The Fallout from the Anna Nicole Smith Case Continues

More details have been coming out regarding the drug interactions that led to the death of Anna Nicole Smith. It seems that ordinary caffeine from soda pop could have played a factor. Lose sleep due to too much caffeine, then swig down the chloral hydrate to go to sleep.

One thing is for sure:

There were large quantities of heavy and dangerous drugs being used in a reckless manner without appropriate medical supervision. These drugs were prescribed by psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich, and her 'patient' died. This surely cannot be an acceptable level of medical care and practice in any state or country.

As reported on Fox 411

Here's a theory about Anna Nicole Smith's various drug interactions: Apparently, the antibiotic she was taking has a deleterious effect when mixed with caffeine. Around Smith's bed, according to her autopsy report, were cans of soda.

The theory offered to me by an expert source is that the combination of Cipro and soda was keeping Smith awake and unable to sleep. The result was Smith accidentally overdosing on chloral hydrate, which she took in liquid form to sleep.

In other words: Dealing with severe insomnia, Smith was swigging the chloral hydrate and overdosed.

I asked Broward County toxicologist Howard Schueler about this Wednesday. He said caffeine was present in Smith's blood, but they don't know how much. Her Cipro level was not that high, as it turns out, but it's there. The main thing was the chloral hydrate. That level was over the top.

Schueler says the caffeine-Cipro theory could be contributory to Smith lapping up the sleep medication. On top of that, he adds, the other drugs in her system were just too much.

"It's the Ativan, the Valium, the Klonopin and the chloral hydrate together," he said.

So, what about the person who prescribed all this stuff, Khristine Eroshevich? Schueler explains that the medical examiner's office cannot rule on things like malpractice or negligence.

"We didn't think it was a homicide," he said.

In other words, Eroshevich did not prescribe this smorgasbord of sedatives and other medicines with the intent to kill. If she did anything wrong, it would have to be taken up in other quarters.

Cipro, by the way, also has a bad interaction with another of Anna Nicole's favorite drugs: methadone. But it's Schueler's feeling that Smith had not taken any methadone for about three days before she started on Cipro. Methadone, however, was found in Smith's bile.

All of this should have some effect on all of us. The next time someone says to you, "Don't take all those pills at the same, they will kill you," listen more carefully.