Brian Austin Green Reveals Surprising Cause Behind 4-Year Battle with Mysterious 'Stroke-Like' Illness

Brian Austin Green recently shared his journey of overcoming major health complications through dietary changes in a candid conversation on Cheryl Burke's Sex, Likes and Spray Tans podcast. The 50-year-old former Beverly Hills, 90210 star opened up about his struggles and recovery process, shedding light on a health issue that left him bedridden for an extended period.

During the podcast episode, Green discussed how he met his fiancée, Sharna Burgess, during a time when both were actively working on self-improvement. He mentioned that Burgess had been single for nearly five years, while he had spent two years single and "aggressively in therapy."

Green revealed to Burke, "I'd spent four and a half years recovering from stroke-like symptoms without ever having had a stroke, but I couldn’t speak."

His symptoms included difficulty speaking, reading, and writing, as well as mobility issues. 

"Then these neurological things started happening after the vertigo, and that was -- it was four and a half years of my life. I got to the point where I shuffled like I was a 90-year-old man," Green said.

When asked about his diagnosis, he explained that doctors initially diagnosed him with vertigo and ulcerative colitis, which combined to keep him bedridden for three months.

However, the situation remained puzzling as none of the specialists he consulted during that time could pinpoint the exact cause of his illnesses. Green clarified that his symptoms were not related to a car accident he and his ex-wife, Megan Fox, were involved in back in December 2014.

Instead, he attributed his health woes to dietary factors. Green shared that it took a different approach to medicine, incorporating kinesiology and Eastern medicine, to finally diagnose him correctly. 

“It was all undiagnosed by Western medicine, so I ended up having to finally find a doctor that is much more into, like, kinesiology and Eastern medicine,” the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles alum continued. 

He said that internal inflammation caused by gluten and dairy consumption, coupled with stress, was at the root of his health problems.

Despite having an active lifestyle and consulting with top neurologists in the country, over 200 blood tests, and two MRIs, he said that his condition remained a mystery to Western medicine. 

"I had such brain fog that I reintroduced my best friend of like 25 plus years to my sister who he had also known for 25 plus years," Green confessed.

Green, who is a father of five, opened up about the difficulties he faced while reading Dr. Seuss books to his children during his illness. He shares three sons with Fox -- Noah, 10, Bodhi, 9, and Journey, 7 -- and welcomed his youngest child, Zane Walker, with Burgess in June 2022. Green also has a 21-year-old son, Kassius, from his relationship with Vanessa Marcil.

Despite his health challenges, Green expressed excitement about the arrival of his newest child, noting that his older sons were eagerly anticipating their new sibling. He emphasized the love and warmth within his family, emphasizing the supportive environment the newest addition would be welcomed into.

In a recent episode of his own Old-ish podcast with Burgess, Green opened up about his struggles to co-parent with Marcil and spend time with Kassius while battling his health issues.

"Those years that he wasn't able to go see Kassius, Vanessa made no effort to make sure Brian got time with him," Burgess claimed of her fiance's ex. "Instead, she painted him as an absent father who chose not to be around for him. And I'm sure that information was fed to Kass, and I can't imagine how damaging that was for him."

Marcil has consistently maintained that she raised their son alone. In February, Green publicly challenged her claim, prompting Marcil to respond with a cryptic Instagram post about telling the truth. Green contended that Marcil was well aware of the difficulties he faced during his health battle.

"To then find out after the fact that at the point when I started getting better, that she then was painting it that I had abandoned Kass during that time, when the reality was I was dealing with such brain fog in what I was going through," he explained during the podcast.

During his recovery from vertigo, Green likened his experience to that of a stroke survivor, as he had to relearn basic functions such as walking, talking, and writing. He expressed that it would have meant a great deal to him if Marcil had taken steps to ensure Kassius could still visit and spend time with him during his illness.

In happier news, Green and Burgess recently announced their engagement! 

"We actually got engaged two months ago," Burgess explained to ET last month at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, as Green shared, "We just kept it to ourselves."

According to Green, only "immediate friends and family" knew that it had actually happened until they revealed the news during their podcast. 

As for his kids, the actor  were all "super excited" about the engagement.

"They were part of the proposal," Burgess said. "It was really beautiful."

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