Olivia Culpo opens up about her journey with endometriosis

As a model, actress and dog mum to one of the cutest pups ever, Olivia Culpo’s life may seem like the picture of perfection from the outside; but by no means does that mean she’s immune to serious health issues.

Culpo recently took to social media to reveal that she in fact suffers from endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that forms the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterine cavity. “I’ve never publicly said this before but I have endometriosis, AKA the most excruciatingly painful cramps/periods,” she shared via Instagram Stories.

“It’s very painful, [so I rely on] lots of heating pads, lots of water and lots of Midol (a menstrual pain relief medication),” she explained, adding that baths are also great for helping to ease the distress.

“I just think it's really important if you are having very painful periods and you are not being diagnosed with what you think could be endometriosis, [to] definitely do your research, because if you don’t discover that you have this it could get in the way of your fertility,” she added of the severity of the condition. “You could have tissue growing in an area that you really shouldn't have, that would interfere with maybe getting pregnant someday [and/or] your eggs could be getting damaged.”

She opened up even more about her concerns surrounding the issue after receiving an influx of messages from followers who had either also experienced the condition or wanted to learn more about it. “I’m getting a lot of DMs about endo, so [I wanted to explain that] the reason I’m so passionate about talking about this is because my doctor tells me about people who come to her in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, about not having been able to have kids. The thing that’s so sad about that is they may have had endometriosis that may have affected their fertility in some way, and if they had caught it earlier, they could have frozen their eggs, and there would have been more options.”

Culpo recognizes that she’s no pro on the subject, though, advising fans to take a look at her physician, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi’s profile for more general info. It is of course, however, always best to consult your own personal physician if you have concerns regarding your health. Culpo completely agrees: “Definitely go to your doctor if you have painful periods – painful periods are not normal,” she confirmed. “You just want to make sure that everything is okay [in case] you did want to get pregnant. You just never know, you don't want to wait [until it's] too late, so I want everybody to take that seriously.”

Following her public conversation about the condition, Culpo underwent surgery for the disorder. “Yesterday I had surgery for my endometriosis. Not a very glamorous post but I felt like I needed to share this to create more awareness around this disease,” she shared via an emotional Instagram post.

“I have been in agony for years around my period and I was misdiagnosed countless times by doctors. “Just take Tylenol every day” “ultrasound looks normal,” “ I think you just need to rest more, periods are always uncomfortable for people,” etc. I know a lot of people out there in the Endo community are familiar with these diagnoses which is why I am so passionate about this," she wrote.

“To anyone out there who has endometriosis, I understand the depression, and overall loneliness that can occur with a condition that is so painful yet so hard to be interpreted by other people outside of the body. It’s hard when chronic pain is not validated and you don’t get an answer or understanding. To my Endo warriors, I will continue to spread more awareness around endometriosis so that your symptoms can be validated. You are not alone and you are so strong !!!!”

Main image credit: @oliviaculpo

Culpo isn't the only celebrity to share info about her health struggles... Ashley Tisdale recently opened up about her breast implant illness...