UK tourist found dead on Koh Tao consumed Valium, alcohol

[lostinisaan]

Backpackers here get excited about what's freely availlable in the pharmacy's. Valium is just one of them.

But why do UK-girls want to be pissed all the time? On a place like Koh Tao you can be happy without any drugs i guess.

Not when you take your drug addiction to Thailand. Valium is often used to get off "Speed and heroin."

You might not believe what's really going on on these islands. A friend of mine who had a friend wanted to buy some pot on Ko Samet, not too long ago.

The guy who wanted to buy something for my friend's friend, who worked at a bar was a lower northeast Isaanjero:

"Please do not mention my name, because I don't want to have any problems with the police."

The Isaanjero guy started laughing and said:" Didn't you know that THEY'RE selling the drugs here? No problem at all.

You're generalizing UK girls, have you ever thought about a similarity to many other and more civilized countries, having no perspective and doing drugs? It's a world wide problem.

Drugs were always here and will always be here.

BTW, I've worked with/for hard drug addicted people for many years and truly know almost all about drugs.

Have you ever heard of a pot overdosed death before?

The Dutch government made several researches about it and came to the conclusion that you'd have to smoke 20 kg finest hand-rolled hashish from Afghanistan to die overdosed on THC.

But you'd have to smoke the 20 kg within two hours. I do not see a problem when people are using recreational drugs and know how to behave.

Being happy without any drugs would include alcohol as well.

Can you imagine, all the bar stool acrobats and backpackers being sober?

It seems that she'd her reason to do what she did. Rest in peace, life is a gift and you threw it away.

Edited January 30, 2015 by lostinisaan

[Lorn]

Dont want to make any conspirations in this case, but Valium and alcohol must be consumed in very very very high doses to be lethal.

On what basis do you make this statement? A high amount of Valium, yes but mixed with alcohol, a very dangerous concoction. Sorry but you are so wrong and are posting very misleading information. Before you post, get you facts straight.

You must have missed the part where it mentioned 'tramadol' - when mixed with alcohol this is very dangerous unlike valium and alcohol.

No, never missed the bit about tramadol but as there was no mention of this being detected during the initial examination I did not feel the need to make a statement and complicate the matter by adding fuel to the speculation fire. Yes, agreed that it is very dangerous mixed with alcohol. However, the latter part of your post, if you are suggesting that Valium and alcohol is not, then I ask you to check you facts before you post misleading information.

I am not a chemist or a forensic expert but as a law enforcement officer (retired), with some 30 years experience I have attended many incidents involving O/D's, and have had to prepare reports for the Coroner and then attend the Coronial Inquiry, where it has been determined that the cause of death was through taking a concoction of alcohol and Valium. (Both depressants) The finding was mainly "Death by misadventure," or in a few instances, following extensive investigations, the cause was attributed to "Suicide." Never Murder!

Just for your information and others on here who have absolutely no knowledge and brag how they have taken the Valium and alcohol mixture without any effects. Do not believe it for the following reasons Valium is a drug from the class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. These medications are used to treat anxiety disorders and have hypnotic, sedative effects because they act on certain chemicals within the brain. They are known as central nervous system depressants. Mixing alcohol with Valium can be lethal. So as I said, before you post, please check you facts.

The problem is the use of the word can. If you get in a car today you could die in a car crash. Does this mean you will never get in a car? There is a minuscule chance that mixing alcohol with X other drug will have terrible consequences. However as people are on these drugs long- term and do not wish to give up alcohol for a long time, they consider it worth the risk. It is not miraculous that they survive- the vast majority do. And it's hardly a tiny percentage of people who do this crazy, risky thing.

The study, of nearly 27,000 U.S. adults, found that among current drinkers, about 43 percent were on prescription medications that interact with alcohol

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20150116/many-americans-who-drink-also-take-prescription-medications-study

P.S And i'm also speaking from experiences due to taking medication for anxiety issues. Combined it with alcohol and various other legal and illegal substances on occasion. Unwise yes, but not a statistical anomaly that I survived.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Lorn

[Si Thea01]

Lorn.

Sorry that you too appear not to comprehend what I wrote about. What do you mean by " The problem is the use of the word can? If you want to compare something, then that's fine but do so with apples and apples, not apples and oranges. Having a crash and never getting back into a car? I hope that is not an argument against what I have written? If it is, then you leave me dumfounded.

All I was indicating, which you and a number of others have decried, is that Valium mixed with alcohol can be lethal. I never said that this would occur on all occasions, as you and the others want to point out to me but there are other a number of potentially dangerous side effects that can arise. Why are going off on this tangent, as others have, as it is not relevant to my initial and subsequent posts. If you think so then maybe you should look up the meaning of relevant Actually I'll help you. "It is closely connected or appropriate to the matter in hand." Now show me the relevance in your statement?

So what you and others are saying is that because you are talking from experience through taking, I assume, prescribed medication, Valium, combined with alcohol and have survived, that it is ok to do so and that the combination I am discussing is and cannot be lethal. It is a proven fact, world wide, that it is, so why cannot you and others see this and admit to the facts instead off posting the way you are? What in the hell has the US study got to do with the subject of the original post? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I do however, accept that many people do abuse other prescribed medications and combine it with alcohol, and they obviously do it for a reason, either to heighten the effects of the medication or the alcohol. It then depends n the composition of the medication, the persons well being and the quantity taken , as to the dangers involved.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Si Thea01

[kieran2698]

Valium is illegal in Thailand????? Codeine is illegal??? You are really uninformed.

They are both illegal in Thailand, valium may be available for purchase without the required prescription yet remains illegal and is most probably fake when available in the street. Codeine is only available from hospital dispensaries and is considered highly illegal, catergory II which also includes opium and cocaine, and is not generally available. The OP was well informed unlike yourself.

Wrong! My doctor gives me Valium whenever I need it. It is NOT illegal in Thailand. It is perfectly legal. Codeine is available from doctors as well.

Diazepam (Valium), is listed here in the Psychotropic Drugs Act 2012 update.

http://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/faq/upload/Thai%20Psychotropic%20Act%202012.doc._1d96.pdf

Codeine is listed here in the Narcotics Act 2012 update.

http://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/faq/upload/Thai%20Narcotic%20Act%202012.doc._37ef.pdf

[balo]

Stop doing drugs , any kind is bad for you. Start living a healthy life, get up in the morning, drink carrot juice, lots of veggies, staart doing excercises and soon you will not miss your old miserable life. Say no to drugs and I mean any drugs, even some of the pills that doctors prescribe.

[monk213]

Stop doing drugs , any kind is bad for you. Start living a healthy life, get up in the morning, drink carrot juice, lots of veggies, staart doing excercises and soon you will not miss your old miserable life. Say no to drugs and I mean any drugs, even some of the pills that doctors prescribe.

If I took your advice I probably would be dead or at least in hospital, you don't just stop certain drugs because you can have seizures or worse, die. Every part of my life is healthy pretty much, wholesome food, don't smoke, exercise and I am content. I just have an anxiety disorder which is partly genetic as my mother has something similar, so unless you can find some sort of gene changing device that will have to remain. Thanks for the advice though

[kieran2698]

Stop doing drugs , any kind is bad for you. Start living a healthy life, get up in the morning, drink carrot juice, lots of veggies, staart doing excercises and soon you will not miss your old miserable life. Say no to drugs and I mean any drugs, even some of the pills that doctors prescribe.

If I took your advice I probably would be dead or at least in hospital, you don't just stop certain drugs because you can have seizures or worse, die. Every part of my life is healthy pretty much, wholesome food, don't smoke, exercise and I am content. I just have an anxiety disorder which is partly genetic as my mother has something similar, so unless you can find some sort of gene changing device that will have to remain. Thanks for the advice though

There are people who do not develop a tolerance for who the beneficial effects remain and it may be the best choice for them in the medium term but you should never take benzodiazepines long term. Long term use was never officially studied in the UK despite the recommendation to do so. In 1980, they issued guidance restricting the use of benzodiazepines to short-term use and denied the necessity to complete a long term use study. Presumably they knew it was not going to be good news.

[micmichd]

Can you please define 'long time use' and 'short time use'?

Maybe I could find someone who did a long time test on benzodiazepam...

[micmichd]

Smedly and Monk213

You are both right but tell me what has this to do with the original story and what I posted, which relates to alcohol and Valium and my not mentioning tramadol? The preliminary report only relates to what I discussed, not what you have brought to the forum The only relevant point I can see is the quantity aspect mentioned by Smedly. May I ask you both, if there is any other relevancy, would you please enlighten me?

so you don't think quantity is relevant - I can assure you it is very very relevant

as already mentioned on this thread many things can become toxic to our bodies if taken in large quantities - I gave the example of water because it is not something that a lot of people would be aware of, and we are not talking about drowning we are talking about drinking

Hey don't worry, some people are so stuck in their ways and opinionated there is absolutely no way to get through to them. We were discussing the diazepam and alcohol combination, I clearly stated you could combine the 2 for your first time with zero tolerance and be fine, in fact this will most likely happen, you may have no memory of what took place or have a slight injury or something, but the vast majority of people will be fine. You could do this 1,000 times and be fine, but there are some people (due to biochemistry and other exterior factors) that would die on their first time combining the 2. It would most likely take a lot of at least 1 of the 2 though.

So I wasn't? Pray tell then, what was I discussing? Why don't you read what was written? Or do you, like many others, deliberately change things around to suit your own agenda? So, if one bases a statement on facts, they are stuck in one's ways, opinionated and there is no way some can get through to them? I'll back my knowledge of how lethal a combination of these two drugs can be any day against the dangerous material you are posting. As for your statement on consumption, is that from experience or just some made up rubbish that you are trying to promulgate. If it's the former than I can understand why you are posting what you do.

You should note that its never safe to drink while on Valium. The combination of alcohol and diazepam in the body enhances the most dangerous effects of both drugs and that's a medical fact. No, not every one reacts the same to this concoction but for you to state that the majority of people will be fine, you have no idea what you are talking about. Just for your information this is what can occur when mixing the two, and yes it does depend on quantity but this varies from person to person.

1. Alcohol poisoning

2. Drowsiness

3. Dizziness

4. Loss of consciousness

5. Shallow breathing

6. Problems with memory

7. Overdose

Your risk of overdose on Valium directly increases when Valium (diazepam) is taken with alcohol. Doctors never recommend mixing the two. Not even if youre only having one or two drinks, or if youre taking a normal therapeutic dose of Valium. So really, what you have written is misleading and very irresponsible.

[micmichd]

Guess the real danger about theValium & alcohol mix is that you lose all control. It might even end up with an 'absurdity' effect, ie you feel speeded up. And then you stick to drinking to come down again, etc.etc.

[jdinasia]

I should have been dead years ago if that mix kills . . . . .

You're lucky and have a rigid constitution then. A casual friend of mine died through that combination.

He drank a lot of booze, was an alcoholic (were're talking heavy liquor first thing in the morning).

He went on a heavy night binge. Woke up just after dawn. Took a cold shower, popped some valium to get back to sleep, never woke up again. The combination slows your heart down to the point it fails to beat.

This happened on Koh Tao and he used to own a bar on the beach at Sairee.

You are correct. Even as little as one valium with alcohol can kill.

[monk213]

Stop doing drugs , any kind is bad for you. Start living a healthy life, get up in the morning, drink carrot juice, lots of veggies, staart doing excercises and soon you will not miss your old miserable life. Say no to drugs and I mean any drugs, even some of the pills that doctors prescribe.

If I took your advice I probably would be dead or at least in hospital, you don't just stop certain drugs because you can have seizures or worse, die. Every part of my life is healthy pretty much, wholesome food, don't smoke, exercise and I am content. I just have an anxiety disorder which is partly genetic as my mother has something similar, so unless you can find some sort of gene changing device that will have to remain. Thanks for the advice though

There are people who do not develop a tolerance for who the beneficial effects remain and it may be the best choice for them in the medium term but you should never take benzodiazepines long term. Long term use was never officially studied in the UK despite the recommendation to do so. In 1980, they issued guidance restricting the use of benzodiazepines to short-term use and denied the necessity to complete a long term use study. Presumably they knew it was not going to be good news.

I am currently on a taper, and as far as I can gather from the research I have done (mainly under Dr Ashton) the effects of benzodiazepines are not permanent, ie the memory loss and fuzzy thinking. I have felt this before when I stopped for 3 months, it felt as if a fog had cleared and everything was clear again, however I had crippling anxiety so I relapsed.

Aside from that there are some speculation that it lowers your immune system, but we do know that it is a very nasty addiction to come off of, I know this first hand and I would go as far to say it is worse than getting of off heroin (if you suffer from an anxiety disorder that is) due to rebound anxiety and the physical WD symptoms can last weeks and not just days as with most opiates.

[The manic]

It is no longer called drug abuse but bio-hacking! It is the new normal.

[green job]

It is no longer called drug abuse but bio-hacking! It is the new normal.

Yawnnnnnnnn Here we go again

[The manic]

Although 'Yawn, here we go again' might seem like a smart cynical response it is in fact just ignorant. Now with the Silicon Valley geniuses and entrepreneurs admitting to the use of drug use to enhance their lives but re-classifying drug abuse as bio-hacking it is one step forward to enlightenment and freedom for us all. For the vast majority of recreational drug user their experiences are overwhelmingly positive and live enhancing. A change in Thailand' s drug policies would benefit the country and it its people enormously.

[micmichd]

It's a difference whether you live *with* drugs or *for* drugs, the danger is that you might become a junkie if you make it a habit.

Anyway, the difference between soft drugs and hard drugs is well-noticed in Western countries by now. Valium and benzodiapines are surely hard drugs, you suffer physical and/or mental withdrawal signs if you stop taking them. Alcohol and nicotine remain a problem, especially when nicotine comes in cigarettes with all the additives that some Tobacco companies love so much.

Edited February 1, 2015 by micmichd

[monk213]

It's a difference whether you live *with* drugs or *for* drugs, the danger is that you might become a junkie if you make it a habit.

Anyway, the difference between soft drugs and hard drugs is well-noticed in Western countries by now. Valium and benzodiapines are surely hard drugs, you suffer physical and/or mental withdrawal signs if you stop taking them. Alcohol and nicotine remain a problem, especially when nicotine comes in cigarettes with all the additives that some Tobacco companies love so much.

Yep everything is upside down in the substance classification table, well for the most part anyway. If you go by ratio per 1,000 people, the danger to that amount of people legal substances like tobacco, alcohol and prescription medications are right up there as being the most harmful. If you look at what is regarded as highly illegal such as LSD, DMT, MDMA, mushrooms, basically all entheogens, they are pretty harmless and only in rare cases they are. I don't know how this happened in our society that these types of drugs are looked down upon as bad things, they can enrich someone's life and there is proof that they can help certain mental illnesses and disorders. But sure, lets just keep the highly poisonous things nice and legal for everyone to consume.

[kieran2698]

Stop doing drugs , any kind is bad for you. Start living a healthy life, get up in the morning, drink carrot juice, lots of veggies, staart doing excercises and soon you will not miss your old miserable life. Say no to drugs and I mean any drugs, even some of the pills that doctors prescribe.

If I took your advice I probably would be dead or at least in hospital, you don't just stop certain drugs because you can have seizures or worse, die. Every part of my life is healthy pretty much, wholesome food, don't smoke, exercise and I am content. I just have an anxiety disorder which is partly genetic as my mother has something similar, so unless you can find some sort of gene changing device that will have to remain. Thanks for the advice though

There are people who do not develop a tolerance for who the beneficial effects remain and it may be the best choice for them in the medium term but you should never take benzodiazepines long term. Long term use was never officially studied in the UK despite the recommendation to do so. In 1980, they issued guidance restricting the use of benzodiazepines to short-term use and denied the necessity to complete a long term use study. Presumably they knew it was not going to be good news.

I am currently on a taper, and as far as I can gather from the research I have done (mainly under Dr Ashton) the effects of benzodiazepines are not permanent, ie the memory loss and fuzzy thinking. I have felt this before when I stopped for 3 months, it felt as if a fog had cleared and everything was clear again, however I had crippling anxiety so I relapsed.

Aside from that there are some speculation that it lowers your immune system, but we do know that it is a very nasty addiction to come off of, I know this first hand and I would go as far to say it is worse than getting of off heroin (if you suffer from an anxiety disorder that is) due to rebound anxiety and the physical WD symptoms can last weeks and not just days as with most opiates.

Dr Ashton is one of the people who is calling for a proper long term health risk study to be completed, but until this is done we have little to go on.

This recent study hints at a link between long term use and alzheimers but certainly no explanation.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-raise-risk-alzheimers-disease-201409107397

[smedly]

anybody watch the 2nd episode of the BBC Bangkok Airport program, the camera followed this young airhead after he missed his flight and had to stay an extra night in Bangkok, he missed his original flight (according to him) after waking up in a ditch some 30km from his hotel after a night of booze and "medication" and had no recollection how he got there - his mates at the airport labelled him a liability and more or less a waster. The camera followed him on his extended night in Bangkok were he spent the evening on Khao San Road were he bought xanax and proceeded to make an absolute DK of himself boozing and popping up to 6 pills in the space of a few hours - I'm sure his parents are proud of this idiot

[EyesWideOpen]

anybody watch the 2nd episode of the BBC Bangkok Airport program, the camera followed this young airhead after he missed his flight and had to stay an extra night in Bangkok, he missed his original flight (according to him) after waking up in a ditch some 30km from his hotel after a night of booze and "medication" and had no recollection how he got there - his mates at the airport labelled him a liability and more or less a waster. The camera followed him on his extended night in Bangkok were he spent the evening on Khao San Road were he bought xanax and proceeded to make an absolute DK of himself boozing and popping up to 6 pills in the space of a few hours - I'm sure his parents are proud of this idiot

Just watched that. 6 xanax did not seem to phase the guy in the slightest. Not really sure

whether to feel awe, or feel sorry for the him...