ITV This Morning star rushed to hospital while on holiday with 'worst pain of her life'
Kate Lawler, who won Big Brother UK in 2002, has spoken out about her experience of being diagnosed with a little-known women's health condition, that left her in crippling pain
This Morning's Kate Lawler has opened up about a hidden health struggle that subjected her to "the worst pain of her life".
The 45-year-old television personality, famed for winning Big Brother UK as the first female champion in 2002, detailed the agonising ordeal leading to a hospital dash in Greece.
Initially being told by doctors that "everything was fine", she returned home to the UK only to endure multiple tests and incorrect initial diagnoses until discovering she had pelvic congestion syndrome.
Kate shared: "The abdominal pain was worse than any pain I've ever had. It was crippling - sometimes too unbearable to even get out of bed - and it felt even worse during menstruation and sexual intercourse.
"It was a sharp, stabbing pain that would last from 10 seconds to several hours," reports Wales Online.
Symptoms first troubled Kate in December 2017, which then escalated to a hospitalisation while on holiday the following year.
Suspecting a serious hernia at first, Kate voiced frustration over doctors dismissing her concerns, leading her to feel as if she were "going mad" and attributing the relentless pain to hormones or ovulation.
Despite repeated assurances of her well-being from various medical professionals, she continued to be plagued by extreme discomfort, rendering her "desperate" for an accurate diagnosis.
"In the end I literally felt like I was going to have to live with the pain forever," she heartrendingly recounted to The Sun.
In August 2022, she was diagnosed with pelvic congestion syndrome and later underwent a procedure to combat the debilitating condition.
She expressed her relief saying: "I can't explain how much I've improved and how I no longer feel crippled by this pain that would strike at any time," and is now advocating for increased awareness, as she had to push for her own diagnosis. "No woman should suffer in silence."
According to the Cleveland Clinic, pelvic congestion syndrome causes chronic pain due to blood flow issues in pelvic veins, characterized by intense sharp pains, painful periods, discomfort during and after sex, and prolonged standing or sitting pain.
The causes of PCS remain a mystery and while there isn't a permanent cure, symptoms may be alleviated through medications and surgical procedures.
Kate underwent a pelvic vein embolisation, which entailed placing small coils into the affected veins with X-ray assistance.
The radio presenter and mum-of-one frequently updates her followers about her health struggles on social media platforms.
In 2023, she disclosed she was experiencing perimenopause and was considering hormone replacement therapy options.
On Instagram, alongside an emotional selfie, she candidly shared: "Just a selfie of me earlier because you know, life/work/child/the news/housework/bla bla."
Her caption continued: "Only sharing this because the last few days my Insta may have looked like all the fun but in all honesty, the majority of the days over the last week have been a lot and I'm due on so that probably doesn't help.
"And I had a call from my GP after blood tests to tell me I'm perimenopausal and the offer of HRT just made me feel weird. Anyway, if your own mental load feels heavy right now, I see you and I'm sending you so much love."
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