Paula Abdul Admits She was Addicted to Painkillers

'American Idol' judge Paula Abdul, who has been keeping her addiction problems secret for 12-years, has finally admitted that she was hooked on painkillers.

"I could have killed myself," the New York Daily News quoted the 46-year-old as telling Ladies Home Journal, while revealing about how she battled her addiction.

Drug Abuse | Drug Addiction | Substance Abuse - Overview
The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.

The pop singer finally kicked the habit last November, and she called the withdrawals she suffered during her detox at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., last fall "the worst thing".

"I was freezing cold, then sweating hot, then chattering and in so much pain," she said.

"It was excruciating. But at my very core, I did not like existing the way I had been," she added.

Jamie Lee Curtis Reveals Past Painkiller Addiction
Hollywood actress Jamie Lee Curtis has confessed that she was once addicted to painkillers. The pressures of life in the tinsel world led her to such an extreme.

Abdul said that she turned to a combination of painkillers and Chinese medicine to get through the "gruelling" dance routines that made her a reigning pop princess in the 1990s.

"I didn't want anyone to count me out. I tried to keep everything hush-hush," she said.

Painkillers can Worsen Urinary Symptoms, Says New Study
Common painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen may lower risk of developing enlarged prostate but they can also worsen urinary symptoms in men who already have the condition.

She said that she took regular shots of lidocaine, and was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome by 2005, which caused disabling pain, teeth chattering and shingles-like lesions.

She revealed that she wore a patch that delivered pain medication 80 times more potent than morphine, and also popped muscle relaxers, had trouble sleeping and would sometimes "get weird".

Lidocaine
This medication is a local anesthetic, indicated for local or regional anesthesia.

"I want to start fresh," she added.

Source-ANI
LIN