Taylour Paige gives a rare glimpse into her health journey with endometriosis: ‘A really violent illness’
Actress Taylour Paige opens up about living with endometriosis during March, which is Endometriosis Awareness Month.
Taylour Paige is marking March, Endometriosis Awareness Month, by shedding light on her journey living with the painful condition.
On Tuesday, the 34-year-old actress gave followers a closer look at her life with the condition in an Instagram post that included a carousel of images of her recovery process interwoven with other shots from throughout the years.
“The lifelong journey of healing,” she began in the post’s lengthy caption. “Shows up in women who had to hold a lot in. Pain, heavy bleeding, adhesions—forcing oneself to take on [and] take in pain that doesn’t belong to you.”
“The Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” actress noted she’d found some recent inspiration from a post by The Period Lab discussing how the body can create “walls” and “adhesions” similar to the way the mind can respond to trauma.
“This has taken me a long time to learn,” the “Zola” star continued. “Goodness, the self-betrayal and abuse I’ve internalized and would ruminate in. Those not for you benefit from this confusion. I’ve transmuted so much, but old habits die hard. A really violent illness that went undiagnosed for 20 years but caused me so much agony and turmoil.”
The actress added that she had surgery on her colon, bladder, and rectum in the fall of 2023 that lasted four hours. Before that, however, she recalled the pain caused by her endometriosis “would make me see stars.”
“Throwing up every month. Sometimes, couldn’t drive,” she added. “The worst is how much you gaslight yourself. It’s almost like there’s no way you’re hurting this much. It definitely psychologically does something to you because it’s like you, and no one around you believes the pain you’re in.”
Endometriosis, which causes tissue that would normally grow inside the uterus to grow outside of the uterus and can lead to intense pain and heavy bleeding during menstrual cycles, as well as fertility issues, impacts roughly 10% of women, according to Johns Hopkins.
“The anxiety of next month,” Paige wrote. “So many times, I’ve ruined a costume or a good pair of jeans. In high school, my khaki uniform skirts.”
Diagnosing and treating the condition, as Paige experienced in her journey, often requires surgery, according to the Cleveland Clinic. All of the diseased tissue is removed and then examined and properly assessed.
Often thought of as a “white woman’s disease,” endometriosis remains underdiagnosed, particularly in Black women. According to the National Library of Medicine, early associations of the disease as one that impacted high-achieving, affluent, white women who were late to conceive have been hard to correct in the overall view of the condition.
In her post, Paige noted, “[I] learned over the last few years that endo is anger turned on yourself. You’re literally inflamed. That tracked for me.”
“So many women are going THROUGH it okay. Be gentle with us,” the Independent Spirit Award winner continued, noting that she’s “grateful” for what she’s been able to “turn around” in herself over the last few years.
Paige, who is married to designer Rivington Starchild, said “I thank my body, I thank my husband, I thank my dear sister [Elizabeth Halpern] who has taught me so much. My true health mentor.”
Her gratitude list also includes bloodwork, acupuncture, clean water, protein, saunas, and “a calm nervous system,” thanks in part to a “healthy” partnership.
“It’s not just one thing, it’s a whole lot of things [and] I’m thankful we live in a time we can share [and] help each other,” she wrote towards the end of the post.
“I love you,” she concluded.
