Living with endometriosis is a silent condition because it’s not visible to the outside world. A woman could look happy and healthy but inside she’s in immense pain. Having witnessed one of my best friends struggle with it, I know how debilitating daily life can be even for her who has a high pain threshold. The first time I saw her in agonising pain and curled up in a ball on the floor, I panicked and wanted to call the ambulance because it looked that bad.
Endometriosis is a condition where the tissue that lines the uterus also grow in other areas of the body and responds to the hormonal changes causing not only severe pain but for some women they can experience fertility problems aswell.
How can endometriosis affect fertility?
- Scaring of the ovaries which may interfere with ovulation
- Scarring can damage or block the fallopian tubes
- Scarring can prevent a fertilised egg from implanting in the uterus
- The hormonal imbalance that could interfere with conception or development of the embryo
For my best friend, her symptoms were consistent with what many women suffer from endometriosis such as painful, irregular and heavy periods where the duration of her periods was up to 7 days. She was always tired and suffered from chronic fatigue. It didn’t help that she had a stressful job. She was willing to do anything to feel normal.
Her doctor advised her that the next step was to have a laparoscopy. Before she had the chance to have the surgery, we started working together to make changes to her diet and lifestyle to help manage her symptoms. Fast forward now, Laura is the mum of two gorgeous boys. You can read her story here.
So when I met Merly I had been on the pill since I was 17 for bad periods! I had to take an anti-inflammatory prescription for a week out of the month as they were so bad! After 12 years on them, I developed a very bad stomach ulcer and was told I could never take another one again. I was frequently bedridden and it was very heavy lasting 7 days! (more…)
Laura – Thriving with Endometriosis
Although endometriosis is a condition that has no cure, I believe you can thrive whilst living with endometriosis by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
If you suspect you have endometriosis, see your health care practitioner who can refer to a specialist gynaecologist. As a Health Coach, my role is not to diagnose or treat but to work as part of your multi-disciplinary team to support you with making those diet and lifestyle changes.
Here are some tips to support you:
- Aim to do about 30 minutes of physical exercise every day. If you haven’t been doing any lately, choose something that you enjoy such as dance class, yoga or walking. Start slowly and build up. You might only do a 10-minute walk around the block every second day for example.
- Make sure you are getting enough sleep. That could mean giving up coffee (or other caffeinated drinks), creating a bedtime ritual like a hot shower and body massage or setting a rule of no technology after 7pm.
- Finding creative ways to help manage you stress. Sometimes having a notepad next to your pad to write down to do lists or random thoughts, starting a gratitude journal, stretching, scheduling me-time, seeking help from a psychologist, counsellor or health coach or just incorporating some deep breathing exercises a sprinkled throughout the day.
For more tips to help balance your hormones, you can download my free 7 day hormone cleanse click here.
