Bindi Irwin Reveals She's Had '50 Endometriosis Lesions Cut Out of My Body' in Past 3 Years

Basically, endometriosis is when the same tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows *outside* of the uterus. It can grow anywhere and attaches to organs causing extreme pain, bleeding, fatigue, and lots of other symptoms. It’s not like cancer as it isn’t fatal but it spreads similarly.

Endo is when uterine lining grows with your bodies normal tissue. It can be anywhere in the body, normally close by the uterus. Anywho, once your normal cycle is going that tissue starts to shed. That’s fine where it’s supposed to happen but it fucks your f****** life up when it’s on your bones or around ovaries or around your intestines and stomach. It creates open wounds wherever that tissue is which can encourage cysts. Basically I understand it as wherever that endometrial tissue is, it will shed like normal every month. Also all the contracting and other c***. Oh and it happens every month if not more for 7-10 years until some doctor finally decides to take you seriously. :)

Not stupid male we appreciate a curious male Who is asking to understand and learn :)

Tissue that is similar to what lines the uterus grows outside the uterine cavity. It builds up over time and can cause organs to be stuck together and can create scar tissue. It is often invisible on scans (although I think some new scan technology is making it easier to find), and the current gold standard in diagnosis is through Laparoscopic surgery and getting the tissue cut out. I think I've gotten the facts correct, but could be wrong and if so, I welcome any corrections.

People don’t understand that endometriosis is basically a cancer. It doesn’t kill you but it can do a ton of damage depending on how severe it is and where it is.

Yes you are completely right, and I was typing that quickly and should have been clearer. But I do get frustrated when a doctor just plain says oh you have any severity of endometriosis so therefore you can never get pregnant 

My NaPro gynecologist told me about NAC several years ago. (Just another comment in support of NaPro)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10048621/

I'm not the biggest fan of support groups (in-person or online) but I will say this: they are golden for finding good specialists in your area. You can also start from the top: look up endo surgeons in your area and ask them for recommendations for a gyn if they need a referral first.

Recovery from my first surgery (removal of uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes) was incredibly painful and lasted way longer than I thought it would. Then again, my surgeon had to excise endo lesions from most of my internal organs, covering the peritoneum (abdominal wall), and I even had a lesion on my diaphragm that made it painful to breathe the first few weeks after surgery. If you are still in extreme pain months out from your surgery, you may have adhesions or your endometriosis can be spreading again. I had continuing horrible pelvic pain thru the 10 months until I got my ovaries removed. That was a big deal because once the ovaries are removed, your body goes straight into surgical menopause. So I am on HRT now (hormone replacement therapy) and my menopausal symptoms are pretty well under control now, although I still have my days of irritability/not feeling right mentally, phantom uterine cramps (it’s a real thing!!!), and no sex drive. A low sex drive is the least of my problems to be honest. I will say that getting ALL of my reproductive organs removed have helped the pain SIGNIFICANTLY. But I understand that not all women with severe endometriosis are ready for that, especially if they want to bear children. Remember that healing is not linear! You are going to have your good and bad days. And if you are living in debilitating pain past 3 months after the surgery, you need to talk to your obgyn ASAP about that. It would stink to go under the knife again (mine was done robotically so less scarring and cutting into abdominal muscle), but my pain was so bad I was begging for the surgery to get rid of my endometriosis. I have a FANTASTIC obgyn/surgeon, and he says he doesn’t think I’ll have any other issues with endometriosis, but adhesions, scar tissue, and reoccurrence of active endometriosis are not off the table because as he put it, “endometriosis plays by its own rules. The medical establishment STILL does not know exactly how it operates, its origins (although risks of getting it from your mom and maternal side of the family increase significantly if they have experienced it), and every woman’s experience with it is different. It’s a very aggravating, often aggressive, and absolutely debilitating at times. If you ever want someone to just vent to or talk to through your struggles, I am here, fellow woman warrior. 🫶🏼

A full hysterectomy isn’t a “cure” per se, but it often helps significantly.

Sounds like you’re doing your absolute best ❤️ I personally go to a NaPro doctor (MD gynecologist that avoids using birth control to figure out root causes of issues), so maybe NaPro could be helpful for you. But I totally understand not wanting to rock the boat because at least the bandaid is working

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It's elective in that it's not considered an emergency procedure, not that it won't necessarily be covered by insurance. Even my dogshit American health insurance covered 100% of my laparoscopic excision.

Do you not think that raising awareness of surgical treatment options is an important part of drumming up public pressure to increase funding for and access to surgical treatment? In what other ways would you have found it acceptable for her to use her platform to spread the word?

We’re all having this convo because she posted the picture, so hats off to her for catalyzing some discussion amongst a lot of petiole.