Late last year, Avril Lavigne fans started to get worried about their idol as she was dropping hints on social media about being unwell, but not elaborating on what was going on. Many assumed she was in rehab, but in fact she was receiving treatment for a pretty bad case of Lyme Disease which left her bed-bound for five months – an experience she admitted she thought would kill her. On Monday, she did her first TV interview since the diagnosis on Good Morning America, and it was pretty heartbreaking, to be honest.
“I was in Los Angeles, and it was literally the worst time of my life,” Lavigne, 30, said about her frustrating medical appointments. “I was seeing every specialist, and literally like the top doctors … It was so stupid. They would pull up their computer and be like, ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ or ‘Why don’t you try to get out of bed, Avril, and just go play the piano?’ or ‘Are you depressed?’
“This is what they do to a lot of people that have Lyme disease. They don’t have an answer for them, so they tell them … ‘You’re crazy.’ “
She found a Lyme Disease specialist after doing research online for a few months on her symptoms and seems to be doing better now and is “seeing a lot of progress”, but it’s been a tough experience. I feel for her – it seems like a terrible illness.
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It sounds fairly awful and clearly she was traumatized by it. I have had similar treatment by doctors, as I have hereditary hemochromatosis and was a late diagnosee with multiple organ damage (if caught early with a $4 test it is 100.000 percent treatable and damage is 100.000 percent avoidable). So I know how she feels. There are people way worse off than she and I, but getting Lyme disease and have it progress so far is extremely miserable.
Despite hanging out with that Chad fellow I’m still a huge fan of hers. Well, mostly the older songs but hey whatever.
I also am a Lymie and it really is a terrible disease! Most people don’t know much about it but it sucks. :/ She is so brave and I’m glad she is talking publicly about it!