Loose Women star and actress Denise Welch has revealed that a recent health issue saw her hit 'tipping point'.
The former Coronation Street actor opened up to Alex Partridge on the ADHD Chatter podcast, as she admitted that an incident involving her health last year nearly made her turn back to drinking alcohol and smoking. The 66-year-old had stopped drinking after she had initially turned to it after suffering with clinical depression.
Despite originally deciding that she was not going to take medication for ADHD, the mum-of-two was later convinced by her husband, Lincoln, and she first chose to take the tablets last year on the night she was due to see her eldest her son, Matty Healy, perform with his band, the 1975.
Describing the impact she expected the medication to have, the Loose Women icon believed that she would be able to see an instant difference in how she behaved, as she jokingly said that she thought she would have been more 'focused' and her head would be less 'scrambled'.
But, as time ticked by, she soon noticed that the reality did not meet her expectations: "So, I thought I'm going to take this tablet and by the time I leave our London apartment, I'm going to have vacuumed everywhere and I'm going to have thought, right, for once I really want to settle down to that bulk of affairs that I've ignored since I was 18-years-old."
Unable to notice any impact from the medication, she joked as she claimed she still didn't feel the 'need to do her taxes,' reports Gloucestershire Live.
But, as more time passed, that would soon change: "An hour later I wanted a drink and a cigarette for the first time in 11 years and it was horrendous how it affected me. Had I not been so many years into (it) and so secure managing my sobriety it would have been a very very dangerous tipping point for me."
Despite not seeing positive results from her own experience, she said: "One of the things I am always glad of the opportunity of being able to tell people is that, ADHD medication changes so many peoples lives for the better, but there are some people it is not good for and I was absolutely one of them."
According to the NHS Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 'is a condition that affects people's behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse.'
Their website also adds that symptoms of the condition 'tend to be noticed at an early age and may become more noticeable when a child's circumstances change, such as when they start school.' And, while diagnoses are also occasionally not made until adulthood, in some circumstances, symptoms can improve with age.