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Former Countdown host Carol Vorderman has opened up about facing another health struggle, just months after revealing she had to step back from work due to burnout. The 64-year-old disclosed that, alongside her battle with burnout, she also suffered a devastating bout of rheumatoid arthritis that left her collapsed on the floor in tears. During an appearance on Heart Radio with Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston, Carol explained that the ordeal struck just as she was taking time away from her career, reports Wales Online . She told the hosts: "I had burnout and then, it's a really weird thing. I had sudden and chronic rheumatoid arthritis and I literally would lie on the floor crying for a day and I couldn't move my shoulder. "I had to keep my elbow in at my waist. I've been on steroids on and off, months and months and months because they have to try certain drugs for you and that takes months for them to take effect. But now I'm on the right ones and now I've been off steroids for three months and it's like 'Yeah, I like this'." This marks another occasion this autumn where Carol has discussed her experience with burnout, having previously spoken to OK! magazine about the issue before the Pride of Britain Awards. Branding 2025 as "hellish," she said: "This year has been a bit hellish health-wise. I've been very poorly, not related to the burnout but something entirely different. "I'm on the right medications now, but it's only in the last month or so that I felt I've got my mojo back. So watch out, world." Explaining what she's been doing to get back to full fitness, she added: "I've had lots of mini-breaks and holidays with friends – gay friends, female friends I've had for 50 years, or some I've known for 10. I've been back to horse racing, I've travelled to the States, to France, to everywhere, actually. "Going back and seeing old friends has been wonderful. And the right friends, too. I think I've managed to drop all the bad ones." Meanwhile, she also spoke to LBC presenter James O'Brien about how her family supported her through this difficult period. During the summer, while appearing on his Full Disclosure podcast, she revealed her children had been "fierce" with her. Offering an apology for leaving LBC, Carol said: "I am feeling fantastic at the moment. Thank you if you were a listener, for forgiving me for leaving LBC; it was because I hit burnout in September. I worked like a machine to get rid of the Tories. "I just hit burnout and on the day itself I was meant to be doing a live show for my book on the South Bank and I got to the hotel where I was staying and I had, I thought they were chest pains, so I had to check myself in." The NHS describes rheumatoid arthritis as a "long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints." They explain: "The condition usually affects the hands, feet and wrists. There may be periods where symptoms become worse, known as flare-ups or flares. "A flare can be difficult to predict, but with treatment it's possible to decrease the number of flares and minimise or prevent long-term damage to the joints." The health service lists common symptoms as including
