Céline Dion once took up to 90 milligrams of Valium during her health struggles. In an interview for People's cover story, the 56-year-old singer reflected on when she first started experiencing the symptoms of stiff person syndrome and how she managed undiagnosed for over 15 years. She also spoke about how she managed after receiving a diagnosis.
She recalled having a muscle spasm for the first time while she was on tour in Germany over 20 years ago. "I had breakfast, and I suddenly started to feel a spasm. My vocal exercise made it worse."
The "I'm Alive" singer started out trying remedies, such as steam showers and over-the-counter medications. She even made appointments with ear, nose, and throat physicians and ophthalmologists, but none of them produced any results. As her symptoms worsened, she was advised to take prescription medication, including Valium.
"We started with 2 milligrams to see if it would help, and then 2.5, and then 3, and 15 and 50," she said, adding that the medication would wear off so quickly that at one point she took 90 milligrams to get through a performance. "It could have been fatal. I did not question the level because I don't know medicine. I thought it was going to be OK. It worked for a few days, for a few weeks, and then it doesn't work anymore," she said. "I did not understand that I could have gone to bed and stopped breathing. And you learn — you learn through your mistakes."
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"It's very important to know … people who know me well enough, they know that I did not take medicine just to drug myself, just to be high or to be stoned," she added. "I have been as professional as can be through my whole life, a disciplined, hard-working person doing what I need to do for my voice to be in top shape."
