A WOMAN from Wokingham died from drug toxicity after years of taking illicit and prescription drugs.

Rebecca Petrucci, 44, of Bearwood Road, died at her home address on October 7 last year after her GP had prescribed her high levels of various opioid drugs.

An inquest into her death, held at Reading Town Hall on Tuesday, April 24, heard how Ms Petrucci had suffered years of drug abuse, mental health problems and a catalogue of medical problems.

In 2003, she took part in a BBC documentary, Kill or Cure: Constant Craving, which saw her travel to a monastery in Thailand to help her kick her drug habit.

But she struggled to come down from the high doses of prescription drugs issued to her by her GP, Dr Hussain Hafizji of Wokingham Medical Centre, which ultimately led to her death.

The coroner, Ravi Sidhu, questioned Dr Hafizji as to whether it had been appropriate for Ms Petrucci to have been on such high levels of opioid drugs for such a sustained period of time.

Dr Hafizji said: "The guidelines to reduce the dosage of an opioid drug depend on a number of factors, including the stability of the patient's life at that time.

"I don't feel that her life was ever stable enough for it to be appropriate to reduce her dosage. Studies show it could do more harm than good in that situation."

Ms Petrucci had told her friends and family that she was concerned about the amount of prescription drugs she was taking, and kept a diary detailing when and how much of each drug she took.

On examination of the diary, Dr Hafizji said that there were times when she took too much, and times when she took too little.

A consultant toxicologist at Imperial College, Dr Sue Paterson, who analysed the results of Ms Petrucci's toxicology tests, found that while the levels of opioid in her system at the time of her death were higher than she would expect, they were not high enough to suggest a 'massive overdose'.

She said: "The levels appear high, but the problem is people develop a tolerance, and they need to take more and more to feel the same effects.

"It is very difficult to say whether she had taken too much all in one go, or gradually over time."

Recording a drug-related death, the coroner said: "She died having ingested an excessive amount of opioid medication.

"My condolences to her family on the untimely death of their daughter."