Jackie O reveals what sparked her addiction to painkillers
Jackie O has revealed how her addiction to pain medication began – resulting in her taking desperate measures to get her hands on the pills.
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A popular radio personality has revealed just how her addiction to pain medication started, citing a condition that impacts thousands of Australian women.
A man in his 30s called into the Kyle and Jackie O show to speak with Dr Sam Hay, the network’s go-to physician, to ask for advice on how to manage his hip pain before he had replacement surgery.
After getting the man off the phone, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson asked if Dr Hay would prescribe the caller pain killers. Co-host Kyle Sandilands then asked Henderson what her “go to” painkiller of choice was.
Last year, the 50-year-old media personality revealed that she had been secretly battling an addiction to pain killers, sleeping pills and alcohol. She’d since been to rehab and is now in recovery. The addiction started following her marriage breakdown with photographer Lee Henderson in 2018. The former couple share one daughter, 14-year-old Kitty.
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During Thursday’s show, the mother-of-one shed more light on the reason behind her addiction.
“I got addicted because I was prescribed endone,” she said, revealing that, while later on she was using “dodgy” means to get her hands on the pills, it started off with “true pain”.
“I was going to the hospital every month with my endometriosis. It just got so out of control, I had to go to the hospital to get morphine and so they prescribed the endone to manage that.”
She said when she received the prescription it did come with a warning — doctors said it was “so addictive” and to “be careful”. Jackie O said she was proof that this was true.
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to that which normally lines the uterus grows in other parts of the body, usually the pelvic region.
It is a chronic condition and, while there are treatments available to help patients manage the disease, there is currently no cure.
The disease can manifest in different ways for different people, but common symptoms include extremely painful periods, bloating, back and leg pain, infertility, excessive bleeding, pain during sex, depression and anxiety.
As part of the About Bloody Time campaign, news.com.au surveyed more than 1700 people who suffer from endometriosis to gather insights into how it affects their lives.
Of those surveyed, just under 90 per cent reported suffering from painful periods, the next most common symptoms were bloating, back pain and fatigue.
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Even the lowest reported symptom, infertility, was experienced by 40 per cent of respondents.
These are just some of the long list of symptoms endometriosis sufferers can face, which highlights the complexity of the illness.
Dr Hay said doctors often found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to stronger pain relief medications.
“No one deserves to live in pain. People need to be comfortable and if they’re in pain they don’t look after the rest of their health,” he said.
“So yes, we do have to escalate through the options but we need to look at why they’re in pain and if it’s working.”
But he said sometimes, that can lead to addiction.
Last year Henderson revealed she was taking a large portion of pills, combined with alcohol, in an effort to relieve stress.
Despite their close relationship on-air, Henderson admitted to having kept Sandilands in the dark about her personal battle.
She said she didn’t want to tell anyone until at least a year of sobriety, having also kept her battle from her extended family and close friends.
“I was in a really, really dark place,” she admitted.
“That’s what the addiction to your brain, it changes your way of thinking, it doesn’t want you to get help, it’s so powerful.”
If you, or anybody you know, is facing addiction please contact National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline (1800 250 015)
Originally published as Jackie O reveals what sparked her addiction to painkillers
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