Paula Abdul Comes Clean About Addiction to Painkillers

Ugh.
So many newspapers are twisting this around so badly.
She never said that like that.
She said she weaned off of something she HAD been taking that she didn't want to be on anymore. Her body had become physically dependent on it after taking it for so long for her nerve pain so when she stopped, she had withdrawal.
She never abused anything.

get it riiighhht please because that's a huge accusation

Hello Tina,

Paula Abdul was in fact abusing prescription medication, by combining more types of pills and taking more than the doctors were prescribing her, as she also admitted, because the pain was unbearable.

Also, straight from Ladies’ Home Journal: “The former pop star, who turns 47 this month, has never looked better. In previous years she acted erratically, at times slurring her words or appearing disoriented. This year she’s got it together. And for a reason: For the first time in 12 years Abdul says she's no longer dependent on medication. The rumors that her sometimes-bizarre behavior was fueled by drugs just may have been true. Abdul was taking heavy-duty pain killers, though she claims she never shot an Idol episode under the influence. But last Thanksgiving, determined to overcome her habit, she checked into the La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad, California, to wean herself off her medications in one fell swoop.”

Thank you.

Pfft. The only actual quotes from Paula in that article say she went through withdrawl and the symptoms of withdrawl. The "painkiller addiction" part was not a direct quote and written by someone else. I see no direct quotes from Paula anywhere saying she was abusing them recreationally to get high, so why are people implying it.

Addiction does not equal abusing drugs recreationally. People who take painkillers for pain will obviously have withdrawl symptoms after that amount of time.

Pathetic that people in the media can only write nasty things about nice people and twist their words. It's very disappointing to see such negativity directed at such a positive, nice person such as Paula.

Being physically dependent and taking more than prescribed represents an addiction and an abuse of the medication- one does not have to take pills just to get "high" to abuse medication. When one gets to the point that they are suffering the withdrawals described by Abdul they are exceeding the dosages prescribed which represents an abuse. Saying it isn't abuse or addiction because it is prescribed and for the pain is how people stay in denial and do not address the problem. Kudos to Abdul for dealing with the problem, but let's not sugercoat it.