Wife of Soundgarden's Cornell calls suicide 'inexplicable'

[Initech]

Musician Chris Cornell of the band Soundgarden arrives on the red carpet for the film ''Machine Gun Preacher'' during the 36th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) September 11, 2011. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

The wife of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell said on Friday that she did not believe the singer meant to kill himself, suggesting anxiety drugs he was taking might have played a role in his death.

Cornell, 52, was found dead in the bathroom of his Detroit hotel on Wednesday night after the grunge band had played a concert in the city. The Wayne County Medical Examiner initially ruled the cause of death to be suicide by hanging.

"What happened is inexplicable, and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details," Vicky Cornell said in a statement. "I know that he loved our children, and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life."

Cornell said the singer, a recovering addict, was taking the prescription drug Ativan, which treats anxiety and insomnia. One of the listed side effects is that it may increase depression and cause impaired judgment.

Kirk Pasich, a lawyer for the family, said they were disturbed at the inference that Cornell "knowingly and intentionally took his life" before the results of toxicology tests were known.

"The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions," Pasich said.

Ativan maker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) had no immediate comment.

Cornell had spoken openly of his drug and alcohol addiction in the past, as well as periods of depression and agoraphobia.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-chris-cornell-idUSKCN18F1QI

If this is true, we need to start holding these fucking drug companies accountable. These drugs are dangerous. And there's no one to hold them accountable.

[cwydro]

1. I don't believe it was Ativan that killed Prince.

But prescription drugs are just as dangerous as so-called "street" drugs.

[hardluck]

8. How are they not regulated? Nt

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. Prince od'd on fentanly, an opiate.

Ativan is not an opiate.

[Initech]

3. Fixed it.

[MagickMuffin]

5. The media also needs to be accountable as well

Reporting on someone's death before a full report or autopsy is done is unacceptable. The people who have died because of their celebrity deserves respect for the family the death will greatly impact.

[hlthe2b]

6. It is very difficult to causally link these drugs with suicide, but I just hope that if the belief

that the Ativan (or other drugs) did impair judgement sufficient to the act-- brings the family peace, that they won't be overly criticized for doing so. Such a tragedy is inexplicable, but the answers are unlikely to be forthcoming.

[janterry]

7. He shouldn't have had a script for benzos

if he was drinking or using drugs. It said he had a problem - but not whether it was current (or if he relapsed).

Everyone needs to do what works for them, but ime - working with folks with anxiety dx, the best interventions are stress management techniques. Drugs work, of course, but there's always risk. For folks with substance abuse hx, benzos can be a big problem.

[hunter]

9. Sure the drugs are dangerous.

So are the illnesses they treat.

It's a lot like chemotherapy for cancer; the treatment might kill you but the cancer surely will.

This is one of those issues where the truth really does lie somewhere in the middle, somewhere between the ranting anti-psychiatry Scientologist and the lazy doctors who over-prescribe powerful meds just to get difficult patients out of their offices, or in pandering to celebrity. (Michael Jackson, Prince, Rush Limbaugh... they all bought doctors who wouldn't say "No!" Trump's doctor is apparently the same... )

Yes, many pharmaceutical corporations are evil. Maximizing profits, which is the only goal of any capitalist corporate entity, makes for bad medicine. The goal of good medicine is to return patients to a healthy state so they don't come back. But common chronic conditions are where the big money is, the prescriptions I refill every month.

I take some powerful meds, including psych meds, costing a few hundred dollars a month here in the U.S.A.. (They cost less in Canada or Mexico, which is another story.) I know from terrifying personal experience I'm a danger to myself when I quit taking them, or when the effectiveness of one fades, which happens. By some good fortune I've not been a direct danger to others, except as it hurts friends and loved ones to see me crashing, or to anyone who might try to rescue me from some dangerous situation I've got myself into.

Good medicine by nature is a socialist endeavor. That's obviously the case with dangerous communicable diseases which we strive to eradicate with vaccines and other public health measures, and accidents which we strive to reduce the severity and frequency of by safety regulations. But it's also true of all the random shit that afflicts humans. Anyone can be hit by some cosmic ray that turns a healthy cell into an aggressive cancer, anyone can be born with a combination of genes that makes them prone to some addiction, anyone can suffer an accident that permanently disables them, maybe causing chronic pain or psych issues.

Even medical problems our judgmental society traditionally blames the victim for (smoking related diseases, sexually acquired diseases, etc...) are social issues, and best addressed in socialist ways.

I have huge issues with the health insurance corporations, both profit and non-profit. It seems they don't really care about the actual health of their customers, or even minimizing medical costs. Rather it's all about the size of the revenue streams they control.

[Initech]

14. That's what I was trying to say.

It's not about the health of the person, it's about that precious profit. Health companies and insurance providers couldn't care less whether you live or die, they only see dollar signs.

[mvd]

10. I take Ativan, but I restrict it to 2 a day

Not sure if suicidal thoughts are a side effect of taking too many. It doesn't sound like he took enough to kill him. Could they have contributed to his thoughts? Not an expert there.

[NCTraveler]

11. "These drugs are dangerous."

As are the issues they treat.

[Initech]

13. Yeah sometimes the cure is as bad as the disease it treats.

[NCTraveler]

15. And sometimes it's a lifesaver.

Mixed bag. It's simply too soon to tell in this instance. My heart goes out to his family.

[Tiggeroshii]

12. Pretty sure suicide can be a response to the incessant and overwhelming numbness

and loss of feeling, emotion and sense of belonging that comes from years of depression. Even therapy can have difficulty resolving it because so many people who contemplate suicide will never admit it, keeping many issues from truly being addressed.

[nolabear]

16. Fact is, no one knows. Pain makes you want answers but no one knows.

People want answers so badly they'll state fears as facts in an effort to protect themselves from the worse agony of possible blame and the unknown.

Anti-anxiety meds, antidepressants and all manner of drugs CAN increase suicidality but it's often by a route that people don't take into account. Something that might be perfectly benign in 99 people will have a bizarre effect on 1. Plus, there are combined drug effects and when someone does that the efficacy of the med is impacted in all manner of ways. Plus, with things like antidepressants for someone who's profoundly depressed, there's a scary period where they're feeling well enough not to be paralyzed but not to have hope. Careful monitoring is important and not everyone has that.

I'm not a big drug fan on the whole, but they're extremely helpful for many and I wouldn't by any means say they shouldn't be used. I do think people, particularly those whose functioning is important to a lot of others, can be overmedicated to keep them going when what they desperately need (and don't necessarily think so themselves) is rest, therapy and someone who will treat them, meds or therapy or whatever, with enough actual involvement to work with the nuances of their particular neurochemical and thought processes. Psychotropic drugs are, unfortunately, in the "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" category because as medical issues go there's no THERE there, no tumor, no blood test, nothing but the patient's reported experience. And the reporter is what's impaired.

Long-winded I know, but I feel so bad for his family. I've known these questions many, many times and when someone is gone there are just no real answers. I hope that something gives them some peace. His loss is a terrible thing. Lots of people here in Seattle knew him throughout his rise and the heartbreak is real and awful.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

17. Not familiar with Ativan

It's interesting though what the side effects are for some prescription drugs.

I had to take Augmentin for a UTI. I remember it gave me a rather depressed state of mind. Not suicidal but it was pretty hard to be motivated to do anything.

None the less I feel really sorry for his family.

Chris Cornell was a talented singer, songwriter and musician. Sad to see him go.