‘Teen Mom’ How Leah Messer Got Hooked On Heroin

Teen Mom star Leah Messer has been open about her struggle with drugs ever since sobering up. But have you ever wondered how it all started?

A few years ago, Leah’s addiction was snowballing, and she turned to desperate measures to get her fix. But before she lost everything, Leah was convinced to seek help. Now, several years later, she can look back on how it all happened and share her cautionary tale. Read on to find out what Leah has said about her addiction and why she got hooked in the first place.

Leah Reaches Rock Bottom Before Getting Help

Like so many people, Leah Messer had to be staring down the barrel of rock bottom before she sought help for her addiction.

After several years of chasing her addiction, it all came to a head for Leah in 2015. About a year after her daughter Adalynn was born, the MTV star says she had been considering driving her car off a cliff. Teen Mom producer Larry Musnik then was able to convince Leah to head to rehab, where she sobered up.

By that point, Leah’s addiction had progressed from prescription medication to heroin abuse. While appearing on the “Knockin’ Doorz Down” podcast in October 2020, Leah explained her escalation to heroin. “It was when you can’t find pain medication, there was the heroin. It’s a cheaper and an easier form. I was actually with my dad when I had done it.” She just added that she wanted to “feel normal” but was in so much pain that she could “barely stand, or so foggy from the pills that I look like a junkie.”

Of course, it didn’t start out with heroin.

How It All Started: How Teen Mom‘s Leah Messer Got Hooked On Heroin

It all started when Leah Messer was in labor with Adalynn in 2013. During a November 2018 episode of her podcast “Life Reboot,” Leah explained that a botched epidural led her to live with excruciating pain, and it was caught on film. “It was actually the scene, they were talking about how we were being flirty and trying to get back together but honestly, the entire scene was about the botched spinal tap and how Jeremy [Calvert] had to carry me from one room to the next because I couldn’t walk.”

Leah added that when she went to deliver Adalynn, they “injected me 13 times” and even when she was in the hospital, she couldn’t get up. As a result, they put her on morphine while in the hospital. And once they sent her home, she was on multiple painkillers as well as benzodiazepines, which cause sedation. Fans of the show can recall seeing Leah nod off on screen, heavily medicated as producers filmed.

It's not easy but we got this! 💪🏼🩷

— Leah D. Messer (@LeahMesser) August 10, 2023

As she prepared for her return to the small screen this summer ahead of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah slammed MTV for how they handled her obvious battle with addiction. During an interview with Teen Vogue, Leah explained, “You can see me high. Cut the cameras. You can see me falling asleep or whatever. Cut the cameras and immediately do an intervention … instead of using it for the benefit of TV and drama.” Producers have defended their actions by saying that they were following the principles of their work, which is to document and film, not interfere. Leah has since acknowledged that without Larry Musnik’s encouragement, she may never have sobered up.

Do you think MTV took advantage of Leah Messer‘s addiction and exploited her? Or do you understand why they filmed everything the way they did? Sound off in the comments. And catch Teen Mom on MTV.