- Avril Lavigne, 34, opened up to Billboard magazine about her long struggle with Lyme disease.
- Avril was diagnosed with Lyme back in 2014, and says the disease had her essentially bedridden for two years.
- The singer is trying to educate people about the disease through her music and foundation.
When Avril Lavigne (you know, the singer of your go-to eighth grade anthem, "Sk8er Boi"), revealed she had Lyme disease back in 2015, it was a shock, to say the least. Now, the 34-year-old singer and songwriter is revealing even more about her struggle with the disease in an interview with Billboard.
It all started back in 2014, she told Billboard, when she started feeling unwell during a tour. According to Avril, she went from doctor to doctor, all asking the same thing, "I'm achy. I'm fatigued, I cannot get the f*ck out of bed—what the f*ck is wrong with me?"
As it got worse, Avril's friend put it together for her, suggesting she had Lyme disease—get this—because of a story arc on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills when Yolanda Hadid was diagnosed with the disease. Avril ended up reaching out to Yolanda, who gave her the number for a Lyme specialist.
But a diagnosis didn't make things any easier. "I was in bed for f*cking two years," said Avril, adding that it felt like she was being "gaslighted" and "trapped" by her body.
Soon after her diagnosis, Avril went on antibiotic and antimalarial medication—a pretty common treatment for Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, according to Avril, "[The Lyme disease] went undiagnosed for so long that I was kind of f*cked."
According to Avril, doctors still haven't figured out how to cure her of Lyme disease—which is why she's telling her story. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to relive it. But it's my responsibility," she said.
Avril's new song, "Head Above Water" is also her way of dealing with her disease and informing the public about it—she actually wrote it at her lowest point. "I had accepted that I was dying," she said. "And I felt in that moment like I was underwater and drowning, and I was trying to come up to gasp for air," hence the name of the song, she said.
Avril's also trying to educate people about Lyme disease though her foundation—Lyme disease has been added to the Avril Lavigne Foundation's supported causes.
According to Avril, there is a "silver-lining" to being bedridden for years dealing with chronic health issues: "I've really had the time to be able to just be present, instead of being, like, a machine," she said. "This is the first break I've ever taken since I was 15."
Amber Brenza is the health editor at Women's Health, and she oversees the website's health and weight loss verticals. She has years of expereince interviewing top medical and nutrition experts, as well as interpreting peer-reviewed studies in order to give readers a clear and concise understanding of the latest health news and topics. Amber has her master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and has held editorial or writing positions at Men’s Health, Prevention, Dr. Oz The Good Life, Tonic, and SELF prior to working at Women's Health.
