After actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu opened up about her struggle with the autoimmune condition of Myositis, director Vikram Bhatt has also decided to be candid about a chronic illness he has been facing for the past 18 years, a condition called Fibromyalgia. In Fibromyalgia, the person suffers from intense muscle pain, processes pain differently than others and it also alters one’s sleep cycle, memory and mood among other things.
The filmmmaker told Bombay Times that it has been a hard journey for him as he has to constantly ‘manage’ his flare-ups. Vikram stated that there is no cure for Fibromyalgia as well and said it was Samantha’s openness about her situation which made him want to be honest about his condition. “I want to reach out to Samantha and tell her that if I can make it, so can you. I am so glad she spoke up. Hiding takes as much strength as fighting the pain.”
Vikram said that at first no one was able to diagnose what was happening to him, as he and others tried to cure the ‘symptoms’ of the condition separately — depression, severe headaches etc. Vikram said he would visit the physiotherapist as well, but to no avail, as body pain continued to haunt him until a doctor friend finally diagnosed him correctly. The director said that he tries to avoid undue stress, get his 7-8 hours of sleep and doesn’t drink or smoke to avoid any kind of flare-up.
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