Tulisa Contostavlos has shared a health update with fans, revealing yesterday that she’d had a Bell’s palsy attack and suffered minor paralysis.
The N-Dubz star, 37, took to Instagram with a candid post, detailing her recent ‘highs and lows’ in a bid to make her platform a place of ‘authenticity’.
Tulisa began by explaining her ‘hellish’ withdrawal from nicotine after giving up smoking, marking two months since her last cigarette.
She then revealed that she cancelled her recent scheduled egg retrieval due to a low count and has also had three cysts removed that were causing swelling and a Bell’s palsy flare-up.
‘Last 3 cysts removed by @darrylcoombesofficial who years ago discovered the cysts causing my swelling & Bell’s palsy’, her caption read.
‘Now cyst/swell free 🙌🏽 Big thanks to Dr.Al @nlclinic for the referral!
So grateful for @darrylcoombesofficial.
‘When other dr’s looked at me like I was crazy & must have have had too much filler. What a journey😅 [sic]’.
She accompanied the post with selfies taken in hospital, proceeding to share that she, unfortunately, had another Bell’s palsy attack following devastating news.
‘Same day as surgery, learned my soul sis Shelly @michelleplatnum has an aggressive cancer & will now start chemo/radiotherapy. Still processing. She’s a fighter, the fight continues’, Tulisa wrote, urging fans to ‘check your breasts’.
‘The news after post surgery effects/drugs led me to 🤢 & pressure from throwing up caused a Bell’s palsy attack 🫠’, she added.
‘Left my steroids in Manny but got some within 24hrs, so minor paralysis will last a week or so.
What is Bell’s palsy?
As explained by the NHS, Bell’s palsy is a temporary weakness or lack of movement that usually affects one side of the face.
Treatment with steroids can help, and most people get better within six months.
‘Nothing compared to what my Shelly is going through🫂❤️
‘Currently in bed recovering nicely from it all.’
She concluded her post by insisting it wasn’t a ‘sob story’, but more a ‘reminder we’re all human, going through challenges, even when it looks shiny from the outside.’
‘Life isn’t constant happiness, it’s a series of ups & downs that define being ALIVE’, Tulisa ended. ‘It’s up to u to choose ur thoughts/perceptions.’
She was inundated with well-wishes and messages of support in the comments, with GK Barry writing: ‘So proud of you queen T you’re absolutely smashing it’.
‘You’re doing amazing ❤️❤️❤️’, praised Dean McCullough.
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Tulisa, who rose to fame as part of the 2000s hip-hop trio with Dappy and Fazer, was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in 2020.
She’s since spoken openly about her struggles and how the condition impacted her mental health, having her first attack aged 24.
As a result, she sought aesthetic treatments like anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers in a bid to improve her facial symmetry and boost her confidence, but became locked in a ‘vicious cycle’.
Appearing on Olivia Attwood’s podcast So Wrong It’s Right podcast last year, Tulisa confessed that things became especially bad in 2022, when she reunited with N-Dubz for an arena tour and new music.
‘I would have, like, tingling sensations like little ants crawling in my face,’ she recalled. ‘I started seeing doctors all around the UK. “Something’s wrong with me. What’s wrong with my face?”
‘It was so scary. This went all the way up until this year; it was horrific.
‘I constantly felt like my cheek was on fire. I’d have good days and bad days, and on some days, I’d take steroids, which would bring it down.’
‘When I was doing that N-Dubz run, it was at its worst, so you might see an interview [where] I look normal. And then you see another interview, it’s like, “What the hell is going on with my face?”,’ she added.
Eventually, after ‘years of health problems’, a doctor performed an ultrasound on her face, and it was discovered that she had ‘three chronically infected cysts’ in her cheek, one of which popped during an ‘explorative operation’.
Tulisa had ‘no idea what they were caused by’ but found her face was ‘instantly less swollen’ after they were operated on.
She’s also since had all the filler in her face removed, now only having it in her lips.
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