The Bachelor's Lexi Young has opened up about what it's been like to "silently suffer" with endometriosis for over a decade and how far she's come in her health crisis.
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Lexi captioned her post, "I want to open up about my endometriosis journey that I have silently suffered through since middle school. One in ten women face this illness with many of them not even knowing that they have it."
Lexi wrote that she was diagnosed with endometriosis in early 2019 and had endometriosis surgery in April 2019. She said sharing her story is "unbelievably hard" for her but she knows she's not alone.
"I hope sharing what I've been through can help others also going through their own endo journeys. It's time to bring more awareness to endometriosis," she wrote.
In one of three video diaries, Lexi began, "It is honestly pretty emotional to talk about my diagnosis and journey to a diagnosis with endometriosis. For me, endometriosis presented itself when I was quite young. I always had incredibly painful periods. Once I got into high school and college, I had horrible pelvic pain, really bad lower back pain, and it just continued to get worse and worse."
Lexi said doctors would prescribe her medications to help with the pain -- including birth control pills at a very young age -- but "nothing helped" her feel better.
After college, Lexi said she moved to San Francisco, where her symptoms unfortunately worsened even more.
"It got to the point where my symptoms were so bad that I would pass out at work from pain. I couldn't sit at a desk all day and do my job. I started going to multiple doctor's appointments a week to try to gain an understanding of what was going on with my body," Lexi shared.
"I was diagnosed with conditions that I never had. I was told that the pain I was experiencing was in my head and it was rooted in anxiety and depression and that I needed to see a psychiatrist. All of this going on truly made me shut down and almost believe that my pain wasn't real."
Lexi, however, insisted that she was suffering every single day and was often "doubled over in pain." She said she simply couldn't function at work or "live a normal life" like someone in their twenties.
Lexi therefore made the decision to move to New York City to be closer to her family.
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"When I moved to New York, my symptoms got 100 times worse. I was rushed to the emergency room multiple times while I was working at the GAP headquarters in New York. I was losing a lot of blood. I had really, really bad abdominal distention," Lexi recalled.
"My lower abdomen would be so swollen from the internal bleeding and endo that I would look four-to-five months pregnant. It was -- and is -- the most uncomfortable feeling. It feels as though there is barbed wire surrounding my pelvis."
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Lexi admitted she was dealing with this "day in and day out," and so she continued to see different doctors, only to listen to "the same narrative" of what they thought was wrong with her.
Lexi said she finally met a doctor at New York University who changed her life.
"I am so grateful. She listened to me and validated that my pain is 100 percent real, and she had a very strong hunch that I had endo," Lexi shared.
"Endometriosis cannot be diagnosed through an MRI or X-ray or CT scan or any lab tests. It has to be diagnosed through a laparoscopic surgery. These surgeries are usually quite expensive and it's a diagnostic surgery."
Lexi explained how people may go through the entire surgery just to find out they don't have it.
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During the laparoscopic robotic surgery, they cut into her abdomen and extracted the endometriosis at the root.
"It was the most emotional, validating day I've ever had in my entire life," Lexi said.
"When the doctor walked into the room, she told me that I had stage IV deep infiltrating endometriosis all over my pelvic cavity and it was even spreading to other organs, I finally felt as though my pain was validated."
Lexi noted, "I have been suffering for over a decade and I was turned away from doctors and I finally had the answer as to what was going on with my body."
After the procedure, Lexi jumped into physical therapy for the next year.
While Lexi was thrilled to finally have a diagnosis, she wondered how endometriosis is going to affect her long term.
"I've always wanted to be a mother, and a big part of endometriosis is potential infertility. I just remember bursting into tears. They were happy tears and they were sad tears. It's a day I'll never forget, but it's a day that changed my life," Lexi explained.
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Lexi is now able to find ways to manage her pain and implement steps that may better her chances of having children in the future.
"This is me. This is who I am... I've had pain I can't even describe in words, and putting these [pictures] out can spread awareness about what endometriosis can do to the body and hopefully help one person who looks the same or feel the same. That will make all of this worth it to me," Lexi concluded.
In Part 2, Lexi got into detail about what endometriosis actually is. She explained how it's an inflammatory disease in which tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of it. Lexi pointed out how signs and symptoms can completely vary from person to person.
Lexi revealed her symptoms have returned full force and she's going to need a second surgery for endometriosis in the near future, which could result in a lot of scar tissue.
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"I'm not in a place where I'm in a waiting game. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm not in a place where I can have children now, but I hope I will be soon."
Lexi then shared in a Part 3 video how she wanted to compete on The Bachelor to show herself and others that "living with an invisible illness does not mean that you cannot live your life and you can't go after your dreams."
However, Lexi revealed how there's no cure for endometriosis and she continues to have flares every single week, and sometimes every single day.
While filming The Bachelor, Lexi sometimes had "endo belly" and experienced pain, which she called "very challenging." But Lexi said she's go glad she went on the show and it showed how strong she is.
On The Bachelor's latest episode, Lexi won the "Mrs. Right" pageant during a group date with her thoughtful response to an interview question and her showstopping talent, which is claiming she's the best kisser.
Lexi took an opportunity to make out with Joey in front of a live studio audience, which took courage and definitely brought the bachelorette out of her comfort zone.
Joey told Lexi that their connection felt "effortless," and she appears to be a frontrunner on The Bachelor's 28th season.
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Click here to learn more about Joey's The Bachelor bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
