Did Michael Jackson take propofol to block out memories of childhood sexual abuse?

Did Michael Jackson use the drug propofol to block out memories of being sexually abused as a child? A recent study of propofol addicts indicates the possibility is highly likely-- and could explain why Jacko chose to combat insomnia with a hazardous, stupefying anesthetic-- and perhaps explain a few other things about his life, as well.

We'd never heard of the propofol before Jacko's death case (if we did, there was never a reason for it to register in importance), and like most people were pretty shocked at reports that canisters of a drug that’s usually limited to surgical theatres had been trucked into Jacko’s bedroom so his doctor could shoot him up and knock him out.

What we didn’t suspect-- and what we haven’t seen reported in the weeks since Jacko’s death— is a study that shows a great number of propofol addicts are not only insomniacs—but victims of sexual abuse (coincidentally, one expert estimates that forty percent of sexual abusers were sexually abused as children).

Proopofol, says one doctor, “blocks out the world. One of the hallmark symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder is hyperarousal. Folks with PTSD want to block that out.”

Today’s news that the LA County Coroner is ready to call Jackons’s death by propofol an act of homicide led us back to an article handed to us by a top Tabloid Baby pal a few weeks ago.

"Propofol Abuse Growing Problem for Anesthesiologists," from the May 2007 issue of Anesthesiology News, says propofol is among the most widely-used anesthetic agents in both hospitals and doctors’ offices (“It’s everywhere,” says one doctor). It’s also the drug of choice among doctors and anesthesiologists looking for a quick high.

Real quick.


“Because propofol is such a short-acting substance, heavy abusers must inject it frequently to stay high— as many as 50 to 100 times during a using session is not unheard of…”

Yet, “only a few cc’s more than what’s required to put a person to sleep can trigger fatal respiratory arrest. That threat is an insufficient deterrent for determined users; 40% of residents who reportedly abused the anesthetic died from the high—the peril of propofol’s exquisitely narrow therapeutic window.”

The article contains lots of medical journal statistics on the number of doctors and medical workers who use propofol—and die from it. But Jacko watchers will be most interested in the section at the end:

“'Propofol is a drug that in a sense doesn’t get you high,' said Omar S. Manejwala, MD, associate medical director at the William J. Farley Center at Williamsburg Place, an addiction treatment clinic in Virginia that, like Talbott, also focuses on physicians. 'It blocks out the world.'

"In his experience, Dr. Manejwala said, nearly every propofol addict started injecting to overcome persistent insomnia. That aspect of the medication fits neatly with the link both Drs. Manejwala and Earley have observed between propofol abuse and a history of trauma. 'One of the hallmark symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] is hyperarousal. Folks with PTSD want to block that out,' Dr. Manejwala said.

"What’s puzzling, experts said, is the strength of the connection. 'I don’t know of any other drug where the perceived incidence of trauma, particularly of sexual trauma [in abusers], is so high,' Dr. Manejwala said. 'It’s really quite remarkable.'"

According to court records, Dr. Conrad Murray administered 25 milligrams of propofol at 10:40 a.m. on the day Jacko died, after Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug.