It is frightening how easy it is to become hooked on painkillers, and these 5 celebrities have all shared their addiction stories. Many of them suffered injuries and were prescribed medication by doctors to help them recover, but they realised they loved how they felt while taking the pills and couldn’t stop themselves. Some of these stars took more and more until they were in danger, while others just realised they couldn’t stop taking the drugs and checked into a rehab facility.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie was given pills for post-operative pain and it turned into an addiction. She explained that her body image is what turned it into an issue: “I attempted various types of plastic surgery, minutely but enough to stave off this encroaching middle-aged body. And every time I did, something went wrong. I felt misshapen, just not natural any more. I think it was a big stimulator of my drug abuse.”
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly reveals that her painkiller addiction quickly spiralled out of control and almost killed her: “At the start I only took one every weekend. Then it was one every weekday, then two a day, then three. By the end I was taking so many pills I was on my hands and knees vomiting blood because the drug was ripping away my stomach lining. I was taking 50 a day, more than twice the lethal dosage, and every day I took one more, hoping I wouldn’t wake up. If I hadn’t gone into rehab then, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here now. I feel very lucky because people die every day from taking painkillers like Vicodin, and I was taking much more than them.”
Matthew Perry
Following a jet ski accident in 1997, Matthew found himself addicted to painkillers. He says the drugs given to him made him feel so good that he didn’t want to quit: “I felt better than I ever felt in my entire life. I had a big problem with pills and alcohol, and I couldn’t stop.”
Paula Abdul
Paula became hooked on painkillers after having several accidents that left her with chronic pain. She recalled her struggle: “I could have killed myself. Withdrawal — it’s the worst thing. I was freezing cold, then sweating hot, then chattering and in so much pain. It was excruciating. But at my very core, I did not like existing the way I had been.”
Winona Ryder
After breaking her arm, Winona says she became dependant on Oxycodone: “And then there was this weird point when you don’t know if you are in pain but you’re taking it. Have you ever taken painkillers? It isn’t a reckless [state], like you’re out of your head. It’s just confusion.”
