11 Celebrities Who Are Spreading the Word About the Pain of Endometriosis
Olivia Culpo, Lena Dunham and other stars have talked about dealing with endometriosis, showing how common it can be
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Olivia Culpo
āI've never publicly said this before but I have endometriosis," the model revealed to fans in an Instagram Story on Aug. 26.
"Aka the most excruciatingly painful cramps/periods. Anyone else reading this have Endo? No fun."
The 28 year old said that instead of undergoing a surgical procedure, she is currently relieving the pain with ālots of heating pads, lots of water and lots of Midol, honestly." She added on her story that "baths are also amazing."Ā
The former Miss Universe went on to note how endometriosis can impact fertility, and advocated for women to pay close attention to their periods and to consult their doctors if they are particularly painful.
āPainful periods are not normal. You just want to make sure that everything is ok if you did want to get pregnant,ā she said. āYou just never know. You don't want to wait too late, so I want everyone to take that seriously."
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Savannah Chrisley
The Chrisley Knows Best star opened up about her endometriosis diagnosis on Aug. 17, sharing on Instagram that she was preparing to undergo her third surgery to address it.
āVULNERABLE MOMENT FOR MY LADIES: I havenāt talked about this much because honestly...I have struggled BIG TIME. Iām insanely self-conscious and just feel like my body has given up on me," the 23 year old wrote. "I was diagnosed with Endometriosis when I was 18 and itās been quite the struggle."
āThe pain at times is unbearable and the toll it takes on my emotional/psychological health is pretty rough at times," she continued. "Tomorrow I have my 3rd surgery. I have found a specialist in Atlanta and he is ONE OF A KIND!"
Chrisley updated fans after her surgery, sharing on Instagram that she āhad a huge cyst they had to remove" and that they "Found endo in/on my uterus, ovaries, bladder, and surrounding areas. So Dr. Sinervo removed that along with a good bit of scar tissue. He also cut some nerves to help with pain."Ā
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Alexa Chung
The model and fashion designer shared her story on Instagram on July 28, posting a photo of her feet in hospital socks and revealing that she underwent laparoscopic surgery one year ago to receive her diagnosis.
āEndometriosis is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes,ā Chung, 36, wrote. āIt can be excruciating. The pain can effect [sic] your mental health, ability to work, relationships, your fertility, the list goes on. The only way to officially diagnose that you have it is by performing a laparoscopy. A year ago I put on these snazzy socks in preparation for my laparoscopic surgery.ā
āAnyway, maybe by raising some #endometriosisawareness I might be able to help someone recognise what they have sooner. š ,ā the Next in Fashion co-host wrote.Ā
āPS. Also not funny but sort of is because if you donāt laugh youāll cry, this is what the top google answer says: 'It's not clear what causes endometriosis. It may be linked to things like your genes or a problem with your immune system.' Maybe letās get some research going into this womenās health issue so it can go from something 'not clear' aka myssssttterrrrious to known about and treatable. :)ā she added.Ā
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Lena Dunham
The writer and actress has long shared her struggles with endometriosis over the years, a fight that caused her to lose "all trust in or connection to" her body.
Though the pain started with her first period, Dunham, 31, didn't get diagnosed until she was filming the first season of Girls at age 25. She says those years in between were difficult to handle.
āIf my pain had no tangible source, that just meant my mind was more powerful than I was and it didnāt want me to be happy, ever,ā Dunham said in 2015. āI saw myself divided like a black-and-white cookie into neat halves: one bright and ambitious, the other destined to wind up strapped to a gurney and moaning for pain meds.ā
In an essay for the March 2018 issue of Vogue, she revealed that she had her uterus removed in a total hysterectomy, and can no longer carry a child ā something she dreamed of since she was little.
"I may have felt choiceless before, but I know I have choices now," Dunham wrote. "Soon Iāll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have eggs. (Your brain, unaware that the rest of the apparatus has gone, in theory keeps firing up your eggs every month, to be released and reabsorbed into the cavern.) Adoption is a thrilling truth Iāll pursue with all my might."
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Julianne Hough
Hough first had endometriosis symptoms at age 15, but the disorder was so under-the-radar at the time that she didn't know something was wrong.
"I thought that this was just the kind of pain you have when youāre on your period,ā Hough, 29, told PEOPLE. āFor years, I was just thinking that was normal and never really talked about it.ā
She finally faced the disorder head-on ā and learned what it was ā when she had to be rushed to the hospital from the Dancing with the Stars set in 2008.
āI found out that I had endometriosis and that I needed to get surgery that week,ā she says.
Now Hough, who works with AbbVie on their SpeakENDO campaign, wants women to speak openly about endometriosis.
"I donāt care about being private about this anymore because I really want the women that are going through debilitating pain to benefit from my story or this campaign.ā
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Padma Lakshmi
The Top Chef host also went undiagnosed for years, and Lakshmi says her chronic pain played a huge part in the end of her marriage to Salman Rushdie. With Lakshmi often in too much pain to leave her bed or have sex, the couple were constantly fighting, and she says Rushdie once called her a "bad investment."
āEndometriosis was definitely a major reason that my marriage failed and I donāt think either of us understood it at the time," Lakshmi, 47, told PEOPLE. "I think thatās also because I hid it to a certain degree, not intentionally but you know, itās weird to talk about your period all the time. Itās like the least sexy thing in the world to do.ā
āI think that Salman took it personally and I think that he felt rejected,ā she said, āand I can understand that.ā
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Daisy Ridley
Ridley got honest with her followers about how much her endometrosis ā and the skin problems that come with it ā affects her self-esteem.
āAt 15 I was diagnosed with endometriosis. One laparoscopy, many consultations and 8 years down the line, pain was back (more mild this time!) and my skin was THE WORST,ā the actress, 25, posted on Instagram. āIāve tried everything: products, antibiotics, more products, more antibiotics) and all that did was left my body in a bit of a mess. Finally found out I have polycystic ovaries and thatās why itās bad. I can safely say feeling so self conscious has left my confidence in tatters.ā
She urged everyone to go to the doctor if something feels off.
āTo any of you who are suffering with anything, go to a doctor; pay for a specialist; get your hormones tested, get allergy testing; keep on top of how your body is feeling and donāt worry about sounding like a hypochondriac,ā she said.
āFrom your head to the tips of your toes we only have one body, let us all make sure ours our working in tip top condition, and take help if itās needed."
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Monica
The singer may be 46, but she only discovered in May that the pain she had been dealing with was endometriosis. Thankfully, after an "almost 8 hour" surgery to remove cysts, fibroids and a hernia, she's feeling much better.
āIāve known something was wrong but I also knew victory & better health would be near again!!ā Monica wrote on Instagram two weeks post-op.
Her hope is that speaking out will push more women to address any health issues.
āMy reason for sharing is because we, as women, are built to be warriors and we will ignore something that seems so simple that can be so complex,ā she told PEOPLE. āYour uterine health is very important. I spoke up about it so people out there who are going through the same thing know that theyāre not alone.ā
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Tia Mowry-Hardrict
Mowry-Hardrict and her husband, Cory Hardrict, want to add to their family and give their 6-year-old son Cree a sibling, but her endometriosis makes conceiving difficult.
āI do suffer from endometriosis,ā Mowry-Hardrict, 37, told PEOPLE. āSo thereās a little bit of a challenge there, but I will say this: I am working on my diet.ā
The Tia Mowry At Home star and cookbook author focuses on eating foods that reduce inflammation, because "endometriosis basically grows from inflammation." She fills her diet with "fruits, vegetables, seeds and whole grains," and stays away from processed and packaged foods. Mowry-Hardrict also loves fermented foods.
āThey are loaded with good bacteria that just keep the gut flora nice and balanced and able to fight off inflammation and free radicals in the body,ā she said.
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Halsey
The singer doubted herself for years because her debilitating pain went undiagnosed by unconvinced doctors.
"I was recently diagnosed after years of suffering and finding myself doubled over backstage in the middle of my sets, or fighting back tears on an airplane, or even being in so much pain I would vomit or faint," Halsey, 22, wrote on Twitter in January 2016. "With doctors essentially telling me I was being a big baby about my period, or misdiagnosing PCOS, etc etc. Finding out that I had [endometriosis] was the most bittersweet moment because it meant I wasnāt crazy! I wasnāt a ābabyā! I had every right to be feeling like the world was caving in. But it was terrifying to find out."
One year later, she underwent "multiple terrifying surgeries" to ease her pain.
āIn my recovery I am thinking of all of you and how you give me the strength and stamina to power through and prosper,ā she writes. āIf you suffer from chronic pain or a debilitating disease please know that I have found time to live a crazy, wild, rewarding life AND balance my treatment and I hope so much in my heart that you can too."
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Jaime King
The actress decided to share the story of her long struggle with infertility due to endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome to help others.
āI was hiding what I was going through for so long, and I hear about so many women going through what I went through," King, 38, told PEOPLE. "If Iām open about it, hopefully it wonāt be so taboo to talk about it.ā
And her endometriosis affected her career, too.
ā[When] I was diagnosed with endometriosis, I gained 40 pounds because my hormones were so crazy,ā King told The New York Post. āAnd it was like, āOh, [producers] want to offer you this role, but they want to know why you got fat.ā I realized being shamed for gaining weight or being too thin felt the same.ā
On the fertility front, though, she finally got some good news after five miscarriages, five rounds of in vitro fertilization and 26 rounds of intrauterine insemination: King ended up naturally conceiving her son James, 4.
āWhen I got pregnant it was the best thing in the whole world. I had never felt so grateful, happy and elated,ā King told PEOPLE.