Avril Lavigne reveals she felt her body ‘shutting down’ as she battled Lyme disease in the worst years of her life
The pop-rock star, 33, said she could "feel my body shutting down" after contracting Lyme disease in 2015
SINGER Avril Lavigne has opened up about the life-threatening disease which kept her out of the limelight for five years in a heartbreaking open letter to her fans.
The pop-rock star, 33, said she had “accepted death” after being struck down with Lyme disease, which caused her body to “completely shut down”.
Having released her self-titled fifth album in 2013, Lavigne revealed she had been diagnosed with the illness in April 2015.
The new letter, , suggests the process was far longer and more difficult than fans might have realised.
She wrote: “Five years have gone by since I released my last album. I spent the last few years at home sick fighting Lyme disease.
“Those were the worst years of my life as I went through both physical and emotional battles.”
In a heartbreaking open letter to fans, Avril said she had ‘accepted death’ after contracting Lyme diseaseDescribing Lyme disease as “the battle of my lifetime”, she explains she wrote her new single “during one of the scariest moments of my life”.
Avril added: “I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning.
“Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe.”
With no new music, showbiz sites have shifted their focus on her private life in recent years, .
WHAT IS LYME DISEASE?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks.
Ticks that carry the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease are found throughout the UK and in other parts of Europe and North America.
It’s estimated there are 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales each year, with about 15 per cent of cases occurring when people are overseas.
Early symptoms:
Many people develop a distinct circular rash at the site of the bite, usually around three to 30 days after being bitten.
It is often described as looking like a bullseye and can span six inches across.
Some people also experience flu-like symptoms such as tiredness, fatigue, muscle pain, headaches and high temperature.
Later symptoms:
More serious symptoms develop weeks, months, or even years after the bite.
- pain and swelling in the joints
- problems with the nervous system – numbness, tingling, paralysis
- heart problems
- inflammation of membrane surrounding brain and spinal chord
A few people with lyme disease may go on to develop long-term symptoms similar to those of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Treatment:
If you develop the symptoms you will normally be given a course of antibiotics for two to four weeks.
If your symptoms are particularly severe, you may be referred to a specialist to have antibiotic injections.
Some of the antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.
There’s currently no clear consensus on the best treatment for post-infectious Lyme disease because the underlying cause is not yet clear.
Source: NHS Choices
This included her 2015 split from husband, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, and recurrent conspiracy theories that she had died in 2003.
Lavigne told fans: “Part of me doesn’t want to talk about being sick because I want it to all be behind me, but I know I have to.
“Because not only is it a part of my life, I need to bring awareness to the severity of Lyme disease. A single bug bite can f**k you up hard.”
Lavigne writes that the foundation she has launched in her name is now focusing on providing Lyme disease prevention and information resources.
With her new album Head Above Water set for release on September 19, Lavigne writes that she’s excited to “tell the world my story” — but warns fans that she’s still on the path to recovery.
She said: “I will do EVERYTHING I can to get back up on stage, to travel, to sing to you, to work again.
“But I have to always listen to my body and keep a healthy balance, so please be patient as we go.”
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