Celine Dion has admitted she first started noticing signs of something being wrong with her health almost two decades ago.
Talking in her new documentary I Am Celine Dion she described how a simple vocal exercise provided the terrifying clue to what was happening inside her body. The symptoms then took hold of her more and more before she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.
She explained: "You know it's a question of 17 years, 17 years ago I started to experience some voice spasming, this is the way it started. I woke up one morning and had my breakfast and after having my breakfast my voice started to go up and it freaked me out a little bit... I couldn't do soundcheck too long, warm up too long, but if you don't warmup too long you can hurt yourself."
READ MORE: Devastated Celine Dion breaks down in tears as she demonstrates 'broken' voice
Celine was visibly devastated as she discussed her health battle (Amazon Prime)She continued: "So I was scared I didn't know what to do. And today the diagnosis. Stiff person syndrome. SPS. It's in the muscles, it's in the nerves, it's in the tendons, you can't see anything. Because it's not seeable."
'Syndrome Celine Dion diagnosed with left me unable to put my socks on'
Celine also has revealed that she was taking high doses of valium in order to try and treat her SPS and 'could have died' as a result. The legendary singer opened up about how she struggled to keep performing for her fans while her symptoms were worsening, leaving her taking high doses of the drug to try and combat the disease.
Sobbing as she described her battle she said: "I was taking 80mg to 90mg of valium a day. That’s just one medicine. I don’t want to sound dramatic but I could have died. I was taking those medicines because I needed to walk. I need to be able to swallow. I needed medicine to function. One more pill, two more pills, five more pills. Too many pills. The show must go on.”
Celine also described how she started to lie to hide her crushing diagnosis from her fans as she continued to lose her ability to sing and perform She said: "When I had to cancel shows you know we had to tell the crowd why. People why. You know, lying. I can’t lie anymore. From a sinus infection to an ear infection to whatever.
Celine confessed to lying to fans as she battled her condition privately (AFP via Getty Images)"Sometimes I would point my microphone to the audience and get them to sing it. There’s moments where I cheated and tapped on the microphone like it’s the microphones fault. There was also moments where we had to stop the show, quick change and I never came back. The lying is too heavy now.”
The iconic songstress, 56, was diagnosed with the life-altering condition in 2022 and took a step away from the public eye as she came to terms with the revelation. The rare neurological disorder includes symptoms including muscle stiffness and spasms, which could worsen over time.
Celine, who is mother to René-Charles, 23, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13, explained she stayed quiet initially while doctors worked hard to determine what was wrong. Stiff Person Syndrome is said to have been diagnosed in fewer than 5,000 people in the US, with the condition often mistaken for Parkinson's disease.
Healthline reports the main warning sign of the condition is muscle stiffness and also includes limb stiffness, stiff muscles in the trunk, painful muscle spasms, difficulty walking, sensory issue and posture problems from rigid back muscles. Some who suffer from the condition can also experience anxiety, hyperhidrosis (abnormal excessive sweating), and agoraphobia - a fear of public spaces.
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