What causes Graves disease? Symptoms explored as Vybz Kartel issues update on his health following prison release

Dancehall deejay Vybz Kartel was released from prison on July 31, 2024, after the judges declared that there wouldn't be a new trial for the murder charges imposed on him. While Kartel was spotted celebrating his release alongside fiancé Sidem Ozturk, he appeared for an interview with Fox 5 New York on August 6, saying that he is focusing on his health for now.

Notably, Kartel's health issues were also one of the reasons behind his release, including that he has been battling Graves disease for a long time, which is caused by stress, infection, or pregnancy. For the unversed, Graves can affect the thyroid gland, leading to hyperthyroidism, where the gland produces a lot of hormones.

Graves disease can additionally affect body parts such as the heart, skeletal muscle, eyes, skin, bones, and liver. Certain symptoms can help in the diagnosis, including weight loss, palpitations, diarrhea, sweating, insomnia, and hair loss. Furthermore, Graves leads to eye disease symptoms like swelling of the eye tissues, light sensitivity, pressure or pain, and blurred or double vision.

In his latest conversation with Fox 5 New York, Vybz Kartel said:

"Healthwise, you know I'm working on my health right now, but the feeling of just being free is just an amazing feeling."

While Vybz was serving his sentence, Fox 5 New York obtained a medical affidavit that stated that his health condition was deteriorating. His physician Dr. Karen Phillips had once claimed that his thyroid problems existed despite taking medication and there was swelling on his neck and face.

Similar claims were made by Vybz Kartel's defense in an interview with the outlet, saying that he was being held in a brick cell where there was no proper airflow alongside water and a bucket to use the toilet. The defense also stated:

"His neck was swollen, if you think of a shirt that is about 18.5 inches in the neck area, you couldn't close the collar on his neck and that's how bad it is in this moment."

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Vybz Kartel is slowly getting back to work after his release from prison

The 38-year-old has several albums and EPs in his credits and although he was sentenced in 2014, he continued to deliver many successful projects. Meanwhile, his latest mixtape, First Week Out, was released a week ago on August 1, which includes 12 songs in the soundtrack.

While speaking to Billboard Magazine in June 2020, Vybz Kartel revealed a few details on how he records music from prison, saying that people usually ask for proof of the same. He addressed the same by saying:

"This is Jamaica where you don't need proof to imprison someone. For the record, I'm not authorized to answer such 'above pay grade' questions so I'll say, 'a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it.'"

He released around 25 singles the same year and said in the interview that he would continue doing the same until he was released from prison. He continued:

"Music has shed as much light as it can on social injustices. Evil doesn't sleep so the good messenger cannot rest, either. The message must be broadcasted but I think music is overrated in the amount of change it can bring; we gotta get up and go do if we want som'n tangible."

Apart from his new mixtape, Vybz Kartel and his fiancée Sidem Ozturk launched a YouTube channel titled Kiss Me Baby on August 7, 2024. The duo also shared a video where they were seemingly inside their residence and Vybz began recording Sidem who was pouring hot sauce on top of KFC chicken.

The new channel has accumulated around 24,000 subscribers until now and the first video received more than 90,000 views.