Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Shawn Johnson recently shared details of the birth of her newborn son, Barrett “Bear” Madison East. She revealed that she chose not to take any narcotic painkillers during the C-section, due to her history of addiction to Adderall.
Johnson welcomed her third child with husband Andrew East on December 12. The couple are also parents to Drew’s daughter Hazel, four, and two-year-old son Jett James.
Shawn Johnson had previously spoken out about her addiction issues with Adderall, a medication commonly used to treat ADHD, in a video shared on the Access Hollywood YouTube channel in 2020. There, she discussed that she had body image issues and sought refuge. To the grains in order to restore their natural appearance. To get back to her Olympic weight.
Now, the American has given an insight into her mental strength after sharing details of Barrett’s birth on her Instagram Story. She posted a picture next to the child and wrote:
“Well… long story short while back in 2010, I was prescribed Adderall to ‘suppress my appetite and give me more energy’ by a not-so-good doctor. After 7 years of being extremely addicted and controlled by it, when I finally broke free, I swore I will stay away from anything that is even slightly addictive.
The American stated that her decision stemmed from her desire to never feel out of control as she did during her addiction.
“It has affected every part of my life and changed who I am. I never want to feel out of control like that again. So….Tylenol and Motrin for me :)”
Watch her Instagram story below:
