'I couldn't even use a pen': Missy Elliott reveals she is suffering from debilitating Graves' disease

By Daily Mail Reporter

Battle: Missy Elliot, pictured in Las Vegas last October, has revealed she is battling Graves' disease

After bursting on to the music scene with chart busting hits including Work It and Get Ur Freak On, Missy Elliott has recently been largely out of the spotlight.

Now, the hip hop star has revealed her absence was due to an ongoing private battle with the debilitating illness, Graves' disease.

The 39-year-old star tells this week's issue of People magazine that she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease - which affects the thyroid - back in 2008.

And the illness has been so debilitating that it even made it difficult for Missy to complete everyday tasks.

'I couldn't write because my nervous system was so bad - I couldn't even use a pen,' she says.

The singer initially realised something was wrong when she was driving and her leg started 'jumping'.

'I couldn't keep the brake down and almost crashed,' she recalls.

The star also suffered severe mood swings, dizzy spells and hair loss; ending up undergoing radiation treatment which improved her condition, along with medication.

The star took to her Twitter account this week to thank fans for their support, following her admission.

'I'm doing great and thank y'all 4 the prayers and being here for me!! *hugz*,' she wrote on one post.

Doing great: Missy took to her Twitter account to thank her fans for their support following the People interview

There is no cure for Graves' disease, but Missy's condition has improved over the past year.

'I'm 30 pounds lighter because I've been exercising,' she reveals. 'My thyroid is functioning, so I haven't had to take medication in about nine months. [But] you live with it for the rest of your life.'

However, Missy, who has collaborated with the likes of Madonna, Beyonce and Christina Aguilera in the past, now feels well enough to make a comeback with a new studio album.

She will again work with her friend and long time collaborator Timbaland.

'My imagination is still so crazy,' she says. 'My ear ain't going bad yet!'

The singer will be the subject of VH-1 show Behind the Music next week, where she is said to speak about her new record and also how she was sexually abused as a child.