'I look pregnant': Model shares emotional account of her endometriosis
'I see photos of myself and I am horrified'
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Your support makes all the difference.A model says endometriosis may have ruined her catwalk dreams by causing severe bloating which makes her look pregnant.
Kayla Vincent, 28, wants to spread awareness about the disease and its side-effects and has shared photos of her severe bloating as well as detailing the impact the condition has had on her modelling career.
Endometriosis is an incurable disorder where tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus - the endometrium - grows outside of the uterus. Often linked to severe pain, endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining your pelvis, and can lead to fertility problems.
For Kayla, her diagnosis has meant having to come to terms with what will most likely be permanent side-effects of her disorder.
In addition to the high possibility of infertility, Kayla's career as a model has been affected by "endo belly."
One of the most common symptoms of endometriosis, endo belly, is the nickname given to 'the severe bloating that goes hand-in-hand with endometriosis, which often dismissed by doctors as a minor symptom. For the patient, however, this symptom can be emotionally and physically devastating.
According to Kayla, this side effect, which can be triggered by "anything from caffeine and carbs to water," forces her to wear maternity clothes and has been so extreme at times that people have mistakenly congratulated her on her pregnancy.
"That was hard for me because she thought I looked pregnant, but also she was congratulating me on something I might never be able to do," she said.
As for her modelling career, Kayla says, "the bloating makes it hard for her to work as a model, as she’s never sure what size she’ll be on the day of the photo-shoot or runway show."
Despite her own struggles to accept her body, Kayla is keen to share her experiences with endometriosis online so that other women struggling (with the disease) "know they are not alone".
Often mistaken for other conditions that also cause pelvic pain, endometriosis can be misdiagnosed, or in Kayla's case, dismissed as "psychological symptoms."
For Kayla, it was 12 years after her symptoms started before she was officially diagnosed with endometriosis in August.
"They kept telling me nothing was wrong."
After finally finding the cause of her pain, month-long periods, and intense cramps, Kayla was initially put on hormones but eventually went for laparoscopic surgery to remove some of the diseased tissue.
Despite her struggle, Vincent is trying her best to remain positive, and 'wants people to know that if they think there is something wrong with their body, then they should listen to it.'
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