Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish is opening up about her reproductive health and the pain it has been causing her for years.
In a recent interview with People, Haddish said that her "body" has been "playing tricks" on her.
"I'm pretty sure the devil is real, because the first day of my period, no matter what, the devil goes into overdrive," she told the publication. "I feel like my life gets turned upside down."
After experiencing debilitating pain that Haddish says made her question whether or not she was "dying," the comedian learned that she has endometriosis— a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus and, as a result, causes severe pelvic pain, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
After some fainting spells, Haddish told People she finally visited a doctor in November.
"She gave me something because I kept passing out," she explained. "I don't talk about it, but people just think I'm (asleep) everywhere, but I'm passing out because I'll be in so much pain. The pain is crazy. It feels like somebody is kicking me in my back."
After an ultrasound confirmed that Haddish did have endometriosis, she underwent a procedure to "shave it down" and remove a fibroid.
One of the many side effects of endometriosis is pregnancy loss, and unfortunately Haddish revealed that she has experienced the type of loss many times over.
"Every time I find out I'm pregnant, I’m like: ‘Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do nothin’," she said, and after revealing that she has experienced eight miscarriages, including one just last year. "Even if I don’t really want (the baby), I still try to give it a chance."
Haddish also revealed that her latest miscarriage required medical intervention.
"It's like, I won't know why there's so much blood," she continued. "And then I go to the doctor and they're like: 'Oh, you're miscarrying right now. And I just D&C."
(A D&C stands for a dilation and curettage, a procedure similar to an abortion in which doctors remove any lingering pregnancy tissue from the uterus.)
Haddish did reveal that while she is casually dating she is celibate and isn't sure she will ever get married or become a mom.
"There is a part of me that wants to,” she said, in reference to motherhood. “I’ve got all this love, I should give it to somebody who can grow with it.”
