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from www.ktla.com -The media fixation on the infidelities of high-profile stars like Tiger Woods and Jesse James has brought attention to the notion of ‘sex addiction.’ But — is sex addiction real?

KTLA’s Carolyn Costello got an exclusive glimpse into the lives of two women who say the phenomenon has been all too real for them. Their sex addictions became a destructive, debilitating force in their lives.

“I’ve always been very promiscuous,” Jennie Ketcham [porn name, Penny Flame] tells KTLA News. “I lost my virginity at 12, and then proceeded to take as many boys’ virginity as I possibly could.”

“I thought without chasing men my whole life, there’d be no point in living,” Talia Witkowski says. “That was my reason for getting out of bed in the morning.”

They are two different women, two different stories, but one thing in common: a powerful sex addiction.

“There were times I slept with total random strangers,” Ketcham admits. “Or I’d lose my hotel room key, so I’d get it on with the hotel security guard in the hallway just to make him let me in my room. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think ‘I could very easily slide back into that.'”

Ketcham spent eight years in the x-rated film industry, starring in (by her estimation) some 300 films as adult star ‘Penny Flame.’

She concedes that her career choice fed her habit. “The porn industry was a beautiful breeding ground for sexual addiction, and for me to explore my own sexuality without being told I was a slut. I could just be a porn star.”

Addictions specialist Dr. Talia Witkowski says she battled her own variety of addictions for many years. “For me I was always doing something. If it wasn’t food it was alcohol. If it wasn’t alcohol it was sex. If it wasn’t sex it was spending, gambling later in life.”

But Witkowski says the most powerful addiction she faced was sex. “I was on a path of self-destruction. I was on a one-way trip to hell, basically. If I didn’t have a man lined up for the night, I’d go to this bar, drink, buy men drinks, take bartenders home, do whatever I could to feel connected.”

Witkowski says the ‘high’ she got was intoxicating. “It was the best drug in the world. It was the best hit ever. And then I would chase it, chase it, chase it to get the man to go home with me or go home with him, ultimately to try to have sex with him.”

With sex addiction, as with other addictions like drugs or alcohol, the first step is acknowledging the problem. That opens the door to getting professional help.

And Jennie Ketcham’s help came from a surprising source — her role on the reality show “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.” It showed her that working in the porn industry had made her completely lose her sense of self.

“I realized that I’d spent my entire adult life forming the identity of this woman I didn’t want to be any more,” Ketcham says.

For his part, show host Dr. Drew Pinsky says Jennie’s commitment to her therapy has made her turnaround truly remarkable. “She is a true inspiration — she just grabbed onto recovery,” Dr. Drew tells KTLA News. “She is the reason I do this work. All you need is a couple of Jennie Ketchams every few months and it gives you hope for the next patient.”

Talia Witkowski found her way to a group named ‘Heal Your Hunger.’ Its president Tricia Greaves says they work to get to the underlying causes of addictive behavior. “Where’s the emptiness?” Greaves asks. “Let’s identify what the emptiness is, or where the problems are that would cause a person to need the escape, and really the anesthetic of this kind of lifestyle.”

Today Jennie Ketcham is selling her artwork, and she’s writing her memoir. Both Jennie and Talia say: there is life after sex addiction.

“I want people to know that they can reach out for help, and they should. And there is a solution,” Witkowski says.

“I’m still a sex addict,” Ketcham concedes. “That’s not something that goes away because I’ve changed my behavior. But I’m a sex addict in recovery, and a very grateful one.”

For much more on the issues of sex addiction, go to www.drdrew.com and www.healyourhunger.com