Lady Gaga is opening up about the painful illness that has plagued her for years.
In her new documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, Gaga, 31, gives fans an intimate look at the chronic pain she has long dealt with. And in a Tuesday Twitter post, the singer confirmed that she suffers from fibromyalgia – something others afflicted with the condition had long suspected.
“In our documentary the #chronicillness #chronicpain I deal w/ is #Fibromyalgia,” she wrote. “I wish to help raise awareness & connect people who have it.”
Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes widespread muscle pain and tenderness, according to the Mayo Clinic. Other effects of the illness include fatigue along with sleep, memory and mood issues.
Although this is the first time she has publicly stated the name of the illness, the “Born This Way” singer has spoken about her pain in the past.
In August, Gaga (whose real name is Stefani Germanotta) shared a photo of her shoulder being treated by a doctor.
She captioned the image, “Having a frustrating day with chronic pain, but I find myself feeling so blessed to have such strong intelligent female doctors.”
A day later, she thanked fans for their empathetic responses to the post. She even added a list of “personal remedies” that have helped her with the pain.
In 2013, Gaga was forced to cancel several tour dates to have surgery on her broken hip. Though she’s discussed the injury before, her new documentary sheds light on the extent of her pain.
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Throughout the film, the “Bad Romance” singer is shown undergoing treatments to help ease muscle spasms, which cause her to feel pain on the entire right side of her body.
Gaga was often forced to stop working to deal with the pain and the star regularly had multiple people rubbing her muscles and putting ice on her.
“Do I look pathetic?” she asked in one scene, putting her hands over her face to cover her tears. “I’m so embarrassed.”