Vicodin (KTLA) |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- From Charlie Sheen to Lindsay Lohan, the list of stars who turn to rehab continues to grow
but it's not just Hollywood that struggles with addiction. What happens when someone you love is hooked on drugs? KTLA brings you one young woman's battle with vicodin.
It's real life and it can happen to anyone. Stella is a daughter... a mother... and an addict on a path of self-destruction. She remembers "I used to have really long hair, I was really pretty, its like not that, I can take 20 pills a day, I know the pills have ruined my life."
A daughter destroyed by vicodin, the young woman says "I don't get high because my body's so used to em that I have to take them just to function and get outta bed and take care of my kids."
Her Mother living in fear saying "Waking up, opening my eyes and wondering if she's alive in the bedroom."
Stella was just 18 when she gave birth to her first son. But when Brayden entered her life, so did the vicodin. "The doctor only gave me 10 cause he said he didn't want me getting addicted on em that's all I needed was 10. And that 10 was a mistake."
With her frail frame hunched over even confessing to her insatiable craving during our interview, a soft spoken Stella makes no secret of her heavy dependence on the drug. "When I am on 'em, I don't wanna do anything- take my kids out, go to park, I just wanna stay in the house and take pills."
Vicodin is typically prescribed by doctors to relieve severe pain but prolonged use can lead to an abuse of the drug, or fatal overdose - a thought that haunts Stella's parents everyday. Her Mom says, "Shes so little you know, its not gonna take much you know?
Stella admits she pawns her belongings to get money for the drugs . Though Stella's Mom and Dad believe she may be selling something else. Her Mom cries, "She gives her body. She tells us no, but our phone rings constantly and theyre all men, and the next thing we know, she's out the door."
Now with two young sons to raise and no where left to go, Stella is forced to face the crucial decision to clean up.
Tomorrow, Stella takes the first step towards her recovery - as she leaves her home and kids to check into detox and rid her body of all substances. Plus, later this week, you won't believe the difference just 27 days in rehab makes as ktla's special series "Real LA: Breaking the Addiction" continues.
It's real life and it can happen to anyone. Stella is a daughter... a mother... and an addict on a path of self-destruction. She remembers "I used to have really long hair, I was really pretty, its like not that, I can take 20 pills a day, I know the pills have ruined my life."
A daughter destroyed by vicodin, the young woman says "I don't get high because my body's so used to em that I have to take them just to function and get outta bed and take care of my kids."
Her Mother living in fear saying "Waking up, opening my eyes and wondering if she's alive in the bedroom."
Stella was just 18 when she gave birth to her first son. But when Brayden entered her life, so did the vicodin. "The doctor only gave me 10 cause he said he didn't want me getting addicted on em that's all I needed was 10. And that 10 was a mistake."
With her frail frame hunched over even confessing to her insatiable craving during our interview, a soft spoken Stella makes no secret of her heavy dependence on the drug. "When I am on 'em, I don't wanna do anything- take my kids out, go to park, I just wanna stay in the house and take pills."
Vicodin is typically prescribed by doctors to relieve severe pain but prolonged use can lead to an abuse of the drug, or fatal overdose - a thought that haunts Stella's parents everyday. Her Mom says, "Shes so little you know, its not gonna take much you know?
Stella admits she pawns her belongings to get money for the drugs . Though Stella's Mom and Dad believe she may be selling something else. Her Mom cries, "She gives her body. She tells us no, but our phone rings constantly and theyre all men, and the next thing we know, she's out the door."
Now with two young sons to raise and no where left to go, Stella is forced to face the crucial decision to clean up.
Tomorrow, Stella takes the first step towards her recovery - as she leaves her home and kids to check into detox and rid her body of all substances. Plus, later this week, you won't believe the difference just 27 days in rehab makes as ktla's special series "Real LA: Breaking the Addiction" continues.
