Being In Tune with Your Body

    It's been a little over five years since I was diagnosed with endometriosis, but I started fighting for my health long before that. When you struggle with a chronic illness that causes you to have chronic pain, you start to know your body on a deeper level than a person who doesn't have those struggles. Since you're trying to do everything you can to prevent pain, you know exactly what foods trigger your symptoms, what activities could be pushing you too much, how much sleep you need to get, certain ways you need to sit, stand, and walk, the list goes on and on. But the bottom line is, especially being a woman, I've had to fight for my voice to be heard and in order to do that, I had to become very in tune with my body. 

    Whenever I go to my variety of doctor's appointments, the nurses and doctors are always shocked at how well I know everything that's happening in my body and how I can pinpoint (most of the time) what is causing me to have symptoms. I tell them that I don't have a choice in the matter living with a chronic illness. Now, this isn't me bragging. I wish I didn't have to do this, but through experience, I know I won't get answers unless I bring suggestions with me to the appointment. Like I've mentioned before on here, I keep a health journal where I write everything I eat during the day, any pelvic pain I'm having, if I made a bowel movement, my stress level, any bladder pain, exercise, and an "other" column for other information I want to add. I do this because if I start having pain, I can look back and try to see if I can determine the cause. It also serves as evidence that I can bring to an appointment to back up my findings. 

    Being in tune with my body has helped me a lot, especially in the last year, but it's honestly exhausting. Having to pay attention and take note of every little thing you do in the day isn't fun and it takes up a lot of time and mental capacity. However, I'm willing to do it because it has helped me get accommodations through school, figure out the cause of my bladder problems, and start to figure out how to heal my injured tailbone, just to name a few. While I hope one day I won't have to do this because medical professionals will just believe me without me having to do their job for them, it is something that works for me right now and I encourage all of you to keep a health journal if you are able. 

Keep fighting, you got this, and remember, endo is not the end!

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Things You Should NEVER Say to Someone with Endo

 Sometimes it's hard to know what to say to someone struggling with a chronic illness, so today I'm going to give you some insight into what NOT to say to someone with endometriosis. 

1. Anything related to pregnancy: You never know what someone might be struggling with or if they even want kids, so it's best to avoid the subject unless they bring it up. 
2. You don't look sick: People with invisible illnesses often have to hide what they're feeling, so just because we don't look sick, doesn't mean we're not. 
3. Just get a hysterectomy: A hysterectomy, or removing the uterus, is actually not a cure for endometriosis. 
4. Shouldn't you be cured since you got surgery?: While the surgery can make us feel a lot better, there is still no cure.
5. At least it's not [insert more severe illness here]: Even though there are diseases worse than endo, you do not want to invalidate or lessen what anyone is feeling. 
6. Just take Advil: Endo pain is often a lot worse than what Advil can fix and saying this can once again invalidate how we are feeling. 
7. I get bad period cramps too: Endometriosis is a lot more than bad period cramps. It is a whole-body disease that causes excruciating pain throughout the entire month. 
8. Someone I know tried this and now they are cured: Once again, there is no cure for endo so bringing up stuff like this is not helpful at all. 
9. Have you tried this diet?: While some diets can be helpful for some people, they are not helpful for everybody. Whenever I talk about the diets I try to stick to, I try to make it clear that this is what has worked for me and I know that it won't work for everyone. 
10. Isn't period pain normal?: While light period cramping is normal, excruciating pain during your period and pain throughout the entire month is not normal. One of the major reasons why it takes people so long to get diagnosed with endo is because we are taught that really bad period cramping is normal when in reality, it's not. 

I hope this post was able to give you some insight into how to talk to someone with endometriosis about their illness. If you think something you say could be taken the wrong way in any situation, it's best not to say it.