Skip to main content
Taboola above article placeholder

Gardeners' World star tearful as he opens up on 20-year battle with devastating illness

Adam Frost has become a fan favourite on Gardeners' World.

Comments
By Abbie Bray, Deputy Editor of Screen Time

Morning Live: Adam Frost talks about his illness

Gardeners' World's  Adam Frost has bravely opened up about his two-decade-long battle with Fibromyalgia, a debilitating condition causing pain all over the body.

In an appearance on Morning Live aired last year, the expert became emotional as he shared his journey with the illness that affects an estimated 2.5 million people in the UK.

Adam confessed: "For most of my life, I've considered myself pretty fit and healthy, regularly playing sports and, of course, spending lots of time in the garden."

He detailed the onset of his symptoms, saying: "But around 20 years ago, I started to experience some unusual symptoms. I started to experience these very odd pains.

"They started in my neck, back, and shoulders, like this throbbing, and that then just moved through the rest of my body. On top of that, I wasn't sleeping very well. I'd go to work and come home, exhausted. For almost two years, I was sent from pillar to post as doctors struggled to identify what was causing me to be so unwell."

Adam Frost opened up about his devastating illness

Adam Frost opened up about his devastating illness (Image: BBC)

Despite feeling relieved when he finally got a diagnosis, he said it took another 12 months of 'going on this journey of understanding to eventually get some sort of treatment."

Adam concluded by shedding light on the nature of Fibromyalgia, noting: "Fibromyalgia is an incurable chronic pain condition affecting around 2.5 million people in the UK.

"It's often characterised as widespread pain, fatigue, and brain fog, but symptoms are changeable and can sometimes be mistaken for other conditions, which makes it a challenge to diagnose."

Following a meeting with fellow sufferer Helen Keane and discussing the advantages of exercise for controlling Fibromyalgia, Adam had the chance to speak with Dr Katie Herring about patient pain management.

Adam Frost from Gardeners' World

Adam Frost from Gardeners' World (Image: BBC)

She told Adam: "I wish I could say there was a cure for pain at the moment, but unfortunately, the best we have is supporting our patients to live well with their symptoms."

Near the conclusion of the segment, Adam reflected: "Today has invoked an awful lot of emotion inside of me, and I know there's a lot of classic symptoms with fibromyalgia, but you do get the sense that everybody's experience is slightly different."

He added with hope, "But to think about the research that is being done, we could be getting closer to a cure for me. That is absolutely amazing."

BBC Morning Live airs weekdays at 9.30am on BBC One.

Comments