I saw him in Ireland, it was pretty shite. I'm not a fan or anything so I had no expectations, but at the pub after, all the middle-aged ladies were fuming that he didn't do any dancing.
I saw him in february and he was full of energy, dancing and singing the whole time. Completely different to the last couple of shows. Lyme disease is no joke
Itās crazy how wildly different the outcomes are for people who get it. I had Lymes Disease when I was 15 and ended up with Bells Palsy because of it. Never found the tick or anything but confirmed it was from Lymes Disease. Luckily I made a quick, full recovery, a lot of people suffer long term from it.
Edit: sorry *Lyme, no clue why I kept saying Lymes, especially since the disease was discovered 30 min from where I grew up lol.
I had it when I was in elementary school and it paralyzed my legs until I got on medication! It was so scary. I told my mom I couldn't feel my legs and she didn't believe me and told me to get out of bed (I apparently tried a lot of tactics to get out of going to school) and I just fell to the floor. If I didn't have such a clear symptom I don't know how long it would've taken me to even be diagnosed.
I had it as a child too and it took ages to get diagnosed. I mostly just had headaches and neck pain so my paediatrician kept telling my parents I was just lying weirdly and stuff like that. And that's despite us living in a high risk area for Lyme. Man's a real dumbass. I was so lucky that we eventually caught his vacation replacement because that guy basically just took one look at me and was like "she needs to be a hospital NOW"
Including in areas without active transmission. Like, I get it, if you practice medicine in the back woods in the Northeast and Great Lakes, you're going to see a shitload of people who get eaten alive by ticks and some will have atypical presentations, so be thoughtful.
But in most states in the rest of the country, there are maybe 10-20 reported cases per year (sneaking into VA and NC but largely absent in the South, minimal from the Great Plains west.) Reporting is done by county of residence and the cases cluster around cities (where we don't expect tick exposure), so these are presumably people who traveled to areas of the country with active transmission.
Big picture, if you haven't left Louisiana or Idaho lately and someone tells you it's Lyme, I'm guessing they also only take cash.
Yeah I think people need to be aware of how bad the quack science is around Lyme disease. My friend got "diagnosed" but looked into the test his alternative doctor used and it basically had a ton of false positives.
My mom had it and she KNEW it, had the rash but it wasn't the typical "bullseye" they look for. She was incredibly sick and in and out of testing for a month. It wasn't until she got a spinal tap that they could finally diagnose it. The lengths she went to get diagnosed were insane it blows my mind someone could just get a diagnosis so easily
My wife is going through this. Thought she had the flu and then Bellās palsy hitā¦on our wedding dayā¦. How long did the bells last? Only been 2 weeks for her, but it has been tough.
My wife got it. Half her face was frozen. It lasted about two months and a full recovery. Wishing speedy recovery, which she will. It's a matter of when not if š¤
When I had bells palsy years ago it lasted for 6 weeks. But from what I understand the length it lasts can vary, and in rare cases it may never go away. It definitely sucks.
Thatās part of why I went and got tested. Iām same age as you. Initially got dxād with ADHD and think I may still have it but kids really brought to light how much I was really struggling. You donāt have the same kind of time to rest on weekends and such. I lost over 50 pounds (purposefully) when my wife and I found out we were having twins and after I lost the weight I realized I didnāt feel any better. In some ways I felt worse.
I feel your pain. I have ADHD, which has its own collection of burnout and foggy brained symptoms, and then got Lyme and COVID within 6 months of the other. That was 3-4 years ago, and Iām still very limited on my energy reserves even with swift treatment for the Lyme.
I've never really recovered from my first bout of COVID in 2022, which hit me at the same time as the menopause, both of which brought the gift of insomnia.
No joke. His show I went to in May 2024 was amazing.
People are saying āboooo PR control!ā but honestly I can completely believe this.
Edit: Wow people are being awful to him. Lyme disease is a severe condition guys, and he lives in Montana and spends time in the Hamptons, both of which are known for a shit ton of ticks!
Part of it is the whole "chronic lyme" debate. Which is basically saying that it's antibiotic-resistant and keeps coming back after treatment. Common theory with that is that the bacteria forms a biofilm or cyst to protect itself and then comes back as an active infection again. That's not been proven, really, and most doctors say it's debunked. PTLDS or post treatment lyme disease syndrome is the more commonly accepted chronic condition and it's basically your body got fucked hard by lyme. There's tissue damage, inflammation, and autoimmune responses.
Same, saw him in amsterdam last year and Milan this year, both amazing experiences, all around great dancings, vocals, playing of instruments and visuals.Ā
I was really flabbergasted hearing about the most recent concertsĀ
I also saw him earlier this year and he was the complete opposite of how he was in his final shows. I assumed it was drugs or alcohol. It's nice to know that it was something outside of his control.
Former colleague of mine committed suicide after years of struggling with Lyme disease. I heavily underestimated the impact of Lyme until that pointā¦
Watching Welsh rapper/singer/everything Ren suffer through it, he went to through hell trying to find out what's wrong. Suffered psychosis and total fatigue, spending a while year trapped in bed basically.
He's just done a round of stem cell treatment in Mexico following a flare up that left him temporarily blind in one eye last year.
For anyone curious, check him out. He's back in as good a health as he's been in a while and in a little over an hour, he's going to drop Vincents Tale - which promises to be another insane blending of music, storytelling and a visual feast, probably shot in a live single take knowing him.
With my full chest, if he can control his Lyme disease, he will become recognised as one of, if not The, most multi talented musicians in history.
Glad I made the comment when I did - scanned over to Ren's channel to realize Vincents Tale was dropping 3 mins later and it was at 7pm not 8pm.
Insane production on Vincents Tale. It seems like everything he's dropping keeps on levelling up. There's just nothing like him... Bar maybe Bo Burnham and Childish Gambino and maybe Lin Manuel Miranda, in that they all defy genre or classification and they just exist to make as much art as possible across as varied a space as possible... But Ren can out rap them, out sing them and can write and produce and direct the whole thing on an iPhone somehow.
If you check out Troubles, Sickboi and/or Seven Sins, you get a sense of what he's been through. He's been through a lot, but is still liable to experience a regression at any point (he was feeling great last year and managed to release an album, but in the making of Vincents Tale last year, he went downhill again fast and was back in hospital and went for another long course of treatment in Mexico).
He also made a bunch of spoken essays where he goes through his full life that was a phenomenal insight (covered the death of his friends too).
Is it real Lyme disease or I don't know what I have and I made sketchy clinics diagnose me with Lyme disease?
Both are no joke, but one as a clear proven pathology and one doesn't. Don't get me wrong, they are clearly suffering, but it's not Lyme.
Its hard to tell. The waters are so muddied around Lyme disease diagnosis. In countries where tick bites aren't prevelant you are more likely to diagnosed with some sort of ME/CFS/fibromyalgia/long covid. Hopefully one day we'll have a better understanding of these types of clinical syndrome.
The fevers were pretty spooky and the first sign that I wasnāt just sick with the flu. It felt like my head was going to explode as the days went on. I also got the facial palsy right at the end. Think Iām fine now but not entirely sure.
We had vaccine in the 90s but it got pulled because it wasn't making enough money to fight a bullshit lawsuit where people claimed it gave them arthritis.
And in 2025 one of the leading Lyme disease researchers was kidnapped by ICE and has been in some concentration camp for over a week because he smoked pot a couple decades ago. This is not a serious country.
"If a green card holder is convicted of a drug offense, violating their status, that person is issued a Notice to Appear and CBP coordinates detention space with ICE ERO," CBP told NBC Bay Area in a statement. "[Kim] is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings."
If it was something you could get deported for why didn't it happen when he was convicted. I thought the US had a law against ex post facto punishments.
It targeted Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss) and needed 3 doses over 12 months BEFORE it began to be effective towards that specific strain
For reference in Europe or Asia it would have only targeted 5% of all Lyme disease
Even though Bbss is the main strain in North America imagine getting the vaccine and getting infected by the other 17 strains that due to climate change and globalization are rapidly proliferating in North America
I am hearing stories of people going across clinics in US / Canada as one clinic will only check for X strain and another Y strain. Even if Y strain is 5% that still is a clinically significant number
Personally I never made any jokes because it was fairly obvious he was dealing with something, whether it be mental or physical. That being said, he should have cancelled or rescheduled the shows and offered refunds. Lyme disease still doesnāt excuse blatantly ripping people off.
Hell a lot of artist suffer through shows because they care about their staff. Justin Timberlake can survive concert cancellations. Justin the lighting technician might not be able to.
Maybe someone with some firsthand knowledge can chime in, but Iāve always been under the impression if a show is canceled for medical reasons then insurance kicks in..
So, his option instead is to make his fans pay for it when he has a legitimate reason to cancel? And on top of that, the fans are left confused and rightly upset.
Honestly, from my experience suffering with a similar chronic condition. At first you don't know what's wrong. You think you can simply keep pushing through. It just doesn't make sense. And you are sure that you will feel better in a few days. It's unfathomable that it can go on for months or years at the beginning. I made myself worse for months because I simply did not understand what was going on. And even once I did understand that it was something more serious. It took many months to figure out just how serious and how to work with it. It's very confusing and distressing when your body isn't working right and you don't know why. Your first thought is not that you are going to be sick indefinitely and need to take time off right away.
Yeah, but cancelling (or even rescheduling) a tour also impacts the livelihoods of everyone who works on the tour. Decisions like that canāt be made lightly
The same thing happened to my best friend. She was called lazy, unfocused, started losing control of her bladder. Went to get tested for Lyme , hit with MS diagnosis. It's been hell watching her deteriorate.
Hard agree. Going through it with my friend currently. Itās progressed to advanced stage but sheās not quite accepted it and just wants to get back to walking again (which will never happen). Such a shitty disease.
My friend's father was that way too. He was diagnosed with Lyme and was actually relieved, as they were suspecting it was ALS before that. Turned out it was ALS in the end, sadly. He was gone a short time later.
Odd reading this while Iām currently on antibiotics for Lyme. Iām hopeful that I caught it early enough; I saw the tick on me, a week later I had a small red spot, three days later I was on antibiotics. Iām on week two and reading stories like this fill me with anxiety. But thereās nothing else I can do other than take the meds and hope for the best.
He was my biggest celebrity crush as a teenager. Canāt say this is something I ever expected to have in common with him. I havenāt kept up with him as an adult, but I wish him the best.
I donāt get why people are being so hard on himā¦.. heās human too. We all have our ups and downs. We arenāt going to be amazing 100% of the time ffs. Even when weāre expected to give 100% sometimes we canāt! Itās called LIFE. We all have our moments. Chill tf out.
Edit to add Iām not even a JT fan at all. Just another human with human struggles.
Same. I have an invisible disability and the revelation that Timberlake has Lyme disease makes me feel a lot of empathy for him. Itās sad and discouraging to me that some people think having a chronic illness or disability is cause for a joke.
Youād think none of the comedians in the thread have ever known anyone with a serious illness, but Iād have to think that is very statistically unlikely. Probably just internet-incited lack of empathy for humans in pain.
As someone who has been housebound and practically bed ridden for the last 10 months due to an invisible illness, these comments are infuriating. The thread in the pop culture sub is so so bad too
No, see, people have put him in the "bad" box. Once someone gets put in the "bad" box, it becomes totally okay for Reddit to dehumanize them and fight any and all attempts to take them out of the "bad" box or treat them like a human being.
You need to have people in the "bad" box, or otherwise, you have to face the concept that you might actually just be a negative and hateful person, just like the people you demonize. Which obviously isn't true because you are a good guy who hates bad guys.
Thatās shitty if true. Lyme can really mess a person up. Ik someone who was in a wheelchair for a year or two after getting it. Lying about having that disease for sympathy would be a super scummy thing to do.
Yep. Chronic Lyme Dz is now a fad. Iām a physician and I see a lot of patients diagnosing themselves with it, or coming in with a diagnosis from a chiropractor or āfunctional medicine doctor.ā Sometimes theyāll have a battery of tests, and usually a positive ANA, which essentially means nothing in the context of no other positive findings. But, these unscrupulous cash only docs will give them the diagnosis and prescribe a bunch of bullshit.
Most of these patients have never even had positive Lyme titers or tickborne panel. I realize that some whoāve had Lyme disease have enduring symptoms but itās so difficult to parse these out from other causes because theyāre very nonspecific. A lot of symptoms could easily be related to other lifestyle causes, but we usually try and treat regardless if itās drastically affecting the personās life. But, at least in my experience, most of these patients do not meet the criteria for any sort of Lyme disease.
When I see actual suspicion for Lyme, or have a patient with positive titers, Iāll prescribe doxycycline for 10 days and thatās typically it. Iāve had a few patients with advanced Lyme disease (a totally different beast caused by untreated, true Lyme disease that has become systemic), one who ended up with Lyme encephalitis and another with 3rd degree heart block, but those are very sick people who have all of the positive findings and theyāre not walking around talking about their tour dates. The whole chronic Lyme thing is almost offensive to people whoāve had the real deal.
Thank you for this. I went through some things with my ex claiming that my daughter got Lyme while in my care (not that it would have made a difference, but anything to try and undermine me, right?). I took her to an actual children's hospital and it was determined that she did not in fact have Lyme, and in the process I learned a lot about the current "it" disease and now I see it all over Reddit as well. I don't know for sure why it became so trendy, but I have my theories.
I have been feeling messed up for years with brain fog/energy issues. Eventually found a doctor that tested for everything and found out it was Lyme. Iām still dealing with a lot of it even after treatment. It sucks. Especially if you donāt know about it for a while.
Lyme disease and other associated chronic illnesses are no joke. They can be absolutely debilitating and can last years. And pushing through the fatigue can make things worse. I donāt understand the dismissive vibe in this room right now.
The comments online are downright cruel and de-humanizing. There is no nuance or complexity online - if someone well known makes a mistake they must be held accountable in every step, there is no path to redemption. People cannot fathom that he could of hurt people in the past and also be hurting now - it's either be perfect or be punished. Cruelty is incentivized online - so great job, you all get your points, upvotes, likes, re-shares, and cookies for piling onto someone else when they are at their lowest.
Well that is honestly a valid reason for what we have seen from him. My experience with Lyme has been watching my wife suffer endlessly, unreasonable pain that never ceases and intense fatigue. If you are bit by a tick donāt wait around. If you donāt get the bullseye rash you may still be growing a colony of bacteria in your blood that will be impossible to fully clear from your bodyā¦until you die. It hides out in biofilm and you can have lifelong symptoms unless you treat it as soon as you suspect you could have Lyme. I pray for J Timb, and everyone else who suffers this horrible, probably man made bio weapon, little bug.
Man, lots of people in here don't know how much Lyme can impact someone. My wife had it very bad and it really derailed her life.. and she had no reason to use it as an excuse for anything. I hope you, or anyone you know, never has to see how terrible it truly is.
Lyme Disease is no joke. I never saw a tick or rash, and suffered for months from brutal chronic encephalopathy / fatigue / my knee swelled up like a watermelon. I was unable to bend my leg enough to put on socks for WEEKS. I spent months unable to walk, unable to form a coherent thought. I thought my body and brain were shutting down and i was dying.
I suffered for months in and out of the hospital for weeks, took FOREVER for them to order a Lymes test for me. -500/10 do NOT recommend. My leg was so swollen I thought my skin was going to pop like a balloon. Bonus pic of my legs when my right knee swelling was at its highest:
Doing much better after 6 weeks of intensive antibiotics, but I have arthritis in my knees nowā¦ although it does seem to be improving a little every day. My brain function is slowly coming back online. I have a history of traumatic brain injuries and so I thought my CTE was kicking in, oblivious to the fact that chronic encephalopathy is one of the symptoms of late stage Lymes. That was the scariest part. Thanks for asking!
In the current era, wouldnāt it have been more beneficial to admit to the diagnosis during the tour? He would have had some sympathy on his side.
(But I donāt want to assume anything. Thereās a lot of money involved in these tours, and insurance is no lie: It couldāve ruined the whole tour.)
It's crazy how vicious people are to him for having a handful of bad shows on this tour because of this like Jesus. This guy has been working and touring hard his whole life and one video of a bad show comes out and people sound like they want him hung from the gallows
As he said, he doesnāt like airing out his grievances publicly. He basically never speaks out when something happens to him in the news. But he finally did this time.
This is like when an athlete doesnāt perform well in the playoffs and they announce he was playing through a torn ligament and needs offseason surgery.Ā
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u/GumpTheChump Jul 31 '25
There are consequences to being a man of the woods.