Tragically, the fact Amy Winehouse died at an early age is not surprising for many. She and her substance abuse struggles were always in the limelight, being catapulted to world-renowned status after the release of her critically acclaimed, multiplatinum album Back to Black. She made no attempts at keeping her addiction struggles secret, in fact, glorifying it in her music. Her biggest hit, “Rehab”, is about her refusal to seek help at an alcohol treatment facility.
What Killed Amy Winehouse
What is surprising and eye-opening is her cause of death. While everyone assumed she died of a drug overdose, it was the complete opposite. She died without any illegal drugs in her system. What killed her, as her father believes, was actually an unsupervised detox. Toxicology reports show Librium was in her system, which is a prescription drug used to combat anxiety and withdrawal symptoms. Amy’s father Mitch believes his daughter died after suffering a seizure that was triggered by her detox, including the pharmaceutical drugs she was taking. She was alone at the time of her death. No one was with her to provide the life-saving medical attention she needed while detoxing from alcohol.
Detox can be Dangerous
Amy’s father was an advocate for his daughter. He fought with her to go to rehab. He fought with the drug dealers supplying Amy. He even fought with the public for glorifying her substance abuse problems. He did as much as he could to help Amy throughout her addiction. If your loved one wants to quit drugs or alcohol, the best thing you can do is get them help. Quitting “cold turkey” is just not safe. Depending on the level of addiction and the substance, withdrawal symptoms can be intense, even life-threatening. Any underlying medical problems, such as Amy’s history of seizures, add to the detox risks. Our alcohol treatment facility is a safe place to detox. With round-the-clock medical supervision, withdraw symptoms can be addressed and detox can be achieved safely. When your loved one is detoxing, they need the medical attention and emotional support to get through this most difficult step. (Photo via Rama)