A “BUBBLY” man died after overdosing on prescription drugs at his home, an inquest found.

Onais Ihsan, 35, was found by his friend, David Alhabi at his flat in Burgess Court in Horizon Close, Portslade, on the morning of April 29.

The two had been taking high amounts of pregabalin, which is used to treat anxiety, two days before Mr Ihsan’s death, an inquest at Brighton Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

Mr Alhabi said he left him that night when he was “asleep and breathing.”

He said he tried to contact him the next day but Mr Ihsan did not respond to him. The next day Mr Alhabi went to his friend’s flat and found him dead on his sofa.

Mr Ihsan, of Pakistani descent, lived by himself, and had a history of depression and anxiety, particularly in social situations. He had five brothers and one sister.

He was also a former heroin user, the inquest heard, but had not been using intravenous drugs for “a long time.”

He was known to Pavilions, a drug and alcohol misuse service in Brighton, the inquest heard.

A toxicology report showed Mr Ihsan had five different drugs in his bloodstream - pregabalin, diazepam, olanzapine, cannabis and methadone. The methadone was the only drug he had been prescribed, the coroner was told.

Speaking to the court, Dr Mara Quante, who carried out the report, said no amount of any of the drugs was “enough to be toxic,” but the methadone was the most prominent drug in Mr Ihsan’s body.

The inquest heard that if someone taking methadone stops, their tolerance to the drug can completely drop. This means that any dosage could become fatal, Dr Quante said.

Mr Ihsan was likely to not have been in pain when he died, and could have been asleep, the inquest found.

Coroner Catharine Palmer recorded the cause of death as multiple drug toxicity, with the methadone the main contributor.

Mrs Palmer added that Mr Ihsan’s fatty liver was a contributing factor in his death.

She concluded the death was an accidental overdose of drugs.

Mr Ihsan’s older brother, Naser, 43, paid tribute to him.

He said: “Onais was a very bubbly man. He was a happy guy. He was always laughing and smiling.

“He had loads of friends and liked doing jiu jitsu.”

Mr Alhabi said Mr Ihsan was a “good friend.”