Shawn Johnson 'Refuses All Pain Meds' After Past Adderall Addiction: 'It Just Scares Me'

“I never want to feel out of control like that again,” the former Olympic gymnast said of past addiction

Shawn Johnson East is steering clear of any pain medications as a recovering addict.

On Friday, the retired Olympic gymnast posted a Q&A on her Instagram Story and opened up about her decision to turn down “narcotic pain meds” while welcoming her third baby via cesarean section earlier this month.

The 31-year-old told her followers that her third c-section was “the hardest but smoothest” experience as she dealt with a lot of scar tissue and soreness afterward. However, despite the discomfort, Johnson said she didn’t want any medications that might bring up old habits from her past Adderall use.

“Feeling great now though. I also refuse all pain meds haha (they make me SO sick and frankly after being addicted to adderall it just scares me so I don’t even mess with it,” she wrote before explaining her history with Adderall.

“Long story short, during my comeback in 2010 I was prescribed adderall to ‘curb my appetite and give me more energy’ by a not good doctor,” Johnson shared.

“Fast forward 7 years of being heavily addicted to it and having it control me, when I finally freed myself of it I swore anything even remotely addictive I’d stay away from,” she continued. “It affected every part of my life and changed who I was. I never want to feel out of control like that again.”

Johnson added that all she’ll take now is Tylenol or Motrin.

Related: Shawn Johnson Opens Up About Body Image Struggles, Drug Use and Going from '110 Lbs. to Pregnant'

The athlete first shared her struggle with adderall addiction in 2020 in a candid YouTube video, Body Image Issues: 110 Lbs. to Pregnant.

Johnson admitted that the conclusion of the 2008 Olympics left her feeling lost and without purpose — and that the rigorous training and strict diet that she had been following up until that point gave her an unrealistic idea of what her body should look like.

"I'd gained about 15 lbs. after the Olympics and I thought that that was the worst thing in the entire world — which it wasn't, it was healthy and normal."

That’s when Johnson said she started taking several different kinds of weight loss pills as well as ephedrine and Adderall.

"I started doing any and everything I possibly could to lose the weight and to look like I did at the Olympics," she said, "because in my mind, everybody praised me for what I did at the Olympics, they praised who I was as a human being when I was there. And in my mind if I could look like that — not necessarily compete or do gymnastics — but if I could be that person again, then the world would say that I was 'enough' and I was accepted."

"I went through this dark kind of spiral of a few years on terrible medications and drugs that tried to 'spike my metabolism' and did nothing, I took diuretics, I did every fad diet. I remember I went through a three-week phase where I ate nothing but raw vegetables."

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The Olympian recalled various low points following Beijing and, after returning to gymnastics ahead of the 2012 Olympics, realized she couldn't continue on her current path and ultimately retired in June 2012. After that decision, she hired a therapist and nutritionist who helped her learn healthier habits.

Johnson married husband Andrew East in 2016 and has since welcomed three children — daughter Drew Hazel, 4, and sons Jett James, 2, and Barrett Madison, 2 weeks.

The gymnast said that having Drew gave her "such a sense of purpose" and made her want to be a "good influence."

"Having gotten clean from, you know, the medications and the prescriptions and just the obsessiveness — I wouldn't change anything for the world, I love that I went through it, it was very hard and I don't wish that on anyone — but I've had these tough experiences that make me a stronger mom that will allow me to teach Drew how to be strong as well."

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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