Justin Timberlake has been diagnosed with Lyme disease.The former NSYNC singer announced the diagnosis on his Instagram account Thursday, saying, “I’ve been battling some health issues, and I was diagnosed with Lyme disease — which I don’t say to make you feel bad for me — but to shed some light on what I’ve been up against behind the scenes.”He went on to say that the disease can be “relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically.”.Lyme disease is transmitted by Ixodes ticks — also known as deer ticks, which carry the bacteria.The disease can cause flu-like symptoms, neurological problems, and joint pain, among others.The first sign of the disease is usually, but not always, a red, round bullseye rash.Timberlake said he has suffered from a massive amount of “nerve pain” and has been feeling “crazy fatigue and sickness” recently during his Forget Tomorrow tour, which just wrapped up in Turkey on Wednesday.According to the Associated Press, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has cited insurance records suggesting that “476,000 people are treated for Lyme disease in the U.S. every year."Timberlake is not the first famous singer to be diagnosed with the disease.In 2014, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne contracted the disease from a tick bite and was bedridden for five months.Country music star Shania Twain was also hit by the disease in 2017 when she revealed it was the cause of her “temporary vocal struggle.”
