Ryan Sutter finally got some answers about the mystery illness he has been suffering from for over a year.
The Bachelorette alum has been vocal about the unknown sickness after revealing last December he had been experiencing “flu-like symptoms” for months and was feeling worse than ever before. He explained how he started to feel “paralyzing fatigue, deep body, and muscle aches, fevers, night sweats, full-body itching with no rash, headaches, neck and throat swelling, congestion, light headedness, nausea” early on in 2020. Despite speaking with several doctors and undergoing multiple tests, Ryan received no clarity about what was actually happening to his body… until now.
Related: Peter Weber Gets ‘Brutally Honest’ About Kelley Flanagan’s ‘Calculated’ Breakup Remarks!
While on his wife Trista Sutter’s Better Etc. podcast, Ryan shared how he has been diagnosed with Lyme disease after discovering high levels of mold and toxins in his body due to his work as a firefighter. He said:
“It seems to be that what happened is that my immune system was weakened through exposures to toxins and especially to mold. There are other people in the fire academy that probably had the same exposures who aren’t dealing with these exposures because their genetics are stronger, they’re able to get rid of the toxins easier.”
For those who don’t know, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through tick bites. Early symptoms include headaches, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, and fatigue — while late symptoms can include paralysis, neurological problems, severe headaches, and inflammation of the brain and heart. Basically, it is no joke! And the former reality star isn’t the only celeb who has faced the tick-borne illness as Avril Lavigne, Alec Baldwin, Bella Hadid, and Amy Schumer also have had experiences with the same disease.
But unfortunately for Ryan, there was more. The 46-year-old explained how his long days as a firefighter caused extreme exhaustion and dehydration, which weakened his immune system and made it difficult to fight off infections. This ultimately resulted in him also testing positive for COVID-19 and Epstein-Barr:
“I now essentially have Lyme disease. It seems like that’s something that I will always have. It’s just that, now, I know and I can start to try to build back my immune system so I can fight it off. Again, Epstein-Barr I had shown that virus. This weakened immune system may have allowed that to kind of come back in. On top of that, COVID. So, I had the COVID virus, EBV virus and Lyme disease all were able to show back up. I don’t know which ones necessarily did and which ones didn’t other than Lyme disease.”
Speaking on her husband’s medical journey, Trista noted how “hard” it has been to watch him suffer for so long with no solutions.
“It’s a really difficult thing to see the person that you love most in this world struggling. And he’s a big strong guy, and to see him get emotional and feel helpless in a way in that all I could do was really advocate for him. So, that’s what I did.”
We can only imagine, especially since it took so long to diagnose. Now, Ryan plans to focus on the Lyme disease and mold toxicity by making some dietary changes and leaning on his great support system:
“I truly believe that we’re on the right path now. I’m very thankful for where we are and for everyone who’s helped us get there, whether that’s doctors, our family support, or even all the people that have written in on social media or in other avenues.”
We’re so glad Ryan has finally found the answers he has been searching for over the past year! Hopefully, the treatments work, and the symptoms he’s been experiencing start to subside as soon as possible.
[Image via Ryan Sutter/Instagram]
The post <i>Bachelorette</i> Alum Ryan Sutter Reveals Mystery Illness He's Been Battling For Over A Year appeared first on Perez Hilton.
