article: In the summer of 2014 she started noticing some symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath, but didn't know what was plaguing her. So Avril Lavigne started visiting specialists, but no one could help her out. 'I was up against a lot of doctors that told me I was crazy and that my problems didn't exist,' the 30-year-old singer told ABC News on Thursday. Turns out the Complicated hit maker was suffering from Lyme disease, which Yolanda Foster of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills and Eighties pop icon Debbie Gibson also have. Struggling: Avril Lavigne told ABC News on Thursday that she had a hard time getting diagnosed for Lyme disease. She is pictured here at her 30th birthday party in Las Vegas when she was fully suffering the effects . The blonde first shared the news with People Magazine in early April that she had been out of the public eye - and was bedridden for five months -  because she was trying to recover from the disease. Lyme disease is the debilitating bacterial infection that comes from a tick bite. 'I had no idea a bug bite could do this,' she told the weekly. 'I was bedridden for five months. I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move. I thought I was dying. I had complete weakness and fatigue. One night I tried to brush my teeth on the tour bus and couldn't even stand.' On the phone: 'I was up against a lot of doctors that told me I was crazy and that my problems didn't exist,' the 30-year-old singer told ABC News . Not an easy year: 'I went from doctor to doctor for about eight months, which was unacceptable and frustrating. I found somebody had the knowledge and the expertise of treating it,' the Hello Kitty singer explained. 'I actually knew I had it the whole time, probably since the summer' On Thursday she also told ABC News how much of a struggle it was to get help. 'I went from doctor to doctor for about eight months, which was unacceptable and frustrating. I found somebody had the knowledge and the expertise of treating it,' the Hello Kitty singer explained. 'I actually knew I had it the whole time, probably since the summer.' She is talking about her challenges with getting diagnosed now because she wants to help others who are in the same situation. 'I want to bring awareness to hopefully help other people,' Lavigne added. And the Canadian said she feels she will be OK in the long run. 'I believe I will come out of this healthier and stronger than I was before,' the beauty said. The disease has given her 'perspective,' she added. 'I've never had this much down time, so it's been good in that sense. And I'mm really just choosing to look at the positives.' Avril was on the morning show to plug her new song. 'Today I am releasing a song, a single for The Special Olympics called Fly. I wrote Fly for my foundsation a couple years ago. Now I have partnered up with Special Olympics. All net proceeds got to the Special Olympics. It's about inner strength and courage.' And the message is important to the star. She explained it's about 'overcome challenges.' Sick: The singer, seen her performing at Planet Hollywood in May, told People Magazine she had no idea where she got the tick bite that infected her . 'This song took on a whole new meaning for me during the time that I have been sick, which is pretty magical,' she added. Lavigne went into detail with People, admitting, 'There were definitely times I couldn't shower for a full week because I could barely stand. It felt like having all your life sucked out of you.' Symptoms of the disease range from headaches and joint pain to severe fatigue, heart palpitations, paralysis of the face and even dementia. If not caught and treated early enough with antibiotics the condition can persist for years. The disease was recently highlighted after Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Foster contracted it, who reveled she has lost the ability to read, write or even watch TV because of it. Awol: The Sk8er Boi singer said hubby, Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger, helped take care of her while she was bedridden for five months . Incubation period from infection to onset of symptoms is typically two weeks, although it can be months or even years between the two, so it is impossible to say when the bites occur. Avril was between the Asian and South American world tour when she first developed symptoms . The musician thinks she may have been bitten last spring, and remembers first waking up one night in April drenched in sweat and feeling feverish. She assumed it was the flu, or even exhaustion and dehydration from touring, but when her symptoms persisted, some friends who were familiar with the disease suggested she might have it. However she said doctors were skeptical and didn't want to test her. After her last public appearance in September she tried to celebrate her 30th birthday in Las Vegas with friends, but she could not muster the energy. 'It was terrible, "I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed,' she said. 'My friends asked, "What's wrong?" I didn't know.' It was only several months later of, after a number of emergency room visits that a specialist finally diagnosed her. Since October the popstar holed herself up in her Ontario home while she recovers, aided by her mom who came to stay with her, while husband, Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger took as many breaks as he could from his world tour to be with her. She says support from her fans through social media helped immensely, and she now feels around 80 per cent recovered. She now wanst to raise more awareness about the disease. Around 65,000 people in Europe are infected every year, and 25,000 Americans were diagnosed in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The tick normally has to be attached to the host for 36 hours to transfer the infection. Ill: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Foster also suffers from the disease . Debilitating: Foster recently revealed she can no longer read, write or even watch TV because of the condition .
highlights: Singer reveals it took her eight months to get diagnosed properly .
  Doctors told her she was crazy and that her ailment did not exist .
  When she was finally diagnosed she learned she had Lyme disease .
  Has 'no idea' where she got the tick bite which must have been attached for 36 hours in order to transfer the disease .
  Same condition that has left Real Housewives star Yolanda Foster unable to read, write or watch TV .
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