Avril Lavigne Reveals She Has Lyme Disease
— -- Rocker Avril Lavigne has revealed the health crisis she hinted to fans about last year on social media -- it's Lyme disease.
"I had no idea a bug bite could do this," Lavigne told People magazine exclusively, adding she believes she was bit by a tick last spring. "I was bedridden for five months."
The 30-year-old musician told People she began feeling ill last April but doctors told her she was likely dehydrated and exhausted from touring. With her symptoms worsening over a span of months, Lavigne says she knew it was something more.
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"I had to fight,” Lavigne told the magazine. "I had doctors tell me I was crazy and they didn’t want to test me. I had to learn about it completely on my own.”
Lavigne’s mom moved into her Ontario home to help her recuperate and Lavigne’s husband, Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger, stepped in to help while on breaks from his tour, according to People.
“She has rarely left her home,” said People staff writer Patrick Gomez. “She says she has been unable to breathe. It is hard to stand and she is barely able to brush her teeth.”
Lavigne kept her diagnosis from the public eye at first, only revealing on Twitter in December that she was “not feeling well.”
“I’m not feeling well,” Lavigne wrote in a Dec. 7th direct message to a fan that went viral. “I’m having some health issues so please keep me in your prayers.”
“I never had depression but being sick and so terrified, that in itself is depressing,” Lavigne told People. “I was scared for my life.”
Lavigne says she completely changed her diet and exercise routine, eliminating sugar, dairy and gluten and trying to walk or swim every day along with meditation and yoga. She estimates she is now about 80 percent recovered.
“I’ve never been more clear about what I want in my life: health, family, love and happiness,” Lavigne said, adding she is “grateful” for “the worst thing” she’s had to face so far.
