Kenan Thompson Says He’s in ‘Much Healthier Place’ After Dealing With Severe Acid Reflux

Kenan Thompson opened up about health issues that he's suffered with for over two years.

Published last week, the longtime Saturday Night Live player spoke to People bout being diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) following ten years of acid reflux. The chronic condition causes stomach acid to flow into the esophagus and causes symptoms like heartburn, regurgitation, trouble swallowing and more. More than 20 percent of Americans suffer from GERD, according to Yale Medicine.

"It was highly uncomfortable and it definitely started to affect my work in certain ways," Thompson told EW. "If you're not sleeping well or not able to do your job, that can bring on sadnesses. I'm not necessarily prone to depression, but I can see how those things can be triggers."

Thompson, 46, credits medication Voquezna for subsiding his GERD symptoms and he's since become a spokesperson for the company, namely, being the face of their 'Kick Some Acid' campaign. Thompson also told EW that noticeable signs that his GERD was worsening when his voice became "hoarse" and "raspy."

"I sing the warm-up before the show actually comes on, and that's kind of my major gauge, whether or not I can talk normally afterwards. And that's when I know if I'm in my better health zone or not," Thompson said about SNL performances.

But being the longest-running SNL castmate with 22 seasons, Thompson shows no signs of slowing down despite his health condition. In another interview with People, the actor-comedian explained that he was initially resistant to getting a medical checkup.

"I was able to take something and patch it up for the moment, but I got to a point where that didn't work anymore. That's when it got serious," he told the outlet. "It was a suffering-in-silence situation. I don't know if I was necessarily embarrassed to talk to a doctor — I just didn't know if I needed to."

Thompson added that he's now in a "much healthier space" with his "daily lifestyle" and "meal decision-making" than before.

On Monday (April 7), Thompson was a guest on TODAY With Jenna & Friends, where he sought to "spread the message" about GERD through Voquezna and Phantom Pharmaceuticals 'GERD Is No Joke' campaign.