entertainment

Roxy Jacenko admits dangerous Nurofen habit.

Sydney PR queen, Roxy Jacenko, has spoken to Fairfax about her problem with painkillers – and more specifically, her overuse of Nurofen Plus.

In an article published online today, Roxy admits that she was “eating them by the handful” back in 2009 when she was under a great deal of work stress, occasionally consuming eight tablets at several different occasions throughout the day:

Roxy with her daughter, Pixie

“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that you should consume pain relief according to the directions on the packet but, in this industry I’m in and the pressure that I’m under, I chose to be ignorant,” she said.

“I ignored the directions and just took it. Did I realise the damage I was doing to my innards? No, I didn’t. But I was fully aware I was taking a lot more than the prescribed dose.”

Roxy was forced to stop her painkiller habit when she wound up in hospital, due to the amount of damage she had caused to her stomach: “I have never, ever experienced pain anything like it.”

A fictionalised version of the event appeared in Roxy’s first book, Strictly Confidential. In the novel, publicist Jasmine Lewis is rushed to hospital after a stomach ulcer – caused by too much Nurofen – bursts.

Roxy has confirmed that she has stopped with her Nurofen habits after acknowledging that she was misusing it.

Just the other day, she put up an Instagram photo showing the addiction warning on a box of Nurofen with the caption: “@mazzycoote @1903oprc @doreenjacenko surely this can’t be an actual sticker – surely you lot stuck this on!?!? I am left for 3 days and now everything is labelled !!”

Recently, doctors and pharmacists have been calling for more strict control on any medications that contain codeine. Addiction is a major concern, as well as related health issues such as stomach ulcers.

Flick through some of the other images from Roxy’s Instagram: