Bindi Irwin is speaking out about the secret 10-year health battle that left her in "so much pain all the time".
The 26-year-old wildlife conservationist – and daughter of the late Steve Irwin – revealed that she had been "struggling" in private for a decade before her symptoms were finally diagnosed.
Bindi opened up on the A Life of Greatness podcast about her illness, which caused her constant pain, extreme fatigue, frequent vomiting, anxiety, and depression.
"Behind closed doors, I was struggling to do anything and everything," she said.
"I think people must have thought I was just incredibly flaky because I was getting so sick… I would try to get up, and I really would just throw up. I was in so much pain all the time,' Bindi added.
Bindi revealed that she underwent several scans and tests, including CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, and blood tests for "every tropical disease" but "nothing came back".
After going back and forth for years with doctors telling her that her symptoms were "just part of being a woman", Bindi was finally diagnosed with endometriosis.
According to the Mayo Clinic, endometriosis "is an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining the pelvis."
"Endometriosis is an enormous problem for so many people, and it's not talked about enough. I went 10 years undiagnosed because doctors didn't know enough," the mom-of-one said.
"I was so sick for so long," she added, revealing she underwent surgery in the United States after she was diagnosed with over 30 lesions of endometriosis.
Bindi said that the only people who knew about her health struggles were her family, husband Chandler Powell, mom Terri, and younger brother Robert.
"I was so lucky where I had such a supportive family and they never gave up on me," she said.
"They dealt with it for 10 years just as much as I did, trying to find answers and helping me along the way and saying, 'Hey, you're collapsed on the floor. You probably should get some help, and you shouldn't listen to the doctors saying this is normal'.
"But so many people don't have that circle of people that they can count on. And so you turn to the medical industry looking for assistance and it can cause anxiety and depression – it's very isolating."
She added: "And that's where it just is so difficult. So you turn to people who you think will help you, and sometimes you don't get the care that you so desperately deserve."
Becoming a mother to her daughter Grace, three, was the push Bindi needed to seek medical help after years of suffering.
"When I was so sick, it was hard to be the mom I wanted to be. Then I thought, I have to do something. This can't just all be in my head," she explained.
While there is no cure for endometriosis, Bindi admitted that having surgery has drastically improved her quality of life.
"There's no cure, but if you get surgery, you have a better shot at life," she stated. "Maybe in five or 10 years, I'll need another one, but for now, I'm so grateful."