Endometriosis: Woman reveals shocking truth behind the condition on Instagram
An American woman has shared two revealing photos of what it looks like to live with Endometriosis.
Thessy Kouzoukas, a creative director and co-owner of the fashion brand Sabo Skirt, uploaded two side-by-side photos of herself to Instagram to demonstrate the effects the condition has on her appearance.
The two images exhibited a vast difference in the size of Kouzoukas's stomach in the space of a five week timeframe.
In a bid to spread awareness and fight the stigma associated with discussing gynaecological conditions, Kouzoukas also penned a piece for The Huffington Post earlier this year.
Opening up about her experiences, the 27-year-old entrepreneur explained how painful period cramps as a child were never taken seriously and subsequently delayed her diagnosis.
“When I first got my period as a young teenager, I got labelled 'lazy' when I couldn't participate in certain sports at school, or 'drama queen' when I would take days off school because I was doubled over in the shower trying desperately to find relief from abdominal pain."
"We aren't told how much pain should be considered tolerable, or when too much pain could be an indication of something worse, like Endometriosis.”
The term describes the condition whereby a woman’s endometrial lining grows outside of the uterus, instead of inside as it should.
Whilst some women might exhibit no significant symptoms, common ones like heavy periods, pelvic pain and pain during sex can be all too easy to dismiss as something less severe.
Lena Dunham famously opened up about her struggles with endometriosis earlier this year following a recent surgery.
The Girls star and writer confessed in an Instagram post that showed her in a hospital bed following the Met Gala where she was seen earlier that evening on the red carpet.
It is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK and affects 10 per cent women worldwide,
For more information on Endometriosis, visit Endometriosis-uk.org.
