Padma Lakshmi has recently revealed her struggle with endometriosis – a painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
She received the diagnosis at the age of 36. She said she angry after realizing she could have been saved years of pain if her doctor had recognized her symptoms much sooner.
Lakshmi had to undergo surgery to remove invasive tissue caused by endometriosis.
Referring to the surgery in the cover story of the September issue of Women’s Health, the 49-year-old said, “At first, I was relieved. It wasn’t until a year after the surgery that I started getting really pissed.”
“Like, ‘Wait a minute, I lost a week of my life every month of every year since I was 13 because of this shit, and I could have had this operation at 20 rather than 36?’” she added. “I’m shocked that a health professional didn’t say, ‘This is weird. Your cramps are above and beyond what they should be.’”
In 2018, the Top Chef host told PEOPLE about her struggle with endometriosis, recalling how the disease would leave her “bedridden” whenever she had her period.
At the time, she said, “I got my period when I was 13 and didn’t get diagnosed until I was 36. That’s 23 years, 12 months a year, 12 weeks from, you know, that I was missing at volleyball practice, the school dance, midterm exams, helping my mom cook the family meal. All these things that’s part and parcel of being a teenage kid.”
Lakshmi said her symptoms have improved over time. “I’m getting older, and so my hormones are calming down, so I don’t suffer as much as I used to,” she told PEOPLE last year. “So, my endometriosis doesn’t affect me nearly as much as it did before when I was in my 30s or in my 20s.”
She has added Pilates to her workout regimen, telling Women’s Health that it has made her body stronger.
“I started going to Pilates a few years ago because my chiropractor recommended it for my back,” Lakshmi said. “Pilates changed my body. It made me strong in places I didn’t know I needed to be. I have a butt now that I didn’t have during my modeling career!”
Lakshmi now hopes to pass down to her 10-year-old daughter, Krishna.
She said, “I’m trying to think through the practice of cooking with Krishna. I want to pass down more than just heritage and culture — also how to live ethically, and be kind and fair and detail-oriented.” “There are metaphors for life that you can find in the act of cooking,” she added.
