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Hopefully, this is the last, sad addendum to the tragic life and death of Casey Johnson. E! News is reporting that the LA coroner’s office has ruled Casey’s death the result of diabetic ketoacidosis (Check Wikipedia’s entry here) which is basically death by lack of insulin. The cause of death, then, is “natural” and not because of some drug overdose or something like that. Although – if she was using drugs (which I think she most likely was), I’m sure the drug use contributed, but the Coroner’s report doesn’t specify.
Casey Johnson struggled all her life with diabetes, and in the end, the disease claimed her life.
The Los Angeles County coroner just announced that the heiress’s death was caused by diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition caused when a diabetic does not have enough insulin in her system.
Her death was deemed natural, and not due to drugs or even suicide, as some speculated.
Officials say a detailed report on her death will be released within the next two weeks.Johnson, 30, was found dead in her rental home in L.A. on Jan. 4; she was laid to rest in her native New Jersey eight days later.
[From E! News]
From what I understand of Casey’s final months, she wasn’t taking care of herself in any way, shape or form. That’s probably the only way Tila Tequila ever got her wh-rey grifter claws in her in the first place. So, now that we have an “official” cause of death, can we let this woman rest in peace? Probably not. Tila wouldn’t let us.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Casey Johnson, Deaths
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40 Responses to “Casey Johnson died from diabetes, not drugs or suicide”
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My sister’s brother-in-law died the same way. Of course they call it a “natural cause” but the truth is that he had been using a lot of hard drugs and neglected to eat or take his insulin. No doubt Ms. Johnson’s situation is similar.
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Considering she probably wasn’t taking her medication because she was so strung out, I’d say yeah, the drugs killed her. Indirectly so, but still.
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“Although – if she was using drugs (which I think she most likely was), I’m sure the drug use contributed, but the Coroner’s report doesn’t specify.”
The Coroner’s report said she died of diabetic ketoacidosis. Why do you continue to speculate about drug use?
Leave it alone. You benefit no one, lest of all Casey, by trying to make her death both salicious and ugly. Stop.
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OMG flinty, look at every picture of her (with her messy appearance and dazed half-opened eyes) and the way she lived (no power, not taking care of her illness)!
I think it is thought of as a fact she was on something.
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@flinty Kaiser has every right to her opinion and she can state it. this is a gossip site. if you don’t like it then leave.
that being said, i find the loss of a life very sad, but i too do believe that drugs probably played some part, even if only because she took them and couldn’t take care of herself. though it may have been mental illness that caused it. either way it is tragic.
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… and there is no reason to assume that the Johnson & Johnson family might be able to buy a coroners report in such a honest city as LA .
it’s a gossip blog. Speculating is our purpose here
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you don’t go from diabetic to death without serious warning symptoms – just sayin
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Kaiser has every right to say her opinion, but I agree with flinty. She died from diabetes, not drug use, and it’s kind of annoying to keep hearing people try to inject drug use into it somehow. She died from diabetes, not drugs. Its like trying to drag her name through the mud one last time and to me is disrespectful, sorry. I think the coroners report should speak for itself, not what some gossip bloggers say.
Also, you CAN go from diabetic to death without serious warning symptoms. My aunts friend had diabetes and had no warning symptoms, went to bed and never woke up the next morning. It’s possible.
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@Lem and who did you expect to notice those warning signs? Tila Tequila?
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Diabetic ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia is very dangerous condition if it´s not treated instantly. Person can go in to a comaor trauma as an result, which is very bad to your heart and brain. Also, when person goes is in diabetic ketoacidosis he/she can act very starangely. For example my dad gets very aggressive…the situation is very scary because sugar levels are so low then. I guess normal blood sugar level is about 4-6 mmol.
When a person has diabetes, it´s very important to take care of yourself, to eat well, excercise and take insulin. But I guess this woman didn´t do so.
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I think both flinty and Kaiser are right on this one. By referring to the drug abuse it contributes to a “she had a hand in her own death” attitude, which lessens the impact/severity of this horrible disease.
On the other hand, my friends who are Type 1 diabetics have to be super careful about everything they eat and participate in to keep their health stable. Casey’s drug use would have contributed to a decline in overall health.
Either way, diabetes is a horrible, horrible thing. Condolences to her friends and family.
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@irishserra, you are absolutely correct that drugs and self-neglect can exascerbate type I diabetes into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA takes time to develop (about a day) and results from not controlling blood sugar by not using insulin. Casey had the proper equipment to monitor her blood sugar but did not. This is probably not the first time this occurred. It was just the first time no one was around to help her.
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her drug use did have something to do with her death. she basically died of neglect because she wasn’t taking her insulin or the other medicine for her diabetes in the last few months. she was however taking lots of other drugs.
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@ Obvious: Oh, IDK, Casey perhaps?
Dani: no, you CANNOT go from diabetic to death without warning symptoms..
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How sad. It sounds like she simply didn’t care anymore and wanted to die. She knew what she was facing if she didn’t take insulin.
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We’re all entitled to our own opinions here. And we’re not always all going to agree. That’s just the way it is, no reason for nastiness, people!
Casey’s story is so sad. It seemed like she was on a quest to find her own happiness but it, like true friends, always eluded her. RIP
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Person can go into diabetic ketoacidosis even in ONE day, if his/her diabetes is severe kind. For example if you don´t eat well or anything at all or forget to take insulin but do hard physical exercise at the same time, the sugar level starts to drop.
And actually some diabetics can´t regognize this state, and they can go in very bad condition.
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@ marie, yes, normal blood sugar is 4-6 mmol or 70-110 dL/g
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Marie, in DKA the blood glucose levels increase, not decrease. Because the blood sugar cannot be used by the cells (due to lack of insulin), the body begins to burn fat, resulting in high levels of ketones. Ketones raise the acidity of the blood, hence “ketoacidosis”.
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@Marie So, did her drug abuse throughout much of her adult lifetime contribute to worsening her diabetes or weakening her body in a way that would lead to worsening it? In other words, could she have led a drug-free, healthier life and still have been in a position to go into this state (diabetic ketoacidosis)?
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Kermit, illicit drug use doesn’t impact the way body cells use sugar. But it does put an addict into a situation of not eating and not monitoring blood sugar.
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It is quite possible to lead a drug-free, healthy life and STILL go into a coma. All it takes is forgetting to take your insulin or forgetting to eat to keep your blood sugar at a good level. I don’t know if your condition can get as bad as dying from DK, but I do know that my sister has gone into diabetic coma several times plus she has lost a couple of toes because she stubbed her toe and did not seek medical attention and got gangren(sp?). Being a diabetic is terrible and sometimes people just get tired and want to be like everybody else and they lapse a little in taking care of themselves.
Having said that, I too believe the main factor in Ms. Johnson’s death was her drug use and I have a feeling she might have just been depressed and so “over” everything that she didn’t care anymore. (Her mother had cut her off and she was living pretty much in squalor, according to some. And that person she was with would put anybody into a depression!!!)
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well either way…she seemed like a decent but damaged person. Very very sad.
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Everyone is referring to Casey’s drug use like it’s a fact. Does she have arrest reports for drugs? Or are we basing that on her acting nutty and the company she kept. Because that could be alcohol/mental health/physical health related.
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Um —
Some diabetics (SOME, NOT ALL) have their anti-psychotic meds monitored because certain types can (CAN, NOT ALWAYS DOES) further complicate liver function, even if taken in PRESCRIBED doses. BUT they would present HIGH insulin levels (she had low).
I am NOT saying she died directly due to drug use, I am reiterating the point that all of these opinions could be true, but they are in fact, OPINIONS ON A GOSSIP SITE (check out the legal disclaimer below). We cannot ignore the fact that she was assumed an addict (or substance abuser or mentally ill), and addicts or such are not known for their obsessive attention to personal hygiene and well-being. But stress can take a diabetic down, too (child taken by the family on the outs, and wasn’t she fighting with that Tila Bughead chicky that weekend?).
Kaiser didn’t say anything that a lot of us weren’t thinking. Keep in mind DJ AM’S death was ruled “accidental,” even with all of the drugs found present. It can be all in the wording.
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Watching Oprah right now with a woman whose body that has been ravaged by diabetes. I don’t think most of us get how bad this disease can be on the body physically. If I didn’t know better, I would believe that this woman was a drug addict, not just a diabetic. Watch Oprah’s show today with Dr. OZ.
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She died from complications brought on by drug use. What are they gonna say? Come on.
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in any case it’s sad. people need to start taking care of themselves.
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To all of you who are saying she died of drugs, give it up! The Coroner said she died of natural causes. ‘Kay? You dont know what’s going on Behind Closed Doors, so stop making allegations
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Just a clarification for those who are remotely interested in diabetes:
When a diabetic’s blood sugar is too LOW, they can go into a diabetic coma and die. This can happen over a relatively short period of time.
When a diabetic’s blood sugar is too HIGH, and I mean high as in six times the normal range so VERY high, they can develop diabetic ketoacidosis. This takes some time, usually.
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Drugs? Insulin?. Neither. A little street smarts people.
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ALL unexpected deaths are sad – even if the deceased struggled with depression or substance abuse (I’m not saying that she was, however). My point is – if she were using drugs, SO WHAT!?! How does that make her death any less tragic? Or her life any less precious? Mental illnesses and addictions are also afflictions! No healthy person pursuits drug addiction! Her passing deserves our sorrow and condolences as much as anyone elses!
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Some people in these comments are acting as if they have never engaged in uhealthy behavior, which is total nonsense. Many of those same people are illustrating a complete lack of information on Diabetes, which makes their posts amusingly unattractive.
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If she didn’t take her meds and eat right, she in effect, killed herself. It would be a painful death, I’m diabetic and I don’t want to go that way. I’m too afraid of the pain.
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I’m reading a lot of stuff about possible drug use, but no one has mentioned alcohol use. Alcohol converts to sugar, which I imagine is not good for a diabetic. Alcohol is also a drug. It in no way detracts from the tragedy of a young person’s death, but if she had struggled with juvenile diabetes all of her life, I believe she would have known how adversely alcohol could effect her. Am I wrong?
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I really cannot bring myself to feel sorry for this woman. She did this to herself, even though her family begged her to get help. She neglected her daughter, and even having her taken away didn’t make Casey clean up her act and start taking care of herself. It would be one thing if she couldn’t afford her medication, or if she tried her best to eat right and monitor her blood sugar. But she didn’t. So I guess she was an idiot, and anyone could have predicted what would happen, really.
Whether or not drugs were also a contributing factor is irrelevant to me. Either way, she abused her body, and this is what happened. I think it’s rather selfish, actually. I feel so bad for her family, and that little girl she left behind.
This would have been tragic if it were an accident, and I know that things can go haywire quickly with diabetics. I’m sure that was not the case in this instance though.
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This person was obviously in a lot of pain that others can’t fathom. It seems there were many variables at play here. She had more than some people will ever have (materially) in a life time as soon as she was born. She may have been the type of person that longed for more in life but didn’t know how to find “more,” be it money, love, drugs, who knows, because she could have whatever she wanted. She adopted a child and that to me indicates compassion and kindness and the want to do something pure and selfless, for others. We can all speculate as much as we want and we will never get to the core of this woman’s heart and soul and mind. All humans have problems and this lucky/simultaneously very unlucky girl had a very intense existence which was claimed prematurely by a very intense and premature death. Some dismiss her as a spoiled brat and “poor little rich girl” but I assure you all, no matter one’s social or financial status, anyone’s heart and mind can be plagued by pain. This poor girl was preoccupied with pain and fear and in the end neglected herself and perhaps felt neglected by life. I’m sad today for her. I’m sad for her little daughter. It is sad that she died. I’m sad that she hurt so much.
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This person was obviously in a lot of pain that others can’t fathom. It seems there were many variables at play here. She had more than some people will ever have (materially) in a life time as soon as she was born. She may have been the type of person that longed for more in life but didn’t know how to find “more,” be it money, love, drugs, who knows, because she could have whatever she wanted. She adopted a child and that to me indicates compassion and kindness and the want to do something pure and selfless, for others. We can all speculate as much as we want and we will never get to the core of this woman’s heart and soul and mind. All humans have problems and this lucky/simultaneously very unlucky girl had a very intense existence which was claimed prematurely by a very intense and premature death. Some dismiss her as a spoiled brat and “poor little rich girl” but I assure you all, no matter one’s social or financial status, anyone’s heart and mind can be plagued by pain. This poor girl was preoccupied with pain and fear and in the end neglected herself and perhaps felt neglected by life. I’m sad today for her. I’m sad for her little daughter. It is sad that she died. I’m sad that she hurt so much.
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I know it’s kind of weird that I commented so late in the year on this tragedy…for some reason I felt compelled today.
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did you guys know that Sofia Vergara’s younger brother has the same condition? he has to inject insulin daily.
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