Lori Harvey on PCOS, endometriosis and years of being dismissed

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Lori Harvey attends the Miu Miu Miutine party at The Twenty Two Hotel on September 05, 2025 in New York City

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Key Takeaways

• Lori Harvey described years of unaddressed symptoms before receiving a diagnosis for polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis.
• She shared how medical professionals repeatedly dismissed her pain and hormonal issues.
• A new doctor finally listened, leading to a diagnosis that helped her regain control over her health.

Lori Harvey is breaking her silence on years of health struggles that doctors repeatedly brushed off.

On a Tuesday (Sept. 16) episode of “SHE MD,” a podcast hosted by Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney, the model-turned-actress revealed that her “excruciating” symptoms were dismissed for years. She was eventually diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormone imbalance that can affect fertility and cause irregular periods. She also learned she had endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it and leads to chronic pain.

“I’ve been so frustrated. I’ve been going to my gynecologist because I’ve just been feeling like something’s off in my body,” Harvey said. “But every time I go to her, she’s like, ‘You’re fine, you’re fine, you’re fine. Nothing’s wrong.’ And I was like, ‘But I don’t feel fine. I feel like something is just off.’”

Harvey said she had been dealing with irregular weight changes, acne, facial hair and severe menstrual cramps since she was a teenager but never got answers. “I used to have the most excruciating periods of my life … I’m taking 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen. Nothing is working,” she explained. “They’d be like, ‘Oh, just take some Tylenol, you’ll be fine.’ And I’m like, ‘There’s no way this is normal.’”

She then described how Aliabadi confirmed her pain was not normal and quickly diagnosed her with PCOS and endometriosis. Harvey said it was validating to finally hear someone believe her. “She literally changed my life,” she added.

During the episode, Aliabadi noted that if someone as visible as Harvey couldn’t get doctors to listen, “Do you think other women have a chance? They don’t.” Harvey echoed that point, saying she and many of her friends had been “suffering in silence” without understanding what was wrong. “As women, it’s so normalized for us to kind of just suffer in silence,” she said. “And when you keep telling these doctors, who are supposed to be there to help you, that you don’t feel right and something’s off, and they keep telling you ‘You’re fine,’ it’s almost like you’re getting gaslit.”

Finding relief and reclaiming her body

Harvey said taking Metformin has “completely changed my life,” stabilizing her hormones and helping her finally feel normal. “I feel good in my body, finally, for once,” she said. “I’ve never felt more at home in my body than I do now.”