Follow @This_EndoLife

Domestic Violence post - please avoid if triggered. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So here’s the truth of it: When we finally found our new flat in Margate, I thought that was it. I thought my health would be fully on the up from here on out. I’d got to such a good place with my endo and I was adamant the thing I needed to seal the deal and also bring me the lifestyle I craved for my health was to move to the sea. We’ve been visiting Margate for years so I wasn’t unprepared for what I was getting into, but I wasn’t prepared for lots of noise and domestic violence in our building. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I heard the first incident when I was alone. I won’t go into details but it was incredibly difficult for me - besides the obvious fact that it’s natural to want to stop someone from being hurt - the pattern of events, his tone of voice, her tone of voice, reminded me of my own experience and of how many cases like this I have witnessed in my previous charity work and with loved ones. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It threw my plan of health completely off, every noise I hear puts me on edge. I’ve been calling helplines and trying to take the best course of action. I’ve only just got a grip on my definitely un-endofriendly comfort eating, I’ve been missing out on sleep due to the noise, my mental health has started to suffer. I’ve been questioning why this is happening, what my role is, why I’m here. I’m worried about what kind of pain is going to hit me when my period arrives on Sunday. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Then the lovely @gail_loveschock reminded me that this isn’t just a random event, that this IS part of my own womb healing and the healing work I do with others. It’s interesting that the obvious symptoms of endo (as in pain during my period and sex) began once I entered an abusive relationship and lost any sense of my own power. I’m not saying all of us with endometriosis have experienced some kind of abuse or trauma, but it’s a part of my story and a part that whilst I’ve thought about exploring and sharing it, I’ve kept quiet about and haven’t really addressed in my healing. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Since acknowledging that this is work I still need to do in myself... Carried on in comments...
I've been talking about the inner seasons of our menstrual cycle recently over on Endometriosis News and the time has come to talk about a more tricky subject; ovulation, your inner-summer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I say tricky, for a number of reasons. Some of us with endometriosis who want to get pregnant but are struggling, may find time particularly difficult emotionally. Others, like myself, may find this is another time of the month when their endometriosis symptoms are more acute, as the egg is released from the ovary (which may have endometriosis growths or cysts on it). Those who are living with effects like fatigue and depression due to endometriosis, may find it challenging to hear hormone /period experts talk about ovulation being a time of great energy and good vibes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So, before you head over to my latest column, I want to say - I hear you and I feel you and I've experienced my own deep challenges with ovulation and all seasons of the menstrual cycle. You may not feel any change in your cycle at all throughout the month (or however long it lasts), you may feel the effects of endometriosis all the way through at the moment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Talking about working and tracking your cycles isn't a quick fix; your periods may be all over the place, you may feel up one day and down the next - working with your cycles is about understanding the subtle or not-so-subtle changes in our bodies that are unique to us. Just because ovulation is generally a time of higher energy, doesn't mean it will be for you - maybe pre-ovulation is the time you feel the impact of endometriosis the least instead. It's really about spending time with your body, so you can begin to appreciate and understand some of its patterns, so you can work with them, rather than against them. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So whilst this column does focus on how ovulation may help you feel a bit (or a lot) better during your cycle, please do not worry if you don’t feel amazing during this time. Get to know your cycle and begin working with it to seek out more of those good days. 💛 Link in bio to read.
In today’s podcast episode, I’m talking to Britt from @food.period - a start up company, which in my opinion, is revolutionary. Food Period make 'moon bites'; natural and nutritious energy balls, which contain specific seeds that are used in the nutrition protocol known as ‘seed syncing’, which helps balance our hormones and create easier, healthier periods. As I’ve mentioned before, endometriosis is an oestrogen dominant disease, and seed syncing helps reduce oestrogen dominance and brings our hormones back into balance, so I was of course super excited to get Food Period on the show! Jenn and Britt’s story to starting Food Period is pretty much jaw-dropping, with it all stemming from Britt’s diagnosis of blood cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which she’s thankfully now recovered from. Both Jenn and Britt go on a journey together to bring their periods and hormones back into balance, and are now on a mission to provide others with a natural option to regulate their periods and reduce the impact of menstrual related conditions like endometriosis. If you’re keen to try out their seed syncing moon bites, the lovely girls at Food Period are offering $15 off your first box for the next 30 days with the code THISENDOLIFE I really hope you enjoy them and I can’t wait to get started with seed syncing myself! Would love to hear what you think about the episode and if you’ve already tried seed syncing, or are thinking of trying it! Have a listen by following the link in my bio or searching This EndoLife in your podcast app. 💛
I’ve been quiet the past week or so... In truth, besides being busy unpacking and making the final finishing touches to our old home ready for the new tenants, I’ve been grieving. Saying goodbye to my home of three years, and to all that has occurred there. There have been three homes that touched my heart and were full of magic for me in my life; my grandparent’s cottage, a farmhouse in Devon we used to stay at as children, and my first home with Chris in Crystal Palace, which we have just said goodbye to for a new life in Margate. Ahead of us lies new adventures and a new chapter, and I’m so excited to embark on that journey, but for now, I need to honour my feelings and say goodbye. That home saw me through the worst of my endometriosis, my depression, my anxiety. It held me through it all, and the connection I had with it was deeply spiritual. On Saturday night, we slept on an air bed in our empty flat, and wrote goodbye notes, which we folded up and hid in the skirting boards (Ghost Story inspired). A poem flooded through me, onto paper, and because it contains so much of my endo journey these past three years, I feel compelled to share it with you... Spot the Harry Potter reference... ✨ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for the soft afternoon light The birds, the trees The shadows of the leaves dancing across the walls whilst I lay, momentarily paused from life ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for the times you stayed up with me All night, if you had to For how you soothed me, as I rocked back and forth in my pain Sometimes physical Always spiritual ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for never leaving me alone For staying by my side Holding me through the worst (and best) of times ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for the mornings when you reminded me of reasons to stay alive And for afternoons when you said “It’s okay, rest now. Go to bed, there will be tomorrow.” And led me away from my desk Into pillows, duvets and magic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for Christmas For candles, fairy lights and fires For sunrise on frosty autumn mornings For Halloween and Guy Fawkes, birthdays and anniversaries Thank you for always rising to the occasion, For always being beautiful In my eyes Continued below in comments...
How many of us have lied through tears to please our partners? Or have willed our way through sex because we didn’t want the pain to beat us? Living with endometriosis isn’t just about pain during your period (or all throughout your cycle, as many experience), it’s also causes pain during sex. We already know there’s a gender pain gap between men and women, with women having to work harder to be believed and being treated incorrectly, or made to wait longer for help. But it doesn’t stop there - painful sex is so often dismissed and shrugged away. I can’t remember even one doctor finding this symptom much of a concern, or ever offering any suggestions, so I’ve had to make my own way. I was interviewed by @womenshealthmag about my long battle with painful sex, how I’m healing my relationship with my body and my tips and resources to empower, reduce pain and hopefully make intimacy enjoyable again. It’s a raw and honest conversation, and one I was nervous about putting out there, but it’s in the world now, and I hope it helps some of you. ❤️ p.s. Some of my fav accounts mentioned in the interview include @the_yoni_empire @sexloveyoga @juliet_allen - so worth checking out! 🌹 Have a read here: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/a22146276/endometriosis-and-sex/
Whilst most of the month, many of us with endometriosis can struggle with fatigue, pre-ovulation might be the time when we begin to feel a difference in our energy levels and mood. Before I understood my hormones and cycle, I noticed I had a few days when I’d begin to feel better, clearer headed and stronger, then I’d peak and suddenly everything would come crashing down again, and I’d feel like I’d taken 10 steps backwards. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now I’ve gotten to know my cycle, I understand that this rise in energy and my mood corresponds with the rising hormones in my body, specifically oestrogen. I’m now at a place where I can maintain a good level of energy most of the month too, but this wasn’t the case before at all. And if I’d pushed myself too hard, I’d be exhausted all day every day of my cycle, which I’m sure many of you can relate to! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you do find you’re feeling a bit better at certain points in the month, this could be your inner springtime or pre-ovulation, so it’s worth making a note of where you are in your cycle so you can begin recognising this pattern. It’s also a good time to take back control of your life in areas where you feel endo has wreaked some havoc. You might have more confidence or willingness to chat to your boss about flexible work hours, or you may be open to being honest with your friends about how you’re struggling to keep up with your social life and suggesting some different activities to do together. Whatever it is, as you begin to track your cycle and respond to your body’s needs, often it becomes easier to work with your cycle and as a result, endometriosis. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve written about pre-ovulation, or our inner spring, (taking into account the many variables of endo!) over on Endometriosis News. You can find out more and work out how to make the most of this phase by following the link in my bio... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Also, if pre-ovulation is a difficult subject for you due to infertility, I’m not of course a fertility expert, but I can recommend @network_gratitude_eastlondon and @chloeisidora to help cope with loss and @floliving to support the body with fertility. 💛
In this week's podcast, I have the privilege of speaking to the wonderful Kristy Curry of @flutterhealth Flutter Health is a mobile endometriosis symptom tracking app that lets you track your period and journal your endometriosis symptoms, to better manage the disease. This is far from your everyday period tracking app with fixed settings that frustrate you and don't match your experience of menstruation (what’s with only being able to choose one PMS symptom?!). If your period lasts weeks on end, you can put that in. If you have a flare up that includes every endometriosis symptom under the sun, you can put them all in. You can even track your endometriosis symptoms or unusual period behaviours, download the past few months as a PDF, and take them to your doctor so you can get better treatment, or even a diagnosis. I chat to Kristy about how her experience of endometriosis and period tracker apps led her to start Flutter Health with her husband. We discuss how tracking your endometriosis symptoms can not only enable you get more accurate treatment, but can help you understand what's working for you in terms of pain and symptom management. We also talk about the 'endometriosis diet' and how that’s helped her manage her endometriosis over the past few years, and how finding a community can make a huge difference to living with endometriosis. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Head to the link in my bio to listen or download directly on iTunes or any podcast app. ✨
Friends... I would love some feedback and advice. For the past few months, I have been looking for a very special venue... A venue to host my first ever annual Your EndoLife, a day event full of talks and workshops all about living and thriving with endometriosis. But I am having problems hunting alone, places are either too expensive, don’t have disability access or are too small/big. My ideal would be a venue that has a warm and welcoming vibe, holds 50 people, has disability access and is affordable bearing in mind I’ll be paying for this upfront. I have seen some gorgeous venues but I’d love your input before I move forward. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So, my questions are - Do you know of any venues in London that sound like I’ve described? Could you comment or DM me if you’d like to come and need disability access? Would you be happy for me to live stream if I cannot find a venue with adequate disability access within my budget (not ideal but trying to be innovative) OR would you be happy with me making this solely an online even for the first one in order to make it accessible for everyone? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Please comment below! Any feedback would be gratefully appreciated and welcomed! 😘🙏❤️
endometriosisbadge.png
badge_endometriosis.jpg

This EndoLetter