I was curled up in agony for 20 years: Padma Lakshmi

Model-actress Padma Lakshmi says she used to suffer from crushing fatigue and mood swings before she was diagnosed with endometriosis.

Lakshmi, 42, who was once married to celebrated author Salman Rushdie, said specialists even told her that she would not be able to have children, even with the help of IVF, reported Daily Mail.

But the 42-year-old is now a proud mother to baby girl Thea Krishna, who will turn three next week.

"It (endometriosis) ended up happening accidentally. I'd spent most of my life trying not to get pregnant and it was

only after stopping taking birth control because I was told that I couldn't conceive that it happened at all.

"I've always wanted to be a mother, but I never knew it would be so much fun and I'd enjoy it so immensely. My daughter is such great company. I would love to have another child or two," she said. Lakshmi co-founded The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) to encourage women to look out for the symptoms of the illness.

"I was galvanised by what I went through. Chronic pain is a terrible thing. It impedes your ability to make rational decisions. It alters your ability to handle other stresses in life.

"Endometriosis affects every aspect of a woman's life. It is woven into the very fabric of her life and it develops as her womanhood develops through her adolescence and early years. It becomes part and parcel of a woman's opinion of her] own body, of her femininity, the relationship she has with herself and her sexuality."

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