Corrie’s Sacha Parkinson says endometriosis caused her ‘excruciating’ pain

Sacha Parkinson said her endometriosis left her with "excruciating" period pains, anxiety, and backaches.

The Coronation Street actress revealed this week that she had suffered from the condition for many years. Often, Parkinson said that her pain was so severe, she had to stay home from school, abstain from sex, and deal with feeling constantly anxious and irritable. Last year, the actress had two endo cysts removed from both sides of her ovaries and endo spots removed from around her womb. She took to Instagram to say that the surgery improved her life "massively."

"I had excruciating period pains growing up, often resulting in me taking days off school. I had constant lower back pain and for the last 3 years, a constant dull ache that felt like I had period pains every single day. "My anxiety was through the roof, I was always fatigued, I found I was irritable for no reason and it hurt to have intercourse. Which come on, really fucking sucks!"

Endometriosis is a condition that causes uterine lining to grow in places that aren't the womb. It affects approximately one in 10 women and can cause intense abdominal cramping, pelvic pain, and infertility. Parkinson said that she was familiar with endometriosis from a young age because her mother had to have a hysterectomy at 24-years-old. She wrote:

"Fortunately she already had me! (Though she may say unfortunately). "My mum had no choice but to have surgery as it had been undiagnosed for years and her condition became too severe."

Parkinson said that she is "saddened every day" for her mum but she knows that she is the reason why people need to raise awareness for endometriosis. Parkinson played Sian Powers on the ITV soap from 2009 to 2011. She was first introduced as a love interest for Sophie Webster, played by Brooke Vincent. The pair were Corrie's first lesbian couple. Lena Dunham recently revealed that she had a total hysterectomy due to her endometriosis. Daisy Ridley and Julianne Hough have also suffered from the condition.