A big takeaway from the 2017 documentary Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two was the singer’s struggle with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia. According to CNN, complications from condition led to Gaga either postponing or cancelling tour dates in 2017 and 2018.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition with symptoms including nerve and muscle pain, trouble sleeping, headaches, face and jaw pain, digestive issues and fatigue, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as mental distress, trouble concentrating, and memory problems. While its causes aren’t known, fibromyalgia has been loosely linked to PTSD, and is said to often “co-occur” with lupus , both of which Gaga has publicly battled.
Gaga opened up about her condition further to Vogue in October 2018, explaining, “I get so irritated with people who don’t believe fibromyalgia is real. … 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. … Chronic pain is no joke. And it’s every day waking up not knowing how you’re going to feel.”
Thankfully, at the time of the Vogue interview, Gaga was on the mend: “It’s getting better every day, because now I have fantastic doctors who take care of me and are getting me show-ready.”
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