Avril Lavigne, months after revealing to a fan on Twitter she was having some health issues, has confirmed that she’s been battling Lyme disease.

Avril Lavigne’s Lyme Disease

For her 30th birthday last year, Lavigne headed to Las Vegas with some girlfriends to celebrate the milestone. However, despite what it may have looked like, Lavigne didn’t have much fun, even having to excuse herself while relaxing poolside.

“I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed,” Lavigne told People magazine. “My friends asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ I didn’t know.”

As it often happens with Lyme disease sufferers, Lavigne’s months of feeling lethargic and lightheaded were not properly diagnosed for some time. When doctors finally realized the cause of her symptoms, Lavigne started receiving appropriate treatment and was put on bed rest.

“I had no idea a bug bite could do this,” said Lavigne, who believes she was likely bit by a tick last spring. “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.”

“There were definitely times I couldn’t shower for a full week because I could barely stand,” the singer added. “It felt like having all your life sucked out of you.”

Lavigne, who has been recuperating in Ontario, was aided along in her recovery by her mother and her husband, Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger. She’s also grateful for the well-wishes from fans who were concerned over her health following the December tweet.

“They were asking about me since I was MIA, so I mentioned to one fan directly that I wasn’t feeling good,” Lavigne said. “The get-well messages and videos they sent touched me so deeply.”

Lavigne, who says she’s feeling about 80% well, is releasing her new single “Fly” later this month in support of the 2015 Special Olympics.