For The Endo Girls : Battling Shame

Often times, I think I'm shameless when it comes to endo.

I'm very upfront about having it. I don't embarrass easily when discussing it. I'm honest when people ask questions about it. And while I may spare them a few of the more gory details, I'm not ashamed of having it. And I'm not embarrassed to talk about it. Not at all.

But then pain happens. In front of people. Unexpectedly. And suddenly all the shame I thought I was incapable of feeling comes rushing over me and I would give anything in that moment to just disappear.

For the Endo Girls : Travel Tips.

In my life, I dream of traveling often and traveling far.
Having an chronic illness has made this a really challenging thing to accomplish, although I'm coming to find that challenging doesn't have to mean entirely impossible.

I am not a well traveled person (yet!) but this summer, health permitting, I'm embarking on a few exciting trips! Leaving California for the first time in years and even traveling by airplane! I can count on my fingers the number of flights I've taken in my life, so this is an exciting one.

After many failed attempts and miserable "successes" in the last few years, I didn't know if I'd ever be confident enough to travel very far away with my condition, but thanks to several smaller getaways and a better general control of my pain at the moment, I think I've gained enough "know-how" to handle the tricky endo-situations that may present themselves while I'm away from home.

Considering past experiences, both good and bad, here are a few tips I'm sticking to while traveling this summer.
Hope they might help you feel more comfortable during your vacations too!

For The Endo Girls : Is the Endo Diet Worth It?

Prior to meeting with a naturopathic doctor, and even prior to my official diagnosis, I did a lot of research on the Endo Diet.

I looked through a variety of sources and found that for the most part, supporters of the diet suggest eliminating the following :

gluten. red meat. dairy. sugar. coffee. caffeine. soy. 

chocolate. eggs. fried foods. alcohol. saturated fats and oils.
and others recommended getting rid of all processed foods.

Obviously, what I share here is just my opinion and personal experience. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. But in spite of the success some women experience with it, this version of the diet didn't work for me and may not be working for other women for a similar reason.

Here's what I mean...

For The (Non) Endo Girls : What Does Endometriosis Pain Feel Like?

I've tried for a long time to find a way to explain how endometriosis physically feels, to someone who doesn't have it.

It's not a question that I receive often, but since we harp so much on the fact that it's different than cramps, I feel that us endo-girls kind of owe the rest of you an explanation as to what it does feel like, you know?

Many women with endometriosis associate their pain with the term "flare up." I think most times, this is referring to the severe pain. Not the daily pain that many women deal with, but the times when it gets really bad. The Emergency Room times. The Percocet times. The how-the-hell-am-I-supposed-to-get-out-of-this-bed times.

I posed the question to an endometriosis Facebook group and received some helpful and honest answers. Keeping in mind that every woman is different, some may find several or all of these to be true in their case, some may not relate to any of them. But these were the most common answers.

What does an Endometriosis flare-up feel like?

For The Endo Girls : Our Celebrity Endo-Sisters.

1 out of every 10 women has endometriosis.

Before I knew I had it, I never would have guessed it was so common.

Mainly because prior to my diagnosis, I'd never even heard of it! So much information about women's health gets thrown at us from every direction - often by celebrities, using their fame to raise awareness for the different afflictions that they face, but this was one I had yet to see.

Statistically, it makes sense that a lot of celebrities would have endometriosis, but it's not really something that pops up in tabloids or on their twitter feeds the way some other health issues do.

edit 7/22/14 : Lena Dunham joined the conversation about birth control on Twitter 

by sharing her endometriosis diagnosis. Yay, Lena!

So last week, out of curiosity, I did a little bit of research to find out which famous women have admitted to having this oh-so-glamorous condition, and here are a few of them...

For The Endo Girls : What NOT To Say To A Woman With Endometriosis.

In dealing with all the emotional and physical pain that comes with endometriosis, there are a lot of situations where kind-hearted people want to offer support, but don't know what they should say. And often, in an effort to be loving and comforting, they end up being accidentally insulting.

So I am sharing a few less-than-helpful comments that I've heard from nurses, doctors, friends, family, and coworkers multiple times.

Not to embarrass anyone who has said these things to me, but to hopefully explain why these things aren't appropriate to say to women with endometriosis and provide some positive alternatives for moments when well-intentioned people are looking to provide comfort.

If you know a woman who is suffering with endometriosis, please don't say....

For The Endo Girls : Tips For Reducing Endometriosis Pain

Endometriosis affects every girl differently.

All of our pain is at different levels and what works for one woman won't always work for another.

But in the spirit of helping each other out a little bit, I think it's really important to bounce pain-relieving methods off of each other and give suggestions that someone else may not have tried yet! 

These days, most of my endo pain can't really be controlled by anything other than heavy pain medication, but for the times that there's just that discomfort, dull aching, or a small amount of pain, I have found a few things that help me get through the day without having to drug myself up. 

Here are a few of my go-to remedies : 

Warm Lemon-Honey Water

          - Drinking a cup of warm water with lemon and honey is supposed to reduce side effects of endo such as nausea, indigestion, inflammation, and can also be helpful in fighting infections. Lemon water also helps to cleanse the liver, which regulates estrogen in the body - always beneficial. The warmth of the drink may soothe mild cramping for some girls. I like to mix 1 cup of water, juice from 1/2 lemon, (or a tablespoon of lemon juice) and a teaspoon of honey. I actually drink this every morning, but when I'm hurting, I'll make myself another cup later in the day. Drink while watching Friends re-runs for best results.

A Hot Shower

          - We all know that heat helps but while I love my heating pad, it can only concentrate on one general area at a time. When my back, legs, and stomach are all tense and cramping, I hop into the shower. It's a bit of a pricey solution, I guess, when it comes to paying the water bill, but I will sit in my shower for anywhere from a half-hour until the hot water is completely gone. I use this most as a filler when I'm waiting for my meds to kick in. If I just took a pill and I know I've got a half-hour or so before it starts working, I'll sit in the shower and just wait it out. I usually grab a beach towel, keep it rolled up, run it under the hot water and then use the warm wet towel as a padded back rest against the shower wall. The shower is also a prime place to use aromatherapy and try to meditate, pray, or breathe through the pain. (Edit on 5/12/14: My current go-to is to soak in an epsom salt bath! In the last few months I've found it relieves my muscle aches immensely! And this past Christmas, my parents thoughtfully bought me a bath pillow! No more rolled up beach towels for me - movin' on up in the world! ;))

Lavender Essential Oils

          - Speaking of aromatherapy... It doesn't do much to help soothe my pain necessarily (though using lavender essential oils are supposed to help with cramping and muscle spasms, it may just not work for me) but I've found it helpful for staying calm through bad flare ups. Many times, the pain gets so bad that I end up just feeling completely overwhelmed and I start to panic. The lavender is calming and also makes me feel a little more human on the days I'm not well enough to get up and make myself presentable. "I don't look good... but at least I smell good." (My boyfriend's a lucky guy, obvi.)