Bindi Irwin has revealed she has been suffering “insurmountable pain” for 10 years and after undergoing surgery she has received an endometriosis diagnosis.
Irwin, 24, posted on Instagram a photo of her in hospital and shared her decade-long battle with pain, fatigue and nausea and a number of doctor visits but no diagnosis.
“Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road,” she said.
“A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman and I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain.”
Irwin said she decided to undergo surgery after a friend set her on the “path of regaining her life”.
”Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn’t live like I was,” she said.
“Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain. To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and a chocolate cyst.”
The 24-year-old said the first words doctors at Seckin Endometriosis Centre said were “how did you live with this much pain?”.
“Validation for years of pain is indescribable,” Irwin added.
Irwin said she is on the road to recovery and thanked her friends and family for their support over the past decade.
She called on women to continue to look for answers when they’re suffering extreme pain and asked for sensitivity when asking about having children.
“Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case,” she said.
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“I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story.
“There’s stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this and is quietly dealing with pain and no answers.
“Let this be your validation that your pain is real and you deserve help.”
Endometriosis is a chronic condition that causes cells similar to those in the lining of the uterus, called endometrium, to grow in other parts of the body.
Data suggests more than 830,000 women, girls and gender-diverse Australians live with endometriosis but in reality, the number may be much higher due to the difficulty of diagnosis.
Symptoms are variable and can contribute to an average 6.5-year delay in diagnosis.
Endometriosis Australia describes the disorder as when the tissue that is similar to the lining of the uterus (womb) occurs outside this layer and causes pain and/or infertility.
One in nine women are affected by endometriosis, representing about 200 million worldwide.
On average, it can take more than six years for those living with endometriosis to be diagnosed.
An endo diagnosis can only be given through surgical intervention.
Symptoms of the condition include cramping, bloating, fatigue and nausea.
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