Michael J. Fox talked to Howard Stern Wednesday and told the shock jock about his struggles after learning he had Parkinson's.
The actor, who returns to TV Thursday night with the new show The Michael J. Fox Show, admitted he wasn't sure how to deal after learning the diagnosis, Us Weekly reports.
"I just felt helpless," Fox said. "It felt unfair in a way...it's hard to explain."
The Back to the Future star said that his first way to try and deal with the issue "was to start drinking heavily."
"I used to drink to party, but then I was drinking alone...Every day."
He said that things got better after he started going to therapy, explaining his career improved and his "marriage got great."
He's now accepted Parkinson's and has been looking for a cure. In 2000, the 52-year-old actor started The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and has raised more than $350 million, USA Today notes.
The foundation's CEO, Todd Sherer, said, "Michael was very clear that the goal is to make progress for patients, do it quickly, cut all the red tape."
Parkinson's affects about 1 million Americans and is likely caused by the loss of dopamine in the brain, which causes brain signals to be distorted. This distortion causes muscle rigidity, slowed movements and the familiar tremors.
image: Wikimedia Commons
