#Olivia Culpo Reveals She Had Surgery For ‘Excruciatingly Painful’ Endometriosis

The 28-year-old model, who first revealed her diagnosis back in August, shared an update about her health struggle on Instagram, revealing that she had undergone surgery for the debilitating condition.

Related: Olivia Reveals Her Father Put Her On A Diet At Just 10 Years Old!

She wrote:

“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. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue from the uterine lining decides to grow in other random parts of your body, causing pain. This can interfere with fertility and overall health and honestly – happiness. To top things off it is excruciatingly painful but nearly impossible to see through an ultrasound (unless you have endometrioma/chocolate cysts on your ovaries- that’s what I had).”

Like many women who suffer from endometriosis, it took a long time for Olivia’s pain to be taken seriously.

Related: Jeannie Mai Makes Emotional Return To The Real After Emergency Surgery

She recalled:

“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. Painful periods are not normal!!!”

The former Miss Universe concluded:

“I want to say thank you to @drvilasagar_endosurgeon and the amazing hospital staff at @atriumhealth who took care of me. You guys were literally angels to me and I am so grateful. 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 !!!!”

See the photos for yourself (below):

A number of high profile women have come forward with their endometriosis experiences, including Julianne Hough, Emma Roberts, Halsey, Padma Lakshmi, and Lena Dunham. Lena, who had a hysterectomy due to the condition, recently wrote about her journey with infertility following her endometriosis surgeries for Harper’s Magazine.

We commend Olivia and all of these women for shedding light on this condition. Get well soon!

[Image via WENN/Avalon & Olivia Culpo/Instagram]