Anesthesia junkie: Surgical drug abuse in Michael Jackson death?

July 3, 5:46 PMSF Health News ExaminerJefferson Adams

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Revelations that the dangerous surgical sedative Propofol was among
the drugs police removed from Michael Jackson's mansion have fueled
speculation that the late pop star was abusing surgical-grade anesthesia
prior to his death on June 26th. AP Photo/file

Revelations that the dangerous surgical sedative Propofol was among the drugs police removed from Michael Jackson's mansion have fueled speculation that the late pop star was abusing surgical-grade anesthesia prior to his death on June 26th.

On July 1, Los Angeles registered nurse and nutritionist Cherilyn Lee, who worked for Michael Jackson, revealed that the singer had begged her to help him get his hands on some Propofol just days before his mysterious death at age 50.

Propofol is sold under the brand name Diprivan, is commonly used to sedate patients before surgeries and other medical procedures. Propofol is also used by palliative care workers to comfort terminally patients who suffer chronic pain or who have a short time to live.

Insomniac Jackson begged for Diprivan
Lee recounted hearing Jackson in the background, as she spoke with a staffer, asking for the drug. "He said, 'Find me an anesthesiologist. I don't care how much money they want...find me an anesthesiologist to be with me here overnight and give me this IV,'" she said.

Jackson, Lee said, claimed to be in extreme discomfort, suffering from acute insomnia, and said that one side of his body was very hot and the other side very cold. Lee said she was unfamiliar with the drug when the singer first asked for it three months ago, but after checking with a physician, warned Jackson that the drug was potentially deadly.

According to drug experts, home use of the highly potent sedative would be very unusual, since it's most commonly given in a clinical setting due to its potentially serious side effects. Propofol is not the kind of drug one gets from a local pharmacy with a simple prescription.

"Propofol has no place in a household," says Dr. Lloyd Saberski, a Yale University anesthesiologist and editor in chief of the journal The Pain Clinic. "This alone is a deviation, and many laws were likely violated just to get the propofol there."

One key point, Propofol injection requires the presence of a nurse or doctor, or some other trained individual to continually monitor the intravenous administration, said Dr. Howard Nearman, chairman of the anesthesiology department at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

'Milk of amnesia'
Propofol is widely renowned for its potency, with some in anesthesiology circles calling the white liquid drug, the "milk of amnesia," as it produces a profoundly hypnotic and forgetful rest.

"Propofol is an agent that requires very close monitoring and is often limited only to use by anesthesiologists," says Dr. Richard Page, head of cardiology at the University of Washington medical center. "The main issue with this agent is respiratory depression, which in turn could cause cardiac arrest."

"It is a very dangerous drug," said Dr. Brian Olshansky, a cardiologist at the University of Iowa who said he often uses the drug to place patients in deep sedation for certain heart procedures. "It is not for sleep. I cannot imagine anyone would use this outside a very regulated environment such as the availability of emergency respiratory equipment."

One reason the drug is so dangerous lies in the speed with which the drug takes effect. Propofol "rapidly induces unconsciousness and apnea," Olshansky said. "People stop breathing within seconds of being given the drug." Such qualities make the drug an extremely unusual choice for abuse, said Dr. Jeff Guy of Vanderbilt University, who said such a practice would represent "a quantum leap in the issue of substance abuse."

Vivid sexual dreams
However, for all its risks, Dr. Nearman points out that many patients who've experienced the drug describe it as producing "a very pleasant sleep" that "has the potential to be habit-forming." Dr. Bruce Goldberger, chief of forensic pathology at the University of Florida, notes further that the drug "also acts as an aphrodisiac in men -- it has been reported that men have very vivid sexual dreams while under Propofol anesthesia."