If Wendy Williams Is Identified With Frontotemporal Dementia And Aphasia, Here Are Some Things You Should Know About Her Health.

Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, according to her care team’s statement on February 22, 2024. The diagnosis, received in 2023, led to her departure from “The Wendy Williams Show.” A new Lifetime documentary, “Where Is Wendy Williams?,” airing on February 24, delves into her health struggles, addressing recent rumors. The article briefly mentions her past health issues, including Graves’ disease, substance abuse, and a 2017 live TV fainting incident.

Alt Text: Wendy Williams in the new Lifetime documentary | Source: Youtube

Wendy Williams’ care team confirmed that she has been identified with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. This comes as rumors about her health continue to spread. In 2023, Williams got the news “after undergoing a battery of medical tests,” according to a press statement from February 22, 2024.

Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, is a disease that gets worse over time and affects brain function. It can also cause changes in behavior, speech, and mood. One type of FTD that affects communication is primary progressive aphasia, which makes it hard to speak, write, and understand words. There has been a lot of talk about Williams’ health lately, and the statement said that her problems have “presented significant hurdles” in her life.

“Sometimes in the past few years, concerns have been raised about Wendy’s ability to understand and process information, and many have made guesses about her condition, especially after she started to lose her temper, act strangely, and have trouble with money matters,” the release said. It also said that telling people about this was hard, but Williams and her team hope that by doing so, more people will know about aphasia and FTD.

Alt Text: Wendy Williams at beach | Source: Calvin Gayle / Lifetime

Just two days before Williams’s return to TV, this news came out. The former star of “The Wendy Williams Show” and her family will talk about the rumors about her health and mental skills in a new Lifetime series called “Where Is Wendy Williams?” which will air on February 24, 2024.

Williams, 59, hasn’t said much about her health since she canceled her daily talk show, even though rumors are spreading. On Saturday, though, fans will find out more about her health and how she got here. Here’s what you need to know about Williams’ health until then:

In 2023, Williams Was Told He Had Frontotemporal Dementia And Aphasia.

The statement from February 22 says that Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023. “Getting a diagnosis has made it possible for Wendy to get the medical care she needs,” the statement said. The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration says that people with primary progressive aphasia usually can’t speak, read, write, or understand what other people are saying.

Alt Text: Wendy William on Television | Source: Entertainment Weekly

The frontal and temporal lobes of the brain shrink, which leads to FTD. These parts of the brain control identity, behavior, and language. According to the Mayo Clinic, mental changes can happen if certain parts of the brain are affected. For example, a person may act strangely or improperly or become detached. People sometimes mistake FTD for a mental illness or Alzheimer’s disease, but it usually starts between the ages of 40 and 65, which is younger than other types of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss are what most people think of when they hear the word “dementia.” But FTD doesn’t really show up as memory loss. “It changes how people act, talk, and interact with others,” Dr. Sami Barmada, head of the Michigan Brain Bank and an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Michigan Medicine, told about Bruce Willis, who had the same conditions.

Williams was diagnosed with aphasia and FTD in the same year that shooting for “Where Is Wendy Williams?” had to stop because she went to a treatment center for “cognitive issues,” according to People.

There Were Doubts About How She Was Doing Cognitively.

Alt Text: Wendy Williams at Red Carpet | Source: People

Before Williams confirmed that she had FTD, a lot of people thought the star was having memory problems. The statement said, “Her care team is sharing this very personal update with her loved ones, friends, and supporters to put an end to false and hurtful rumors about her health.”

“Unfortunately, a lot of people who have been diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia have to deal with shame and misinformation, especially when they start to change how they act but haven’t been diagnosed yet.”

People say that Williams has a court-appointed legal guardian who is in charge of her money and health so that she doesn’t get abused because she has brain problems. In a story that came out on February 21, 2024, Williams’ sister, Wanda Finnie, also told People that the star is now in a well-being center that specializes in treating brain problems.

Williams Said In 2018 That She Was Told She Had Graves’ Disease.

Alt  Text: Wendy Williams at Live Show | Source: Getty Images NBC

The talk show host said in February 2018 that she would be taking a three-week break from “The Wendy Williams Show” because she had been identified with Graves’ disease. About a week ago, she had to cancel a few shows because she felt like she had the flu. An agent for her show told that time that she had had Graves’ disease for “many years.”

An expert in endocrinology and general care prevention, Dr. Deena Gupta-Adimoolam, says, “Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that makes the thyroid gland make more thyroid hormones.” The Mayo Clinic says that this overproduction of thyroid hormones, called hyperthyroidism, can cause a faster heart rate, sweating, weight loss, nervousness, hair loss, trouble sleeping, and eyes that look bigger than they are.

Williams said that when she told her friends about her illness, they had noticed changes in her eyes. The woman said, “Graves’ disease squeezes the muscles behind the eyes,” which is what makes her eyes twitch. Williams went back to her show, but she had to take time off in 2019 and 2020 to deal with having a child.

Alt  Text: Wendy Williams Upset | Source: Deadline

People with hyperthyroidism can lose their lives if they don’t get treatment, says Adimoolam. There are ways to treat Graves’ disease, like medicine, surgery, and therapy, but the symptoms are different for each person, she says. For some, it might still be too much to handle, even after treatment.

Williams Passed Out On Live TV In 2017.

Williams passed out on the Halloween episode of her talk show in October 2017. She was talking to the camera while dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Suddenly, she started to shake and find it hard to speak, and she fell to the ground. Once the show came back from an ad, she told the watchers, “That wasn’t a stunt.” I got too hot in my outfit. I lost consciousness.”

Tomorrow, she said that before she passed out, she felt “hot and a little dizzy.” After the fact, the doctors told her she was low on fluids. “It was scary,” she said. “It was terrifying.” During the scare, all I could think was, “Don’t pull the podium over on you; that’ll make it worse.”

Williams Has Had A Lot Of Problems With Drugs And Alcohol.

Alt Text: Wendy Williams Posing | Source: TheWrap

Williams told NPR in 2013 that she used to be a “real friend” when it came to drugs. She said, “I was hooked on cocaine.” “Crack cocaine—making it and getting it in the Bronx. Thank God the police never stopped me because they would have made my family and me look bad and caused me to lose my job.

Williams said in 2019 that she was living in a clean house. Williams said on an episode of her show, “You know, I’ve had a problem with cocaine in the past, and I never went to a place to get help.”

A recent cover story for People and the clip for her documentary both talk about how much she drinks. Someone close to her in the video shows her an empty vodka bottle and asks her if she drank it all in one day. Mark Ford, who was in charge of making the documentary, told People, “She was already fighting so much physically, and then it became clear that she was also fighting mental health and addiction issues.”

In 2018, She Broke Her Shoulder.

Variety revealed in 2019 that Williams broke her shoulder in December 2018, which meant she couldn’t go back to the show after the holidays. Williams was supposed to go back to the show on January 7, but she had to wait a week to focus on getting better.

In 2022, She Said She Has Lymphedema.

Alt Text: Wendy Williams Diagnosed Sick | Source: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

While on TMZ Live in 2022, Williams showed off her swelling foot and said she had lymphedema. The condition is caused by too much fluid building up when the body’s lymphatic system doesn’t drain fluid from different parts of the body properly, says the Mayo Clinic. “Only about 5 percent of my feet feel normal.” “Do you get it?” she asked. “I’m used to being in a wheelchair.”

Today, What Does Wendy Williams Do?

Williams is staying at a health center, People was told by her sister and niece. Because the court named a guardian for Williams, they said they couldn’t get in touch with her, but Williams could.

“I talked to her yesterday, and I talk to her all the time when she contacts me. “From what I know, she is in a place that promotes health and healing,” Wanda Finnie said. “Emotionally, she is getting better,” Finnie said. “She’s not the person you see in the documentary.”