In a Today interview published Wednesday, Bindi Irwin, the 25-year-old conservationist and daughter of legendary Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin, shared her experience with endometriosis, a condition that typically causes heavy bleeding and severe pain during periods and sex.
Irwin described years of dealing with symptoms like nausea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), cramping, and fatigue—which medical professionals brushed off as simply “hormones” and the result of her “being a young woman,” she said.
“I was often told that it was just the stress of life, and I should work on my mental health,” Irwin recalled. As a result, she said she had anxiety and depression: “I was constantly in pain with no answers for what was wrong with me.”
To get more technical about what Irwin was going through: Endometriosis occurs when the lining that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside of it. It’s a pretty common diagnosis, affecting 10% of people with uteruses, according to the World Health Organization. But, all too often, a patient’s pain is dismissed or misdiagnosed—for instance, as allergies, IBS, a thyroid disorder, or just plain old period problems, as SELF previously reported.
For Irwin, something clicked when she saw a friend’s social media post about endometriosis—a condition that Irwin, at the time, had never even heard of. Seeing someone else go through a similar experience, she said, prompted her to talk to another surgeon. And after her suspicions were officially confirmed, she had surgery to remove more than 30 lesions, as well as an endometrioma (a specific type of cyst, usually in the ovaries, that indicates a more severe stage of endometriosis).
“It was one of the most validating experiences of my life,” Irwin said of the surgery. “I could feel the difference from the moment I woke up.” Ultimately, the relief of finally having answers about her excruciating pain—and being able to treat it—inspired her to share her story and reassure others who might be going through their own issues with endometriosis.
“Endometriosis can feel like a very isolating disease,” Irwin told Today. “I feared that maybe the doctors were right, and it was all in my head. Now, I know it’s okay to be vulnerable, and it’s okay if you don’t have all the answers.”
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