Adrian Chiles, 53, reveals he’s taking amphetamines to treat his attention deficit disorder and lauds the ‘brilliant’ pills for ‘instantly lifting’ his mood
- On Thursday, the former One Show and Match of the Day 2 host, 53, said that he first suspected he had ADD four years ago – but didn’t bother to find out more
- He said, however, that he eventually decided to find out if he had the condition just over a year ago – and was diagnosed, and prescribed amphetamines
- He said: ‘I’ve been getting treatment for ADD for more than a year now. Who wouldn’t feel better dropping an amphetamine every morning?’
Adrian Chiles has revealed that he has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and has been prescribed amphetamines.
On Thursday, the former One Show and Match of the Day 2 host, 53, said that he first suspected he had ADD four years ago – but didn’t bother to find out more after being handed a bill for £1,400 by a private doctor.
He said, however, that he eventually decided to find out if he had the condition just over a year ago – and was promptly diagnosed, and prescribed amphetamines, which he said had ‘changed his life for the better’.
The big reveal: Adrian Chiles has revealed that he has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and has been prescribed amphetamines
Speaking in the G2 supplement in The Guardian, he said: ‘I’ve been getting treatment for attention deficit disorder (ADD) for more than a year now.’
He said his condition sometimes led to him unable to ‘focus on anything’ for more than 15 seconds – or led to him to focus exclusively on one thing ‘for hours on end’, adding: ‘Both of which, oddly, are indicators of ADD.’
The star said that his condition meant he was always forgetting things and fidgeting as well as ‘jabbering on (and) taking up new hobbies/obsessions all the time’.
He said he eventually went back to see the ‘shrink’ he saw four years ago, adding: ‘So back I went to see the shrink who told me I should try some amphetamine-based medication as soon as I’d had an ECG to check my ticker was up to it.
Working on it: On Thursday, the former One Show and Match of the Day 2 host, 53, said that he first suspected he had ADD four years ago – but didn’t bother to find out more after being handed a bill for £1,400 by a private doc
‘It was, and from day one the pills worked brilliantly. My mood instantly lifted, and I was just better all around.
‘The therapy was essential, too. Without it, the meds were so uplifting that I felt there was a risk they might just help me do a lot of stupid things faster – but with even more energy.’
He added: ‘Who wouldn’t feel better dropping an amphetamine every morning?’
Open and honest: He said, however, that he eventually decided to find out if he had the condition just over a year ago – and was promptly diagnosed, and prescribed amphetamines, which he said had ‘changed his life for the better’
His details about his health come after Adrian revealed how counting the alcohol units he consumed saved him from a dangerous level of drinking.
The presenter said he has cut down on the booze significantly since keeping score, something he resisted doing for ‘a long time’.
At one point the Radio 5 Live host admitted to drinking as many as 38 units in a day, before getting involved in the eye-opening BBC documentary Drinkers Like Me.
‘I’ve definitely drunk much less. That came down to counting it. I resisted counting for a long time,’ he told the Series Linked podcast on Thursday.
Keeping score: His details about his health come after Adrian revealed how counting the alcohol units he consumed saved him from a dangerous level of drinking
‘The first time I ever counted was the first day of filming. West Brom were playing Liverpool then it was my mate’s 40th birthday. I totted them all up in the morning, it was something like 38 units.
‘And it didn’t even feel a big drinking day to me. I thought, hang on a bit, this is dodgy.’
Adrian has previously been open about his relationship with alcohol, saying how he had had a pint every day of his life since he was 15.
‘My drinking habits go back a long way. At university, if anyone I liked had said they didn’t drink, well, I probably wouldn’t have ended up being friends with them,’ he said.
And after being axed mid-contract from his high-pressure role on ITV’s Daybreak in 2015, he began to self-medicate with alcohol before receiving a diagnosis of anxiety.