News and gossip about Britney Spears

If you thought this couldn’t get weirder, you don’t read enough Britney Spears news. But even we’ll admit that this developing story is beyond bizarre.

After being taken from her home, sources inside UCLA Medical Center say Britney Spears checked into the facility this morning using an alias.

The sources say Britney said she was on Adderall, a stimulant used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, and was taking up to 10 laxatives a day.

While Spears was described as “calm” this time (unlike January 3), for a time she was hurling profanities at her parents and staff.

When she was admitted, Britney accused her mom, Lynne Spears of “sleeping with my boyfriend.” She wasn’t specific on who she was referring to.

Adnan Ghalib? Sam Lutfi? Robbie Carrico? One can only guess.

TMZ also reports Britney’s parents have made progress in the tug of war with Sam Lutfi over who’s calling the shots when it comes to Brit’s treatment.

UCLA is “fully cooperating” with Lynne and Jamie Spears in the treatment of Britney, however, a judge must still an order as to who has control.

Also, Us Weekly reports that Britney Spears’ inner circle chose to admit her to UCLA Medical Center because of its experience in treating bipolar disorder.

“Her lawyers and doctors were working with UCLA,” a source cited by the celebrity news site says. “They were ready and had everything in place.”

The facility is better prepared to treat the troubled singer than L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was hospitalized January 3-4.

“When she went to Cedars-Sinai they weren’t ready for her,” a source says.

“They have a much stricter unit at UCLA Medical Center and treat bipolar cases regularly. This is a serious unit she’s on.”

Britney Spears, who sources report has not slept in days, is under a “mental health evaluation hold” - commonly known as a “5150″ - meaning she can be held for up to 72 hours if professionals deem her a danger to herself or others.

After those 72 hours of treatment, a patient’s family can seek a 14-day extended evaluation or the patient himself/herself can decide to seek further treatment, according to the California Department of Mental Health.

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It’s been a pretty emotional couple of days for the Spears family. And just prior to Britney’s hospitalization, she was said to be acting like a zombie.

The troubled singer reportedly made a pit stop at Jerry’s Deli in Studio City, California on Wednesday. And witnesses were taken aback by her odd behavior.

One employee told press, “Around 3 o’clock, Britney came in and was completely out of it. She’s come in before, but we’ve never seen her this bad. She was like a zombie… like she was sleepwalking. She didn’t stay to eat.”

Apparently, she was there to meet up with her paparazzo beau Adnan Ghalib, whom she picked up and left immediately. And it wasn’t long before it all went downhill, ending with police escorting Brit to the UCLA Medical Center around 1 am Thursday morning.

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Britney Spears who arrived at the UCLA Medical Center at 2:15 AM but was not admitted till 4:15 AM Thursday, January 31, has been categorized as ‘Gravely Disabled.’

Patients placed in the category are considered unable to look after their basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, reports TMZ.

The categorization could indicate that Britney may not be allowed to leave the hospital even after the 72 hours of 5150 hold that has been now confirmed by a LA Superior Court Commissioner.

With the court stepping in, Britney’s family will have little discretion in her future course of treatment. The question of course is how much will it all help.

Britney has had two stints in a rehab. She was put on a 5150 hold earlier this month on January 4. She has been seeing a psychiatrist for some time now and yet she continues to spiral out of control.

There is, however, cause for optimism.

Unlike the previous 5150 commitment, the one this time has been initiated by her psychiatrist Santa Monica-based Dr. Deborah Nadel.
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Britney’s manager and confidant, Sam Lutfi was not allowed into UCLA Medical Center following differences with Britney’s family over the pop star’s commitment.

When Sam told Britney that she would be going to the hospital on the recommendations of her psychiatrist, Britney’s mother Lynne was livid and accused Sam of controlling her daughter’s life.

Britney, however, told everyone to “shut up,” saying “I’ll do what I need to do,” reports TMZ.

She then sat down on the floor and silently exchanged notes with Sam before the paramedics and cops arrived.

Britney was driven to UCLA Medical Center in an ambulance from her house at The Summit, the gated community above Beverly Hills.

Britney’s mother, Lynne, followed the ambulance to the hospital in her Land Rover along with Adnan Ghalib, reports OK!

Sam Lutfi drove to the hospital in an Escalade and Britney’s cousin Alli Sims followed in a separate car.

Sam Lutfi was not allowed to enter the hospital, reports x17online.

Earlier Wednesday, Adnan and Britney had spent a lot of time together, including a two hour long late lunch at The Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel.

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Britney Spears’ mother, Lynne, is planning to try and take her daughter home to Louisiana.

Following last night’s intervention and subsequent hospitalization, Lynne has decided that she is taking Britney out of L.A. as soon as she’s released from UCLA Medical Center. “Lynne is extremely concerned for her daughter and would like to take Britney back home to Louisiana and get her out of Hollywood,” Britney’s lawyer Michael Flanagan said today.

Lynne feels that the biggest problem facing Britney’s recovery is the circle of friends she’s become involved with and Lynne desperately wants to extricate her daughter from that. “Brit has an amazing support system in Louisiana,” Flanagan says, reinforcing the belief that Britney simply can’t get the help she needs while she remains in L.A. “Lynn was holding up reasonably well, but her first priority and concern right now is with her daughter and helping her through this very tough situation that she is in.”

But as we’ve seen with Brit before, until she decides to make a change there is nothing anyone — not even her mother — can do to force her hand.

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Sources tell PageSix.com that Britney Spears is currently going through a detox process at the UCLA Medical Center. Doctors will stabilize her and evaluate her condition before she can be administered new medication to treat her suspected bipolar condition.

Detoxification is necessary for doctors to rid the patient’s system of other drugs so that they can be properly diagnosed and prescribed a course of treatment.

“It’s often helpful to clear the decks under medical supervision and get back to the drawing board and decide, ‘What have we been dealing with here?’” Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist who has not treated the pop star, tells PageSix.com.

Detox is especially helpful in cases where the patient may have been misdiagnosed and administered medication that might have exacerbated or altered the person’s symptoms.

“You have lots of people who have manic symptoms of bipolar disorder wrongly diagnosed with attention deficit disorder,” says Dr. Ablow, author of Living the Truth. “But if you put those people on stimulant medication, you can make them worse by driving them into the highest highs of their disorder.”
Britney was checked into the hospital late last night and placed on 72-hour psychiatric hold, or what is known as a 5150. So what can the singer expect over the coming days? During detoxification, the patient is slowly tapered off the medicine, with dosages being reduced over time. Doctors also sometimes use other medicines to temporarily blunt the symptoms of any withdrawal that might occur.

Dr. Ablow says it’s also helpful to have patients checked into the hospital for several days so doctors can monitor the effect of the medications over time and figure out whether more medications need to be added and in what dosage.

“Only a minority of patients achieve effective results from one mood stabilizer if they’re suffering from bipolar disorder. Many need two or three,” says Dr. Ablow, who added that mood stabilizers only work in a particular concentration in the blood that varies from person to person.

“And that takes time to figure out,” he says.

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