Shawn Johnson East decided against using “narcotic” pain medication during her C-section delivery based on 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,” the Olympic gymnast, 31, claimed in a Friday, December 22, Instagram Story post. “Fast forward 7 years of being heavily addicted to it and having it control me.”
Johnson East grew up as a competitive gymnast, participating in her first Olympics in 2008 when she was 16 years old. After picking up multiple medals at the Beijing Games, Johnson East injured her ACL while skiing in 2010. She underwent reconstructive knee surgery before resuming her gymnastics training the following year. Johnson East ultimately retired from the sport in 2012.
When Johnson East finally weaned herself off the pain pills, she swore that she would “stay away” from “anything even remotely addictive.”
She concluded, “It affected every part of my life and changed who I was. I never want to feel out of control like that again. So… Tylenol and Motrin for me.”
Johnson East and her husband, Andrew East, welcomed their third baby, son Barrett “Bear” Madison, on December 12. (The married couple also share daughter Drew, 4, and son Jett, 2.)
According to Johnson East, her C-section with Bear was the “hardest but smoothest” delivery for her. “[I] had so much scar tissue that they cut out and cleaned up, so I was SUPER sore and swollen,” she noted in a second Instagram Story post on Friday. “Feeling great now, though.”
Bear, a name that Johnson East and East always loved, was born on a sentimental date.
“Life is so good and we are feeling really blessed to have a third healthy baby join our family,” East, 32, wrote in the pair’s “FamilyMade” newsletter earlier this month. “My dad was born on December 9 and passed away unexpectedly on December 27 of last year, so December is a really impactful month for us. Having our baby born so close to my dad’s birthday feels really special and I know he would be smiling down and so proud of us.”
Coincidentally, Bear was born on the same day as Bachelorette alum Shawn Booth’s son Locks. (Booth, 36, shares his first child with Audrey “Dre” Joseph.)
“12/12 was a great day to have a baby! Look who our delivery room neighbors were,” Booth wrote via Instagram Story on December 16, uploading a selfie with East in the hospital.
Both Booth and the Easts have since brought their newborns home to their respective houses in Nashville.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
