Musician Daryl Hall talks about battle with lyme disease

The Star Online

Musician Daryl Hall, who was diagnosed with lyme disease last year, says he felt his body "shut down'' during a concert last summer when the symptoms first hit him.

The 56-year-old Hall, half of pop duo Hall and Oates, said he was in Phoenix at the time.

"I was in the middle of a song and it just felt like a complete core body shutdown,'' Hall said in an interview with "Inside Edition'' that was scheduled to air Wednesday. "It's like somebody just turned the switch. I felt like I was going to faint, throw up, fall down, everything all at once.''

Hall said he had mixed emotions after being diagnosed.

"At first, I had relief because I said, 'OK, now I know that I have something,''' he said. "But then the fear came. The more I read about this, the more I heard about it, the more it scared me.''

Lyme disease, caused by the bite of infected deer ticks, can cause arthritis, neurological problems and encephalitis, a potentially deadly brain inflammation. Early signs include a red rash resembling a dartboard bullseye that slowly spreads and flu-like symptoms.

Hall and Oates are best known for a stream of 1980s hits, including "Kiss on My List,'' "Maneater'' and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do).''-AP