More details have been revealed about the shocking passing of star Matthew Perry.
On Oct. 28, Perry was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi, and responding paramedics declared him dead on the scene. Per , it's now been confirmed by a toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office that Perry died from the "acute effects of ketamine." It was determined that the "high levels of ketamine" found in his system led to both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. Contributing factors that were also named include drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid used to help ween addicts off of opioids.
Originally used by veterinarians to treat horses, ketamine is used by medical professionals to treat depression, though it's also often used recreationally. The Medical Examiner found that Perry had taken ketamine infusion therapy a week and a half before , but stated that its traces in his system wouldn't have been from the treatment, as "ketamine's half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less." It was also noted that there was no evidence of alcohol or other illicit substances, such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, PCP, or fentanyl.
The Medical Examiner also described how Perry had previously been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy every other day, but was advised by a new doctor to have less treatments about six months before his death. In his memoir released last year, , Perry addressed his ketamine infusion therapy, saying how he actually felt like he was "dying" when undergoing the treatment.
“They’d bring me into a room, sit me down, put headphones on me so I could listen to music, blindfold me, and put an IV in," Perry wrote. "As the music played and the K ran through me, it all became about the ego, and the death of the ego.
And I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die."
Describing the feeling of ketamine as "like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel," Perry added that the "hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel," noting his intentions to move away from the treatment. As he said in the book, "Ketamine was not for me."
In his memoir, the also spoke at length about his years of struggles with addiction, divulging that he'd spent around nine million dollars trying to get sober. On his journey, he'd also been assisting others with their own struggles, which included running a sober living facility he'd called Perry House.
While promoting his book on a podcast interview in 2022, Perry said how he would "like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker... And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.”
Source: TMZ
