Clueless star Stacey Dash opened up about her battle with addiction during Thursday’s episode of The Dr. Oz Show.
Dash revealed that her parents were both drug addicts and that she first tried drugs when she was eight years old, according to E! Online. Additionally, says Dash, her parents supplied her with her first line of cocaine when she was 16.
She later told Oz that she relapsed after being 20 years sober when she was prescribed Vicodin to help with her painful fibroid cysts.
At one point, Dash admits to “taking 18 to 20 pills a day,” adding she “lost everything.” When Oz asked how much money she had spent on drugs each month, Dash guessed about $5,000 to $10,000.
“I almost died,” recalls Stacey. “That’s what stopped me. My kidneys were so infected that my blood was septic, and my organs were shutting down. So, I got rushed to the hospital and I had to have a full blood transfusion and I was in there for three weeks. And by the grace and mercy of god, I lived.”
However, after leaving the hospital, Dash says she continued to abuse drugs. After once again contemplating suicide, she says, “I called my sister and I told her ‘Come over right now.’ And then I called my attorney and I said, ‘I need help.'”
Dash, now five years sober, hopes that by sharing her story, she can help those battling with addiction.
“I feel like telling my story — letting people know that there is no shame in being an addict,” she said, “And for people who are not addicts, I would ask them to please look at people with more compassion and empathy… They need help. They can’t do it on their own.”
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