Celine Dion suffered scientific emergency in documentary: Her doctor explains

Celine Dion has been living with the symptoms of harsh personality syndrome for 17 years, she tells in detail about her generation in an unaired documentary called “I Am: Celine Dion” on High Video on June 25. The end of the film takes a closer look at the additional dire consequences of autoimmune and neurological disease, which causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms.

In the scene, Dion is receiving physical therapy sessions, moments later the audience sees her recording an unused track, “Love Again”. She has been going through normal exercise routines with her physical therapist as part of her treatment efforts to support her fitness and, with a little luck, performance again.

Later, one of her toes begins to cramp and within minutes her entire body becomes so tense that she is unable to speak, travel, or even change her facial expressions. , which is distorted by pain.

Celine Dion faces scientific disaster in documentary

Dion explains in the film that the cramp, which was a disaster, was his first. Her physical therapist estimates that she was once “over-stimulated”. When all her limbs shake and her palms are stuck at weird angles, he turns her onto her side on the massage table. After this his lips also start twitching.

A member of her group tells her to squeeze his hand if she listens to him. She remains still and shrugs, however, as a way to show that she is well aware of what is happening to and around her. Her physical therapist says, “She’s still with us.”

As the devastation continues, Dion’s face is shining with peaceful tears, and she writhes in pain. At the scene, she has a benzodiazepine nasal drip, her doctor Dr. Amanda Pickett, director of the autoimmune neurology program at the University of Colorado College of Medicine Anschutz Scientific Campus, tells TODAY.com. It is part of a class of depression medications that relieve anxiety and muscle spasms.

As his group believes, the cramps appear between half an hour and a month at most. At last the calmness of her muscles became so bad that she was once again ready to sit down and talk.

Dion later says, “Every time something like this happens, I feel very embarrassed.” “I don’t know how to express it, you know, not having control over myself.”

Her PT further theorized that her joy at making a song in the first place may have played a role in the harsh personal syndrome attack. The song’s narrator wonders how she will be able to perform again if an intimate recording session could bring about a scientific disaster.

“If I can’t get aroused by what I like, I’m going to go on stage, and you’re going to put a pulse oximeter on me and rub my back?” She says.

“It’s scary, I know,” her PT responds. “It’s hard. This is not the end of your journey.”

The film’s director, Irene Taylor, recalled in a latest interview with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb how great it once felt to watch this scene. Taylor noted, “As a filmmaker, but also as a mother, as a fellow human being, it was the most exceptionally uncomfortable moment of my life, because I didn’t know what was going on.”

“I was unsure whether or not I should continue making films. But (Celine) gave me the strength to carry on. We had been filming together for several months at that time, so she really coached me, ‘Just keep going. If I have to stop you, I will.’

Taylor said, “Her body was enduring something that was unimaginable, and I wasn’t sure whether she was aware of it or not.” “I wasn’t sure if she would survive it or not. It’s really hard to sit next to her and even talk about it out loud because it was so intense.”

Dion responded, “I just want you to know you did the right thing. I’m sorry it was hard.”

Reflecting on her terrifyingly harsh personal syndrome episode, Dion told Hoda that she “lost it for two hours without knowing.” When she first started getting them, she’d say to herself, “Okay, that’ll be fine. (But) then you have trouble walking, and then you go flat for two hours, and you Wondering what happened? “What is the tough guy syndrome attack?

Many patients with Stiff Individual Syndrome experience frequent muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness, although certain activities or emotions can cause “full, whole-body spasms,” says Pickett, who is a consultant to the Stiff Individual Syndrome Underpinning Analysis. Board member, explains.

Recalling the scene of Dion’s whole body convulsions that began in her base, Pickett says, “That anxiety, that panic, that constant spasm that wasn’t breaking and then very quickly causing whole body convulsions. Went.”

“It’s not a tour anymore,” Pickett clarifies. “It’s a convulsion that’s going on, and victims are fully aware of what’s happening. There’s a lot of stress, a lot of panic, your adrenaline is surging.”

David Axelrod, 36, of Milford, Connecticut, has experienced similar episodes because of his tough guy syndrome.

“In the slightest aspect of a terrible spasm, for example, if I yawn too much, or if I’m chewing in an abnormal way, my whole neck and throat will go into spasm, and the muscles will just bulge out. , and my jaw locks up on the playground, and I have to more or less breathe through it, throw some warmth on it and try to calm it down,” he explains.

But “the worst kind,” he says, is a cramp that extends from his rib cage to his stomach and his back. “I become a sheet of molded muscles, and you will also see spasms in individual muscles. … This causes my back to arch, and it also results in spasms in my back, my legs, and my palms. So it There are definitely cramps all over the body, I will not travel, and this can sometimes last for a few hours maximum.”

“If I’m lucky and someone has an eye, they might give me a warm bundle, and I put the fresh bundle and power on that and that might help get relief,” Axelrod says. “There are times when I’m alone, and I can’t get up, I can’t travel, I just have to lie there.”

He described the pain as, “A charley horse times the pain 100 times. From time to time you will take a breath.” And the mental load is also very high.

“(You’re thinking), ‘Oh negative, oh negative, oh dear God, please don’t let that happen,'” Axelrod says. “It’s a week full of nerves. It’s not a fun experience to go through. But I’ve definitely found that trying to stay calm through it and take deep breaths has a positive effect on it.”

According to Pickett, these types of episodes are more common in patients whose symptoms are not controlled. They’re more likely to experience it when they have other stressors in their lives, Axelrod says. During his previous job, he met them several times a week.

What has Celine Dion said about her recovery?

According to Pickett, Dion has made “significant progress” in managing her symptoms since the documentary was filmed. Dion shared in the film that her treatment included physical therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin (which helps with the autoimmune aspect of stiff man syndrome) and muscle relaxers.

She has shared that she is looking forward to getting back on stage soon, although she does not have a specific date yet. Dion has said that it is possible that she will have to cancel shows to prioritize her health when she returns, but she is still maintaining a positive outlook.

He told Hoda, “I have to consider myself. I have to consider my group. I have to consider my resonance. I’ve lived through difficult issues, as we all do.” “A lot of happiness too, though. I’m going to live a lot of happiness.”