# Amy Winehouse death due alcohol withdrawal syndrome? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658 "2011-07-28T19:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/1 "2011-07-28T19:34:08Z")
At least that what her family is claiming. [Quitting Alcohol Killed Amy Winehouse, Family Sources Say | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/07/28/quitting-alcohol-killed-amy-winhouse-family-sources-say/?test=faces) At first I called bullshit on that, but after looking it up, this condition does exist and can be fatal. It appears that the severity of the condition is more severe if there is a dependence upon other sedative-hypnotics. While her death was ruled inconclusive, the tox screen results won’t be out for another 3-4 weeks. So I guess folks will be able to tell at least what chemicals were in her body at the time of death. Anybody ever heard of alcohol withdrawal syndrome killing anyone else before? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/2 "2011-07-28T19:48:22Z")
IANAD, but it’s certainly possible. Here’s what Wiki has to say about [_delirium tremens_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens): > [@](#): > > DT occurs in 5-10% of alcoholics and carries up to 5% mortality with treatment and up to 35% mortality without treatment.[2] DT is characterized by the presence of altered sensorium; that is, a complete hallucination without any recognition of the real world. DT has extreme autonomic hyperactivity (high pulse, blood pressure, and rate of breathing), and 35-60% of patients have a fever. Some individuals experience seizures. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/3 "2011-07-28T19:57:29Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Anybody ever heard of alcohol withdrawal syndrome killing anyone else before? Yes, many years ago, but it wasn’t called alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It was called going cold turkey, and people did die from it. I sort of presumed rehabs and the like had mostly eradicated this kind of death over the years. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/4 "2011-07-28T19:59:11Z")
I’ve heard of detox centers telling incoming patients to have a drink if they are DTing really bad, for just that reason. Long story short, alcohol withdrawal for a heavy user can kill. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/5 "2011-07-28T20:01:09Z")
Sure, its why when my sister went off to rehab, they encouraged her to drink until she arrived - not try to cut off on her own. That allowed her to be monitored through her withdrawal. (Nothing like driving your sister to rehab and watching her drink the whole way…sort of disheartening). ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/6 "2011-07-28T20:09:18Z")
I guess this isn’t exactly scientific evidence, but one of my closest friends has an alcoholic mother who has been drinking for decades now. For various reasons, time and time again, she decides that she’s going to stop and goes cold turkey. Almost every time she suffers seizures. After hearing about that, I could see how it could’ve happened to Amy Winehouse. Trying to withdraw on her own, away from the public and not wanting to go to rehab again and be under public scrutiny…Maybe she wasn’t aware of what could happen with withdrawing without medical surveillance. I could see her having a sudden seizure, falling and hitting her head, choking on vomit, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/7 "2011-07-28T20:19:35Z")
This is surprising. I had linked in another AW thread to [this story](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1391504/Amy-Winehouse-sneaks-shot-vodka-way-rehab-The-Priory.html) about her getting some vodka on her way to rehab. I thought that was Amy just being a drunk, but maybe her addiction was so bad that she was asked to do it. Hence the withdrawal death story might be plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/8 "2011-07-28T20:20:48Z")
> [@nikonikosuru](#): > > I could see her having a sudden seizure, falling and hitting her head, choking on vomit, etc. If she died from head trauma or ashpyxiation from vomit, either of those would have been detectable by the coroner and her death would not have been ruled inconclusive. So I doubt that’s how it could have happened. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/9 "2011-07-28T20:28:52Z")
The article said that she had been alcohol-free for three weeks. Don’t DTs come and go well before that? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/10 "2011-07-28T20:33:33Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > The article said that she had been alcohol-free for three weeks. Don’t DTs come and go well before that? Within 48 hours or so, I believe. Definitely not 3 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/11 "2011-07-28T21:10:54Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > The article said that she had been alcohol-free for three weeks. Don’t DTs come and go well before that? Assuming it’s true that she was alcohol-free for three weeks, it’s possible that she was self-medicating with benzodiazepines for some period after that. According to the wiki, benzos are the preferred method for prevention of DT from abrupt alcohol withdrawal. But ironically, withdrawal from abrupt cessation of benzos themselves can also cause DT. Kids, if you’re listening, drugs are bad, mmm-kay? ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/12 "2011-07-28T21:15:19Z")
[DTs](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001771/) can actually start more than a week after stopping drinking and can last weeks. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/13 "2011-07-28T21:16:40Z")
I can’t think of the guys name (and I should know it) but he was lead singer for the Grateful Dead, and the same thing happened to him. He was in a pseudo-rehab facility, and was not properly supervised during de-tox. Of all the chemicals humans abuse recreationally, alchohol is the most likely to actually kill you if you detox without medical help. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/14 "2011-07-28T21:23:06Z")
Jerry Garcia. He died of a heart attack a few days after checking into rehab. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/15 "2011-07-28T23:50:01Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Yes, many years ago, but it wasn’t called alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It was called going cold turkey, and people did die from it. I sort of presumed rehabs and the like had mostly eradicated this kind of death over the years. No, it still happens. You don’t hear about it much because it can be dealt with medically and the facts about why a person had a medical emergency aren’t usually disclosed to everyone. It is usually just referred to as a heart problem or a seizure. It sometimes happens to alcoholics that are arrested and held in jail without access to alcohol or inadvertently caused by well-meaning family and friends that try to make a severe alcoholic quit cold turkey. Please don’t do try to make an alcoholic in your life quit by throwing out all the alcohol in the house. At the very least, it will cause a painful physiological panic reaction with nothing learned other than the person in question to learn to hide alcohol better and it could be fatal for them in the worst case. Alcohol is among the hardest of the drugs when used at an alcoholic level and it is one of the very few that can kill someone or cause irreversible damage through unsupervised detox (the others are the benzos and barbiturates; detoxing from crack or heroine on your own won’t kill you). During an uncontrolled alcohol detox, blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse rate skyrocket during the early stages and seizures and delerium tremens come many hours or days later. The latter doesn’t happen to most people but it is a true medical emergency with a high death left untreated when it does. Alcohol is basically an essential bodily fluid for severe alcoholics and the nervous system will start to malfunction without it possibly leading to death or injury. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/16 "2011-07-28T23:53:43Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Yes, many years ago, but it wasn’t called alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It was called going cold turkey, and people did die from it. I sort of presumed rehabs and the like had mostly eradicated this kind of death over the years. My brother’s best friend died from withdrawal when he went cold turkey in '03. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/17 "2011-07-29T00:34:20Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Jerry Garcia. He died of a heart attack a few days after checking into rehab. I don’t think he was rehabbing from alcohol, per se, but other drug use. He was also diabetic, obese, over 50 and a heavy smoker until shortly before his death or right up to it, depending on which source you believe . An awful lot of contributing factors there. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/18 "2011-07-29T00:41:32Z")
According to just about everyone I know (who would have some inside info on the subject) alcohol was probably the ONLY drug that Jerry Garcia used (apparently sparingly, and only once in a great while) that he WASN’T severely physically & psychologically addicted to… ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/19 "2011-07-29T00:48:49Z")
Steve Clark [Def Leppard] almost died of this a year or so before the painkillers/antidepressants/booze/coke mix he ingested the night of January 7 took him out [he died sometime in the early hours of January 8]. I also know of a couple folks who had family members die of alcohol withdrawl symptom but back in the 70’s they didn’t call it that. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658/20 "2011-07-29T01:04:08Z")
For some reason, people really don’t take alcohol seriously as a drug: drinking is bad because drunk driving is bad, or because alcoholics can’t function socially. I don’t know if this is an outgrowth of the temperance movement or MADD or what, but the actual chemical potency of alcohol is really underestimated. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-winehouse-death-due-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome/590658.md?page=2)