Politics

BBC’s Naga Munchetty Shares Devastating Health News as Condition Reportedly Spreads

Published on June 18, 2025

BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty has bravely opened up about her ongoing health battle with adenomyosis, a painful condition that has spread throughout her body. In a candid discussion, she shared how this condition has had a severe impact on her life and how she manages the relentless pain and symptoms.

Naga explained that, for her and around one in ten women who suffer from it, adenomyosis causes tissue to grow outside the womb. “When it’s spread outside the uterus, it goes into the muscle, and so when it grows, it tears the muscle,” she said. The condition, which had already progressed, has now spread into her upper thighs and lower back, leading to painful flare-ups, reported Bristol Live.

To control the symptoms, Naga is on medication that helps suppress her hormones, preventing the condition from flaring up as intensely. She described the effects of the disorder, which include heavy periods, intense pain, and a range of distressing side effects. “It leads to very heavy periods, intense pain, and that in itself has all consequences – fainting, diarrhoea, passing out, cramps, awful fatigue, all sorts of stuff,” she revealed.

The most troubling part, she explained, is the extreme bleeding, which means she has to wake up every three hours during the night to change her sanitary products. The 50-year-old also confessed that the unpredictable nature of the condition meant she had to avoid wearing white skirts or trousers because of the intense bleeding.

What makes her struggle even more painful, she explained, is how her symptoms were initially brushed off by doctors. “They downplayed it as being normal for all women, which made me feel responsible for my own suffering,” Naga admitted. “I thought all the other women in the world – because I was normal – were going through this, and coping and thriving.”

The ongoing pain often left her feeling isolated, leading her to push through by taking more painkillers than she should have. “I often took way too many painkillers, and said ‘I will sit here until it goes… I will get through this. Just leave me alone’,” she confessed.

For years, Naga believed her struggles were her fault and that she was simply unable to manage her condition properly. It wasn’t until 2022 that she finally received an accurate diagnosis of adenomyosis, a condition that’s often confused with fibroids. Sadly, many women suffer for years without proper treatment or understanding of their symptoms.

Reflecting on her early medical consultations, Naga said she hadn’t fully communicated the extent of her suffering. “Because I did not say, I am flooding, I wear two pairs of knickers when I’m on, and I’m changing the whole time. I’m anxious the whole time. I don’t sleep,” she explained.

One of the most frustrating aspects of adenomyosis is that it can only be definitively diagnosed after a hysterectomy, a surgical procedure with its own risks and complications.

In response to the lack of awareness around women’s health issues, Naga has written a book called It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis. The book, which aims to shed light on the struggles many women face in a world where women’s health is still tragically under-researched, is now available for £11.99.

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