Yahoo Autos Bindi Irwin said doctors dismissed her pain, fatigue, and nausea for 10 years. She had endometriosis and needed 37 lesions removed.
Bindi Irwin said she had surgery for endometriosis after 10 years of fatigue, pain, and nausea.
The TV personality and conservationist said her treatment included the removal of 37 lesions.
Endometriosis is common but widely misdiagnosed, and can lead to pain and infertility.
Bindi Irwin is opening up about her endometriosis diagnosis and treatment in an effort to help other women with the stigmatized disease, she wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
Iwrin, the 24-year-old TV personality and daughter of the late conservationist Steve Irwin, said that she struggled with "insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea" for a decade, but multiple tests, doctor's visits, and scans didn't yield satisfying answers.
"A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain," Irwin wrote in her post.
Endometriosis is widely misdiagnosed
Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus, like in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and pelvic lining, the Mayo Clinic says. The tissue thickens and bleeds with each month's menstrual cycle, but becomes trapped, which can lead to pain and complications including infertility.
Endometriosis affects about 1 in 10 American women, but research has shown most women wait an average of 8.6 years to be appropriately diagnosed.
The same study also showed that over three-fourths of patients say they've been misdiagnosed with another physical problem, and about half are misdiagnosed with a mental health problem.
