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'What a difference a year makes': Lena Dunham on life a year after her hysterectomy

Lena Dunham. Image via Getty Images.
Lena Dunham. Image via Getty Images.

Lena Dunham is reflecting on her life one year after having her uterus and cervix removed.

The 32-year-old actress and director took to Instagram to open up about life after a particularly difficult year. The former star of the HBO series “Girls” and current producer of the TV show “Camping,” starring Jennifer Garner, says she opted for a hysterectomy due to complications from endometriosis.

Dunham shared side by side photos of herself with a caption that chronicles the ups and downs of living with chronic pain.

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What a difference a year makes… First photo was indeed a year ago today, on the first night after my hysterectomy for severe endometriosis. I was smiling but my eyes say it all: full of anxiety and grief that I couldn’t locate through the layers of pain meds and benzos. Severe undiagnosed PTSD, feelings that my worth and purpose were being taken from me, angry and self-pitying with no sense of how I’d emerge. Plus, my hair had fallen out in odd clumps and I’d taken it upon myself to dye what remained electric blue cuz if you’re gonna spiral why not SPIRAL (shout out to @joanaavillez for being a true friend and bringing Manic Panic when I demanded it at night in the hospital, though. I love you Jo.) The second pic was taken tonight, happy joyous and (substance) free. The last year hasn’t been all roses and Kenny G songs, but it’s been proof enough for me in the presence of the divine. The divine- it’s been there in the kindness of my family, friends, chronically ill folks online. It’s also been there in the moments where I cried myself to sleep, shocked by the sounds coming out of me. It’s in the light slanting on my comforter, the resilience of my best friend’s baby clonking her head then giggling, the new hairs sprouting at my temples. Mostly I’ve found it in my own strength, because who the fuck knew. And I don’t mean strength as in powering through. I mean strength as in vulnerability, feeling it all, taking it as it comes and dancing even with a hospital grade pad in my underwear. I surprised myself. I bet you can surprise yourself too.

A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Nov 14, 2018 at 11:40pm PST

“What a difference a year makes,” the Golden Globe winner wrote. “First photo was indeed a year ago today, on the first night after my hysterectomy for severe endometriosis. I was smiling but my eyes say it all: full of anxiety and grief that I couldn’t locate through layers of pain meds and benzos.”

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Endometriosis is a common reproductive issue for women in which the tissue that lines the uterus begins to grow elsewhere in the reproductive system. According to the Endometriosis Foundation of America, the most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain and inflammation, as well as heavy menstrual flow, infertility, chronic fatigue and pain during intercourse.

It’s estimated that nearly 200 million worldwide suffer from endometriosis, which is an incurable condition. Even after a hysterectomy, most women will still suffer chronic pain.

Image via Getty Images.
Image via Getty Images.

Dunham said she felt “angry” and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the surgery, and experienced hair loss.

“The second pic was taken tonight, happy, joyous and (substance) free,” she continued. “The last year hasn’t been all roses and Kenny G songs, but it’s been proof enough for me in the presence of the divine. The divine- it’s been there in the kindness of my family, friends, chronically ill folks online. It’s also been there in the moments where I cried myself to sleep, shocked by the sounds coming out of me.”

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The star said that throughout the past year, she was surprised by her own strength, which she discovered by being vulnerable.

“Feeling it all, taking it as it comes and dancing even with a hospital grade pad in my underwear. I surprised myself,” she wrote. “I bet you can surprise yourself, too.”

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