Leah McSweeney becomes latest celebrity battling Lyme disease: Ex-RHONY star asks for ‘success stories of healing’
Leah McSweeney has been diagnosed with Lyme disease.
The former Real Housewives of New York star, 41, shared the news on Thursday by posting her test results on social media.
“I’m shocked,” she wrote. “Please send Lyme recovery success stories. It is a new infection, not chronic.’
She added: “Apologies to all my friends who I have canceled over the past few months [because] I felt bad.’
The Married to the Mob designer then posted a photo of more than a dozen vials of blood from the extensive testing she underwent.
Former Real Housewives of New York star Leah McSweeney has been diagnosed with Lyme disease
“I’m shocked,” she wrote on Instagram. “Please send Lyme recovery success stories. It is a new infection, not chronic’
The Married to the Mob designer then posted a photo of more than a dozen vials of blood from the extensive testing she underwent
“Everything is great,” she wrote sarcastically, followed by a laughing emoji.
McSweeney is currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former network Bravo, which she is suing for alleged discrimination and a hostile work environment.
She previously suffered health problems while filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Thailand, where she collapsed due to dehydration and had to be hospitalized.
The outspoken New Yorker isn’t the first Real Housewives star to be diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Yolanda Hadid battled the ‘invisible disease’ for ten years and even wrote a book about her experiences called Believe Me.
Speak with British Vogue In 2021, the mother of models Gigi, Bella and Anwar Hadid recalled how she suffered from severe fatigue, memory loss, swollen lymph nodes and mild Bell’s palsy in her face, among other crippling symptoms that led to her becoming deeply depressed and thinking . suicide.
‘I cannot describe the darkness, the pain and the hell I went through every day. For a while it didn’t feel like life at all anymore. This disease brought me to my knees,” says Yolanda, who was in remission at the time.
“Many nights I wished to die and prayed that I would just be free from the pain. Without my children, I don’t think I would be here today,” she admitted.
McSweeney is currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former network Bravo, which she is suing for alleged discrimination and a hostile work environment
McSweeney previously suffered health problems while filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Thailand
‘It is so important that we learn to listen to people, because many of us suffer in silence. We have to learn not to judge how someone feels by the way they look from the outside.”
Yolanda’s supermodel daughter Bella and son Anwar have also been diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks.
The most common early symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, fatigue, and a rash called erythema migraine, which appears as a bull’s-eye around the bite area.
The disease can usually be treated with oral antibiotics for several weeks.
Yolanda Hadid battled the ‘invisible disease’ for ten years and even wrote a book about her experience called Believe Me
Yolanda’s supermodel daughter Bella (left) has also battled chronic Lyme disease
However, doctors sometimes use the term “chronic Lyme disease” to describe situations in which a confirmed case of Lyme disease is being treated, but the patient still has nonspecific symptoms, including persistent pain, joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and reduced cognitive function. or unexplained numbness.
Yolanda has described Lyme disease as an “invisible disability” because patients appear healthy from the outside.
“It’s much easier for us to have compassion for someone with visible outward symptoms,” she explained. “Most people still don’t seem to believe that chronic Lyme disease even exists. As the saying goes, you don’t really get it until you get it.’
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star said she’s not sure how she and her children contracted the disease, but she noted that they all spend a lot of time outdoors.