Later, in 20, she had two more laparoscopic surgeries. “I was bedridden from Thanksgiving to the first week in February,” she says. “I had stitches on major organs and 19 biopsies - 17 came back positive for endometriosis.” “Tissue was all over my fallopian tubes, my ovaries, everything,” she says. Lakshmi had laparoscopic excision surgery in 2006, and her doctors found more than they expected. Drug therapy can help with symptoms, but surgery to remove endometriosis patches is often more effective and may improve fertility. While endometriosis has no cure, treatment can ease symptoms and boost a woman’s chances of getting pregnant. “He didn’t think I was crazy - he listened to me.” Seckin was the first one to really give it a name,” she says. Though they told her she’d likely be fine, her symptoms returned a month later.įinally, a doctor suggested seeing a specialist, and after decades of pain, Lakshmi learned she had endometriosis. Doctors performed surgery to remove what they thought was scar tissue but was actually endometrial tissue blocking her small intestine. On a particularly rough day in 2006, Lakshmi was doubled over in pain and rushed to the hospital. Even though an estimated 176 million women worldwide have endometriosis, doctors often normalize or dismiss symptoms, creating a long delay in diagnosis, says Sinervo. For 23 years, nobody, including a doctor who removed an ovarian cyst, referred her to a specialist to look for a medical condition that caused her problems.
Her gynecologist prescribed painkillers, but they made her feel nauseated and triggered headaches. Lakshmi tried birth control to manage cramps, but it only helped a little. “It can significantly and negatively impact all aspects of an individual’s quality of life - from schooling to career to relationships.” “ Endometriosis is more than just painful periods and potential infertility,” says Ken Sinervo, MD, medical director of the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta. I was embarrassed to call in sick, so I wouldn’t take modeling jobs when my period was due,” she says. “I didn’t feel like having sex, so it affected my romantic relationships.
#TOP CHEF QUICKFIRE CHALLENGES FULL#
“I was bedridden for several days a month with headaches, cramping, severe dysmenorrhea, nausea, numbness, lower back pain, digestive issues, moodiness, swelling, and bloating - and when I say swelling, I mean a full cup size every month,” she says.įor years, she wondered why she couldn’t handle what other women seemed to take in stride.
What started as cramps at age 13 got worse over time. Unfortunately, help didn’t come quickly or easily. “I don’t know if I could’ve continued to do Top Chef for 12 years if I didn’t get the help I needed.” After the first few seasons, I got a dressing room so I could lie down on a couch,” Lakshmi says. 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. “We used to plug in my heating pad under the judges’ table. In the early days of Top Chef, before she had treatment, Lakshmi needed a toolbox of resources to get through the day. During each menstrual cycle, tissue builds up, breaks down, and bleeds, leading to very painful menstrual cramps, chronic lower back and pelvic pain, painful sex, bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and nausea. “When you have endometriosis, you don’t want to eat heavily because everything is inflamed,” she explains.Ībout one in 10 American women have endometriosis, a common cause of infertility. She has endometriosis, a painful gynecological disorder in which the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of it, in places like the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and other organs. While this may seem like a major job perk, for Lakshmi - who’s also an author, entrepreneur, and former model - it’s a challenge. “But I eat double what they eat because I’m there every day for the quick-fire challenge.” "Tom and Gail come in for the main challenge,” says Lakshmi, 48, who’s also a producer of the series, now in its 16th season. Her co-stars and fellow judges, chef Tom Colicchio and culinary expert Gail Simmons, nibble too - but not nearly as much.
#TOP CHEF QUICKFIRE CHALLENGES SERIES#
As the Emmy-nominated host of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, the television series in which amateur chefs compete for the winning title, Padma Lakshmi samples an abundance of gourmet food, from goat cheese ravioli to five-layer wedding cake.
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