Bindi Irwin Shares Her Endometriosis Journey: 'I Have A Second Chance At Life'

Bindi Irwin is sharing her story and answering fans' questions about her endometriosis struggles. Irwin, 24, took to social media to share her journey and thank everyone for her support, "compassion, and kindness."

While Bindi has shared some of her stories on Instagram in the past, she dove into a more detailed explanation in a recent video.

"My story • Enormous gratitude to my incredible mum and brother for being there with me every step of the way, including my treatment and surgery. Because of them, I have a second chance at life," she began the video's caption detailing her endometriosis journey.

She continued her caption by thanking her family, husband, his parents, the Australia Zoo and Wildlife Warriors team, friends, and her social media followers.

"Thank YOU for your incredible questions about my endometriosis journey; I hope this video may shed some light on my story to help you or someone you know battling with this disease," she concluded her caption.

Bindi, mom to Grace, 2, began her video by explaining that since Grace is asleep, she wanted to answer some of the questions "thousands and thousands of people" have reached out to ask her about her story with endometriosis.

"It has been a very long journey and many challenges to get to this point," she said. "I'm very thankful to be on the other side of excision surgery, and I can officially say that I'm finally feeling better, which is truly extraordinary and something that I never thought I would say."

She reminded everyone that she's not a medical professional and will answer questions about her journey and surgery to the best of her ability.

"When I was 14, I started noticing my symptoms. I was getting extreme fatigue, nausea, and pain. Many people think with endometriosis, you only get symptoms during your period, that time of the month. I had pain every day of my life, and it started when I was 14 years old," she explained.

"Suddenly, no matter where we went or what we were doing, I would just be falling asleep wherever we were, and I also felt constantly like I had the flu."

She also said they are guessing that her mom, Terri, also has endometriosis because she shared similar symptoms. As Bindi got older, she started seeking answers to why she felt the way she was as her symptoms became more intense.

"I had every blood test you can imagine for tropical diseases; I had scans, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds trying to figure out what was wrong with me," she continued. "I was an active kid, and suddenly, I was getting so tired so easily, and I was always in pain."

After many years of testing, a doctor told her it was just part of being a woman. That's when she gave up trying to figure out what was happening. It wasn't until after she had her daughter that she decided to try again to figure out what was happening.

"After having beautiful Grace, my pain levels were out of this world," she said. "I can remember being with Grace and laying on the floor in agony because I would have stabbing pain in my side, and I literally could not get up, or I would throw up, or I was scared that I would pass out."

Bindi got emotional when talking about how scary it was not knowing what was wrong and having her daughter see her in pain.

Last August, Irwin decided it was time to discover what was happening to her. As she was carrying Grace up a tiny hill, her pain hit suddenly, and she had to hand Grace to her mom and curl up in the fetal position on the ground due to the intense pain.

Bindi was diagnosed with IBS at one point because eating anything made her sick. Still, when her friend shared information about her symptoms of endometriosis, Irwin began to think maybe that was the issue she was struggling with.

"I reached out to her asking her for her advice," she continued. "She gave me ideas for minimizing the pain but said the only way to diagnose this for sure is through exploratory surgery."

When Bindi went to the U.S. to visit with family around Christmas, she had the surgery. During surgery, doctors found 37 legions and a chocolate cyst on her ovary. After the surgery, Bindi has felt much better. Recovery took a while, and afterward, she learned that "excision surgery is the gold standard." She said ablation can sometimes make things a lot worse.

"Everyone always says we need to educate, educate, educate, educate the public, and yes, that is so true. But I also think there needs to be a huge shift within our healthcare system," she said.

"We need doctors to gain more information because endometriosis has such a huge myriad of symptoms that doctors need to be able to help diagnose with the right tools. I was diagnosed with IBS, and people told me everything, like chronic fatigue. Now after excision surgery, I no longer have all of those symptoms. I'm a new woman, and I'm so thankful."

She said there was a chance that she might need another surgery or two because she had an aggressive form of the disease. But now, she knows what symptoms to look out for.

Her final message to her followers was for this video to be their validation that the pain they are experiencing is not normal. "Continue to search for answers and remember you are never, ever, ever alone," she said. "We are all in this together."

Many of her followers took to the comment section to express gratitude for sharing her story so openly.

Bindi's brother, Robert Irwin, commented to his sister, "So proud of you sharing your story Bindi, a message the world needs to hear ??." Her husband Chandler added, "You are the strongest person I know.❤️"

One follower took to the comments to tell Bindi how inspirational she is to others, saying, "Proof that you can go through so much physical and emotional pain and still be an incredible person. It takes an immense about of strength and willpower. You're such an inspiration!!"

Another follower said this topic isn't talked about enough. "Endo is not talked about enough! People don't realize it's not just a uterine thing. It's the entire body. Endo cells have been found in the brain!"