Strictly 2024 star Montell Douglas has issued a health update after years of battling dysmenorrhoea.
Dysmenorrhoea is another word for painful periods, and, per Mayo Clinic, can be identified through throbbing or cramping pains in the abdomen which occur just before or after menstruation.
After putting up with “excruciating” pain for a number of years, Montell ended up having to go to A&E after she fainted at home. She later discovered that this was due to her hormones causing dehydration and overheating.
Since then, Montell, who was part of last year’s Strictly line-up, told Manchester Evening News that she is still “figuring things out” and having regular check-ups. Fortunately, she added that she is in a “good place” with her symptoms.
Strictly star Montell Douglas shares health update
She said: “I’ve been given the options for things, and then I’ve gone with the option that suits me best and they’ve said that works well, and then I’ll stay on top of it. I’m in a good place with that.”
She added that while she’s had health evaluations since, it’s “important to have validation in your voice”.
“‘I’m feeling this, is this okay?’ Like just asking questions, rather than being like: ‘Oh it’s normal, it’s fine,’ and not even getting to that stage where you’re seeking help.”
She then recounted how she was “on the floor” during training due to the pain, and noted: “That’s not normal, you don’t have to just fight through pain. You’re allowed to validate your feelings, you’re allowed to feel that, if it’s too much, you [can] seek help and say: ‘I don’t think this is okay.’ It really helped my understanding of being brave, I’m brave enough, you don’t have to fight through everything.”
She went on to add that there are “different types” of period pain people can have, including dysmenorrhoea and endometriosis.
Per the World Health Organisation, endometriosis is a disease where tissue similar to one’s uterus lining grows outside the womb. It can cause “severe pain” and fertility issues.
Montell previously spoke about another hospital trip
This isn’t the first time Montell has been open about her period pains.
She previously spoke about how she’d take powerful painkillers to manage her painful periods, but once paid the price when she took them too late.
“That hospitalisation for me was a kind of wake-up call,” she told PA. “My body just started convulsing. I was almost passing out, because the pain was so intense. I was overheating because of the hormones. My body couldn’t control its temperature, and that in turn made me dehydrated. The pain was in waves, coming in like contractions.”
After this hospitalisation, she had the contraceptive implant put in to help with the pain.
“Since then, it’s been much more manageable in terms of the pain, and it just gave me some confidence in that when it comes, I’m not going to be at its beck and call. It’s something I can manage, rather than it managing me,” she concluded.
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