Wellness
Lori Harvey opened up about some of the health issues she's faced since childhood. The Skn founder sat down with Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney of the SheMD podcast and revealed her struggles with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis.
Lori recalled symptoms being repeatedly dismissed by doctors. “I've been so frustrated. I've been going to my gynecologist because I've just been feeling like something's off in my body,” she said.
“But every time I go to her, she's like, ‘You're fine, you're fine, you're fine. Nothing's wrong.’ And I was like, ‘But I don't feel fine. I feel like something is just off.’” After being referred to Dr. Aliabadi, the Fight Nightactress was diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis.
What is PCOS?
John Hopkins Medicine describes PCOS as as "set of symptoms that are caused by a problem in a woman's hormones." These symptoms include irregular periods or missed periods, ovarian cysts or large ovaries, acne/ oily skin, and infertility.
While doctors don't know the official cause of PCOS, there are ways to treat it. Treatments include a healthy diet/ exercise, medicines that cause ovulation, birth control pills, and even diabetes medicine.
If left untreated, women may experience high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and uterine cancer.
Lori shared how PCOS has not only affected her life, but her friends lives as well. “So many of my friends struggle with PCOS, and it's something that none of us were educated on, and we all kind of were just suffering in silence because we didn't know what it was,” she said. “We're just kind of all living with this thing and nobody's getting treated for it.”
What is Endometriosis?
On the other hand, endometriosis is when endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. This can cause pain during menstrual cycles and infertility. Lori reflected on the grueling pain she's experienced during her menstrual cycle since she was 16.
“I used to have the most excruciating periods of my life, every single time I felt like I needed to go to the hospital, just crazy cramps. I'm taking 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen. Nothing is working, it's just debilitating,” she said.
“They'd be like, ‘Oh, just take some Tylenol, you'll be fine.’ And I'm like, ‘There's no way this is normal.’ And [Aliabadi] told me, ‘Yeah, babe, you're right. It was not normal and I'm so sorry that you've just been living with this.’ So she literally changed my life.”
The model explained how so many women suffer in silence and how important it is to have conversations like this. With all that she's experienced within her body, she has now made it to the other side of her issues. “I've never felt more at home in my body than I do now,” she said.
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