


The family said Ellis was ashamed of his addiction and was reluctant to talk about it. When a person suddenly stops drinking alcohol, the body becomes flooded with abnormally high levels of those chemicals, leading to a range of adverse symptoms. The body compensates for the depressive effect of alcohol by ramping up production of a number of hormones and brain chemicals, like serotonin, epinephrine and dopamine. The reasons that alcohol withdrawal can be potentially dangerous is that a body becomes conditioned to regular and heavy consumption of alcohol, the Times reported. Moreover, “his liver was swollen, his blood pressure plummeted, and his dear sweet heart raced out of control.” He had a blood infection and his kidneys shut down. His cause of death was listed as heat failure.īut Saines revealed that the actor had been in the hospital for four days, suffering from a cluster of catastrophic conditions. In the statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Ellis’ manager Emily Gerson Saines said Ellis, who played short order cook Lafayette on the HBO drama, died Saturday at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn. These symptoms range from minor to serious, which is why experts recommend that people seek medical supervision for detox though many don’t need to be admitted to the hospital. Experts say heavy drinkers who try to detox on their own can experience disturbing and painful withdrawal symptoms that prompt them to relapse and go back to drinking more than before. British singer Amy Winehouse in 2007 (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)Īn inquest two years after Winehouse’s death showed that she died from accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after being abstinent for about two weeks, the Associated Press reported. He was being interviewed shortly after the family of singer Amy Winehouse said they believed her death was due to going cold turkey and detoxing from alcohol on her own. “Alcohol withdrawal is one of the most fatal complications of all drugs,’’ Harry Haroutunian, the physician director at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage told the New York Times in 2011. He had also tried numerous stints in rehab and was attempting to detox from alcohol on his own.Īddiction specialists say alcohol withdrawal is “potentially life-threatening” in a person who has been drinking excessively, even for a short amount of time, according to the site WebMD. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, the actor’s manager said he had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse for years. Photos: Palm Springs home built by actress Lindsey Gort, developer husband asks $5.1 million
