MISSY ELLIOT REVEALS THYROID DISEASE STRUGGLES

[JumpinJack AJ]

Missy Elliott Reveals Thyroid Disease Struggles
By The BV Staff on Jun 23rd 2011 12:35PM

Missy Elliott


Hip-hop star Missy Elliott has revealed that she has been suffering from Graves' disease, an incurable autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid.
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After keeping her condition private for years, the 'Work It' singer has disclosed that she was diagnosed with the disease in 2008. However, when she experienced a sudden loss of muscle control recently, Elliott admitted that she's been undergoing treatment.

"I was [driving and] trying to put my foot on the brake, but my leg was jumping. I couldn't keep the brake down and almost crashed," the Virginia rapper-producer reportedly told 'People' magazine. "I couldn't write because my nervous system was so bad -- I couldn't even use a pen."

Elliott said she has endured several other debilitating hyperthyroid symptoms, including mood swings and hair loss, and has revealed that she turned to radiation treatment. The solution improved her condition, but cannot cure her of the disease.

"I'm 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) lighter because I've been exercising," she continued. "My thyroid is functioning, so I haven't had to take medication in about nine months. (But) you live with it for the rest of your life."

While Graves' disease is rarely life-threatening, it is five to 10 times more likely to affect women. Though almost 2 percent of the female population are known to have the disease, its causes are not known.

Elliott, who turns 40 on July 1, has been on the comeback since her diagnosis. She is working on new music with longtime collaborator Timbaland, and will be featured on the June 29 season premiere of VH1's 'Behind the Music,' where she will reportedly further discuss her condition, as well as the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

[VIsqo]

Did she say why isnt she married or linked to anyone, ever?

[Silver Tiger]

Wow, that sucks.

[JumpinJack AJ]

I missed her Behind the Music special and I'm hoping 2 catch the rerun soon. I used 2 LOVE Missy. Her music started changing around 2004 and I've liked it less and less since, but I still hope to see her make a big come back. All of her success and talent are much more admirable after hearing about all of the stuff she went through. Here's a new article from AOL News....

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Missy Elliott Reveals Past of Poverty, Sexual Abuse
Posted on Jun 30th 2011 3:15PM by Contessa Gayles

Missy Elliott has opened up about her troubled past of poverty, childhood sexual abuse, witnessing extreme domestic violence between her parents and her ongoing battle with Graves' disease.

In VH1's latest 'Behind the Music' documentary which debuted yesterday (June 29), the highly accomplished and celebrated female rapper, who celebrates her 40th birthday tomorrow (July 1), reveals she grew up in dismal state of poverty in Portsmouth, Va. "I remember having mice in the house and my father taking some newspaper and beating me because mice was running on me while I was asleep," she revealed.

Missy's mom Patricia Elliott adds, "We didn't have running water ... We were going in a pot that sat by her bed, because we didn't have a bathroom."

Missy also shared the shocking story of sexual abuse at the hands of her 16-year-old cousin when she was only 8. She recalls, "Each day he wanted me to come to the house after school. It became sexual, which, for me at eight years old, I had no clue what that was, but I knew something was wrong."

"Being molested ... it don't disappear. You remember it as if it was yesterday," Missy adds. The rapper explains the abuse took place over the course of a year, but that she never told anyone at the time.

Missy talks about witnessing the abuse of her mother at the hands of her father, which escalated into a gun altercation when Missy was 14. Elliott's mother recalls, "Missy saw that the fight was just beyond measures. My husband said, 'This is it, I'm gonna kill you. It's over!' I was so tired of being beaten over and over I just said, 'Fine, just do it'."

Missy picks up where her mom left off, "He pulled the gun out in front of me. I was screaming, 'Daddy, please don't kill my mother!'" Missy's maternal uncle, who was next door, intervened and put an end to the incident, which Missy called the "scariest time in my life."

Missy also talked about her recently revealed Graves' disease diagnosis -- an incurable autoimmune disorder, which Missy had been keeping mum about since 2008.

After three years of silence, Missy publicly disclosed that she was diagnosed with the thyroid disease after experiencing a frightening loss of muscle control and suffering several other debilitating hyperthyroid symptoms, including mood swings and hair loss. Elliott turned to radiation treatment, which has greatly improved her condition, but cannot cure her of the disease.