Just 48 hours before the documentary aired, Barnett underwent almost five hours of surgery involving extensive endometriosis treatment, a hysterectomy and the removal of her gallbladder – a “triple threat”, she wrote, “go big or go home”.
She said the decision came after her condition deteriorated and doctors discovered a mass on her gallbladder. Severe nausea, loss of appetite and unfamiliar pain had left her barely able to function.
“I was poorly. In a way that was different to endo and adeno [adenomysosis, a similar condition] poorly. It was all the time. And non-negotiable. I couldn’t really eat and was on anti-sickness meds all of the time.
“Things then moved very fast. Having just about survived presenting the Today programme on the Monday, I somehow attended a screening of our film and answered questions on stage from my pal, colleague and fellow sufferer Naga Munchetty on the Thursday, and that was it - I was in hospital by the weekend. I practically crawled in there.”
Barnett had previously vowed never to undergo another laparoscopy after surgery a decade ago failed to relieve her pain. But during filming, she was asked to keep video diaries of her symptoms, forcing her to confront how much the disease had affected her daily life.
“I realised that since our daughter was born three years ago, in order to cope with the regularity of my physical discomfort, I kept re-writing history to myself,” she wrote.
She also has adenomyosis, a related condition in which tissue similar to the womb lining grows within the muscle of the uterus. Unlike endometriosis, adenomyosis is confined to the womb and can be treated by removing it.
Barnett stressed that a hysterectomy is not a cure for endometriosis, which she described as a “system-wide inflammatory disease”, but said she hoped the operation could substantially reduce her pain.
Eleven weeks after the operation, she said her recovery is continuing, including adjustments to hormone replacement therapy. She described experiencing fatigue and weeks of being confined to her bed or sofa, but said she was now physically stronger.
“Early indications are that the pain is very much improved,” she wrote, while acknowledging that she was still healing from the surgery.
Emma Barnett (Photo: Blake Ezra)Blake Ezra Photography 2026
Barnett also reflected on the thousands of messages she received from women and their relatives following the documentary, describing an “army united in pain and frustration” over the lack of effective treatment pathways.
She concluded that, despite having never wanted the operation, she may ultimately be grateful she underwent it.
“I think I will end up being grateful for a surgery I never wanted to have,” she wrote.
Barnett returned to the Today programme on Wednesday morning, marking what she described as the “slow march back to myself”.
Barnett has campaigned extensively alongside charities like Endometriosis UK to raise awareness for the condition
