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Dr. Pimple Popper star Sandra Lee has revealed how she suffered a stroke while filming on the set of her hit show.
The dermatologist, who is better known as Dr. Pimple Popper, said she experienced a life-altering stroke last November while filming season two of her Lifetime series.
Lee, 55, who signed with TLC in 2018 to have her own series, explained how at first she thought it was a ‘hot flash’ before she was rushed to hospital.
The TV star said how she finished shooting for the day and went to her parents’ home, which is where her symptoms worsened.
‘I just felt very restless. In one leg I kept feeling shooting pains,’ she told People.
After explaining how she was unable to sleep and had a tough time walking down the stairs, she spent the night at her parents’ home before she woke up the following morning and her health had deteriorated significantly.
‘I would hold my hand out, and it would just slowly collapse. I noticed that I had a tough time articulating and just enunciating,’ she said.
‘I thought, “Am I having a stroke?”‘
Lee’s father then insisted that she go to the emergency room, which is where she received an MRI that confirmed she had an ischemic stroke.
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly.
According to the NHS, they may include:
- Face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall), and it might be hard to smile
- Arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm
- Speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused
The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word FAST. This stands for: face, arms, speech and time to call 999.
‘It was just a shock. As a physician I couldn’t deny that I had slurred speech, that I was having weakness on one side, but I was like, “Well, this is a dream, right?”‘ she said.
‘What essentially happened is I had a part of my brain that died.’
Following her diagnosis, production on Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out paused for two months while Lee did physical and occupational therapy to regain control of her hands.
Fearing that she would not be able to perform the surgeries she did before the stroke, Lee said that she still experiences ‘PTSD’ from the incident.
Now, however, she added that she is ‘pretty much back to normal’ and views her stroke as a ‘wake-up call’ to take better care of herself.
The 55-year-old added that she now pays more attention to her blood pressure, cholesterol and stress management.
All of these factors can significantly affect stroke risk, with unmanaged high blood pressure being the leading cause of one.
Meanwhile, chronic stress elevates blood pressure, promotes inflammation, and causes unhealthy habits that lead to artery damage and stroke.
Season 2 of Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out debuts on April 20 on Lifetime.
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