Severe Pain Causes Lady Gaga to Cancel the Rest of Her Tour

Lady Gaga, the American singer-songwriter who is best known for her hit songs “Born This Way”, “Applause”, and “Poker Face”, has decided to cancel the rest of her Joanne World Tour. It was announced on Instagram that unfortunately, the singer cannot proceed with the remaining 10 shows as she is experiencing severe pain from fibromyalgia, which is affecting her ability to perform in front of her audience live.

Because of this decision, Lady Gaga feels extremely sorry for those who have been patiently waiting to see her, but she has no other choice but to take care of her health and recover first.

On the other hand, those who have already bought a ticket for the tour can ask for a refund. Prior to this, the start of her European tour was also delayed until 2018 due to the same reason. Since then, she has been receiving expert medical care from professionals who recommended her to postpone her tour as she recovers.

The singer has also been hospitalized before due to severe physical pain. According to her, the pain and the trauma brought by her condition has kept her from living a normal life and doing the thing that she loves doing: performing for her fans.

Lady Gaga talks about her chronic pain

In the documentary film “Gaga: Five Foot Two” that premiered on Netflix in 2017, people can watch how she battles the chronic pain that she experiences due to fibromyalgia. Even Chris Moukarbel, the film’s director said that it was not easy to see the singer experience pain while they were filming.

However, Lady Gaga wanted to show the world that despite her celebrity status, she isn’t living a perfect life. She also wanted to show how fame and money do not solve everything..

Through this documentary, she hopes that she can help in raising awareness about the said disease and at the same time, connect with those who are also suffering from chronic pain. Gaga also hopes to let them know that they’re not alone. And, although it is quite frustrating to experience chronic pain, the singer still feels blessed to have strong intelligent doctors helping her along the way.

Lady Gaga shares some advice on fibromyalgia with her fans

Social media sites like Twitter has served as a way for the actress to communicate with her fans. She also used it to share some advice with other fibromyalgia patients based on her own experiences. In one of her replies, she mentioned that she thought ice would help with fibromyalgia, but it turns out that it only made it worse. However, she has found that heat alleviates the pain and has shared this with fans.

Lady Gaga is praying that more people would share what helps and what hurts with fibromyalgia so that they can help each other, and, maybe one day, the chronic illness would have more awareness so everyone with it could get the help that it deserves.

What triggers fibromyalgia?

There are actually many things that can trigger fibromyalgia. One common trigger is actually the weather. Some patients have reported that extreme temperatures trigger fibromyalgia flare-ups., while some also said that when the humidity is low, they often experience stiffness and headaches as well. So, in order to prevent it, patients can take extra precautions like for example, staying in an air-conditioned room when the weather is too hot and dressing in layers when the weather is cold. Some may also need to change their location with a more comfortable weather for their condition.

There have also been studies conducted to determine whether the weather indeed has a correlation with the said disease by asking the participant to rate the pain that they are experiencing from 1 to 10 every day for a year. Results show that fibromyalgia pain symptoms are directly correlated to the changes in the weather. The level of pain the patients felt increased with the increase in atmospheric pressure and a decrease in the temperature. However, despite these findings, researchers are still unable to know how the weather appears to affect the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Another thing that can trigger fibromyalgia symptoms is the simple carbs. They are basically the carbs that are made up of 1 or 2 sugars. The reason for this is because patients who have fibromyalgia are sensitive to the changes in their blood sugar. So, if possible, the intake of simple carbs should be limited or it would be even better when the patient completely gets rid of it from their diet. After all, if one consumes too much of it, it can also lead to nerve damage.

Enough sleep is also very important for fibromyalgia patients, especially as they are likely to suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia. With enough sleep, patients can decrease their sensitivity to pain. However, long naps are not ideal for them. In a study involving more than 1,000 adults who are suffering from the said disease, the researchers have found a correlation between long naps during daytime and the severity of the fibromyalgia symptoms.

What it’s like to have fibromyalgia

Well, apart from muscle pain, a person who has fibromyalgia is also likely to suffer from extreme fatigue that even sleep can’t alleviate. They may also experience troubles sleeping and it is already now that lack of sleep can affect one’s functioning physically and mentally. Not only that, this disease can also affect the mood and the memory of the patient who has it. So, there may be times when they will forget what they are looking for and need someone to remind them of it.

When it comes to pain, the pain can manifest in the different body parts. The severity of the pain the patient may feel also differs. Some also feel that their limbs are heavy and their muscles are tired. So, they needed to exert much effort in moving them. On the other hand, some compare it to the feeling of having the flu together with getting beat up physically.

Fibromyalgia patients also experience “brain fog”, wherein everything that they hear seems to come from a muffled megaphone. Also, when they talk to someone, there are times when they just can’t think of the right words to say or they have their sentences all mixed up. As a result, the person that they are talking to doesn’t even get what they are trying to say.

What’s worse about fibromyalgia is the fact that its symptoms are invisible. A person who has it may look okay on the outside when they are actually not. This is the reason why they are often judged by other people. Also, it is a disease that is unpredictable. So, every day is different for fibromyalgia patients, and it becomes emotionally and physically draining for them.

Because of this, patients are not able to do some of the things that they have been doing before, and this not only affects their personal lives but their professional lives as well. This is the reason why some patients have a hard time accepting the fact that they have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which is why some patients also experience depression and anxiety.

For people who don’t have fibromyalgia, it would be quite difficult for them to understand what this disease is really like. After all, the symptoms of this disease are more than just fatigue and pain. So, for those who know someone who has it, the best thing that they can do is to show their support and try to understand what these patients are going through, especially whenever they suffer from flare-ups.