Justin Bieber Reveals How Lyme Disease Diagnosis Affected His Health
On Wednesday, Justin Bieber confirmed he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which he said caused many of the health struggles he’s faced over the last few years.
TMZ first reported that Bieber would reveal his struggle with Lyme disease in his upcoming documentary series, “Seasons,” which will premiere Jan. 27 on YouTube. Bieber later confirmed the news in an Instagram post, sharing just how much the disease impacted him. He wrote:
While a lot of people kept saying justin Bieber looks like shit, on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health. These things will be explained further in a docu series I’m putting on YouTube shortly.
Bieber has taken to Instagram many times to share his struggles with depressive symptoms, anxiety and his efforts to prioritize his health. In April 2019, Bieber shared a snapshot during a therapy session to let others know there’s nothing wrong with needing help for your mental health. Now, as Bieber outlined, many of his issues are linked to Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is caused by an infection from Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacteria carried by deer ticks. It can cause a variety of symptoms across your system, often starting with rashes on your skin before impacting your joints and nervous system. According to the American Lyme Disease Foundation, Lyme disease is most effectively treated in its early stages with antibiotics and is more challenging to manage when the infection isn’t caught until later.
Justin Bieber is currently battling Lyme disease and plans to release a documentary on his battle on January 27th. Wishing him all the best in his recovery! #LymeDisease #JustinBieber https://t.co/J7MtUVVcpl https://t.co/s2TIu1Lhmr
— Lyme Treatment Foundation (@lymetreatmentfd) January 8, 2020
Getting a Lyme disease diagnosis can be difficult, because many of the symptoms overlap with numerous other health conditions such as flu-like symptoms, chronic pain, fatigue or depression. Lyme is diagnosed using either an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test or a Western blot test. However, these tests don’t always catch Lyme disease right away and many doctors will try to rule out other options before finally making a Lyme diagnosis.
In his Instagram post, Bieber suggested it took awhile to get the correct diagnosis but is now in the process of recovering thanks to getting treatment for Lyme disease. This news comes a few days after the release of his new single “Yummy.”
“You can learn all that I’ve been battling and OVERCOMING!!” Bieber wrote on Instagram. “It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”
You can watch the full story in Bieber’s upcoming documentary series “Seasons,” which will premiere on YouTube on Jan. 27.
Image via Creative Commons/NRK P3
Renée Fabian was the features editor at The Mighty. She has also written for The Washington Post, VICE, Healthline, Talkspace, The Fix, The Establishment, The Culture Trip, and GRAMMY.com, among others. Renée was named a 2019 AHCJ Comparative Effectiveness Research fellow, a 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism California fellow, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @ryfabian.
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