Is NBA great Shaq sick really sick? Read to know more about Shaq’s health status
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is suffering from a serious medical condition that can possibly end his life. So, is Shaq seriously sick?
Los Angeles Lakers legend, Shaq O’Neal has recently discovered that he suffers from a medical condition called sleep apnea. Shaq has also learned that his life is at risk because sleep apnea is a serious sleeping disorder, with which breathing repeatedly stops and starts.
This health scare has made 50-year-old Shaq take preventive measures. Four-time NBA champion Shaq is now using a sleeping machine to help him sleep and control the sleeping disorder.
Shaq revealed his medical condition in a recent interview with GQ.
“When I went back to the doctor, there was some stuff I never even knew,” O’Neal told in a recent interview with GQ, discussing his first visit to the doctor in years.
“They give you those certain words: ‘Hey man, you got sleep apnea and sleep apnea can cause hypertension or strokes, so you could die’.
“I said ‘What?’ and they said ‘You could die’.
“So now I’ve got to sleep with a sleep machine.”
Furthermore, apart from sleep apnea, Shaq also discovered another life-threatening health issue when he went to the doctor for a health checkup.
“They said ‘All those painkillers you were taking, bro? Your kidneys are kind of weak, so no more painkillers’, but I was dependent upon painkillers,” he added.
“Not addicted. Certain days when I couldn’t move, I just popped one or two, just to get me going. But I’m off that now.
“I’ve got this machine that I put on my legs, a Normatec. That’s what I do. Whenever I get tired, or my legs start to swell after I fly, I just sit in my Normatec and I get in the hot tub and I just try to stretch.
“I had to really get checked out. When they hit you with that three-letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes stuff up.”
It looks like Shaq has decided to take care of his health. He recently revealed that he is working out and has set fitness goals.
In a recent interview, Shaq revealed that he has lost 40 pounds and is looking to shed a further 20 pounds before he considers his weight loss goal to be complete.
“I lost 40 pounds,” O’Neal said.
Shaq further said that he was influenced by a friend to lose weight and one has to eat right to drop weight.