The Rare Health Condition Venus Williams Lives With

Venus Williams is one seriously busy woman. From playing professional tennis and winning seven grand slam titles to running her own interior design company, V Starr Interiors, and campaigning for good causes, Williams just might be a real-life superwoman. However, there's a lot you may not know about the tennis star. While it seems her life is perfect and she has it all, there's one major struggle Williams has been open about. A struggle so serious that up until she was medically diagnosed and given medication, she told Prevention, "Just being alive was very uncomfortable."

In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease known as Sjögren's syndrome. A disorder that attacks the body's moisture-producing glands, such as the salivary glands and tear glands, causing chronic dry mouth and eyes, along with a range of other symptoms that include extreme fatigue and joint pain. Williams got candid about her struggles with the disease in her 2019 interview with Prevention. 

In the interview, she explained that her symptoms began in 2004. Williams often experienced shortness of breath and fatigue, and it only got worse. She sought answers as it was affecting the quality of her everyday life. Despite being a tennis superstar and having access to the best healthcare providers, seven years passed before she got the Sjögren's syndrome diagnosis. A diagnosis she will likely have to live with for the rest of her life.

Before her diagnosis, Venus Williams' symptoms continued to worsen. By the time Williams was officially diagnosed in 2011, she had no choice but to pull out of the U.S. Open that year. The fatigue she felt from the disease was just too much to handle, and for the first time in 15 years, she did not rank in the top 100 tennis players.

Describing the years leading to her diagnosis, Williams told Prevention she "felt out of control." Despite seeking help, many doctors couldn't diagnose what was wrong with her, and she felt as though she was losing the impressive tennis career she'd spent her life building. Even after she was diagnosed, the path wasn't easy. Williams described her experience in finding the right medications, "One of the medications I had took six months to set in ... It was kind of a waiting game until you can go back to what you had been doing." Along with medications, Williams also made lifestyle changes. Speaking to "CBS This Morning," she shared that since her diagnosis, she became a raw vegan. "I do a lot of juicing as well, a lot of wheatgrass shots ... lots of fresh juices and things like that," she explained. Williams said changing her diet has improved her quality of life with the disease.

While Sjögren's syndrome is a rare disease, Williams is not the only celebrity living with this condition. Halsey has opened up about her struggle with Sjögren's as well as other health issues. Celebrities' lives may seem perfect and glamorous, but at the end of the day, they're just like us — humans trying to navigate their own struggles and challenges.