For more than a 10 years, the conservationist and TV personality battled endometriosis - an inflammatory disease in which tissue similar to the uterus lining grows elsewhere in the pelvic region - before she was officially diagnosed.
During the interview with Grynberg, released on February 4, Irwin shed further light on the debilitating condition; explaining how the severe pain, extreme fatigue and social isolation affected her ability “to do anything and everything”.
“I think people must have thought I was just incredibly flaky because I was getting so sick … I would try to get up, and I really would just throw up. I was in so much pain all the time,” Irwin admitted.
She was eventually diagnosed with more than 30 lesions, some of which were so severe, it had caused her ovary to adhere to other tissue.
Irwin underwent surgery in the US to remove the lesions, a procedure she has hailed as life-changing.
“Endometriosis is an enormous problem for so many people, and it’s not talked about enough. I went 10 years undiagnosed because doctors didn’t know enough.
“[My family] dealt with it for 10 years just as much as I did, trying to find answers and helping me along the way and saying, ‘Hey, you’re collapsed on the floor. You probably should get some help and you shouldn’t listen to the doctors saying, ‘this is normal’.‘”
Treatments to manage endometriosis vary based on the severity of symptoms, but there is no cure: and in some cases, surgery to remove the lesions has to be repeated.
Irwin, who welcomed her daughter, Grace, with husband Chandler Powell in March 2021, cited motherhood as the catalyst that drove her to seek answers after years of suffering.
“When I was so sick, it was hard to be the mum I wanted to be. Then I thought, I have to do something. This can’t just all be in my head.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Irwin touched on the extreme grief and separation anxiety she experienced following the loss of her father, who died from a stingray attack in September 2006.
Bindi Irwin's father, Steve, was a media personality and zookeeper who championed wildlife conservation. Photo / NZME
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease estimated to affect 176 million individuals worldwide in their reproductive years, and 120,000 in New Zealand. This means roughly 1 in 10 girls, women and those assigned female at birth in New Zealand will have the condition.
Symptoms can include severe period and pelvic pain, reduced fertility, or infertility.
According to Endometriosis New Zealand, the disease occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found in places outside of the organ. The tissue can form nodules or lesions throughout the pelvic region, and can also grow on the pelvic ligaments, ovaries and bowel.
Like in Irwin’s case, the lesions and scarring can sometimes cause anatomical distortions or organs to adhere to the surrounding tissue.
While a clinical diagnosis can be made based on the patient’s symptoms, a laparoscopy - a procedure used to examine abdominal and reproductive organs through small incisions - is required for a definitive diagnosis.
