Octomom In Rehab, Leaves Children For At Least A Month: Report
Nadya "Octomom" Suleman has separated herself from her 14 children for at least a month, after checking herself into the Chapman House Drug Rehabilitation Center in Southern California.
FOX News reported that Suleman checked into rehab for prescription pill addiction last week as well as for "anxiety, exhaustion and stress."
"Ms. Suleman has been taking Xanax that was prescribed by her doctor to deal with her anxiety but she felt she needed a treatment program to help with her recovery," Gina Rodriguez, Suleman's manager told the Daily News.
"She will be in treatment for 26 days or more if needed," Rodriguez said. "She was prescribed Xanax for her anxiety attacks, she was not addicted to it. She has an overabundance of stress and exhaustion and wanted to deal with it with out prescription drugs."
Prior reports indicated that the porn star is receiving treatment free of charge, however, her rep insisted that she is paying her own way through rehab.
"Although the rehab offered to treat her at no charge, Ms. Suleman opted to pay for the program," Rodriguez added.
The news report added that most addiction specialists acknowledge that although Suleman's health and well-being is important and there is some concern over how much her children may suffer without motherly contact for such a long period of time.
"Children always suffer when their mother absent for that many days straight, but if Nadya has an addiction problem then she is most likely already absent from her children either mentally, emotionally or even physically," Patrick Wanis PhD, a human behavior expert and teaching consultant at Milestones Ranch Treatment Center, explained.
"Hopefully the clinic will get to the root cause of her problems and any past traumas, as well as help her find a support system for when she leaves the clinic and goes back to the real world."
Founder of Safe Harbor Treatment Center for Women, Velvet Mangan, stressed that the issue of leaving children behind when entering treatment is the reason why many women do not get the help they need.
"It is absolutely a step in the right direction that she checked into rehab," Mangan said. "Hopefully she will continue to stay on the long road to recovery."
Caretakers are reportedly looking after her children. TMZ reported that Suleman put three nannies and two friends in charge of her children. Her two friends are scheduled to call twice a day with specific instructions regarding how to care for each child.
