The upcoming season of Dr. Pimple Popper took a terrifying turn during production, and for once, it had nothing to do with a pus-filled cyst. Dermatologist and national treasure Dr. Sandra Lee just revealed that she suffered a stroke while filming the new season of her Lifetime series, Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out.
The medical emergency turned her life upside down, and it shut down filming for months. Now, she’s revealing how the health emergency upended production, and more importantly, her life.
Sandra Lee opened up about noticing her speech has changed
In an exclusive interview with People, Dr. Pimple Popper revealed that she suffered a stroke in November 2025. Lifetime’s cameras were rolling, but she didn’t immediately realize what was happening to her body.
“It happened while I was filming the show,” Sandra recalled. “I had what I thought was a hot flash. I got super sweaty and didn’t feel like myself.”
As the day progressed, she started noticing more symptoms, like a pain shooting down one of her legs. She also struggled going down a flight of stairs. Her father, who is also a dermatologist, told her to go to the emergency room right away.
She said, “I would hold my hand out, and it would just slowly collapse. I noticed that I had a tough time articulating and just enunciating. I thought, ‘Am I having a stroke?’ ”
Dr. Pimple Popper went to the emergency room, and her suspicions were correct. She suffered an ischemic stroke. caused by restricted blood vessels in her brain.
“It was just a shock,” she recalled. “As a physician, I couldn’t deny that I had slurred speech, that I was having weakness on one side, but I was like, ‘Well, this is a dream, right?’”
In her own words, part of her brain “died,” and she blamed uncontrolled high blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress as the risk factors that got her there.
Dr. Pimple Popper said, “I want to think about it as a blessing in disguise. Because it reminds you to take better care of yourself.”
After the diagnosis, production on Dr. Pimple Popper shut down for two months. She spent that time going through physical and occupational therapy to regain her balance and dexterity.
Today, she’s almost made a full recovery, but still notices some symptoms. For example, she said that her left hand still doesn’t have quite the same grip, and her speech remains slurred, something she feels “embarrassed” about. Still, she returned to work in January with the support of her husband and staff.
“It was very scary for me,” she said about her return to work. “There’s a lot of PTSD because it happened while I was filming the show.”
She added, “Thankfully I’m pretty much back to normal. . . . It really makes you realize how precious life is.”
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out premieres on Monday, April 20, at 9/8c on Lifetime.
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