Teen Mom 2’ Crisis: Friends Fear 'Stressed Out' Reality Star Leah Messer May Have Been Popping Prescription Painkillers ‘For A Long Time'

On the July 23 episode of Teen Mom 2, Leah Messer told her husband Jeremy Calvert that a newly-prescribed medication made her feel “messed up” like a “druggie.”

“I’ve never felt like that ever in my life!” the reality star, 22, cried to Calvert.

But friends exclusively tell RadarOnline.com that they believe the seemingly innocent mother of three may have been taking prescription drugs for a long time— without a doctor’s script.

“We think Leah could be taking powerful painkillers including Lortab and Percocet,” an insider close to the West Virginia native tells Radar. “They are very easy to get on the streets in her hometown.”

While Messer is normally a doting mother to her three daughters— one of whom, Aliannah Simms, has an incurable form of muscular dystrophy— sources say she sometimes turns to pills to handle the stress.

“It’s all too much for her,” says the insider. “Sometimes she drops her girls off with her mom at night and takes painkillers or drinks heavily. Dawn is all too eager to help out and tries to keep Leah’s secrets hidden.”

Messer recently confessed to facing extreme financial hardships as a result of her 4-year-old daughter’s illness, even paying $20,000 for just one medical bill.

“She is the sweetest little baby,” Messer— also mother to Ali’s healthy twin sister, Aleeah, and Adalyn, 1— sobbed  on the Teen Mom 2 season 5A finale special in April. “She would do anything for anyone. It’s like, why her?”

Messer also admitted last season that she and her second husband Calvert (father to Adalyn) had discussed divorce, though she now says the couple have resolved their issues.

Now friends are growing increasingly concerned about the heartbroken yet strong young mother.

“Leah doesn’t seem to be handling the stress very well,” the pal reveals. “We just want her to be healthy.”