Lili Reinhart has opened up about a frightening health journey that led to her diagnosis with both endometriosis and adenomyosis, revealing that a single word in a Google search brought her to tears in the middle of the night.
In a personal essay for Elle magazine published on Thursday, 12th March, the Riverdale actress, 29, detailed the lengthy process of trying to get answers about chronic bladder pain she had been experiencing.
Despite seeing around eight doctors, not one had raised the possibility of endometriosis as a cause, until her pelvic floor therapist mentioned it.
“None of the eight or so doctors I had seen before her had mentioned it,” she wrote.
She eventually brought it up with her urogynecologist, who referred her to a specialist in minimally invasive gynaecological care. Tests followed, including an ultrasound and an MRI.
Her initial results came back showing no endometriosis, but did flag adenomyosis.
When Reinhart looked up the condition, one listed symptom stopped her in her tracks: infertility.
“I had no plans to become pregnant within the next few years, but I know I want kids eventually and suddenly the desires I had for my future felt disrupted,” she wrote.
She went home and woke up her boyfriend Jack Martin.
“He asked me what happened, but I didn’t have the words or energy to explain it in the moment. He just held me while I cried through my pain, confusion and frustration.”
The road to a definitive answer was not straightforward.
Her doctor raised the possibility of a hysterectomy to manage pain, while a second opinion from an endometriosis surgeon recommended laparoscopic surgery to investigate further.
Reinhart’s own gynaecologist cautioned that the surgery might find nothing, and that endometriosis often grows back, a particular concern given Reinhart’s interest in egg freezing.
She ultimately went ahead with the surgery, and the surgeon confirmed she did have endometriosis.
“In an instant, I felt validated. My pain, discomfort and suffering for over a year was no longer an unknown question,” she wrote.
Reinhart recovered with loved ones around her and was well enough to travel to see family over the holidays.
