text: Avril Lavigne has revealed she has Lyme disease. In an interview with People Magazine, the 30-year-old explained the debilitating bacterial infection is the reason behind her months-long absence from the public eye. The singer has no idea where she got the tick bite that infected her. Scroll down for video . Struggling: Avril Lavigne has revealed she has Lyme disease. She is pictured here at her 30th birthday party in Las Vegas when she was fully suffering the effects . 'I had no idea a bug bite could do this,' she said. 'I was bedridden for five months. 'I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move. I thought I was dying. 'I had complete weakness and fatigue. One night I tried to brush my teeth on the tour bus and couldn't even stand.' 'There were definitely times I couldn't shower for a full week because I could barely stand,' she continued. 'It felt like having all your life sucked out of you.' Symptoms of the disease range from headaches and joint pain to severe fatigue, heart palpitations, paralysis of the face and even dementia. If not caught and treated early enough with antibiotics the condition can persist for years. Sick: The singer, seen her performing at Planet Hollywood in May, told People Magazine she had no idea where she got the tick bite that infected her . The disease was recently highlighted after Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Foster contracted it, who reveled she has lost the ability to read, write or even watch TV because of it. Incubation period from infection to onset of symptoms is typically two weeks, although it can be months or even years between the two, so it is impossible to say when the bites occur. Avril was between the Asian and South American world tour when she first developed symptoms . The musician thinks she may have been bitten last spring, and remembers first waking up on night in April drenched in sweat and feeling feverish. She assumed it was the flu, or even exhaustion and dehydration from touring, but when her symptoms persisted, some friends who were familiar with the disease suggested she might have it. However she said doctors were skeptical and didn't want to test her. After her last public appearance in September she tried to celebrate her 30th birthday in Las Vegas with friends, but she could not muster the energy. Awol: The Sk8er Boi singer said hubby, Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger, helped take care of her while she was bedridden for five months . 'It was terrible, "I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed,' she said. 'My friends asked, "What's wrong?" I didn't know.' It was only several months later of, after a number of emergency room visits that a specialist finally diagnosed her. Since October the popstar holed herself up in her Ontario home while she recovers, aided by her mom who came to stay with her, while husband, Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger took as many breaks as he could from his world tour to be with her. She says support from her fans through social media helped immensely, and she now feels around 80 per cent recovered. She now wanst to raise more awareness about the disease. Around 65,000 people in Europe are infected every year, and 25,000 Americans were diagnosed in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The tick normally has to be attached to the host for 36 hours to transfer the infection. Ill: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Foster also suffers from the disease . Debilitating: Foster recently revealed she can no longer read, write or even watch TV because of the condition .
target: Singer reveals she was bedridden for five months .
  Couldn't shower for a full week as she was unable to stand .
  Has 'no idea' where she got the tick bite which must have been attached for 36 hours in order to transfer the disease .
  Same condition that has left Real Housewives star Yolanda Foster unable to read, write or watch TV .