Shawn Johnson ‘Refuses All Pain Meds’ After Past Adderall Addiction: ‘It Just Scares Me’

Shawn Johnson East stays away from any painkillers as a recovering addict.

On Friday, the retired Olympic gymnast posted a Q&A on her Instagram Story and opened up about her decision to refuse “narcotic painkillers” while welcoming her third child via C-section earlier this month.

The 31-year-old told her followers that her third C-section was the “hardest but smoothest” experience as she dealt with a lot of scarring and pain afterwards. However, despite the discomfort, Johnson said she did not want any medication that could trigger the old habits of her previous Adderall use.

“I feel great now, though. I also refuse all pain meds haha ​​(they make me VERY sick and honestly after getting addicted to adderall it just scares me so I don’t even mess with it) she wrote before explaining her history with Adderall.

“Long story short, during my comeback in 2010, a bad doctor prescribed adderall to ‘suppress my appetite and give me more energy,'” Johnson said.

“Fast forward 7 years of heavy addiction to it and it keeping me in check, when I finally broke free of it I vowed to stay away from anything even remotely addictive,” she continued. “It affected every part of my life and changed who I am. I never want to feel out of control again.”

Johnson added that he will now only take Tylenol or Motrin.

Shawn Johnson/Instagram

Shawn Johnson opens up about body image issues, drug use and losing 110 pounds. for a pregnant woman’

The athlete shared her battle with Adderall addiction for the first time in 2020 in a candid YouTube video, Body image issues: 110 lbs. to Trudno.

Johnson admitted that after the 2008 Olympics ended, she felt lost and purposeless – and that the rigorous training and strict diet she had followed up until that point had given her an unrealistic idea of ​​what her body should look like.

“I gained about 15lbs after the Olympics and I thought it was the worst thing in the world – which it wasn’t, it was healthy and normal.”

That’s when Johnson said she started taking several different types of diet pills, as well as ephedrine and Adderall.

“I started doing everything I could to lose weight and look like an Olympian,” she said, “because in my mind, everyone was praising me for what I did in the Olympics, they were praising me for who I was as a human being when I was there. And in my mind, if I could look like that – not necessarily compete or do gymnastics – but if I could be that person again, then the world would say I’m ‘enough’ and I’m accepted.”

“I went through this dark spiral of several years on horrible drugs and meds that tried to ‘boost my metabolism’ and I did nothing, I was taking diuretics, doing all the fad diets. I remember going through a three week phase where I didn’t ate nothing but raw vegetables.”

Shawn Johnson/Instagram

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The Olympian recalled various low points after Beijing and, after returning to gymnastics ahead of the 2012 Olympics, realized she could not continue on her current path and finally retired in June 2012. Following that decision, she engaged a therapist and nutritionist who helped her help you learn healthier habits.

Johnson married husband Andrew East in 2016 and has since welcomed three children — daughter Drew Hazel, 4, and sons Jett James, 2, and Barrett Madison, 2 weeks.

The gymnast said having Drew gave her “such a sense of purpose” and made her want to be a “good influence.”

“I came clean from, you know, the drugs and the prescriptions and just the obsession — I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, I love what I went through, it was very hard and I don’t wish it on anyone — but I had these difficult experiences that made me a stronger mom that will allow me to teach Drew how to be strong too.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or visit NationalEatingDisorders.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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Source: HIS Education