Alexis Joel reveals health struggle: She's cured now, but was 'nonfunctional'

Alexis Joel, wife of Hicksville-raised Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel, said Wednesday she had endured "excruciating pain" as multiple doctors misdiagnosed her endometriosis before finally seeing it identified and treated.

"We all have war stories, and I am no different: years of pain, misdiagnosis, failed surgeries, followed by internal bleeding, and most importantly, Doctor after Doctor telling me I was fine," Alexis Joel, 43, wrote on her husband’s social media, tied to Endometriosis Awareness Month. "I ran the gamut from ‘it’s all in your head’ to ‘just get a hysterectomy.’ "

Then, "A year ago, I met my earth angel. His name is Dr. Tamer Seckin," an OB/GYN affiliated with Northwell Health in Manhattan and a clinical professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Seckin is also co-founder, with food maven Padma Lakshmi, of the New York City-based Endometriosis Foundation of America.

"I had gone to my third ER out of excruciating pain," recalled Joel, who lives in Centre Island with her husband and their daughters, Della Rose, 9, and Remy Anne, 7. "I was non-functional. This was the moment I just started researching specialists and everything pointed me to him."

Endometriosis is a chronic disorder in which tissue like that which normally grows inside the uterus also grows outside it. Endometriosis often affects a woman’s ovaries, fallopian tubes and pelvic tissue, with symptoms including pain, fatigue and excessive bleeding during menstruation, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treatment ranges from medicine and hormone therapy to, as in Joel’s case, laparoscopic surgery.

“One surgery later, 27 [lesions] removed, one less appendix and my entire abdominal cavity rid of this horrible disease,” Joel wrote. “I am forever grateful. The work he does with The Endometriosis Foundation of America is so important to this battle. They work to raise awareness, implement teaching in schools, and continue his research for the next generation.”

She added, “Our family has privately supported this work, but in honor of March being Endometriosis Awareness Month, I wanted to do my part to help others who are unheard. It is a tough road but believe in yourself and find your earth angel — they are out there!”

Seckin, 70, not speaking about Joel specifically, told Newsday Thursday, "You can really understand how pathetic the medical community is when there's such a prevalent disease that they could miss it. It's like every specialist has tunnel vision.”

Often, he says, the common symptoms lead sufferers to a gastroenterologist, “who starts naming this IBS [irritable bowel syndrome] or maybe leaky gut syndrome.” But whatever specialist one starts with, he said, “Once there's a misdiagnosis it can linger for years, and it's hard to come out from that rabbit hole.” Additionally, “There's a huge pre-opinionated, prejudiced approach that when women have pain, it's in their head. ... So that's the heart of the problem.”

Billy Joel, 75, also has suffered from a recent health issue. The five-time Grammy Award winner announced on his website March 11 that he was postponing his current tour for four months following surgery and physical therapy for an unspecified medical condition, and that he expects to make a full recovery.