A post shared by Olivia Culpo (@oliviaculpo)

In September, Olivia Culpo opened up about her battle with endometriosis. She had tried several different holistic treatments and wanted to raise awareness about endometriosis and its connection to infertility.

Last week, Olivia underwent surgery for her endometriosis. Olivia shared a photo from the hospital. She wrote that she had been misdiagnosed multiple times before finding out why she was having such terribly painful periods and that many doctors invalidated her experience. Olivia said that she will continue to use her platform to raise awareness about this invisible disease that also causes depression. Below is her caption to the Instagram story above.

esterday I had surgery for my endometriosis ?? Not a very glamorous post but I felt like I needed to share this to create more awareness around this disease. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue from the uterine lining decides to grow in other random parts of your body, causing pain. This can interfere with fertility and overall health and honestly – happiness. To top things off it is excruciatingly painful but nearly impossible to see through an ultrasound (unless you have endometrioma/chocolate cysts on your ovaries- that’s what I had). I have been in agony for years around my period and I was misdiagnosed countless times by doctors. “Just take Tylenol every day” “ultrasound looks normal,” “ I think you just need to rest more, periods are always uncomfortable for people,” etc. I know a lot of people out there in the Endo community are familiar with these diagnoses which is why I am so passionate about this. Painful periods are not normal!!!

I want to say thank you to @drvilasagar_endosurgeon and the amazing hospital staff at @atriumhealth who took care of me. You guys were literally angels to me and I am so grateful. To anyone out there who has endometriosis, I understand the depression, and overall loneliness that can occur with a condition that is so painful yet so hard to be interpreted by other people outside of the body. It’s hard when chronic pain is not validated and you don’t get an answer or understanding. To my Endo warriors, I will continue to spread more awareness around endometriosis so that your symptoms can be validated. You are not alone and you are so strong !!!!

[From Instagram]

I am so glad that Olivia is raising awareness around this order. When I was younger I would have excruciatingly painful periods as well. However, I was not suffering from endometriosis. I know a lot of women who do suffer from endometriosis, infertility and fibroids. It is encouraging that more celebrities are speaking about these disorders. Women need to know they are not alone.

I like that Olivia also shared her recovery story through her Instagram stories. She took pre and post surgery photos of her tummy, I assume to show that there is nothing to be afraid of as far as the procedure is concerned. I like that Olivia is using her platform to not only bring awareness to a disorder that 11% of women suffer from but also normalize the conversation around it. I believe that we should pull things that were once in the shadows into the light, and openly discuss those issues. I believe by doing so the more open our society becomes and the less people are isolated by fear and shame.

A post shared by Olivia Culpo (@oliviaculpo)

A post shared by Olivia Culpo (@oliviaculpo)

A post shared by Olivia Culpo (@oliviaculpo)