Lena Dunham Health News: 'Girls' Star's Uterus Removed to Alleviate Severe Pain
Lena Dunham revealed that she had her cervix and uterus removed to finally get rid of the severe pain brought to her by endometriosis for years.
The "Girls" actress first disclosed she was suffering from the condition, where the uterine lining tissue grows outside the uterus, three years ago at the Lenny Letter online forum.
In a deeply moving essay published the March 2018 issue of Vogue, Dunham shared that she has finally ended her over two decades of suffering with endometriosis and "years of complex surgeries measuring in the double digits."
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Even alternate methods, like pelvic floor therapy, massage therapy, pain therapy, color therapy, and acupuncture never really worked for the TV personality.
The 31-year-old actress shared she thought she was finally over the disease after a surgery in April last year. However, a month later just after the Met Gala, she was rushed to the hospital again for severe pain on her stomach.
Doctors found then that her condition was worse than originally thought. "In addition to endometrial disease, an odd hump-like protrusion and a septum running down the middle," she wrote.
Dunham added that she had "retrograde bleeding," where, instead of her menstrual period going out, it fills her stomach with blood. To complicate things more, her ovary has settled on the sacral nerves on her back.
"The only beautiful detail is that the organ—which is meant to be shaped like a light bulb—was shaped like a heart," she quipped.
The surgery left Dunham, who recently called it quits with Jack Antonoff after five years of relationship, with a low chance of having her own child. She is, however, keeping the positivity alive.
"Soon I'll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have eggs. Adoption is a thrilling truth I'll pursue with all my might," she concluded.
