LOS ANGELES, April 19 (UPI) -- Debbie Gibson revealed on her website that she suffers from Lyme disease after questions arose about her dramatic weight loss.
The '80s pop icon said she'd received some comments about her skinny figure after performing a couple shows in Chile.
"I feel compelled to address a health-related issue I have been dealing with. Last year, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. It is an elusive disease that disguises itself as many other things and creates a lot of pain and discomfort along the way," she wrote Wednesday on her website. "I am not exactly sure when or where I picked it up, but, in the early spring, I began to show unusual symptoms. A lot of Lyme symptoms mimic symptoms of anxiety and stress."
"The first symptoms came in the form of food sensitivities. I found I could not touch sugar, starch, caffeine, certain oils etc., without having a severe reaction that felt like jolts of electricity running through my body," she wrote.The 43-year-old said she tried to eat a lot of protein and fat in an attempt to gain weight, but it didn't help.
Gibson said she's been receiving treatment, including antibiotics, from a new doctor."At times, my boyfriend would insist I eat some pasta and butter, even though I did not feel great doing it," she says. "'You need to gain weight,' he would say. My spine was frail and unprotected."
"I actually feel like me again," she said.
[Debbie Gibson Official]
