Celebrity Rehab 2

I have to admit it, I was totally addicted (no pun intended) to the first season, and this season looks even better. I've never been addicted to any substances, and I'm thankful for that.

Anyways, there is a very good dynamic of celebrities:

Rodney King
Gary Busey
Jeff Conaway (back from 1st season)
Nikki McKibben (1st season Idol contestant)
Sean Stewart (Rod's son)
Amber Smith (Actress/model)
Tawny Kitaen
Steven Adler

Obviously the last two people on this list have some pretty important Rock/Metal connections...

I kind of wondered what had been going on with Steven Adler lately. I had the pleasure of running into him in October of 1996 in a bar in a club in Tempe, AZ. He had joined a cover band on stage for renditions of "Paradise City", "Welcome To The Jungle", and a non GNR tune. I went up to him to ask him a couple of things, but needless to say, he was either drunk off his ass or high as can be. It wasn't too much longer after that running into him that Steven suffered a stroke due to his heroin addiction.

For the episode tonight, Steven was actually admitted 9 days earlier than anyone else due to the fact that Dr. Drew thought he might not be alive by the time everyone arrived. Steven is living with his brother, and needless to say his brother has his hands full. When Dr. Drew starts talking with Steven, he starts to cry about how all he wants to do is play music with his best friend Slash, and how he hates Matt Sorum. Then Dr. Drew starts examining Steven's body (for needle marks). Steven had been doing a lot of cocaine, and was shooting it, and in all places, his NECK. Steven told Dr. Drew that it's easier because of the veins are easier to get to. WOW!

When the others arrive, Steven had just come off of 9 days of detox, so he looked a little better. Funny enough, I thought Steven was going to worse than he did (not that he looked good). Unfortunately Steven still slurs his speech, which I'm sure is not only a result of a copius amount of drugs, but also his stroke. Dr. Drew asks him what got him into the lifestyle of drugs. Sadly, Steven says that his mother was told to choose between Steven or his step father. She chose the step father...Unfortunately Steven was only 11. He was KICKED OUT OF HIS HOUSE AT 11!!! He immediately got into drugs. They don't go to much further into his life, but I'm sure they will expound on it. Steven's story looks like it might be the most interesting of all who are on the show.

I recommend the show to everyone who hasn't yet seen it. It's very moving.

Gary Busey is the only real talent among any of them. i still dream of Whitesnake era Tawny though.

mc666 wrote:

Gary Busey is the only real talent among any of them. i still dream of Whitesnake era Tawny though.

I agree, but Gary is easily the most wacked out of any of them. He supposedly has been clean for 13 years, but when he had his motorcycle crash, he suffered a brain injury. When the addicts on the show think you're nuts, then you have problems.

Gary thinks he's on the show to be a consultant for the rest of the group, but Dr. Drew is trying to convince him that he's in there to deal with his past addictions. At some point Gary is going to have to get with the program, so it should get interesting.

Tawny is dealing with some issues revolving around prescription medication. She was a coke addict up until 2 years prior. Her big issues are going to deal with all the underlying issues, and why those pushed her into drugs (at least that's where they're going with her).

For reality TV, this show is excellent. Sure, it's a bit exploitative; it wouldn't be on TV if it wasn't. But if you've ever been around addiction, or been addicted to yourself, this is a pretty powerful show. I've never tried any drug but alcohol, but I know many that have ruined their life, or almost ruined it. Some have died.

I've explained it here before, so I won't go through it again in detail. But briefly, my father is one of those that took it to the brink of death. About four years ago now, I said goodbye to him one day assuming it was forever. He was homeless, living in a tent in the woods with a couple of other heroin addicts. This is where I said my goodbyes. It was late fall, and I knew he wouldn't make it through the winter out there. No way. It had taken him close to 20 years to get that far down, but there he was. Luckily he was smart enough to realize he was finally facing death, no question. And somehow he turned it around.

I don't know if he's 100% sober now, but he doesn't weigh 90lbs anymore. He's fat. We talk on the phone like friends. I bought a kayak for him and we go fishing. He has a girlfriend that owns two houses and she seems to be helping him. It's still a shock to me. Fortune seems to have shined on him. I have two half-brothers. He lost contact with them both ages ago. His ex-wife left him before I was born, and took the kids. He had no idea where they were. In the early 90s he tracked them down, but at that point he had so many issues that he lost track of them again.

Anyway, last summer my father was fishing down Cape Cod. Some random guy stopped him on the pier and was like, "Is your name Paul?" It was my father's oldest son from his previous marriage. He'd seen the guy just a few times in 30-something years. How is that for fate?

So now I'm babbling like I figured I wouldn't. Haha. I can type fast, though. Back to the show. A lot of people trash it, but it's a damn realistic show. If you've been around it, you know. Sure, it's not as trashy and deplorable as addiction can sometimes be, but it's still not a fake show. It is, for once, reality TV. I don't know how many times during the first season I was holding back tears. And I don't even know those people! It's just a sad thing to see, if you can relate. Sadly, I can.

Eyesore that is definitely a powerful story. It sounds like your Father is getting his life together, so that's awesome. Hopefully he stays down that path, and realizes how much his life is better w/out drugs or alcohol.

My Mother is one of 7. She has 4 siblings that at one time or another were/are alcoholics. One of my Aunts who was an alcoholic for years had finally gotten clean and sober, only to have terrible issues regarding her back (very much like that of Jeff Conaway). The back problems got so severe that she ended up having surgery for the problem. Unfortunately the surgery was botched, and the pain got even worse. After that, she got hooked on pain medication and has been hooked ever since the surgery (which has been more than 5 years ago). I just found out in August that my Uncle is now divorcing her, because he is at his wits end, and can't handle it anymore.

While still in high school one of my Uncles had been partying it up with his best friend. My Uncle ended up getting behind the wheel, and long story short, he hit a tree, and his best friend was killed. That was over 30 years ago, but I know that he lives with this everyday. Even though he never spent a day in jail, he feels like should've been the one to die. Needless to say, he went into a downward spiral for a while, but eventually picked himself up. I can't say that he's totally dry, but instead of driving his car (when he knows he will be around alcohol), he rides a bike around. He just doesn't trust himself. One night two summers ago my other Uncle went into great detail about the events regarding that night, and the pain that both families were enduring. He remembered verbatim what happened that night....I had never heard about the exact events surrounding that night...My Uncle and others there at the table that night shed a lot of tears. I don't know if the story would've ever come out had he been the least bit sober, so it was only aprapoe that it come out after being fairly wasted.

My Uncle who told the story that night probably should have had liver failure already. Even though he clearly is an alcoholic, he is a sane alcoholic (if there is such a thing). He is the life of the party, and everybody loves him. I worry about him, because he's the funniest guy in the world, even when he is sober. He's my sports outlet for when I need to vent about the teams we root for. He has two great sons that are in high school, and a cool wife. He is the coolest, but I'm afraid his days are numbered. That scares me...

The last of the four is the worst to be around when she's drunk. My Mother had an argument with her one night on the phone, and they didn't talk for nearly 4 years. Of course, she was hammered on the phone....They eventually patched things up, but last year there was another classic phone call, but this time it not only centered around alcohol, but also politics. My Aunt leans so hard to the right regarding her politics, that people like Rush Limbaugh are lame compared to her. My Mother is more centrist on her politics, but she just won't take her crap. It's been almost a year since they've talked. It's like a merry go round.

What do all these stories have in common? Alcoholic Grandparents. Alcoholism is truly a disease. I've heard about a few circumstances from my Mother's childhood, but she refuses to go into great detail regarding anything else. I suppose she doesn't want to ruin the image of what a parent/grand parent is supposed to represent. Both are deceased, so I guess those stories don't need to ever come out.

I just thank God I haven't ever shown any signs of this dreaded disease.

Just saw the premier yesterday. It's sad to see Steven Adler the way he is.

My granny on my dad's side was an alcoholic, she tried to get clean many times but it eventually killed her.
My best friend's dad was a dedicated alcoholic. I very rarely ever saw him sober growing up. He lost his license & rode a bike 15 miles one way to work every morning, he is a very skilled welder. He would stop at the store every morning & grab a 12 pack, stick it in the basket & it would be gone by the time he got to work, repeat on the way home. He wasent a mean or abusive drunk, he was just a drunk. About 6 years ago he decided he had enough, went to AA & has'nt had a drink since.

metalinmyveins wrote:

When the addicts on the show think you're nuts, then you have problems.

I just don't know how to respond to that.

the sentinel wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

When the addicts on the show think you're nuts, then you have problems.

I just don't know how to respond to that.

If your wondering whether it's a slap in the face, it's not. I'm merely paraphrasing what at least two of those who are currently seeking treatment have suggested. Gary is so out of it, that he has no idea what his role is supposed to be in there. Gary wants to be Dr. Drew of the facility. This isn't going to turn out well, and you can see where his storyline is heading. I actually don't think he'll make it. He's so headstrong, and doesn't like to listen to anyone, whether it be his peers or someone of authority.

Gary's problems right now aren't a result of drugs and alcohol (well maybe a little), but rather they are do to getting his brain josseled around from his motorcycle accident more than a decade ago. He even knows that his personality drives people nuts. When he met Amber Smith for the first time he stated within minutes of meeting her that if I'm talking too much, just say "Cut". She clearly felt uneasy after meeting Gary. Tawny's visit with Gary didn't go much better. Not only that, he was totally condescending towards her.

metalinmyveins wrote:

My Mother is one of 7. She has 4 siblings that at one time or another were/are alcoholics. One of my Aunts who was an alcoholic for years had finally gotten clean and sober, only to have terrible issues regarding her back (very much like that of Jeff Conaway). The back problems got so severe that she ended up having surgery for the problem. Unfortunately the surgery was botched, and the pain got even worse. After that, she got hooked on pain medication and has been hooked ever since the surgery (which has been more than 5 years ago). I just found out in August that my Uncle is now divorcing her, because he is at his wits end, and can't handle it anymore.

The funny thing about my father is that he comes from a family where everyone drank. I remember cookouts and such growing up where beer was what everyone drank. At the end of a cookout there would be 900 beer cans scattered around, and my father didn't drink a single one. He didn't like alcohol, any of it. He hated the flavor.

Funny, I also hate the flavor of every alcoholic drink I've ever tried. Sure, I've been drunk tons of times, but I never enjoyed the process of getting there. Haha. I don't drink anymore; I never really thought I'd have issues not drinking. My drinking was circumstantial. I'm sure I'll drink again someday, but I don't foresee ever having an issue with it. Then again, who knows.

The reason I quoted that bit above is because my father first began drinking because of a health issue. Around 32 or so, I guess, maybe a bit older, he developed stomach ulcers. They wouldn't go away. So our neighbor suggested he have a drink or two before bed, because my father was having a hard time sleeping. So my father tried it. Coffee brandy and milk was his drink. No problems at first, and the drinks helped; he slept better. But then he'd wake up and they'd hurt again.

Before long, he was drinking all day. And he didn't mess around, he would drink a GALLON at a time. Haha. He'd buy a gallon of milk, a quart of brandy, dump a bit of the milk out, and fill it with brandy. Then after a while, that wasn't strong enough, so in went a fifth of vodka. And at that point he was that little snowball charging down the mountain, slowly turning into an avalanche. He went from being a successful adult with a happy family life to a homeless heroin addict. All because of some stomach ulcers. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

You never quite know what'll trigger that avalanche, I guess.

Eyesore, you mentioned he came from a family where everyone drank, but do you know if any of them were alcoholics? Was there a family history? It's sad that your dad became an addict through those set of circumstances.

Right now, I'm having a glass of wine. I don't drink beer as much anymore, though I do like it. I don't like light beers, nor the cheap variety. I'm a big fan of imports. Like many out there, I hated beer after first trying it. It probably took me a good 10 years to decipher what types of beer that I enjoyed. I think like many things out there, one has to acquire a taste for it. When I do drink, I prefer to do at night, though get me out to a game where there's tailgating with friends, and I do just fine.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore, you mentioned he came from a family where everyone drank, but do you know if any of them were alcoholics? Was there a family history? It's sad that your dad became an addict through those set of circumstances.

Sure, my uncle Ernie had a lot of issues with alcoholism. He got his act together a few years after my father was ravaging himself. I would say my other uncles and such are alcoholics, though not the destructive kind. If you have to have a beer to function, you're probably an alcoholic.

And I'm not one to buy into this nonsense about it being hereditary. It's not medically proven, and I just find it to be a pathetic crutch. It's weakness, and that's not hereditary. Not in my book.

I'm always amazed at how people can bounce back from hitting the bottom. Also how they have the courage to keep fighting the addiction once they've recovered. I guess that is the key- keep fighting it. My grandfather was a really bad alcoholic when my mom was growing up. I only knew him as this loving kindly gentle man. Apparently it took many years to repair the damage it inflicted emotionally on everyone. It was a shock to hear about all these issues years down the line versus what my experience was.

I don't drink and really outside of my college years never have. But after that first year of college I actually decided to have a dry summer just to make sure I wasn't heading down darker paths. When I went the entire summer without drinking and had no problems doing so I knew I was okay as far as having an addiction.

What's sad is when I think of people I knew back then who had real problems with drinking and how their actions were almost considered cool or funny. Only to recognize later just how tragic/self-destructive that behavior really was.

I've never seen this show. More of a Intervention viewer. I think it being famous people kind of made it seem more exploitive in someway. Though I always liked Dr. Drew from back in the old Loveline days. I might have to check it out. What will be hard looking at the list is that I actually was, at one time, a big fan of four of those people's work.

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore, you mentioned he came from a family where everyone drank, but do you know if any of them were alcoholics? Was there a family history? It's sad that your dad became an addict through those set of circumstances.

Sure, my uncle Ernie had a lot of issues with alcoholism. He got his act together a few years after my father was ravaging himself. I would say my other uncles and such are alcoholics, though not the destructive kind. If you have to have a beer to function, you're probably an alcoholic.

And I'm not one to buy into this nonsense about it being hereditary. It's not medically proven, and I just find it to be a pathetic crutch. It's weakness, and that's not hereditary. Not in my book.

Well, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you on this point. It definitely has been proven within the medical community that certain genes play a role in alcoholism. I'm surprised that you enjoy the show as much, when half of the show is dedicated to why these people are alcoholics, and their family history and such. Dr. Drew definitely pounds away at each of these people's family history.

I wouldn't say alcoholism is heriditary. At most, there's a genetic disposition to be susceptible to addiction, and judging by the context of these families, alcohol was abundant and understandably became the addiction of chocie. It's more of a contextual thing than genetic.

I'd quite like to watch this show, I'll have to see if I can find it online somewhere as I don't have a telly here at university, let alone one with digital so I could watch this.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore, you mentioned he came from a family where everyone drank, but do you know if any of them were alcoholics? Was there a family history? It's sad that your dad became an addict through those set of circumstances.

Sure, my uncle Ernie had a lot of issues with alcoholism. He got his act together a few years after my father was ravaging himself. I would say my other uncles and such are alcoholics, though not the destructive kind. If you have to have a beer to function, you're probably an alcoholic.

And I'm not one to buy into this nonsense about it being hereditary. It's not medically proven, and I just find it to be a pathetic crutch. It's weakness, and that's not hereditary. Not in my book.

Well, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you on this point. It definitely has been proven within the medical community that certain genes play a role in alcoholism. I'm surprised that you enjoy the show as much, when half of the show is dedicated to why these people are alcoholics, and their family history and such. Dr. Drew definitely pounds away at each of these people's family history.

Because I agree that family history plays a role, not genetics. When my father began drinking, I was 12. By the time I was 14, he was a mess. I mean, the first time I ever drove a car was when I was 14. My mother came in around 6am and told me I had to take her. She didn't work nearby; she worked about 20 miles away. My father was passed out, and my mother had already missed too much for that reason. (My mother doesn't drive; she's got a fear of it.) So I drove her to work. It was scary as hell, driving for the first time ever during morning rush hour! I didn't even get my license until I was 18. Haha.

But because of that, and things similar, I saw how destructive it could all be. That taught me a lesson, a hard one. But my sister, being younger, didn't understand it all. What my father did was normal to her. When she was 14, she was doing drugs and drinking and wanted a black baby. Haha. She's 30 now, and has gotten her act together since then, and four years ago had her first child (her black baby, haha). Something of a miracle, since she wasn't supposed to be able to have kids. But she had a lot of problems with alcohol and drugs, got raped while high on cocaine, etc. Why? Because she has a gene? I don't buy it.

I blame her impressionable age when my father was deep into it, and the fact that by the time she got to that young teen period the family was in shambles; there was no structure, no discipline. My father was abusive and my mother was locked away in herself. And I was the man of the house. And no one listened to me, of course. That's what I blame.

I saw 5 minutes of show called 'Sober House' last night and it featured Steven Adler, I could not watch more than 5 minutes, this poor bastard was a shell of a human being, it was soul crushing to watch so I had to change the channel.

I hope he finds it inside of himself to get his sh!t together, and I hope he is still receiving royalities from Gun n Roses because this guy still has the physical after effects of a stroke and his drumming days are far beyond him. Sad.

manny wrote:

I saw 5 minutes of show called 'Sober House' last night and it featured Steven Adler, I could not watch more than 5 minutes, this poor bastard was a shell of a human being, it was soul crushing to watch so I had to change the channel.

I hope he finds it inside of himself to get his sh!t together, and I hope he is still receiving royalities from Gun n Roses because this guy still has the physical after effects of a stroke and his drumming days are far beyond him. Sad.

I was thinking about looking this thread up to talk about this. Everything that Celebrity Rehab was in terms of overall positiveness, Sober House is NOT. I think many of these celebrities, especially someone like Steven Adler need to go through a longer form of treatment than most of his peers. Steven sadly admitted during Celebrity Rehab that he's only been sober for maybe the better part of 4 days. That goes all the way back to when he was 13 and thrown out of his house. When Steven was sober, he was the most gentle of souls, but when he gets totally wasted; he's easily the worst to deal with. I know Manny that he gets thrown out of the house, but I don't know if he ever reentered any other type of treatment. I actually just heard something on the radio regarding Steven Adler while driving through the state of Wisconsin a couple days ago. He's going to make an appearance concert wise sometime in the near future. So, he's still drumming, though probably no very effectively.

Sober House is like a kick in the stomach. It's hard to watch. But I think that's why it's effective. Celebrity Rehab is controlled, the sober house is not—at least not as much. And you immediately see how quickly these people fall.

I never saw 'Celebrity Rehab' but I have to agree with Eyesore, it is painful to watch, I didnot last more than five minutes, like Eyesore stated, it is like a kick in the stomach.

Seeing Steven Adler on this show, a person who actually made his dreams a reality and watch him blow down the can time and time again is both sad and maddening.

Sober house is more potent and unrestrained, i like it better.

I know its sad to watch Steven go on a kick time and time again.Its hard to understand how much people let addiction control them.

That dude was higher than i've ever seen anybody. Wow.