Naga Munchetty has appeared alongside Vicky Pattinson as the BBC Breakfast star spoke to members of Parliament's Women and Equalities Select Committee about living with adenomyosis, a condition that causes the lining of the womb to grow into the muscles of the womb.
The condition can lead to painful periods, a symptom that Naga has been experiencing since she was 15. However, despite approaching doctors, she revealed she had always been told to "suck it up" despite the debilitating effects that the condition had on her. "I started my period at 15," she explained. "It would last for 11 or 12 days. Eight or nine of them were very heavy.
"I'd throw up on the first day, pass out once or twice during the cycle. I'd be wrapped around a toilet. I'd still go to school. I still went to work. Whenever I went to the doctor I was told it was normal."
Naga opted to undergo private treatement for her adenomyosis as she told MPs that doctors often dismissed her, with some saying "everyone goes through this" an attitude she claimed was pervalent particularly among "male doctors who've never experienced a period".
© BBCNaga's dismissal from doctors isn't an isolated issue as Vicky also opened up about how she felt let down by doctors who failed to diagnose her with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The condition is a more extreme version of premenstrual syndrome and causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms every month before a period.
Vicky explained: "I was always told exactly the same thing: 'This is PMS. This is what women go through. Every other woman in the world is dealing with this'. I can't tell you how many times I got told, 'They'll [symptoms] get worse as you get older, this is just natural'. And you believe it. You absolutely believe it and you believe that you're weak, that you can't cope with what every other woman is coping with."
© Danny Martindale/ITNNaga first opened up about living with the condition back in May, telling listeners on BBC Radio 5: "Right now as I sit here talking to you: I am in pain. Constant, nagging pain. In my uterus. Around my pelvis. Sometimes it runs down my thighs. And I'll have some level of pain for the entire show and for the rest of the day until I go to sleep."
Naga explained that she lives "every day on painkillers" and said that she does not wear "light-coloured trousers" while presenting BBC Breakfast as she is "so afraid" of leaking while on her period.
© BBCDetailing a time that she almost passed out while hosting the show, she said: "I just said, 'I have to leave'. And I went to the loo and I thought I was going to pass out, but I threw up and then just came back."
Speaking about one instance that left her in crippling pain, she revealed that her husband James called an ambulance in the middle of the night. "I was writhing around and moaning and screaming in pain.
© BBC"Eventually, I got to sleep after about 45 minutes. And then it happened again in the middle of the night and we had to call an ambulance because I couldn’t be moved. And I was just screaming.
"All I remember saying is: 'If the ambulance comes (which it didn't), do not let them give me a full hysterectomy'. Because that is the only cure to get rid of it," she said.
© Curve MediaFans have been very supportive since Naga first opened up about living with the condition, as one said: "Excellent work!! Will be listening - great to see a public profile raising the awareness of adenomyosis. So much work still needs to be done in the UK!" while another added: "Thank you so much for helping us spread awareness on this debilitating condition."
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