Amy Schumer in recovery following major endometriosis surgery

The actress had her uterus and appendix removed over the weekend in order to help tackle her endometriosis

Amy Schumer posted on her Instagram page to help raise awareness for the condition.

Amy Schumer is currently in recovery after having undergone major surgery in order to help tackle her endometriosis.

The actress and comedian updated fans on her Instagram page yesterday, revealing that she had her uterus and appendix removed over the weekend.

"It's the morning after my surgery for endometriosis and my uterus is out," she said in a video taken from the hospital. 

"The doctor found 30 spots of endometriosis that he removed. He removed my appendix because the endometriosis had attacked it. There was a lot of blood in my uterus and I'm sore."

The mother of one has long been open with fans about her struggles with the condition, which causes abnormal tissue to grow outside the uterus often leading to debilitating pain and bleeding. 

Endometriosis can also affect fertility, which Schumer has also spoken publicly about. She underwent In vitro fertilisation (IVF) last year but failed to conceive.

"IVF was really tough on me," she said on NBC. "I don't think I could ever do IVF again and so I decided that I can't be pregnant ever again. We thought about a surrogate, but I think we're gonna hold off for right now."

Schumer's latest awareness-raising post, which contains a snap of her in her hospital gown captioned: "If you have really painful periods you may have endometriosis", has already garnered over 342k likes online.

In the past, she has also criticised the lack of funding for studies on the condition and has spoken about how her C-section took an extra two and a half hours when she had her son because of her endometriosis.

"If you have really painful periods you may have endometriosis".

Even though one in 10 women suffers from the condition, diagnosis is usually delayed by an average of nine years after symptoms begin. 

Many women, such as former Love Island star Molly Mae Hague, need to get multiple opinions before getting answers.

"I've told you guys for so long now that I suffer with excruciating periods,” Hague told fans in a vlog post earlier this year.

"So I went to the doctors a couple of times. I was like: 'I really do think I have endometriosis, I have every sign and symptom of it, my period pains are to the point where I literally can't stand up. I'm in unbearable pain, I have to take time off work, it's just ridiculous’. Every single doctor said to me: 'no, no, no, you definitely don't’."

The model and businesswoman failed to get a diagnosis until she visited a specialist.

“Straight away they said: 'You absolutely do have endometriosis, it's clear as day'. [The] keyhole surgery that I'm going to have is to get rid of it, but there's like a 40% chance of it coming back, but I need to do something,” she said.

Tia Mowry, of Sister Sister fame, has also suffered symptoms for decades and has undergone multiple surgeries for endometriosis, as she often tells her Instagram followers. In 2018, Lena Dunham penned a popular essay for Vogue magazine where she outlined her decision to have a hysterectomy to relieve symptoms.

Earlier this year, Chrissy Teigan told her Twitter followers that she too was heading into surgery for the condition. Other women that have gone through similar experiences include Alexa Chung, Mandy Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Halsey, and Olivia Culpo.

"I really tried my hardest to pretend that it wasn't there, and just cope and be able to do normal things that I wanted to be able to do. And then eventually, I realized that it was not possible. I just remember being on planes curled up in the fetal position, just crying to myself,” Culpo said of her experience. "It slowly takes over your life.”

Here in Ireland, the Endometriosis Association of Ireland’s chairperson told the Irish Examiner last year that she’s met women who have gone “25 years with no answers”.

“Women are told, ‘it’s part of being a woman’, ‘it’s all in your head,’ or ‘it’ll change when you have a baby or hysterectomy or new hobby or job’,” said Kathleen King. Waiting lists are so long for gynecological services in Ireland that some GPs are wary to even refer patients, she was told.

“This condition is so ignored. Women are expected to just get on with it. Endometriosis is not getting the visibility it needs.”