Alec Baldwin opened up at a fundraiser recently about his battle with lyme disease, which began 17 years ago with a tick bite. He ended up bed bound and deathly ill to the point where he thought he would die. Baldwin suffered from lyme off and on for at least five years, according to what he told the crowd at the Bay Area Lyme Foundation LymeAid benefit in California. He’s been guarded about his condition but finally opened up about it at the urging of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s Executive Director.
Baldwin said that he believed he had chronic Lyme disease even before he was diagnosed with it. He was bitten about 17 years ago, and got a shot. Then he was bitten again a few years later.
“I got the classic Lyme disease (symptoms) for each successive summer, for five years, every August, like this black lung, flu-like symptoms, sweating to death in my bed,” Baldwin said. “The first round (was the worst), and then it diminished, at least that’s how I perceived it.”
“The first time was the worst of all,” he recalled. “And I really thought this is it, I’m not going to live. I was alone, I wasn’t married at the time, I was divorced from my first wife. I was lying in bed saying, ‘I’m going to die of Lyme disease,’ in my bed and ‘I hope someone finds me and I’m not here for too long.’ ”
Baldwin went on to say that now he and his wife Hilaria constantly check their children for signs of tick bites.
“I want my kids to grow up riding horses and bikes and enjoying themselves every day and not have to spend every day with us going over them with a magnifying glass to make sure they don’t have any ticks on their body or their dogs, but that is part of the lifestyle of where I live,” he said.
As I’ve often said, I would not wish lyme disease on my worst enemy. When I first contracted what I believe was lyme I also thought I was going to die, it was so bad I could barely move, doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me, and many times I needed help getting around the house. It feel like impending doom so often, which may have been the psychological effect of the disease as well as the severe almost immediate decline in my health. I lived in Connecticut back then and lyme has also affected my friends and relatives in that area, particularly my aunts and their family. It’s an epidemic with no cure which takes too long to diagnose. Alec Baldwin is not my favorite person but he should get credit for talking about this, (and for his spot on Trump impersonation).
Also, I really relate to the way he described checking his kids for ticks and not wanting to cut them off from outdoor activities or limit their contact with pets. That’s one of my nightmares as a mom, that my son will get lyme. I try not to freak out when I see ticks on the dog, but it’s hard.
Photos credit: WENN.com
I don’t know are we sure he is telling the truth and not just looking for fame?
The way I hear it told Kelly Osborne is the only person that has Lyme.
Does the disease make you a supreme douchebag?
Cut the guy some slack. If he says he had lyme disease he had lyme disease. He doesn’t need to be any more famous by lying about it. I really think people are still basing their opinion of him based on a phone call he made to his daughter 10 years ago….unbelievable! So everyone else has always said kind of gentle words to their children? He’s a great dad and his wife thinks he’s wonderful, plus he’s never boring. I hope he ignores the flippant opinions people have of him.
Yeah, he’s just a celebrity trying to be as cool and trendy as Kelly. He wishes he could have Lyme disease! I’m glad Kelly let us know she was the only one with it so I don’t feel bad for all those wannabes who fake it.
Alec Baldwin is already famous, hence his story appearing on Celebitchy.
I’m glad he shared this publicly. Speaking about personal health matters is not an easy thing especially if it’s a matter deemed controversial, or if it’s something rare & largely unknown amongst the general public.
Lyme disease and Powassan virus are not joking matters. The fact that he is sharing this will help extend understanding of others who have it or are concerned about it. He’s not known for talking about sensitivity in any matter which gives him credibility. He doesn’t do phony and that’s a big part of why he’s famous. His voice is a good one to have speaking about Lyme disease.
Umm I think B2C was being sarcastic guys.
I guess not everyone read about Kelly Osborne book or heard her claim to be the only one suffering Lyme disease. Kelly’s so obnoxious
LOL!
Yikes…poor fella – that disease is a b!tch. I’m crazy afraid of ticks. We had one in the house yesterday and I’m glad I had gone to the dermatologist earlier because I was terrified that I had gotten a secret tick earlier.
Being single, that’s one of my greatest fears, too: dying alone when my family isn’t around. I moved in with my dad to take care of him, now that he’s getting up there (90 this fall 😊). I do talk to my sister (who is married) pretty much daily, but sometimes, when things get busy a day or more can go by when we don’t connect. We made a pact recently though, that when I will be living alone, we will check in every morning and evening, so if (God forbid) something happens to one of us, the other is there to help.
As a first time dog owner, I’m alarmed. Does that mean the dogs I remove from my dog’s fur are harmful to me as well?
I guess the risk is the dog may bring home a tick that hasn’t bitten yet, and then it bites someone in the house.
Not only do dog owners need to be aware of ticks, even non dog owners do. Any animal, including birds can bring ticks in to your yard. Even just rolling around in your grass is not as safe as it used to be. I heard this year there are more ticks than ever…however they do not all carry Lyme disease. Either way, we live in scary times where you just can’t enjoy anything anymore.
Not all ticks carry lyme, but yes, the ticks you pull of your dog may put you and your dog at risk. Ask your vet for good flea/tick solutions–prevention is your best friend. But a tick bite does NOT automatically mean you get lyme. I live in the woods and have been bitten numerous times, and never gotten it. (not from my dogs, who wear Seresto collars and don’t get bitten–just me being out in the woods chainsawing or clearing trees).
I’m in NJ and it’s all over the news and I’m hearing from other moms that there are many more ticks this year. I’ve always been a good tick-checker (thanks girlscout leaders!) but I’ve never actually found one on my son. Well this year the very first time we went to play in the woods I found two on him: hadn’t bit yet they were just crawling along. That’s the one good thing, those effers take their time to bite.
I grew up playing in the woods, it’s something I take my son to do regularly. But it’s a hard balance between enjoying nature and having a sense of paranoia. I totally get what Alec is saying about that. The thought of my baby getting Lyme or god forbid Powassan is just so scary.
I live in an area with unfortunately loads of ticks and cases of lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (luckily you can be vaccinated against that). My ex-boyfriend got lyme disease and I discovered a red ring around the bite a few weeks after it had occurred. He was on antibiotics for 3 weeks and has been fine ever since. So there is a cure if you discover it early enough. I also carry anti-bodies for lyme disease. I never had any symptoms, though, which according to my physician is pretty common (?). He said the tick bite might have occurred during childhood.
Usually, the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours before the bacteria can spread. So it’s crucial to check your body for ticks immediately after being in the woods/outdoors.
I honestly hate ticks. What’s the point of their existence?
Ticks carry more than one serious disease, and those bitten need to be careful to watch their symptoms and to take care of their bites. That said, no reputable md will tell you that you have “chronic” lyme disease. There is simply no evidence of it, and the “symptoms” are so generic that they could be applied to a variety of ailments.
My husband’s nephew contracted Lyme disease years ago and he still suffers from the effects. He was deathly ill for months and hospitalized numerous times. My sympathy to Baldwin.