After having back surgery, Tarek El Moussa was taking “eight or ten” painkillers a day, saying, “I was high as a kite.”
Tarek El Moussa, star of HGTV, opens up about one of his biggest unanticipated health struggles in his new book “Flip Your Life,” detailing the difficulties that followed a life-altering nerve injury only a year after overcoming cancer.The 42-year-old star of HGTV shares in his recently released book Flip Your Life: How to Find Opportunity in Distress — in Real Estate, Business, and Life how a serious injury led to an unhealthy relationship with painkillers.El Moussa went through a string of terrifying medical occurrences one after the other. He was given a thyroid cancer diagnosis in 2013 following a Flip.
According to El Moussa, “the beginning of fifteen months of a whole new medical challenge” occurred after the greens accident. His sciatic nerve was being pinched by several slipping discs in his lower back, which he described as “more of a nerve problem than a back problem—and it was debilitating.”The host of Flipping El Moussas describes how his injuries sent him into a “hamster wheel of painkillers” and the toll it took on his mental health. He claims that the pain was so bad that he was unable to bend over to put on his socks or shoes.
“I could function once I was vertical and heavily medicated, but I walked more like a shuffle. I would take eight or ten painkillers a day on average just to get by. I was high as a kite all day from the Vicodin, Dilaudid, and morphine,” he acknowledges.El Moussa realized his medication intake was unsustainable after going on a “sick man diet” that caused him to lose 60 pounds. He then decided to have back surgery, which had its own set of complications.He had to spend an additional week in the hospital after his urethra swelled up and completely blocked after returning home from the procedure.
Because his then-wife Christina Hall took care of their home alone, the healing process at home took longer. According to El Moussa, they are “stuck in bed, drugged up on painkillers.” After spending six weeks by himself and in depression in their downstairs bedroom, he finally made progress.He tucked himself into bed and started binge-watching Intervention on TV. “I realized that my level of inspiration was rising. I thought they were successful. I have the same ability. That was the exact moment he remembers telling himself, “It’s time to move,”He got out of bed gingerly and tiptoed through the bedroom. “Thus far, so good. I persisted,” he writes. “After taking a few more steps, I was standing up straight instead of hunching over. I realized that this was the first time I had moved in six weeks once I reached the corner,” he writes.And he was unable to stop once he got going. The pro at house flipping ultimately made his way out the front door and did a “whole loop of the neighborhood,” scaring Christina even though she was unaware he had left.
However, she could see that I was improving significantly. As a matter of fact, after my walk, ninety percent of my pain subsided, which I believe was the outcome of all that exercise,” he writes. And that constituted the initial phase of my recuperation. I was filled with hope once more that I could turn my life around with hard work.El Moussa opened up to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview from January, discussing the very difficult time in his life.”In 2013, I was diagnosed with my first cancer.” 2013 and 2014 saw him fight cancer. He spent several months recovering after surgery. In 2015, I suffered a back injury. I thus spent four years living through hell.
After disclosing information about his health issues, divorce, and other experiences, El Moussa told PEOPLE that he went through a “emotional rollercoaster” while writing his book, but he was able to gather himself and “get through it.”The most important lesson is that everything is possible. Everything is literally possible. All you have to do is get going. He stated, “Most people never start.” “Made that initial move. Take that first stroll… Just get going.
