A bitter pill for wildlife star Chris
WILDLIFE presenter Chris Packham has revealed how over-use of pain medication to tackle a bad back left him with a stomach ulcer. The 55-year-old, left, was diagnosed with the condition while filming on location but has now managed to bring it under control. ‘I brought the ulcer on myself,’ the star of BBC2’s Me And My Dog says. ‘I hurt my back and I took too much Ibuprofen. I was eating them solidly for about ten days. The doctors think that is what caused the ulcer to form. ‘Ulcers are dangerous – if they perforate, they can kill you – but once I was on the right drugs it was over pretty quickly. I’ve been on [acid-reducing drug] Omeprazole ever since. It’s made a real difference.’ Chris recently admitted he has given up alcohol after realising he had trouble limiting his intake. He says: ‘I was a wine-drinker but not very good at having just one glass. It tended to lead to a bottle, so I have phased it out completely. I don’t miss it at all.’