TVSquad

I wonder if she has Parkinson's disease...

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Oh Jesus, she is CRAZY drugged up. Or drunk. Something.

Ug, what a car wreck. I can't believe they're letting her stay on American Idol in that condition. You'd think it'd be embarassing.

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From what I understand, she has a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). Here is a link to a site with information about it. http://www.rsds.org/2/what_is_rsd_crps/index.html

Apparently it's a neurological disorder. I think that beyond the slurring, the fact that in this interview her mouth is askew (when it hasn't been in the past) does not indicate drunkenness, but the underlying neurological disorder.

It's a sad state of affairs when folks bash a celebrity for remaining visible despite an impairment and add insult to injury by contending drug or alcohol abuse. What's next? Arguing that Michael J. Fox must have been in withdrawal from a crack binge when he shot the stem cell commercial. Or saying that Dick Clark must have become a horrible alcoholic due to his slurring on New Year's Rockin' Eve.

This diagnosis came down in 11/04. Hang your head in shame Anna, then go to the mall and kick the crutches out from under a handicapped person. I'm sure you'd get a big kick out of that.

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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD????
and you BELIEVE that??
grow up chaosrain... she's obviously wasted.

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@ 2...

RSD, or CRPS Type I as it is now called does not affect one's ability to communicate. In essence, the nervous system is hypersensitive to stimuli received on the affected body part to the point that virtually everything is painful.

You should have visited the link you provided and read further before ignorantly assuming neurological refers to the brain only.

Now, the medication she's on to address the symptoms could have an impact on her function. However, a responsible person would still monitor their dosage to prevent of minimize side effects.

Only Paula knows the reason for her performance, but it was most assuredly not a symptom of CRPS. Check your facts the next time you soap box, you look like less of an idiot that way.

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she was on the San Francisco Bay Area Fox Affiliate this A.M. she was a train wreck to say the least even the interviewer chuckled, shook his head and cut her off....what a mess.

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Yeah, uh, chaosrain....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_sympathetic_dystrophy

None of those symptoms seem to state "act crazy wasted during an interview." She looks drunker than Danny DeVito on the View. And don't give me pain meds - I've taken 'em for reasons in the past, I've seen plenty of friends on all SORTS of meds, and none of them make you act like you just found the bottom of a bottle of Grey Goose.

And let's even leave that issue aside - let's say she IS on some sort of meds that might make her act like the streetcorner wino. WHY on EARTH would you put yourself on TV in that condition? I mean, suck it up and take a few Tylenol or something - if your drugs make you so loopy you're going to expose yourself to mad criticism, why are you putting yourself out there like that? The woman clearly as *some* problem, one way or another, and she's making an even bigger fool of herself. Period.

No, we're not comparing her to someone like Michael J. Fox or Dick Clark (though, I won't get into my feelings on Clark hosting NYE this year). They present themselves with dignity while displaying unfortunate effects of their disorders. They're NOT getting whipped on some kind of drug, one way or another, and acting like morons. To compare Paula Abdul here to either of those people is just ludicrous, and - though I can't speak for them because I don't suffer from any of these ailments - I would imagine it's pretty insulting to people with real illnesses.

"Technical difficulties..." ha, yeah, give me one of those headsets on a Saturday night if it makes you THAT wasted... Hell, I'll order three!

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Anyone here old enough to remember Annette Funicello? She was labled as drunk everytime someone saw her out in public but years later she was announced she has MS. Give paula some slack...if she is high then shes only hurting herself and in the end shes the one who will get hurt.

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I do not think Paula's symptoms are due to alcohol or abuse of illegal substances. The American Idol producers would have let her go for that. They have too much riding on that show. It seems to me that she does have a neurological disorder that she just isn't ready to talk about yet. Be kind, you could be next.

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I agree, give this Lady a break.
There are many medical conditions out there and associated meds and as Michael J Fox has well explained, getting the dosage right all the time is extremely difficult and there can be side effects galore.
I don't think she would have lasted this long on this show if it was merely a case of abuse.

So folks stand back and give her the space and the break she likely desereves and give her the benefit of reasonable doubt.

If she is overcoming a "condition" why the heck should she NOT continue to appear in public? Why should she be forced to retire? Heck, we are not all perfect specimens, let's see more people on TV facing and ovecoming adversity.

For those still unwilling to give this Lady a break...well I feel sorry for you lack of compassion in life.

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MERCY people...

As some of the later posts have stated, if she is drunk or hopped up on something she's only hurting herself and her reputation. On the other hand if she does have some kind of unrevealed (or undiagnosed) ailment, she doesn't need us dumping on her. Either way, she isn't just an icon or character, she's a human with feelings. Try and keep that in mind.

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I think she was wasted of her ass AND I feel compassion for her.

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As a recovering drug addict for 20 years now (clean and sober) everytime I see her she reminds me of ME back then!! I was addicted to prescription meds and she acts and talks just as I did.. I feel for her, but she has to admit she has a problem first.. doesnt look like that is going to happen anytime soon..

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I have RSD and CRPSI and CRPSII. The medicines that we take can make us seem this way. Also if she was on NY time and doing the interview for Seattle she was up in the middle of the night so she was probably ready to fall over. Until you have walked a mile in our shoes with this disease that we have and I pray you never do you may want to keep your opinions to yourself. This disease becomes systemic and effects all parts of your body eventually. Trust me I know. You don't sleep due to the pain and the meds that you take sometimes makes it hard to find the right words at the moment so you have to search to find them. I belong to a support group online for this also and we have also said that she must have been in a flare up meaning she was in horrible pain. Imagine having a tooth abssessed all the time and then you can imagine the nerve pain that we all feel everyday every moment of our life. Please lay off of her.

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I have RSD and it is not the disease that causes slurried speach it is the medication. I was on 300 mg. of Lyrica and trust me - you are stoned on it and will definately have a difficult time speaking and remembering much of what you said. I stopped taking it and now use Hyperbaric Oxygen to try and get my RSD in remission. I had to go off the Lyrica because I could not function. RSD is a very difficult disease to deal with as they do not know enough about it and try all different medications to get it under control. As another person wrote, unless you have it, you can't understand. I am not defending Paula because I like her (I am definately not a fan of hers), but I know the down side of the medication they put you on. While you are on the medication you don't really realize how stoned you are. If Paula does have RSD, I do not know why she doesn't use her celebrity status to make people more aware of it. I got my RSD from bunion surgery???? Go figure? She needs to come clean with the medication she is on so people can understand. The other thing is they usually have you on pain medication because the pain is unbearable at times. Paula, you have the opportunity to make RSD more known and help people understand it - why don't you do something for the other people that suffer from it?????????????

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I HAVE TO AGREE! I THINK PAULA IS SUFFERING FROM A MEDICAL CONDITION!I DON'T THINK THAT PAULA IS AWARE OF IT YET!

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Whether or not she has a medical condition is really not the issue. The issue is her people not doing the right thing. If she was drunk the interview's should have been cancelled. If she has a medical which if not explained could make her appear as though she has a substance abuse issue then it should either be brought to light before a fiasco like this happens and embarrasses her or if she doesn't want people to know yet they should do taped or by phone interviews. She pays people a lot of money to attend to her image and that is their job. She has been wronged big time by someone. If she does have a substance abuse problem, then I feel bad for her because obviously noone cares enough to make sure she gets the help she needs.

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I think too she looks like she has Parkinson's disease. I'm 33 and I have it too and have been misdiagnosed with other neurologic and pain conditions until now. I know she has suffered with chronic pain. I can see how she tries to "cover up" in ways that I do sometimes when I have tremors or dyskinesias.

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She sure seemed to be on something. Everyone keeps talking about this condition or that condition. If it were a "condition" wouldn't she explain it as such? Instead she says some bull like: "I was doing two interviews at once, there was a mic in my ear confusing me" wouldn't it just make more sense for her to release that she has a "condition"...no, this girl is definately on SOMETHING.

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She was TANKED! Why would people rather belive that she has some rare disorder, than the possibility that she just had one to many cocktails? Who knows, maybe she just had one on an empty stomach, and it hit her harder than she expected. What's the big deal? It's pretty funny.

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