Ulrika Jonsson has 'horrendous' arthritis

Virgin Radio

22 May 2022, 11:53

The presenter was diagnosed with the condition several years ago.

The former Gladiators host, 54, has told how she goes through "horrendous" periods with her arthritis. The 90s icon told the Daily Mail she believes she is getting close to needing a hip replacement.

"If I've spent two or three hours in a car getting into London it's pretty tough," she said. "It's like your hips seize and you have flashes of moments when you think, 'I can't move'."

The Swedish born presenter said she had suffered with the condition all of her life although she wasn't diagnosed until she was around 40. Sleep, she says, can be a problem.

"Nobody likes to lose sleep it's so debilitating," she said. "I go through periods of time when it's pretty horrendous."

The Celebs Go Dating star now uses a special pillow that she puts between her knees to help her sleep.

"Maybe not the sexiest, but what can you do!" she laughed.

She continued; "It can be miserable, but I have a high pain threshold, and because I have lived with it for so long, it’s so much part of what I am, you can’t fight against it,” she told the Express.

Writing an article about her condition for The Sun, Ulrika said that she has suffered from high tension, anxiety and panic attacks due to her back pain and says pain killers helped. She went on to say that the pain had become so extreme she had considered suicide.

“The thing that saved me was a friend whose breast cancer had come back a second time," she revealed. "My conscience was pricked by the ungratefulness for wanting to end my life at a time when my friend was so desperately clinging on to hers. They were dark times.”

She is worried however that UK might face an opioid crisis like that which has engulfed much of the USA.

She said; “Greater discourse is needed - due to opioids’ addictive nature, but also because they cost the NHS so much money.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, the Samaritans offer support 24/7.