Double-check. Carrie Ann Inaba revealed on Live With Kelly and Ryan on Thursday, September 26, that her doctor forgot to tell her she had lupus — for six years.
The Dancing With the Stars judge, 51, said her doctor diagnosed her with autoimmune issues but did not inform her that she had lupus in particular. It wasn’t until she underwent a colonoscopy procedure that she accidentally discovered her diagnosis.
“I was having a colonoscopy, which everyone should get, and I saw on my chart ‘Lupus’ and I was like, ‘Oh this is not my chart,’ and they’re like, ‘You have Lupus,’” she told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.
The Talk cohost said that her doctor had told her about her other health conditions, including Sjogren’s syndrome, but did not mention lupus. Inaba said she would have remembered because she is a “good patient” who “takes notes” during her doctor visits. She also said her mother was with her at the time.
“My doctor had forgotten to tell me,” she added.
The TV host said she has since taken measures to keep herself healthy while living with the systemic autoimmune disease.
“I quit Diet Coke. I also stopped going in the sun because when you have lupus you’re allergic to UV light, which I didn’t know, so I was causing my own flare-ups,” Inaba said.
She has been candid about her health issues in the past. In 2017, while appearing as a guest on The Talk, Inaba discussed how her chronic fatigue has affected her sex life.
“I struggle with some health stuff and so I have chronic fatigue and it comes, and when it comes in, [sex is] the furthest thing you ever want,” she said. “You’re just like, ‘Leave me alone. Let’s talk. Let’s read a book together. Let’s talk about intimate things. Let’s find other ways to bond.’ So like I’ve been through periods where it’s gone a little dry because my energy. I just can’t do it. Like I want to, but I can’t.”
She added: “And so I found it to be a blessing because I found other ways to keep the relationship strong.”
Inaba was engaged to actor Robb Derringer but the couple split in 2017, Us Weekly exclusively revealed.
