Latest news with #DrSamHay
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Jackie O reveals what sparked her addiction to painkillers
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. 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, 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. 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.'
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Jackie 'O' Henderson reveals the sad truth behind what started her painkiller addiction - and why most women will understand
Jackie 'O' Henderson has opened up about the sad truth as to what started her painkiller addiction, for which she checked into a rehabilitation centre in 2022. The radio queen, 50, was chatting to KIIS FM's Dr Sam Hay about the nature of addiction and told Kyle & Jackie O listeners she began taking painkillers to help cope with a problem that many women experience. 'I got addicted because I got prescribed Endone. I was prescribed for a true pain that I was experiencing because I was going to the hospital every month with my endometriosis,' Jackie began. Endometriosis is a painful condition affecting many women, where tissue similar to the womb lining grows in other parts of the body, often causing cramps, fatigue and fertility issues. Several other celebrities have gone public with their endometriosis battle, including Bindi Irwin. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Jackie added she was prescribed the powerful painkiller Endone - another name for Oxycodone - to help manage the issue but soon became dependent on it. 'It just got so out of control, I had to go to the hospital to get morphine. And then so they prescribed the Endone as a way to manage it,' she said. 'It is dangerous. When they handed me the drug they said, "it's so addictive. Be really careful." And it really, really is. 'I took those pills and thought, "I'll be fine." And I realised you're not fine because they are so addictive.' In October, Jackie first opened up about her addiction issues during a tearful conversation with her co-host Kyle Sandilands on their KIIS FM radio show. Jackie revealed at the height of her addiction she was consuming up to 12 Stilnox sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte tablets daily, often with alcohol. The KIIS FM star admitted on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she secretly checked into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction in November 2022. Jackie admitted she was advised not to reduce her pill intake before arriving at the clinic, meaning she was still using the substances the day she flew out to the US. When Jackie took her break from the show in 2022, Kyle told listeners she was stepping away to 'focus on her health' after contracting COVID-19. However, behind the scenes, the beloved radio host was battling an addiction that had spiralled out of control. The veteran presenter said she wanted to publicly speak about her addiction battle to reduce the 'stigma' around drug dependence and 'normalise' it. The presenter bravely apologised to listeners for not revealing her health struggles earlier. She later publicly thanked her best friend Gemma O'Neill for helping her see she had a problem and getting her checked into The Betty Ford Clinic in California.
SBS Australia
15-07-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Could it be meningococcal? Australia approaches the high-risk disease's peak season
Two years ago, Jacob Blackwell was a fit tradesman with a love of sports - until a devastating bout of meningococcal disease turned his life upside down. Within two days he went from feeling lethargic to experiencing delusions. In hospital, doctors put him in an induced coma and saved his life. But he suffered severe long-term complications, losing the ability to do even basic tasks. "Everything I had to learn to do again, so eating, talking - back to square one. Think of it as an 18-month-old, just learning to do everything again." His mother Chelsea Blackwell remembers her shock on seeing the illness take hold of her son. "I actually couldn't comprehend what I'd seen. I opened the door, I looked and I was just like hmmm. Jacob didn't look like Jacob because his brain had already been swollen so his eyes were protruding and his skin was breaking a little bit. So they actually thought initially he had been assaulted." Meningococcal disease is caused by bacteria, called neisseria meningitidis, which most people carry in the back of their throat at some point in their lives. But when that bacteria turns invasive it can enter the brain or the bloodstream, causing potentially life-threatening infection. General Practitioner Dr Sam Hay says the disease can progress dangerously quickly. "It often starts with a flu-like illness, bit of a cold, bit of a runny nose, a bit of a cough. But then it progresses, fevers and (the patient) becomes very, very sick after that. People can go downhill within 24 to 48 hours." As Australia enters peak season for meningococcal, there's a national campaign ((launched Monday)) to raise awareness of the disease which primarily affects young adults and children. Doctors say the illness is on the rise, with 56 cases already reported this year - 18 of those in New South Wales. Dr Sam Hay says infections can have devastating consequences. "One in 10 people who get the invasive meningococcal can unfortunately pass away. One in five get these significant side-effects, complications, that could be brain damage, loss of limbs, hearing loss, and the list goes on.' Paralympic swimmer and bronze medallist Jay Dohnt contracted meningococcal when he was in high school. After feeling sick and developing a rash, he went to see a GP. Just 24 hours after developing symptoms, he was in intensive care. "The ambulance was still in precautionary mode, they didn't even put the lights on to take me to a hospital. At the hospital, it was a different story. They all met me out in the carpark, and took it very seriously. That evening (I was) hooked up to everything in the intensive care unit and given a 97 per chance of dying, or a 3 per cent chance of living. I wasn't conscious for the first two weeks, and I don't remember much from the first two months of a five-and-a-half month hospital stay. But this is essentially the end result - a bilateral knee amputee. Missing my patella (kneecap) in my left leg, lost four fingers on my right hand as well. So very life-changing for a teenager who loved sport." It's these life-altering impacts that lead Karen Quick, CEO of Meningitis Centre Australia, to stress the importance of early detection, urging parents to push for answers. "It's really important as parents that we're aware of all the signs and symptoms, that we trust our instincts and we get help straight away. Go straight to the hospital, straight to the doctor, and ask the question - could it be meningococcal?" Dr Sam Hay warns people not to wait until they have developed a rash as by then, it could be already too late. "When it gets into the blood stream, that's when you get the septicaemia and that then goes on to the rash. But the problem is that the rash, while it is dangerous, it happens late. And if you are looking for that, things have gone too far." Two years after his brush with meningococcal, Jay Blackwell is still working on his recovery. Inspired by Paralympian and fellow survivor Jay, he has taken up swimming and says, despite many challenges, the future is looking bright. "You kind of adapt to the life you live now you don't really think about your old life. As hard as it has been, I kind of like to take every day as my glass half full, pretty well. There's all these opportunities that I couldn't even imagine.'
