Thought of the Day

Happy Tuesday! Think about today's quote and what you could gain from changing in your life. Could it be an old habit you want to kick? Or a relationship you need to fix? How about your relationship with yourself?

Today's quote is particularly thought provoking for those of us who suffer from endometriosis. There are likely some elements of our daily life that we could change to improve our overall health and endometriosis, whether it's reducing stress, kicking a habit (ie smoking) or eating more nourishing foods.

We all get caught up in the whirlwind of life and it's easy to bypass challenging ourselves for the better. Breaking old habits isn't a bad thing. I try to do this every week and am making positive health choices that my future self will thank me for. This week, I'm cutting out coffee to help boost my liver's health and help it function better. It might not last for too long but I am trying, for my endo's sake!

Today I challenge you to pick one thing in your life that you can alter for the better. You might never look back, and that's fantastic.

- A.T.

The L Word: Facing My Second Laparoscopy

They say that everything in life, good or bad, is all part of the experience, and it's just how you handle it. It often happens that you'll be going through a really good, smooth period of life, then something will land in your lap that catches you off guard and really challenges your coping mechanisms. To add to that, you cannot predict or control any of it.

The same can be said of endometriosis. You can be having a lovely symptom-free month, or at least a month where you don't feel as crippled as usual, then before you know it your symptoms worsen and you feel like you're back to square one. As is the case with life as a whole, you don't know when this will happen or how bad it will happen. As we all know, that can be quite unnerving and very traumatic when it does happen.

The past couple of months for me have signalled a worsening of my symptoms. Since diagnosis in 2013, I've had pain in my right side on and off. This was down to cysts on my right ovary, something we tried to tackle in my first laparascopy in June 2014. Sadly, just one month after the operation, the symptoms came back - tiredness, crippling pains, lethargy etc. The cyst also returned. Back then, I did not think about how my lifestyle or eating habits may be affecting the endometriosis. I didn't eat terribly, but I was on a very poor wage and so could afford only ready meals or quick snacks. Organic vegetables or salads were not an option.

This year has been a learning curve for me. I've expanded my knowledge of the link between nutrition and endometriosis, as well as reading up on Buddhism and mindfulness, going on to practicing meditiation. I have slowly changed my eating habits thanks to a new job and wage increase - eating red meat only once a week, going strictly Organic with vegetables, eating tofu or fish where possible, and cooking proper meals with adequate nutrition.

Yet, in the past couple of months my symptoms have worsened. I started to get pain in my left side which is unheard of. The pain then spread all over - to my pelvis, abdomen and bowels. I've been having repeat scans at the hospital to monitor what is going on, and my latest showed my ovaries as all clear. Whilst this is positive, it doesn't tell us where the pain is coming from. The answer, it seems, is to have another laparoscopy as this is currently the best way to learn where the endometriosis is. Whilst no date has been set, I know it will be within the next 6-8 months.

Whilst it would be easy to get upset about the possibility of an operation, and get angry that eating well hasn't stopped the symptoms from worsening, I think I need to take a really good look at my lifestyle and what I can change. Eating well will not get rid of endometriosis alone. Late nights, drinking, lack of sleep and busy weekends can all have an monopoly effect, so this is something I'm going to be working on in the next few months. Who knows, if I really put the effort in to change my lifestyle I could end up not needing the operation after all.

What really stood out to my family and I is the way I dealt with the news of the operation this time around. Upon learning about the operation in 2014, I was very sad and got very upset and angry at myself, feeling doomed in my body. I've learnt a lot since then and am happy to say that my outlook on life has changed. When finding out about the operation this time around, I accepted the news and then got on with my day. I will deal with the operation when it comes. I also have to remind myself that the operation is to help - not hinder - me. I didn't want to get upset because, as sad that it is that I have endometriosis, I have so many other wonderful things in my life to be grateful for. I feel that getting upset isn't something I want to do anymore - I don't think it's a valuable use of my time.

I feel like we can all change the way we approach the disease. It is completely up to us. I've spoken and heard from many women who suffer from the disease much worse than me, and it has surprised me how, upon speaking to them, they've taken a positive outlook on the possibilities of one day being pain free. It is not all doom and gloom, but our mind is programmed to tell us that it is. I'm hoping to continue this growing movement of positive solidarity, and hope I can inspire more women to hang up the 'doom and gloom' gloves. I acknowledge that there are millions of cases worse than mine, so am by no means claiming that it is easy to be positive when you can't get out of bed for days on end. Just know that, at 4am, when you're awake and feeling alone in pain, there are millions of women out there just like you. In my case, know that I'm one of those women, and want to inspire you to feel better about yourself and the disease.

We have the choice to say NO to negative thoughts. I have taken that choice. I hope you can too.

- A.T.

Welcome to NOvember - Positive Thinking Month

As we enter the penultimate month of the year and the darker weather closes in, it's hard to keep up the motivation we have in abundance at the beginning of each year. When we know that Spring is on the way and the lighter evenings are approaching, there's a sense of positivity in the air and we feel enthused about the new beginnings on the horizon.

I find that it's easy to fall into the rut of giving up on healthy eating and exercising when the festive season approaches as we know there's a chance to wipe the slate clean come 1st January. The same applies for positive thinking. So, this month I'm setting myself the challenge of saying no to my usual end of year rut, and no to the voice in my head that wants me to give in to negative thoughts and feel as dull as the weather.

This NOvember, I'll be putting my energy into saying no to the following:
- No negative thoughts
- No feelings of despair
- No giving up
- No losing hope
- No procrastinating
- No surrounding yourself with people that drain your energy

I know that for my wellbeing, and to help keep my symptoms of endometriosis at bay (pains and tiredness which lead to anxiety and low moods), I need to keep going with the positivity I have been ramping up in the last few months. Starting a meditation class and reading about the way our minds work has massively helped my new found positivity and outlook. It has also changed the way I treat myself and endometriosis, as well as the way I react it to it emotionally. I will elaborate on this in the coming weeks.

For now, think about how you can succeed in having a positive November, even if you've had some bad news regarding your endometriosis or if your symptoms feel like they are worsening. We have to live in this body along with our disease so we need to realise the effect that feelings of sadness and despair have on the disease as well as the rest of our bodies.

Make a list of your blessings and remind yourself of these every time you fall off the positive track and spiral into negative thinking. You'll be surprised at how it can calm you down. I used to suffer badly from downward spirals into negative thoughts about my endometriosis, and some days still do, but now I recognise the bad thoughts and know to bring myself back to the positive side.

Finally, just remember to breathe. because at the end of the day you are alive - the greatest blessing of all - and there's no better thing to remind you of this than your breath.

- A.T.

Endometriosis and Nutrition: What Do We Know?

Being the caring person she is, my mum sent me an endometriosis 'self help' book in January. This is the book accountable for starting my belief in the power of food and eating to benefit your body. I changed my eating habits and believe this has, in part, helped me to clear some of the symptoms associated with the disease; mainly the pains and tiredness.

A Key to Healing and Fertility Through Nutrition, Dian Shepperson Mills MA & Michael Vernon PhD HCLD

The book itself is excellent and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for an alternative path to surgery in order to heal their endometriosis. My nightmare is having repeat operations; I do not want to get to 30 and have had 5 laparoscopies. That cannot be good for the body. My endometriosis returned not long after my surgery last year, so I was apprehensive about having another operation so soon. This is why I wanted to find alternative remedies.

The book is full of testimonies of women who have used nutrition, mental wellbeing and exercise to heal themselves. You wouldn't believe the number of women who have been pulled out of a deeply dark place into a relatively normal, pain-free life due to the remedies offered in this book.

The book states that "Endometriosis... is a systemic disease, maybe an autoimmune disorder. When drugs and surgical treatment are used, they often just mask the symptoms and do not remove the cause. Women need to listen to the messages their body gives them. Illness is an imabalance and good nutrition can help to reduce that imbalance."

I now think so carefully about what I eat. How is this food going to benefit my body? What nutrients am I going to get from it? Will it improve me in any way? This helps me steer clear of saturated fats and unnecessary bad foods. Like anyone else, I will have the odd cheat day where I may indulge in chocolate or a takeaway, but for the most part I am extremely careful and have also started to buy organic foods where possible. Pesticides cannot be good for the body so I am willing to pay a little extra to ensure my vegetables are not doused in them.

I'll be sharing more inspiring theories from this book soon. In the meantime, take a look at your diet and how it could be impacting your endometriosis. Start a food diary to allow you to reflect on what you're eating and make positive changes. Try to eat fresh, nutrient-rich foods - stuff that your body will really thank you for.

"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." - Hippocrates 460 BC

- A.T.

Welcome - First Post!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I intend this blog to be a source of help, reassurance and guidance for others suffering from endometriosis.

The following two facts about endometriosis are widely accepted:
- There is no known cause
- There is no known cure

These two facts are the biggest hurdles when investigating the disease; from a suffer's perspective to a researcher's perspective, the disease creates confusion and annoyance.

If you are a sufferer yourself, you may have asked yourself 'why me?'. Upon finding out there is no cure, this question may have led to feelings of hopelessness and doom, leaving you unsure if you can ever lead a normal, pain-free and fatigue-free life.

As humans, we are inquisitive and we like to ask questions. When I found out there was no cure for endometriosis, I didn't just accept that and carry on. I did a lot of digging and found that, whilst there is no cure and no magic medicine to eliminate the disease, there are certain ways of coping mentally and things we can do physically which keep the disease naturally at bay. Whilst I will never be free of endometriosis, I know I can try to control it, as I know its triggers. I'm slowly turning the tables on the disease I thought had me in its grip.

I see endometriosis as a fairly grey area for medical experts and doctors. Whilst the surgery to remove endometriosis has been perfected and there are surgeons performing these wonderful operations on sufferers every day, I do think that there is a universal lack of support and guidance, especially when, as was the case for me, the endometriosis returned not long after I had the operation. There are a multitude of online forums and Facebook groups for endometriosis sufferers which I think is great. Speaking to people with a shared problem can be amazing for alleviating stress and sad thoughts.

However, sometimes we get pulled down with all the negativity associated with bearing the disease and from hearing other peoples' miserable experiences. This is where my blog comes in. I want to share my positive experiences with others and would like others to join me in a mindful approach to the disease. Instead of seeing it as an attacker, let's treat it as though it's an organ that needs nursing back to health. Instead of getting angry at the constant fatigue, let's approach it as a challenge to make ourselves feel better. I had this change of heart in January 2015 and a checkup I had this week informed me that my endometriosis is at an all time low - they don't need to see me again for 3 months. Whilst the doctor didn't confirm it, I believe this is down to me caring for and connecting my mind and body with my endometriosis. I will take you through the different steps I have taken to put myself on the path towards healing and will share information I have gathered along the way.

Let's not tell ourselves we are victims; life is too short. I hope to inspire you to change the way you approach the disease and to help you see that there is a shining light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to work to get there.

- A.T.