its damaging impact on the liver, and the high incidence of accidental overdoses involving the drug.

The panel reported that "more than 400 people die and 42,000 are hospitalised every year" in the United States from overdoses of the drug.

US media also reported Prince was taking medication for a recurring hip problem.

The 57-year-old seven-time Grammy winner had corrective surgery on his hip in 2010.

However a recommended, more comprehensive hip procedure was reportedly not carried out at the time because Prince's faith – he was a Jehovah's Witness – does not permit blood transfusions.

Carver County sheriff's office in Minnesota also reported that the 911 caller who summoned assistance to Prince's Paisley Park estate did not know how the singer/songwriter died.

"We're at Prince's house ... we have um, yeah, we have um, so yeah, um, the person is dead here," the caller said, according to a transcript of the 911 call released by the sheriff's office.

Asked how Prince had died, the caller replied: "I don't know, I don't know."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment...-are-known-20160423-godclr.html#ixzz46aTTZVYJ

 

[poledriver]

Prince 'overdosed a week ago on Percocet taken for a chronic hip problem': Star suffered for years 'but refused to get an operation because of his Jehovah's Witness faith'

Prince (pictured in 2004 with his second wife Manuela Testolini) married twice and was romantically linked to a number starsk

Prince overdosed on the opiate Percocet six days before he died and had to be given a 'save shot' sources said

Drug is a highly-addictive painkiller that contains acetaminophen and oxycodone and is used to treat acute pain

Friends said he had long-term hip issues but was rumored to refuse surgery because he was a Jehovah's Witness

Pop superstar's autopsy was completed today and his body will be given to his family, but results could take weeks

Prince's private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, so he could be rushed to hospital last week

The 57-year-old music icon was then seen on Wednesday at a Walgreens pharmacy looking 'frail and nervous'

He died aged 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota on Thursday after being found unresponsive in an elevator

Legendary singer and songwriter sold more than 100million records in his sparkling 40-year music career

Prince was known for his sexually charged lyrics and was romantically linked to a number of male and female stars

Prince overdosed on Percocet he was taking for a chronic hip problem he had been suffering for years after refusing to have an operation because of his strict Jehovah's Witness faith, sources have claimed.

The pop superstar died yesterday aged 57 and is said to have overdosed on the highly addictive painkiller six days earlier, TMZ reported.

Prince had used a cane to help him walk for years after causing irreparable damage to his hips with his lively stage performances.

He had long needed a double hip replacement, but was rumored to have turned down surgery because it would require a blood transfusion - which conflicted with his religious beliefs.
The Purple Rain star took so many Percocet pills that he had to be given a 'save shot' after his private plane made an emergency landing so he could be rushed to hospital last Friday, sources close to the star claimed.
Meanwhile, a source told People that Prince had been battling an 'ongoing illness'.

'The people close to him were very concerned for his health and indicated he'd been undergoing treatments which made his immune system weak,' the source said.
Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier told CBS that Prince did have surgery on his hips but was still struggling with pain, as well as having issues with his ankles.

'The hip and ankle issues were a problem for him for so long, and for a man who loved to move and dance so much, it really bothered him,' Frazier said.
Prince's autopsy went ahead as planned today and his body will be handed over to his family later today.

Last night pictures emerged of Prince walking out of a Walgreens pharmacy just 15 hours before he was pronounced dead. It is not known whether he was picking up Percocet or any other prescription.
Prince's private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, on Friday after he performed in Atlanta so he could be rushed to hospital.

His plane descended 45,000ft in just 17 minutes after an 'unresponsive male' was reported on board the plane, a source told NBC News, and the fire department and paramedics were alerted of the incoming medical incident.
Though his representatives said he was battling the flu, multiple sources told TMZ that doctors gave him a 'save shot', which is usually given in dire circumstances to drug overdose victims.

The sources said doctors advised Prince to stay at the hospital for 24 hours, but when he wasn't given a private room, he and his representatives decided to leave. When he left the hospital, Prince 'was not doing well', the sources added.
He was released three hours later and made an appearance at a party in Minnesota the next day, telling fans to 'wait a few days before you waste any prayers'.

Prince was then found unresponsive in the elevator at his suburban Paisley Park estate in Minnesota at 9.43am EST on Thursday and was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

Cont : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3554087/Prince-dies-aged-57.html#ixzz46anCPe3Z

 

[poledriver]

The lonely last hours of the Purple One: Prince, 57, died in his Minnesota estate elevator after speaking to Will Smith - as it's revealed responders were carrying but did NOT use drug antidote Narcan on singer

Prince spent his final hours alone inside his vast $10million compound before collapsing inside an elevator

Music icon, 57, was last seen entering his estate at around 8pm on Wednesday but was not found until 9.43am

Prince was taken to a Twin Cities hospital on Wednesday and was seen by a doctor, a report has revealed

His final sighting was just an hour after he was seen looking 'frail and nervous' outside a Walgreens pharmacy

Will Smith said he spoke to Prince on Wednesday night and may have been the last person to speak with him

Prince's autopsy was completed today, but a probe into the cause of his death will not be finished for weeks

Sources said Prince overdosed on highly addictive opiate painkiller Percocet just six days before he died

Authorities said officers carry a medication to treat drug overdoses, but did not use it during to try to revive Prince

He was said to be taking the drug to help tackle chronic hip and ankle pain that he had suffered for many years

Prince was rumored to refuse surgery on hips because Jehovah's Witness faith does not allow blood transfusions

Prince spent his final night alone in his vast compound and was discovered unconscious in an elevator more than 13 hours after he was last seen alive.
Police said the 57-year-old pop superstar was last seen entering his $10million Minnesota estate at 8pm on Wednesday and was not found until the next morning.

Prince was taken to a Twin Cities hospital on Wednesday and was seen by a doctor, a law enforcement source told KSTP. He was then seen looking 'frail and nervous' in a Walgreens pharmacy just an hour before he returned to his home in Paisley Park at about 8pm, sources said.

Sources added that Prince may have overdosed on the highly addictive painkiller Percocet just days before.
One of the music legend's last conversations was with the actor Will Smith, who said he spoke to Prince on the night he died.

When Prince missed an early morning holistic medicine appointment on Thursday and couldn’t be reached, staff went to check on him. He was then unresponsive at his home.
Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said here were 'no obvious signs of trauma' on Prince's body when he was found at 9.43am on Thursday, and that investigators had ruled out suicide.

Olson, whose deputies responded to an emergency medical call at Prince's compound, said his officers carry a medication that can be given to someone suffering a drug overdose, but did not use it during the call.
An autopsy was done Friday but a cause of death hasn't been released, and authorities declined to comment on reports that Prince had been treated for a painkiller overdose less than a week earlier.
Sheriff Jim Olson said his officers have been carrying Narcan, which can treat narcotic overdose in an emergency situation, for the past two years as a matter of policy.

Minnesota lawmakers gave police agencies the right to carry the opioid antagonist, which blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose, since they are often first responders. The treatment is administered through an injection or nasal spray.
Olson said that Prince, who was fully clothed when he was found unresponsive, died less than half an hour after he was discovered by staff despite paramedics' efforts to resuscitate him.

Prince's loved ones now face a weeks-long wait for toxicology results to come back, which should reveal whether he did overdose days before his death on Thursday, as sources have claimed
Sources told TMZ that he overdosed on Percocet that he was taking for a chronic hip problem he had been suffering for years. The highly addictive painkiller is an opiate, but Sheriff Olson confirmed that officers did not use heroin rescue drug Narcan at the scene.

Cont: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-await-toxicology-results.html#ixzz46btRp9c9

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I don't konw about minnesota.....but in certain states you can get sued if you are a first responder or even a medical doctor and give an OD patient narcan.

Govenor Lepage of Maine (which has one of the biggest overdose epidemics) vetoed bills which would provide legal immunity to first responders and medical doctors who use the drug narcan. Basically making it so that you can get sued if you use narcan on an OD victim and they still die of the OD....or if they live....either way just using that narcan on someone without their consent means that they can sue you.

I would urge you all to look into governer LePage and how he handles the opioid epidemic. He has been described at hoping that they die so there are less drug addicts alive, etc. He proposed a bunch of other laws in maine aimed at preventing the use of suboxone, opening treatment centers, and preventing the use and sale of narcan. Lovely man. I hope he chokes on his own neck fat, disgusting pig.

This is the same guy that was recently in the new for describing all heroin dealers as black guys that impregnate white girls creating more future "problems"

only religion is a powerful enough reason some sick fuck like this would still keep getting reelected. This is the side that the religious evangelicals back? The other party must be proposing baby punching and kitten kicking laws

 

[poledriver]

Search warrant granted at home of Prince after sources revealed singer had prescription painkillers on him when he died

A search warrant has been granted for Prince's home following reports that he had painkillers on him when he died
Opioids were on singer, 57, when he was found unconscious last week
Died shortly after being discovered in elevator at his Paisley Park estate
Drug Enforcement Agency to help with investigations, sources claimed
Came as bank Bremer Trust named as a special administrator on estate

A search warrant has been granted by a judge for the home of Prince after claims that the singer had prescription painkillers on him when he died.

The search warrant is for Paisley Park, the musician's home and recording studio complex in suburban Milwaukee, and the local sheriff and prosecutor filed papers Thursday requesting that the warrant be sealed for six months.
Opioids were found on the singer after he was discovered unconscious in one of the elevators at his home last week, according to The Star Tribune.
He died less than half an hour later.

Officers have already revealed they found no signs of suicide or obvioustrauma while probing the death.
They also admitted it could take weeksbefore autopsy results reveal how the star died.

Authorities are now trying todetermine what, if any, role opioids may have played in the star's death and whether the drugs found at the scene were prescribed tohim.
It also came as reports claimed Prince was suffering from Aids in the six months before his death.

The Purple Rain singer, who was a Jehovah's Witness, was diagnosed with the crippling condition six months before he passed away, sources told the National Enquirer.

THE DANGEROUS AND SEDUCTIVE NATURE OF OPIOIDS

Opioid painkillers, which include products like Percocet, Percodan and Vicodin, are dangerous because they are so seductive.
They work by blocking the pain pathway from the nerve endings in the skin to the spinal cord and the brain. This open the floodgates for the chemical dopamine, which triggers sensations of well-being.

Dopamine rewires the brain to become accustomed to those benign feelings, leading to addiction.
He was believed to weigh just 80lbs and had been 'preparing to die for a little while', it was added.

He was also said to be taking Percocet, a highly addictive and potentially lethal painkiller, for a chronic hip problem he had been suffering from for years.

The singer had long needed a double hip replacement but was rumored to have turned down surgery because it could require a blood transfusion, which may have conflicted with his religious beliefs. Some types of blood transfusions go against the Jehovah's Witnesses faith.

It was Percocet that is believed to have led to the star being forced to have 'save shot' the week before he died, sources close to the star claimed. Prince's representatives said he had been suffering from flu.

Cont -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-administrator-superstar-Princes-estate.html

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Prince ‘Worked 154 Hours Straight’ With No Sleep Before Death
Prince was famous for his remorseless work ethic. His brother-in-law has now said he worked for six days straight before his death, prompting speculation that exhaustion contributed to his death.
Prince reportedly worked for 154 hours without sleep in the days leading up to his death in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate.
According to numerous reports, his brother-in-law Maurice Phillips has claimed the singer worked for six days non-stop before his death.
Speaking after a private family service at the singer’s estate, Phillips reportedly said: “He worked 154 hours straight. I was with him just last weekend. He was a good brother-in-law.”

Full article here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...ours-straight-with-no-sleep-before-death.html

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Michael Padden, an attorney in Lake Elmo, Minn., who represented Prince’s half-brother Duane Nelson and his sister Lorna Nelson before their deaths, said both told him over a period of years beginning in about 2001 that Prince was using both cocaine and Percocet.

“They told me that he was addicted to cocaine and Percocet,” Mr. Padden said. “My knowledge, frankly, is limited to what his brother and sister told me.”

Full article here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/authorities-probe-drugs-found-on-prince-at-time-of-death-1461872272

 

[T. Calderone]

^ WSJ won't let me read that article unless I'm a paid subscriber....

 

[poledriver]

^

 

[poledriver]

Prince had painkiller addiction meeting planned with doctor: report

The body of music superstar Prince was reportedly found only a day before a doctor was due to meet him to help end an addiction to painkillers.

California doctor Howard Kornfeld, described as a national authority on opioid addiction treatment, was contacted by Prince representatives on April 20 because the musician "was dealing with a grave medical emergency", the Star Tribune reports, citing William Mauzy, a Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family.

The day after the call for help to Kornfeld, who runs Recovery Without Walls, a Californian outpatient clinic, Prince was found dead at age 57 at his home-studio complex called Paisley Park in Minneapolis, according to the report.

The doctor's son Andrew Kornfeld arrived at Paisley Park the morning of April 21 and was one of three people there when Prince's body was found in an elevator, the paper said.

He called 911.

Kornfeld had planned to fly out the following day, the paper said.

Neither the doctor nor the lawyer responded to Reuters' requests for confirmation of the report.

The hope was that Prince would agree to go to California for care, which would include around-the-clock nursing support, the paper said.

Prince's cause of death remains undetermined and it could be weeks before results are released from an autopsy.

Prescription opioid medication was found on him, media reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Police have said they found no signs of suicide or obvious trauma in Prince's death.

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/...nkiller-addiction-meeting#pU8FZJXuJsKSchIE.99

 

[poledriver]

Prince died of opioid painkiller overdose

Pop legend Prince died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, a medical examiner said after an autopsy.

The 57-year-old star's death was an "accident" caused by administering himself fentanyl, a powerful opioid used to treat pain, the medical examiner's office in his native Minnesota said in a statement.

The medical examiner gave few other details, with the sheriff's department in Minnesota's Carver County still investigating.

The examiner's office said that the sprightly five-foot-two (1.6-meter) "Purple Rain" star weighed just 112 pounds (51 kilograms) and listed the resting spot of his ashes as unknown.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opiate, is more powerful than morphine and is used to treat people with chronic pain. It is only available by prescription.

Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park estate on April 21, days after his private plane made an emergency landing that was also reportedly due to a painkiller overdose.

A California doctor who treats painkiller addiction, Howard Kornfeld, had been urgently making plans to treat Prince when the artist died, the specialist's lawyer said last month.

Kornfeld's son Andrew had arrived at Paisley Park to explain the treatment to Prince when he discovered his lifeless body and called the 911 emergency line for help.

Prince had appeared to be healthy to the public and was famous for his marathon performances in which he would play for hours or put on two shows in a night.

But Prince underwent hip surgery in 2010 and was famously private about his personal life.
Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/afp/2016/06...ainkiller-overdose-report#UXsO32YBE14Ioqi3.99

 

[poledriver]

Fentanyl, the drug that killed Prince, is stronger than heroin and morphine

The effect of the prescription drug on which music star Prince overdosed is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin.

Fentanyl, an opioid, is prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain, often following major trauma, nerve damage or cancer.

According to a single-page report from the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, Prince "self-administered fentanyl" on the day he was found dead at his Paisley Park mansion, aged 57.

It has been reported that the singer had been scheduled to meet an addiction specialist the day following his death.

In Australia the drug comes under the names Durogesic (transdermal patches), Actiq (lozenges/lollipops), Sublimaze (IV injection), as well as some generic names.

The drug can cause unpredictable and dangerous reactions when mixed with other prescription or over-the-counter medications and alcohol.

In some cases fentanyl is used illegally by people extracting it from a patch and injecting it to become intoxicated.

Australian data released in 2012 by the National Coronial Information System reported a spike in fatal overdoses from the powerful painkiller, by users extracting the drug from patches and injecting it, while others were applying multiple patches - nicknamed "stickers" by drug users.

The data found fentanyl medication abuse was a factor in at least 50 deaths between 2010 and 2012, with a peak of 26 deaths in 2011.

That figure is likely to rise, with 32 deaths linked to the drug still under investigation by the coroner.

The Australian Drug Foundation advises that extracting and injecting the drug "is very risky, as there is little difference between the amount needed to get 'high' and the amount that causes overdose. It is also extremely hard to judge a 'correct' dose size."

In 2015, Gold Coast personal trainer Michael Clayton applied a fentanyl patch to relieve sore muscles before going to sleep. He never woke up.

In June this year, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found NSW nurse Dammen Alen Akhurst "selfishly" deprived patients of the pain medication, when he stole doses of the drug and replaced them with syringes containing saline solution at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital in 2014.

Common with other opiates, the symptoms of fentanyl can include euphoria and relief from pain, as well as drowsiness, weakness, nausea and incoherent or slurred speech.

Despite the drug's success in relieving pain, it can also be highly addictive. Withdrawal symptoms usually begin within 12 hours after the dose and last for about a week.

Naxolone, also known as Narcan, is an intravenous drug used to reverse the effect of drugs such as fentanyl in the case of an opiate overdose.

In 2013 the Australian Medical Association called for a nationwide opioid script-tracking system, to track patients who are doctor shopping to stockpile supplies of the drug.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment...d-morphine-20160603-gpahkm.html#ixzz4ATw7Qdhm