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15th December 2023
02:57pm GMT
*Trigger warning: This article mentions fertility struggles*
Tracy Clifford has candidly opened up about her endometritis diagnosis and the impact it has had on her fertility.
The radio presenter was unaware of the fact she had the condition but is sharing her experience now in the hopes it will help other couples.
Tracy explained that she and her fiance, Mark, had been trying to conceive up until her diagnosis, unaware as to why she wasn't falling pregnant.
"We've had a little fertility journey; not a journey, an expedition, and we're always in the trenches," the 2FM star told the RTE Guide.
"After all the exploration that you do when working out why it's not happening, I found out that I had silent endometriosis, and that was just in February, so I've been trying to navigate that.”
Silent endometriosis sees sufferers have tissue similar to the lining of the uterus growing in other areas.
However, it does not come with the characteristic symptoms of endometriosis, such as pain, making it more difficult to diagnose.
This year, the media personality received her diagnosis and only then learned what it was and what steps to take next.
"I wasn't in any pain with it, no symptoms that I was are of.
"When I did research on it, I found out that one in ten Irish women have endometriosis that they're suffering terrible pain with and of course, it affects their fertility, their mental health, their work life and home life.
"So I was walking around with stage three endometriosis, and I didn't have a clue, and it was affecting my fertility. No one was exploring it and it made me realise that you have to advocate for yourself so much.”
The radio star revealed that she underwent a laparoscopy earlier this year to remove the endometriosis.
Tracy adds that women's health needs to be talked about more, as a lack of information and awareness could see them go untreated for years.
"I didn't plan to talk about this, but even if this interview helps someone else to figure out that they have silent endometriosis, I'll be glad I talked about it.
"There needs to be more information about it. Women go through the medical system for years and years being fobbed off about fertility or menstrual concerns and the dots are not connected.
"We need to do better."
Well done to Tracy for speaking up and bringing awareness to such an important topic!
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