A Dublin woman died of the cumulative effect of a number of prescription drugs she was taking, an inquest has heard.
Joyce O’Brien (39), of Droim na Coille, Lucan, stopped breathing due to a cocktail of drugs in her system, none of which were present at the level of overdose.
Ms O’Brien, who was living alone after her partner suffered a stroke, was found dead in her front room on October 22nd, 2015.
Dublin Coroner’s Court heard her father, Vincent O’Brien, brought the deceased to the chemist days before her death and said she was in good form.
A neighbour, who was concerned he had not seen Ms O’Brien, later contacted her family and when her parents visited her home they found her in a collapsed state.
Toxicology
A postmortem found no injuries but a toxicology report found she had a number of prescribed medicines in her system. These included the anti-epileptic and anti-convulsant medication lyrica, the anti-depressant mirtazepine, the sleeping tablet zopiclone, and diazepam (valium) which has a calming effect. Ms O’Brien was on a methadone programme, the court heard.
There was no alcohol in her system and her phone had last been used two days before she was found.
None of the drugs present were at a dangerous level on their own, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said, and all are commonly prescribed. The drugs cumulatively had a depressive effect on the woman’s central nervous system whcih affected her breathing.
“They go into a deep sleep and the breathing gets shallower and shallower. She simply failed to take her next breath,” the coroner said.
The cause of death was central nervous system repression due to the toxic effects of methadone, valium and lyrica. A verdict of death by misadventure was returned.