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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Hayley Spencer

Amy Schumer reveals Lyme Disease diagnosis: ‘I’m excited to get rid of it’

Photograph: Getty Images

Comedian and actor Amy Schumer is the latest celebrity to speak out about being diagnosed with tick-borne illness, lyme disease.

Schumer broke the news on Instagram as she asked her followers for advice.

“Anyone get LYME this summer? I got it and I’m on doxycycline” [Sic] she wrote alongside a picture of herself as a child, holding what she described as “my first ever fishing pole”.

“I have maybe had it for years”, the Trainwreck actor added of her diagnosis.

Asked for advice, the 39-year-old provided her phone number and invited people to comment.

“Can you have a glass of wine or 2 on it? I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called lyme-2”, she wrote.

“Please comment or text me on my number in my bio. I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”

Lyme disease is spread by the deer tick, or backlegged tick. If carrying the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the ticks transmit it when they bite. Though it is rare for them to carry the bacteria.

The disease is most common in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north-central United States and can also be contracted in the UK.

Common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, tiredness and loss of energy, muscle and joint aches and a circular red rash around the bite area, according to the NHS

Taking antibiotics like Schumer can lead to a full recovery, though some people can have symptoms that last years.

Justin Bieber, Bella Hadid, as well as her mother Yolanda and brother Anwar, have all previously spoken about suffering with the disease.

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