Laura Dundovic opens up on battling hashimoto’s auto-immune disorder and haemochromatosis
TV presenter and model Laura Dundovic has opened up on her health battles, including a condition which requires a medical procedure that drains her blood every four weeks.
Confidential
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It has taken Laura Dundovic three years to get her health in check.
The TV presenter and model suffers from a number of conditions, namely hashimoto’s auto-immune disorder and haemochromatosis.
“I’m finally getting an understanding of my body so I feel really good the last few months,” Dundovic told Confidential.
“To be honest, it has been two years of confusion and then a year of work as it takes a while to find the doctors that work for you and to find what is wrong. For two years it was just symptoms that no one can really group together but this last year has been really moving forward.”
Hashimoto is a disorder that affects the thyroid.
“I kind of see it as a blessing in disguise because I do treat my body like a temple, I really look after it,” she said ahead of hosting the Heineken Player 0.0 National Final at The Star Sports Bar event on Wednesday night.
“Any time something small happens or there is a small change, I am at the doctors and I always seem to pick things up really early because I am so in tune with my body. If I didn’t have this, I probably wouldn’t be. It has taught me to respect and look after my body”
Dundovic, 37, a former Miss Universe Australia, studied psychology, nutrition coaching and personal training, all of which have also helped keep her on top of her health.
Haemochromatosis is a genetic disorder whereby the body absorbs more iron than usual.
As a result, she has to donate blood every three to six months. For the past three months though, with one more to go, she has undergone venesections to drain 500mls of blood every four weeks.
“I have the opposite of anaemia so I store too much iron and when you store too much, it stores in your organs and your body goes into iron overload,” she said.
“I’ve had haemochromatosis since I was 16.”
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