Lady Gaga
It is no secret that Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) has suffered more than her fair share of traumas in her life, both mental and physical – being raped at age 19, the physical and mental strain of world class performing and breaking a hip in 2013 to name but a few.
It is thought that trauma can trigger Fibromyalgia.
Lady Gaga and Fibromyalgia
Lady GagaIn 2013 the singer, songwriter and actress Gaga first spoke about living with chronic pain but at that time she did not disclose the underlying cause.
In September 2017 she revealed she has Fibromyalgia in a Tweet.
"I wish to help raise awareness and connect people who have it. We can all share what helps/hurts,"
In the Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two we saw her suffering widespread pain and muscle spasms.
When I watched the documentary I was surprised how candidly she was prepared to show her intense pain and heartache caused by Fibromyalgia. I had always enjoyed her music and performances but after watching her crying with pain I had a deep respect for this amazing woman.
I felt empathy and sympathy with her, as I shared the same pain.
In the October 2018 issue of Vogue, Lady Gaga made it clear exactly why she wanted the film to detail her suffering.
"I get so irritated with people who don't believe Fibromyalgia is real. For me, and I think for many others, it's really a cyclone of anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, and panic disorder, all of which sends the nervous system into overdrive, and then you have nerve pain as a result. People need to be more compassionate. Chronic pain is no joke. And it's every day waking up not knowing how you're going to feel."
And in the documentary Lady Gaga says:
"I just think about other people who have maybe something like this, that are struggling to figure out what it is, and they don't have the money to have somebody to help them. I don't know what I'd (expletive) do if I didn't have everyone here to help me. What the hell would I do?"
Effects of Fibromyalgia for Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga had to cancel the last 10 dates of the European leg of her Joanne World Tour in 2018 due to "severe pain".
The "tough decision" had been made with "strong support from her medical team".
"I'm so devastated I don't know how to describe it," Lady Gaga, 31, wrote. "All I know is that if I don't do this, I am not standing by the words or meaning of my music."
Later in a statement posted on Twitter, she apologised to fans and said she was "devastated", but needed to put "myself and my well-being" first.
Lady Gaga had already been hospitalised with "severe physical pain" and had to pull out of a performance at Rock in Rio in Brazil in September 2017.
Lady Gaga's Treatment for Fibromyalgia
Lady Gaga Fibromyalgia TreatmentIn an Instagram post Lady Gaga is pictured wrapped in a silver foil emergency blanket and sitting in an infra red sauna.
“I was so overwhelmed by the empathy, confessions & personal stories of chronic pain in response to my previous post I thought what the hell. Maybe I should just share some of my personal remedies I've acquired over the past five years.”
She goes onto describe using an infrared sauna with silver emergency blankets that trap in the heat. She follows this treatment with an ice bath.
It is also said she takes Epsom salts baths.