'The doctors told me, 'You could have killed yourself'.'
Ant McPartlin has recently spoken out about his struggle with addiction and mental health, opening up to the world about his battles and publicly checking himself into rehab. After his two month treatment has come to an end he has spoken about the gravity of his substance problems in a heart wrenching interview.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Ant admitted that the addiction had started after a knee surgery in 2014 which required him to take painkillers. He said, ‘I was at the point where anything — prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs — I would take. And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, "You could have killed yourself".'
Ant revealed the depths that he would go to in order to obtain painkillers, which included going to a number of private doctors, and a later particularly painful knee operation also led him to take a number of sleeping pills. He said, 'It wasn’t until I came back home to London that I admitted I was in a bad way. I hid it from everyone because I was embarrassed about it. I would lie. I would hide pills in different places so it would look like you only had a small supply when you in fact had a much bigger supply.'
He also recalled the moment he realised he needed help, after he called his wife at five in the morning ‘screaming in pain’. He had binged on tramadol, morphine and alcohol which he said caused him to hear things, see things in the garden and caused him to be taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in an ambulance.
His comments were a sobering reminder that addiction can affect anyone, it doesn’t discriminate. He said, ‘From the old lady who lies about her Valium supply to someone like me who was necking tramadol to the point of psychosis, in the end it’s the same thing. It’s addiction.’
He took to the shared Ant and Dec Twitter account for the first time since he had been admitted to rehab, thanking his fans for their continued support.
Ant’s openness about his substance battles comes at an important time, as The Independent has recently reported that prescription drug addiction is set to overtake heroin use in the UK. According to statistics from UK Addiction Treatments Centres, which runs a number of facilities across the UK, have revealed that there’s been a 22% increase in admissions for over-the-counter and prescription drug addictions over the past two years.
If you or a loved one may need support for a substance addiction, the NHS recommends that you speak first with your GP who can then advise on the appropriate course of treatment. The Frank drugs helpline can also be reached at 0300 123 6600 to discreetly discuss addiction and treatment options.
