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Brett Favre has revealed his addiction to painkillers as he revealed how he became dependent on Vicodin during his playing days. Speaking to Joe Buck, he said that it began with an injury against the Philadelphia Eagles where he separated his left shoulder, remarking,
"I think the first time that I've remember pain, and pain management, we played Philadelphia in Milwaukee County Stadium, Reggie White is on Philadelphia's team and it tells you how long ago and right before the end of the first half, he tackles me and my left shoulder separated, and it was a third degree separation, it hurt like hell."
He was given an injection to continue playing but after it wore off, he took some pain pills. He continued,
"And the half was over, I go in and they give an injection in my shoulder not uncommon. And it felt fine. When it wore off, after the end, I played the second half when it wore off after the game, it felt really bad. And so I took some pain pills. And I kind of liked them. It made me feel better. It made the injury feel better."
That took him down a path where he became dependent on them and needed more to feel better. Brett Favre said,
"And I'm in a business that justifies for the most part, you know, my ankles hurt, my shoulder hurt, sorry, you know, I just got tackle, you know, or sack four times, it's hard to argue that. And so I, you know, slowly but surely increased my load, I realized that two didn't make me feel the way they used to. So I need a four, and so on."
The Hall-of-Fame quarterback further revealed that this was happening during the time when he won multiple MVPs. He underscored,
"And eventually, this was probably a three to four year span. So it was not overnight, where I was taking 15 Vicodin ES at one time, every night. I had won two MVPs and we started having a lot of success."
Packers legend Brett Favre reveals cause of first seizure
Dependence to painkillers also affected Brett Favre's sleep pattern. He said that it led to his first seizure.
"And so I stayed up all night, I would sit there and watch TV all night. And then go to practice next day, and I leaned back into the wall and took a nap. I mean, I was bound and determined to lead his team. But I mean, I was also functioning, maybe an hour sleep. And that's what ultimately the first seizure was was a lack of sleep more or less."
It shows how even the biggest competitors can fall to negative influences in their life. Brett Favre certainly did and it is good to see him speak so openly about it.
