Appearing on Lorraine Kelly’s talkshow, actress Sacha Parkinson has opened up about her “crippling” medical condition, and the surgery she’s endured to correct it.
The actress, who played Sian Powers on Coronation Street for three years, told the presenter it took a while to realise she had endometriosis.
She says: “I wasn’t diagnosed until a couple of years ago, but the pain is something that I’ve had ongoing since school really. But you’re unaware that it’s something different to anybody else, so you tolerate it.
“But as I’ve gotten older the pain has gotten worse. I had excruciating period pains, Really heavy period pains. bleeding a lot.”
Sacha, whose mum also suffered with the condition and had a hysterectomy aged only 24, says she was soon in constant pain.
“When I knew it was wrong, I had a constant dull ache right at the bottom of my stomach, that never really shifted,” she recalled.
Sitting beside ITV’s Dr Hilary Jones, the Mr Selfridge star added the cysts had formed as a result of her condition, and she eventually collapsed when she was in LA, during a workout.
Sacha, 25, said: “I just dropped to the floor. I’ve never had that in my life, so I didn’t know what was happening. I immediately started pumping with sweat, I was boiling.”
She crawled across her hotel floor to the bathroom, where she lay for a few minutes before she got to her bed.
Speaking to Lorraine, 58, on Tuesday’s show, she added: “The pain was so bad, I couldn’t keep still. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, no one knows I’m here, I don’t know what this is.’
“Eventually it went, but I knew something was wrong then.”
Doctors explained that her cysts had twisted, which caused the extreme reaction.
Sacha underwent an operation to treat the condition and told Lorraine it had helped, but not totally cured her.
She said: “I’m OK. I get a few twinges. And the dull ache has come along again, but we’ll see, and in myself I feel great.”
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One in ten women suffer from endometriosis and, last week, Sacha posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed, for endometriosis awareness month in March.
She wrote a lengthy caption beside the image, saying: “In April of last year I had surgery to remove endo cysts from both of my ovaries, that had taken up the entire space!
“Along with endo spots from around my womb. My surgery, though small in comparison to others, changed my life massively.”
She went on to describe the “excruciating period pains growing up” and “constant lower back pain”.
The TV star added: “My anxiety was through the roof, I was always fatigued, I found I was irritable for no reason and it hurt to have intercourse.”
She added that she had started having flare ups again in recent weeks, saying: “Unfortunately I have been experiencing similar pains and changes in my body as of late.
“Flare ups, changes in my energy again and pains in my ovaries. I was always made aware that my cysts would most likely return but I didn’t think It would be quite so soon.
“I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that they haven’t!”
Fans were so grateful to Sacha for highlighting the issue. One wrote: “Thanks for raising awareness for all us sufferers of endometriosis xxx.”
Another added: “So honest and brave. Thank you for sharing.”
A third commented: “Unbelievable story and amazing and brave of you to share it.
“Saw you on tv this morning you were brilliant. Much love and prayers to you.”
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