Michael J. Fox opens up about turning to alcohol to cope with Parkinson's disease diagnosis
Michael J. Fox has opened up about turning to alcohol and dopamine pills to cope with his Parkinson's disease diagnosis.
In his new documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, the Back to the Future star revealed he "drank to dissociate" from his new reality after being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder in 1991.
"I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know what was coming. So what if I could just have four glasses of wine and maybe a shot?" Fox recalled, according to USA Today. "I was definitely an alcoholic. But I've gone 30 years without having a drink."
Of the dopamine pills, Fox admitted he popped them "like Halloween Smarties (candy)" to calm down his symptoms while shooting film and TV projects at the time.
"Therapeutic value, comfort – none of these were the reason I took these pills. There was only one reason: to hide," Fox said in the documentary. "I became a virtuoso of manipulating drug intake so that I'd peak at exactly the right time and place."
In 1990, Fox, who is married to Tracy Pollan, became aware something wasn't right when he woke up from a night of drinking to find his little finger twitching. The following year, he visited a neurologist, who then diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease. The 61-year-old kept his diagnosis private for seven years and tried to hide his tremors at work by carrying props in his left hand.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday. It will air on Apple TV+ later this year.
