‘I Have My Period, I Can’t Come In’: Padma Lakshmi Opens Up About Her Battle With Endometriosis

Indian-American author, model, activist, and television host Padma Lakshmi was one of the first celebrities to raise awareness about endometriosis, a condition in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. Although her condition did not stop her from being a trailblazer and achieving success and recognition, she has lost a significant amount of work due to her battle with endometriosis. 

Laskmi, 53, opened up about her challenge with the condition at the 2024 Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston on April 3, speaking candidly about the “debilitating” pain she went through every month as a result of the condition, according to Yahoo!Life writer Megan Johnson. “Nobody wants to call into work saying, ‘I have my period, I can’t come in,’” Laksmi shared, “That was mortifying to me. I lost so many jobs. I didn’t do well on some exams. I wasn’t there for my family.”

Lakshmi was was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2006, after experiencing symptoms for 23 years, and she’s been advocating for people with the condition ever since. She also founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound), which advocates for patients, raises awareness, and funds research.

WebMD estimates that about one in 10 American women between the ages of 15 and 44 have endometriosis, “a common cause of infertility.”  The disorder, which commonly involves the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis, can cause painful cramping during periods — and possibly during intercourse, urination and bowel movements, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“During your period, you have heavy bleeding, such bad cramps that over the counter medication is not taking care of it, if your bra size goes up a cup during that time, they could be signs of endometriosis.”

Lakshmi’s symptoms began when she got her first period at age 13. “I was down in bed, taking fistfuls of pain medication, with a heating pad, hot water bottle and teas, tinctures, you name it,” she told the audience at the Simmons Leadership Conference. Once she was diagnosed with endometriosis at age 36, she underwent laparoscopic excision surgery in 2006. 

But her “relief at finally getting treatment has been mixed with anger at how long it took for her to get a diagnosis,” she told the conference attendees, according to Yahoo!Life. “I should have [had] the surgery when I was 20, not 36,” she explained. “And I had access to good doctors. I had insurance. I even had doctors in my family. But still, I [slipped] through the cracks.” 

Through her advocacy she has managed to make plenty of changes in the world of women’s health. Still, she admitted she “nearly fell off” her chair when she heard Biden say the word ‘endometriosis’ at his State of the Union, address. She was surprised “because it’s such a hard disease, and it’s icky to talk about,” she said. “No one wants to get up in a room like this and talk about their vagina,” she noted. “But I had to do it, and I got really good at it, and we were able to double the funding that our federal government spends researching this illness that, frankly, has the potential to affect half the population.”

In a blog on WebMD, Lakshmi recalled how she shot during the early days of “Top Chef,” before she had treatment. She “needed a toolbox of resources to get through the day,” she said. “We used to plug in my heating pad under the judges’ table. When I was standing, as the camera would pan away from me, I’d sit down — I had a little wooden box my assistant would drag on set with me” She got a dressing room after a few seasons, she said, so she “could lie down on the couch” She said she doesn’t know if she could’ve “continued to do ‘Top Chef’ for 12 years if I didn’t get the help I needed.”

Speaking to People magazine on March 22, 2018, marking Endometriosis Awareness Month, Lakshmi said she hopes “to bring attention to a very isolating disease.” She urged people to observe their symptoms. “During your period, you have heavy bleeding, such bad cramps that over the counter medication is not taking care of it, if your bra size goes up a cup during that time, they could be signs of endometriosis.” She told People she had “headaches, numbness in one leg, lower back pain, all kinds of digestive problems,” adding the “a lot of time they just tell you that you have to grin and bare it. This is our lot in life because we’re girls and we have babies. Pain is your bodies way of telling you something is wrong.”

She also urged women “to listen to their body.” She said they should “seek professional help if you are down for more than two days, if you can’t go about your business for more than two days, to work, to the gym, be with your family, cook, see your friends.” And they shouldn’t “just go to your gynecologist,” but see a specialist, “someone who specializes in PCOS, fibroids and endometriosis because those are all ailments that have to do with the female reproductive system.”

(Top photo, Padma Lakshmi speaking at the Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston on April 3Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston on April 3. Photo, Padma Lakshmi/Facebook.)