Celine Dion Overdose Hell: Singer Reveals She Took Near-Lethal Levels of Valium While Battling Stiff-Person Syndrome
Singer Celine Dion recently revealed that she once took near-lethal levels of Valium to help fight her devastating battle with stiff-person syndrome.
Singer Celine Dion recently revealed that she once took near-lethal levels of Valium to help fight her devastating battle with stiff-person syndrome, RadarOnline.com can report.
In the latest development to come more than two years after Dion, 56, announced that she was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in December 2022, the beloved singer sat for an exclusive interview with NBC News to discuss her lengthy battle with the rare neurological disorder.
The beloved singer sat for an exclusive interview with NBC News to discuss her lengthy battle with the rare neurological disorder.
According to Dion, she relied on diazepam – which is more commonly known as Valium – to fight her stiff-person syndrome symptoms before she was officially diagnosed with the disorder.
“I did not know, honestly, that it could kill me,” the My Heart Will Go On singer told NBC News host Hoda Kotb on Tuesday night. “I would take, for example before a performance, 20 milligrams of Valium, and then just walking from my dressing room to backstage — it was gone.”
“At one point, the thing is, that my body got used to it at 20 and 30 and 40,” Dion continued. “It was relaxing my whole body. For two weeks, for a month, the show would go on.”
“But then you get used to and it doesn’t work anymore.”
According to Dion, she relied on diazepam – which is more commonly known as Valium – to fight her stiff-person syndrome symptoms.
Dion also revealed that she started taking upwards of 90 milligrams of Valium daily just so that she could continue to perform amid her stiff-person syndrome battle.
Meanwhile, the beloved Think Twice singer also discussed the moment that she realized she was suffering from the neurological disorder.
According to Dion, she first started to suffer symptoms in 2008 shortly before a concert in Germany for her Taking Chances Would Tour.
“I said to my assistants and to my people: I don’t know if I can do the show and I don’t know what’s happening,” she recalled. “I was very, very, very scared.”
“I did not know, honestly, that it could kill me."
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“And then you panic, and the more you panic, the more you spasm,” Dion continued. “I went onstage, of course, and I started to sound more nasal.”
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The singer was ultimately afforded a break from performing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – a break that provided Dion the opportunity to wean herself off the Valium and “figure out” what was wrong with her.
“It was an opportunity for me to take a break,” she explained. “Do not be brave. And to be smart. I stopped everything with the help of doctors. I was weaning off all the meds, and especially the bad ones. I stopped everything because it stopped working.”
Dion vowed to return to the stage and perform for her fans once again in the near future – even if she must crawl onto the stage to do so.
“It’s very complex. I wanted to – from head to toe – figure it out,” Dion continued. “And I wanted to also figure out: Is there something that I can do for myself or am I at the end of my career?”
While Dion continues to fight her battle with stiff-person syndrome, she vowed to return to the stage and perform for her fans once again in the near future – even if she must crawl onto the stage to do so.
“I’m going to go back on stage, even if I have to crawl, even if I have to,” Dion told Kotb on Tuesday night. “I will.”
“I am Celine Dion,” the singer concluded. “Because today, my voice will be heard for the first time, not just because I have to or because I need to, it’s because I want to.”
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