Music star Céline Dion describes in an interview how she risked her life because she wanted to continue performing.
Five-time Grammy winner Céline Dion (56) reveals how her own desire to perform almost cost her her life. In an emotional TV interview for NBC News, the singer, who suffers from stiff person syndrome, explains that she had been prescribed Valium in the past to control the muscle cramps associated with her illness. But Dion gradually developed a tolerance to the drug – with almost fatal consequences.
Céline Dion took a potentially lethal dose
“I really didn’t know it could kill me,” the 56-year-old told journalist Hoda Kotb (59) in her interview special broadcast on June 11. Driven by the desire to be on stage despite her symptoms, she took the powerful medication, which can suppress muscle cramps and seizures. The usual dose for adults is 2 to 10 milligrams daily.
However, Dion had already started taking doses of 20 milligrams a day. “At some point my body got used to 20, 30 and 40, until it went up. And I needed that, it relaxed my whole body,” the music star looks back on that time.
“The show must go on,” she said to herself, “but you get used to it, it doesn’t work anymore. More, more, more.” Eventually she far exceeded the recommended maximum daily dose of 40 milligrams, and on some days took up to 90 milligrams of the drug. Today she realizes: “Ninety milligrams of Valium can kill you, you can stop breathing.”
It was only in spring 2020 that she was able to stop abusing Valium in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, as there were no more performances during the lockdown. But her symptoms worsened after she stopped taking the medication.
Dion finally made her terminal illness public in 2022. Her courageous battle against stiff person syndrome is also chronicled in Prime Video’s upcoming documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” which premieres on the streaming service on June 25.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
