Olivia Culpo has been making the rounds as the new Crest Whitening Strips spokesperson. She recently did a video with beauty influencer and Youtuber Patrick Starr teaching him how to get her bronzed dewy look that she is so popular for.
Olivia was recently diagnosed with endometriosis which can cause extremely painful menstruation. Endometriosis can also cause infertility if it goes undiagnosed or treated. Olivia took to Instagram last month to discuss her diagnosis. Now she says she is trying a holistic approach to combat the disorder. People has more on the story:
“It was something that I was nervous to share because I really didn’t know if people would be familiar with the condition, and it turns out a lot of women are,” the Sports Illustrated model, 28, told PEOPLE. “I was shocked to see how many women have also suffered from endometriosis, and how many questions women have about painful periods. They’re not normal, and they could get in the way of your fertility.”
“A lot of women may have painful periods, they may not be properly diagnosed. They may never be diagnosed. They may not be getting proper treatment, or surgery in some cases,” she says. “And then, they’re 50, 40 years old, and they had never been able to have children, and then you realize, ‘Oh, maybe I had had endometriosis that I was never properly diagnosed.’ That’s a common problem that I want to be able to use my platform to help.”
The Rhode Island native says she doesn’t plan to consider laparoscopic surgery, which can treat endometriosis, just yet, since, “I’m trying to do the holistic route as of now.”
“I want to try to see if I can figure some things out for myself, but we’ll see. It’s a journey,” Culpo adds. “Every month is different because I try different things every month. But I’ll definitely keep everybody posted on what works for me, and eventually having to get the surgery because it really depends. Everyone’s different.”
I have always had painful menstruation and in 1997 I had a laparoscopy done that proved negative for endometriosis. What I have discovered over the years is the cleaner my diet is and the more active I am, the less painful my periods are. For me my painful periods were linked to my diet.
However, I know many people who suffer from endometriosis and it is not a fun disorder to deal with. I admire Olivia from bringing awareness about endometriosisand encouraging discussion. Medical studies are mainly focused on the male body and diseases. Anyways, I hope that her being vulnerable about her struggle with endometriosis and her holistic approach will at least open the conversation around it. A lot of women are suffering from infertility and pain in silence without answers.
I suffer from endometriosis and its really horrible. Yoga and exercise can help with the pain, and eating a full breakfast (in high school I used to eat 4 waffles, a bowl of cereal, orange juice, and a hard boiled egg for breakfast during my period) also helps. But, those things aren’t helpful if you are already in the midst of cramps, bc then I don’t want to eat or move. In the end, BCPs have been the only thing that have actually helped, and I’ve been on them more or less since I was 15 (I did go for some of stretches of time without, usually due to insurance issues) but I understand not everyone wants to go that route.
btw, I distinctly remember people telling me that the pain would get better after having kids and that was a LIE. My periods are the worst.
Anyway, the only reason I got on BCPs so early was bc my aunt also had endo, and couldn’t have kids as a result, so when I started having heavy and painful periods, my mom took me to the doctor. For many women, they don’t have someone in their life that is going to recognize the signs and act. So I’m glad to see someone famous (although I admit I don’t know who she is lol) is talking about this.
“ btw, I distinctly remember people telling me that the pain would get better after having kids and that was a LIE” – you mean to say that you have had children? Was it easy?
Yes, I was able to have two children. It took me about a year to get pregnant with each (we were about to explore fertility treatments when I got pregnant with the first one) – I credit my mom putting me on BCPs so early to help control the endo for why I was able to.
Good on her for speaking out. I suffered with endometriosis but was very lucky in that it didn’t affect my fertility. The pain was horrendous though and in the end most of my month was spent preparing for, suffering with or recovering from the pain. I couldn’t carry on that way. In the end the Dr persuaded me to have a Mirena coil installed and it’s been the best thing ever. I wish I’d done it years ago. I know that’s totally anecdotal but I couldn’t click away without sharing my experience.
OMG this is me right in a nutshell.
I have been “fighting” PCOS …. but since 2007. I cannot believe it has been already 13 years and still no breakthrough, although I am 90% healthier than I used to be.
Still hoping on that breakthrough… at least before I hit menopause. :[[[[
Edit- the remark above makes me think. Why dont they make an insertable coil for men filled with [effectively] spermicides?
I’m an Endo warrior so I’m all for people speaking out!!
Very pleased she is bringing awareness to this condition!
I’m not quite sure who she is, but good on her for speaking out. I have very heavy and very painful periods and it was only because of this website covering celebrities talking about endometriosis that I first heard of it! I got tested last year (with an echo) and luckily it was negative. I have to say, I live in the Netherlands now and did not meet this kind of… resistance, I suppose? reluctance? on behalf of the doctors to have me tested.
The only things that help me with my period is naproxen sodium painkillers (I have a prescription for the 500 mg now, but the one from the drugstore also work really well) and tranexamic acid pills, which I the gynecologist that did the endometriosis test prescribed. They really help with the bleeding!
I take all these period stories quite personally because for the majority of my adult and teenage years, my daily life basically had to hit pause around my period. And growing up in Eastern Europe, the most of the stigma came not from medical staff ( which is apparently very lucky), but from other women. I’d get told off every time I took painkillers in public, because they were so bad for you and my friends managed only with a hot water bottle, so I was obviously supposed to grit my teeth and bear through. Nevermind I couldn’t even stand up straight or walk when my cramps started. Painkillers are for the weak! And if paracetamol didn’t help, well, then I was definitely exaggerating my pain to look like martyr. So! I’m glad there are celebrities speaking out about menstruation issues now. Some discomfort might be expected, but if it interferes with your daily life then it’s too much and you need to see a doctor and they need to take you seriously. And that’s it.
We have endometriosis in our family and after years of research, I found a doctor who excises the lesions through a laparoscopy. It’s the gold standard technique in my region.
I don’t have endo, but I know several women who do. It REALLY pisses me off that around 1 out of 10 women suffer from endo but we know almost nothing about. Doctors don’t know what causes it, why some women get it and others don’t, or how to cure it–and that’s because they’re not studying it. If 1 out of 10 young, healthy men were experiencing pain of this level on a monthly, we would have had a cure DECADES a go.
Take care of yourselves my fellow endo warriors and hyster sisters.
I just want to say that Endo doesn’t always just cause pain during menstruation. For many of us it causes daily or near daily pain. It also commonly causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes neuropathy.
I’m really glad to see celebitchy covering Endo lately. Thank you.
I have endo–it was verified by laparoscopy twice–but I have never experienced any regular period pain. I am a very odd, but lucky case. I’m really glad to hear people talking about this. FWIW, I agree with the comment regarding diet. Any PMS symptoms that I have are exaggerated by a diet high in refined sugars/carbohydrates.