Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks about crippling disease endometriosis
QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has spoken out about the crippling disease that has plagued her adult life — and denied her one of her dreams.
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QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has spoken out about the crippling disease that has plagued her for most of her adult life and denied her the dream of becoming a mother.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Mail, Ms Palaszczuk has detailed her ongoing struggle with the debilitating condition endometriosis and the surgery she has had to try to ease its excruciatingly painful symptoms.
The Premier said she was opening up about her battle with the condition to help women everywhere who have suffered in silence with a disease that is difficult to diagnose.
At times her endometriosis, which does not have a definite cure, has left her in constant pain and unable to walk long distances.
Although one in 10 women suffer with the condition, which occurs when the uterus lining grows outside the uterus and attaches itself to other organs, the disease remains relatively unknown and little discussed.
But it has plagued our Premier for years, leaving her unable to fulfil her lifelong desire to have a baby.
For Ms Palaszczuk, 45, severe symptoms started to emerge in her mid 30s.
Married and planning a family, it was only after she suffered a miscarriage that a specialist finally diagnosed the condition.
Until then, she had been convinced the painful cramps, exhaustion and headaches were a normal part of life.
“I just thought that the headaches and the cramps and everything were normal. I didn’t realise …,’’ she said. “Then I found out it wasn’t.’’
She said her usual doctor suspected something was wrong when he associated her pain symptoms with her miscarriage.
Her specialist said surgery was the only option to discover the full extent of her condition, and to try to increase her fertility.
But doctors discovered the condition had grown so severe it had moved to just under her lungs.
After the removal of the endometriosis, Ms Palaszczuk and her then husband Simon Every, underwent four years of IVF, but sadly never fell pregnant. She was diagnosed infertile.
Another round of surgery followed and she continued to push through the pain despite some days feeling completely drained.
“When I was going through severe symptoms in my mid to late 30s, it was a case of not being able to play sport, not being able to go on long walks, not being able to do a lot of physical activity because it would completely drain me,” she said.
“But I just got on with my life and my life was always busy.”
She admits it is still hard to wrap her head around the idea that one disease can affect a life in so many ways, but hopes talking about it will help other women seek treatment.
“A lot of times, women don’t know why they can’t have a child,’’ she said.
“It puts a lot of pressure on them and a lot of pressure on the family as well.
“Raising awareness will allow women to talk about it more openly.’’
One of her three sisters also suffers from the disease, which can be hereditary.
Ms Palaszczuk said she was able to recognise her sister was suffering from endometriosis after her own diagnosis.
“When my sister was saying to me she was having these very severe cramps, that she couldn’t walk, that she was buckled over, I recommended my specialist,’’ she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said fortunately, her sister had been able to have children.
“Because it happened when she was quite young, she had two children. My situation is I think I left it too late.”
She said these days, as she tackles what is a 24/7 job, she does not get symptoms to the same extent.
“From month to month, it’s unpredictable,” she said.
“The symptoms have lessened over the years and it’s not as bad as when I was younger. Thankfully, now in this job, the symptoms are very minor. I wouldn’t have liked to have been doing this job at the height of it in my early 30s.”
The Premier said she was sharing her story in the hope that, unlike herself, other women would not accept their pain as “normal”.
“People need to be a bit more understanding,” she said. “It’s all about a bit of respect, a bit of understanding, and bit of social change as well is needed. It’s just something that’s not talked about.
“There are probably thousands of women out there at this very moment who don’t know that they have it and that they can actually take some action.
“Talk about it with your friends, be open about it and go see your local GP.
“Don’t suffer in silence.”