Diana Vickers has revealed she has been diagnosed with a chronic condition after years of ‘extreme pain’ and mystery surrounding her health.
The singer, 34, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a health update with followers as she revealed she has been suffering from pain in her lower back, legs and pelvis for the last four years.
Speaking in a candid video, Diana explained that she has been diagnosed with ‘pelvic congestion syndrome’ and now feels ‘relieved’ because she thought she was ‘going absolutely mad for years’.
She said: ‘I wanted to hop on here because for the last four years, I’ve come on socials to talk about how I’ve had debilitating pain and it’s been a bit of a mystery.
‘To be honest I’ve been using socials a lot to help me because like a lot of women my age, I’ve had pain and I’ve not known what it is.
‘Unfortunately, this is a thing with women’s health, we are misdiagnosed, there’s not a lot of research and money into women’s health and considering we are half of the population that’s very infuriating.’
Diana Vickers has revealed she has been diagnosed with a chronic condition after years of ‘extreme pain’ and mystery surrounding her health
The singer, 34, took to Instagram to share a health update with followers as she revealed she has been suffering from pain in her lower back, legs and pelvis for the last four years
The X Factor star continued: ‘Finally two weeks ago I had a laparoscopy, my pain has been lower back pain, leg pain, pelvic pain, severe bloating, it’s not a very sexy feeling.
‘Anyway I’ve been told it could be endometriosis, IBS, but after my surgery a doctor came to speak to me and talked me through images of what they found and it was actually something I’ve never heard of.
‘They spoke to me and said this is what they’re pretty sure that they have found by looking at my veins in my pelvis. I’ve got something called pelvic congestion syndrome.
‘Pelvic congestion syndrome is something found in women and it’s basically when the veins in your pelvis stop working properly and pool with blood and they wrap and twist around your ovaries and it’s extremely painful.
‘Even hearing that for someone that has had so many scans and blood tests and been told nothing was ever found, to be sat there this relief I felt, because I felt like I was going absolutely mad for years.’
Diana is hoping by sharing her diagnosis and health journey other women going through ‘mystery illnesses’ will feel less ‘lonely’ and it will raise awareness.
She said: ‘Anyway the reason I want to talk about it is because there is a community of women out there who have pain and don’t know what it is and it’s this mysterious illness and honestly it can be so lonely.
‘I’ve never heard of this PCS before and I didn’t know if me talking about it and taking you on my journey might raise awareness and help someone.
‘There is still a way to go yet I’m still waiting for the report back but we are lucky to have the NHS.’
According to the NHS, ‘pelvic vein congestion syndrome is a condition where a collection of faulty veins (veins where the blood does not flow properly) in the pelvis become enlarged (similar to varicose veins in the leg).
‘This causes blood to gather in the pelvic area which can then cause pain in the lower abdomen.’
It comes after Diana revealed the horrific moment she was spat on in the street as she shared a clip to Instagram in January.
She was explaining a sweet moment she had with a stranger, but before she could finish her story, she was interrupted by someone spitting at her.
Speaking in a video, Diana explained that she has been diagnosed with ‘pelvic congestion syndrome’ and now feels ‘relieved’ because she thought she was ‘going absolutely mad’
She said: ‘I’ve got something called pelvic congestion syndrome, which is something found in women and it’s basically when the veins in your pelvis stop working properly and pool with blood and they wrap and twist around your ovaries and it’s extremely painful’
As a passerby was heard swearing at the star, Diana looked visibly taken back by the commotion.
Diana started her story by revealing that earlier in the day, she had a friendly encounter with a stranger who helped her cross the road.
She said: ‘So we’re on the street corner chatting, and she was like “What’s going on with you and your life? I really feel like I was supposed to meet you” and I was like “Oh I’m suffering really bad with anxiety” and we really connected so we’re going to meet up later.
‘So that’s that. Then I went to get a bagel in this place,’ but her story was abruptly interrupted by the sound of someone spitting.
A female voice off-camera was heard hurling abuse at Diana, stating: ‘It ain’t that much f*****g social media,’ which left her in shock.
She exclaimed: ‘She’s just spat on me… So that was great. What the hell is happening?’.
Despite the incident, she resumed her tale about the rest of her morning.
Diana continued: ‘I went in to get a bagel, but they got my order wrong. So I asked if they could redo it, and they were like no we’re not redoing that.
‘Then I sat down and some revolting bloke sent me a picture of his disgusting penis and then that woman just spat on me!’
