Brandi Rhodes is encouraging other women to advocate for themselves when it comes to health issues. After dealing with "internal pain" for three years, Brandi, a former WWE professional wrestler and a yoga and Pilates instructor, has finally received a diagnosis that explained the persistent symptoms she has experienced: endometriosis. She's sharing her story now because she only started to truly advocate for herself after seeing someone else's story.
Brandi, 40, hopes that sharing her story will inspire others and let them know that it is still possible to find an explanation for the symptoms they may be experiencing.
In an Instagram post, Brandi admitted that after dealing with uncomfortable symptoms like pain, bloating, and unpredictable menstrual cycles for some time, she began to feel defeated.
Her "internal pain" started during pregnancy and doctors told her the pain would go away, she explained. But it didn't.
"No suggestions were made for me, it was kind of like, best of luck with all of that," Brandi wrote.
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After that, she tried to seek out different opinions from specialists, but the possible explanations they mentioned — like irritable bowel syndrome and perimenopause — didn't make sense to her. She stopped looking for answers.
She explained her symptoms in more detail when speaking to Today.com. "It felt like something inside, whether it was an ovary or my uterus, just felt really irritated and aggravated," she told the outlet, adding that although she'd feel "normal and fine" some days, on other days, "I would wake up and I would look three months pregnant."
The fact that doctors couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with her even made her doubt herself. She told Today.com that she remembers thinking "maybe this is in my head" at one point.
Something changed when professional wrestler Maryse Mizanin opened up about her health. After seeing her story, Brandi "decided to press on."
"I thought wow, that sounds like me…doing everything to find an answer but getting no answers and getting worse. I was thrilled to see she finally found an advocate and was able to get her situation under control," Brandi wrote on Instagram.
Brandi said that eventually she was able to see a doctor who told her that "this feels like endometriosis."
After confirming the diagnosis, she decided to have surgery to treat endometriosis. Through the procedure, in which endometrial tissue was removed, Brandi found out she had stage 4 endometriosis.
For those who have endometriosis, endometrial tissue, which is similar to tissue that lines the uterus, grows outside of the uterus. It can affect the ovaries, fallopian tubes, vagina, bladder, and other organs or structures, notes Cleveland Clinic.
The condition can be very painful, and can also cause infertility, bloating, excessive bleeding, fatigue nausea, and constipation, among other possible symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic.
Brandi decided to share her story to raise awareness. "If Maryse didn't share her story, I would still be trying to manage all of this pain on my own," she wrote on Instagram. "Someone reading this needed to see that I kept going until I found an answer and now hopefully they know that there's an answer out there for them too."
"Women…we have to advocate for ourselves and our bodies. It is far too common in the medical world to be dismissed when it comes to Women's health issues," she continued.
*Disclaimer: The advice on LittleThings is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.
