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Kenan Thompson spent months suffering in silence with symptoms of heartburn that disrupted his everyday life
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The actor and comedian revealed exclusively to PEOPLE that he was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease — commonly known as GERD
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He’s sharing his story in hopes of encouraging others to feel more comfortable speaking to their doctors and getting proper help
For the first time, Kenan Thompson is opening up about a recent health diagnosis.
The longtime Saturday Night Live star, 46, tells PEOPLE exclusively that he began struggling with a health issue over two years ago. The actor and comedian was 44 years old when he started experiencing painful heartburn, specifically when eating acidic foods. It became so frequent that he struggled to get through workdays at SNL.
“I noticed that I would get hoarse a lot easier when I’m doing the show. Losing my voice quicker, but also uncomfortable sleepless nights because I’m burping up acid, just kind of hiccuping all night,” he tells PEOPLE. “And that can definitely add more stress to an already stressful kind of environment doing a live show like that. So all of those factors, I was like whatever, I’ll get over it. But it just started to pile up.”
Thompson tried to avoid some of his trigger foods and take over-the-counter medications, but nothing brought him significant relief.
“I was able to take something and patch it up for the moment, but I got to a point where that didn’t work anymore. That’s when it got serious,” he explains. “It was a suffering-in-silence situation. I don’t know if I was necessarily embarrassed to talk to a doctor — I just didn’t know if I needed to.”
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Courtesy of Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson
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The All That alum says his symptoms were at their “most extreme” in early 2024. They became so disruptive to his everyday life that finally, he decided to see a doctor.
Thompson was immediately diagnosed with GERD. Gastroesophageal reflux disease — commonly known as GERD — occurs when stomach acid repeatedly flows back into the tube connecting your mouth and stomach (esophagus), according to the Mayo Clinic. This backwash is known as acid reflux, and it can irritate the lining of the esophagus.
GERD is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting more than 65 million people in the United States. However, it often goes undiagnosed.
“I didn’t know there was a real medical term for it,” Thompson admits.
Mark DeLong Photography on behalf of Phathom Pharmaceuticals
Kenan Thompson portrays a chef in a “Kick Some Acid Cooking Show” as part of his GERD IS NO JOKE campaign
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Shortly after his diagnosis, the actor’s doctor introduced and prescribed him with Voquezna, a potassium competitive acid blocker and the first and only FDA-approved treatment of its kind to manage the chronic condition. “I felt relief pretty immediately,” Thompson adds.
Now speaking publicly about his health for the first time, the comedian is partnering with Phathom Pharmaceuticals for the GERD IS NO JOKE campaign to raise awareness about GERD and Voquezna, encouraging people to feel comfortable seeing a doctor and getting proper help.
For the campaign, Thompson is doing what he does best and using humor to shed light on the important health issue, portraying a chef in a “Kick Some Acid Cooking Show,” a nod to how the treatment has given him relief.
“It’s nice to throw some humor into it because I like to have fun and a little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down,” he says. “I thought it’d be funny if there was a chef who couldn’t eat his own food because he is suffering in silence.”
Mark DeLong Photography on behalf of Phathom Pharmaceuticals
Kenan Thompson portrays a chef in a “Kick Some Acid Cooking Show” as part of his GERD IS NO JOKE campaign
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“I’ve had good training with SNL, just trying to take the comedic approach to tougher topics and make it more palatable to discuss,” he continues. “Sometimes you have to massage your way into it a little bit and just be like, alright, don’t freak out everybody, I’m doing a medication ad, but we need to do a deep dive on this. So if I throw a character in it, there’s some familiarity to go along with the messaging.”
Today, Thompson tells PEOPLE that he’s feeling so much better and has a solid grasp on managing his health.
“God bless, I feel great,” he says. “I’m in a much healthier kind of space with my daily lifestyle and meal decision-making and all of that good stuff. I’m in a good place.”
Read the original article on People