Kenan Thompson Reveals New Health Diagnosis, Recalls ‘Suffering in Silence’ as Symptoms ‘Piled Up’

https://people.com/kenan-thompson-new-health-diagnosis-exclusive-11709341

13 comments

  1. >“I noticed that I would get hoarse a lot easier when I’m doing the show. Losing my voice quicker, but also uncomfortable sleepless nights because I’m burping up acid, just kind of hiccuping all night,” he tells PEOPLE. “And that can definitely add more stress to an already stressful kind of environment doing a live show like that. So all of those factors, I was like whatever, I’ll get over it. But it just started to pile up.”

    >“I was able to take something and patch it up for the moment, but I got to a point where that didn’t work anymore. That’s when it got serious,” he explains. “It was a suffering-in-silence situation. I don’t know if I was necessarily embarrassed to talk to a doctor — I just didn’t know if I needed to.”

    >The All That alum says his symptoms were at their “most extreme” in early 2024. They became so disruptive to his everyday life that finally, he decided to see a doctor.

    >Thompson was immediately diagnosed with GERD. Gastroesophageal reflux disease — commonly known as GERD — occurs when stomach acid repeatedly flows back into the tube connecting your mouth and stomach (esophagus), according to the Mayo Clinic. This backwash is known as acid reflux, and it can irritate the lining of the esophagus.

    >Today, Thompson tells PEOPLE that he’s feeling so much better and has a solid grasp on managing his health.

    >“God bless, I feel great,” he says. “I’m in a much healthier kind of space with my daily lifestyle and meal decision-making and all of that good stuff. I’m in a good place.”

  4. Ahha what? This is like announcing you sprained your fucking ankle.

  6. I don’t think people understand how bad gerd can get if it is untreated and exasperated by things like stress or other factors. Think constant intense nausea, inability to eat without throwing up acid or feeling horrible, waking up in the middle of the night throwing up acid, dizzy spells, and potential precancerous throat conditions.

  7. This isn’t celebrities overstating a bruise. GERD ranges from something most people deal with with little impact, to daily incapacitation. For people without first hand knowledge it might sound stupid, but believe me it can 

    1. be extremely impactful to daily life with symptoms like permanent teeth erosion, waking up with acid in the throat, unable to speak for long periods, serious fatigue and 

    2. lead to cancer in the throat and esophagus 

  8. Every time this comes up on here recently, I see a ton of comments mocking him for suffering from heartburn and/or plugging a pharmaceutical.

    My take is this a fairly successful actor (most people recognize him). That doesn’t make him anymore intelligent or have any more common sense than your average person. He just kept doing nothing and hoping it would go away. Which is exactly how this *heartburn* does permanent damage to the esophagus and leads to esophageal cancer.

    I’d bet money there are hundreds or thousands of people that regularly watch SNL that are suffering from the same condition and doing the same thing he was. So good on him for basically saying he was an idiot for ignoring it so long and suffering from what is relatively easily treatable condition.

  9. While gastrointestinal problems are something I wouldn’t want downplayed since I’ve been in a similar boat….

    Isn’t he dating a 17 year old?

  11. My memaw has such a bad case of Gerd she is so tiny from it. She’s had surgeries. I’m worried it will eventually kill her, somehow. She’s doing “okay” right now. But she’s not able to enjoy lots of foods and it’s heartbreaking to witness at times. This isn’t a joke and I wish it was taken more seriously by others.

    I hope Kennan is doing better and at least managing severe symptoms!

  13. GERD is a miserable condition, like drive-you-crazy miserable. Luckily he has access to the best healthcare

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