Back to School with a Chronic Illness- Tips

 It's that time of year again when all of us students are getting in the swing of school. I know I certainly am. I know better than most people how hard going back to school with a chronic illness is, so today I wanted to share the tips I've developed over the last five or so years of going back to school with a chronic illness.

On good days, try to get a lot of work done so you have more time to relax on bad days- I always try to get ahead on good days because I know there's eventually going to be a bad day where I'm not going to want to do any schoolwork 

See if you can get accommodations through your school- especially if you're in college, I've found this to be incredibly helpful with living and diet accommodations

Dress as comfortable as possible to make it through class- no one's really paying attention to you that much to care what you're wearing (and if they are they need to get a life)

Always have pain relievers with you on the go- whether it's ibuprofen, icey hot packs, or a Tens Unit, I suggest keeping it in your backpack with you at all times in case you start having a flare-up

Let your teachers/professors know what's going on if need be- I have found all my teachers/professors to be extremely understanding when I'm having a hard time (but they can't give you any help if you don't ask)

Get involved in clubs and activities- this has honestly been my saving grace since I was diagnosed with endo! Like I've said previously, being busy is a pain management strategy for me because I don't have a lot of time to think about how I'm in pain. When I don't have anything to do is when I feel the worst.

But also know your limits- don't completely overschedule yourself so that you never have time to relax because that won't be helpful to your mental or physical health 

Lastly, your health comes first- If you really can't make it to class one day because your pain is too bad, then don't go because you could risk making everything worse. Luckily online class has become very popular, so try and see if that's an option, or just get notes from a classmate. It's really not the end of the world (just don't get into a habit of missing constantly)

I hope all of you who are in school are having a great start to the school year and it has been pain-free so far! If you ever need any advice, remember my DMs are always open :)

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Instagram: @endoisnottheend

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Back to School!

Some of you may have noticed that I took a month off from posting and that’s because the beginning of school has been crazy. The day I moved into school, I barely had any time to unpack because I had to go right to rehearsal for the choir I’m in and that pretty much lasted the rest of the day and the rest of the weekend. Does anyone else get super stressed when all their stuff is in boxes or not in its correct place? Well, I do and that’s what I was feeling like for several days before I had the chance to finally finish unpacking and decorating. Then it was time for classes to start. The good news is that I love all my classes! All my classes are within my major and minor, so I’m never bored and always learning something new. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I LOVE learning, it’s probably one of my favorite things which is why I love college so much; I get to learn about topics I’m actually interested in, unlike most of my classes high school. 

I mentioned in my previous post that I took on a lot this semester and I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage everything. Well, it’s been going pretty well so far! It was kind of a pain getting my schedule all worked out so I could be at every club meeting or rehearsal, but thankfully, I did it and this week everything was finalized. Last weekend, I had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the home opener football game at my college and it went so well! I’ve been singing the National Anthem at events ever since middle school, but I’ve never sung it for my college before, so I was a little nervous. But the President of my college said it was amazing (go me!!). 

I was able to get a single room this semester because of my medical accommodations and needing the privacy to do my pelvic floor physical therapy tasks, and that has been working out very well. While I miss having a roommate, I know I made the best decision for my health and that my body is definitely going to thank me for that this semester. With that said, I haven’t had any big flare-ups yet which I’m very happy about. Stress is one of my biggest triggers, so when I feel like I’m about to get overly stressed, I try to take a minute and relax so I don’t cause any other issues for myself. 

I was finally getting into the swing of things this week, then I got a cold. I was actually pretty scared at first that it was COVID, but I was tested and it's not thankfully. It's so weird how "normal" sickness hasn't really been a thing since the pandemic started because of masks and physical distancing, but as the world opens back up, I guess so does our susceptibility to other illnesses. Like this cold, you are always going to have things that interrupt your plans, but try to find the good in everything. Luckily this cold hit me over the weekend, so I'm going to rest up so I won't have to miss any classes next week.

If you are going back to school right now, I know it can be a very stressful time. My biggest piece of advice is to learn your triggers so you can try to avoid setting them off. Obviously, it’s not going to be perfect, but at least you are trying to do what’s best for your body. Remember, you can do this and endo is not the end!  

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Instagram: @endoisnottheendblog

Twitter: @endoisnothend

Facebook: Endo Is Not the End

How To Be a Good Advocate on Social Media (And Make Meaningful Connections to Your Audience)

 If there is one thing the world always needs more of, it's advocates. No matter the issue, meaningful work, and change simply don't get done without advocates and people pushing for that change to happen. About five years ago, with the persuasion of my family, I started this blog. It is the best thing that could have ever come out of being diagnosed with endometriosis because now I get to share my experience and knowledge with all of you! Some of you may want to do the same thing, but don't know how to start, which is why today I'm sharing tips on how to be a good advocate on social media while also making meaningful connections with your audience! 

1. Post either daily or as much as possible: The algorithms on social media are weird, but the more you post, the more it will spread your posts to a wider audience.
2. Use relevant hashtags: Hashtags are a great way to spread your posts to a wider audience that maybe wouldn't have seen it otherwise since they don't follow you. 
3. Follow other accounts that post similar things as you: If you follow other similar accounts, you can help grow both audiences and reach more people with your advocacy.
4. Share what you believe: As someone with a chronic illness trying to spread awareness about it, I have always found it important to share my own truth and lived experience. A lot of social media is fake and many people only share the good moments, but I like to show the good, the bad, and everything in between because there is a huge spectrum when living with a chronic illness. 
5. Use all forms of social media to spread your message: I use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and this blog to spread my message. I find that this way I can reach different demographics and age groups. Along with this, use all the media forms within each app. For example, on Instagram, I do regular posts, stories, reels, and videos to get my voice out there. 
6. Show your personality through your posts: You don't want your audience to find the information you're sharing to be boring, so put your own voice into it and make it interesting! 
7. Similar to #6, use plain language: You want to get information out to people in an accessible way. Most people aren't going to want to read something that's super sciency and hard to understand. 
8. BE YOURSELF: You will get people hooked on your posts by being yourself, so don't be afraid to do so!

If you've been thinking about starting a blog or social media account for something you're passionate about, this is your sign!! These tips don't just apply to chronic illness and health-related topics, you can use them for anything you are passionate about. Social media is such a great place to be able to share what you believe with a large number of people, and who knows, maybe you'll even meet new friends that way because I know I have! 

Follow me on social media!

Instagram: @endoisnottheendblog

Twitter: @endoisnothend

Facebook: Endo Is Not the End

How I Helped My Bladder Problems!

 If you've been following my blog or Instagram for the last several months, then you know that I've been struggling with severe bladder frequency and bladder pain. This started getting more severe in September after being home from college since March due to the pandemic. I eventually made an appointment at Boston Children's Urology and they've been helping me the last couple of months, however, what has helped me the most is going back to pelvic floor physical therapy when I came home for winter break. I know a lot of people with endometriosis also suffer with bladder problems because it creates a lot of inflammation in that area, so I want to lay out the steps I took to help myself feel so much better in just two months. 

Wand:

A wand is a kind of dilator that focuses on stretching the deep pelvic floor muscles. Those muscles are basically responsible for holding all your organs in that region of your body, so when they are out of wack, that can create many problems. The wand is curved so it can reach those deeper layers and I highly recommend asking your physical therapist about it because it has helped me so much with getting those muscles to relax and getting the pressure off my bladder to decrease frequency.

Diet:

I've talked about this a lot on my Instagram, but I started eating an anti-inflammatory diet this summer and have gotten more serious about it lately. The things to look out for the most to help your bladder in this diet (at least for me) are bubbly drinks because of the carbonation and sugar, artificial sugar like in candy, and dairy. I still allow myself to have dairy and artificial sugar every now and then because it's hard not to, but not eating it most of the time has really helped with my bladder pain. 

Cupping:

Starting about a month ago, I started doing cupping in physical therapy. I'm going to do a whole blog post explaining what cupping is and my experience with it, but it's basically little cups that suction onto your skin and they relax and stretch the muscles as well as release all the toxins built up in your skin. This has not only helped my pelvic pain immensely but also my tailbone that has been injured since July. I could not recommend this enough if you have the opportunity to try it out. 

Mind Tricks:

I call these mind tricks for lack of a better word, but they have really made all the difference when it comes to my bladder frequency. The first trick my physical therapist taught me is to ignore the first pee signal your bladder sends you to see if it goes away. When you have bladder inflammation, your bladder is swollen so it thinks it's full when it's actually not. This turns into a nasty cycle because when you start emptying your bladder when it's not actually full, then it starts to shrink which is what was happening to me. By ignoring that first signal, you might get a longer stretch between empties which will help your bladder stretch back out. The second trick I use is when I get the signal to go to the bathroom, I tell myself that I don't need to go, especially if I just went. I normally do this at bedtime when I have just gone to the bathroom and it helps. Sometimes all it takes is making yourself think otherwise to help :)

Cranberry Supplement:

This is a very simple one, but cranberry is known to be very good with urinary tract health. Cranberry juice is not good in this situation because of the sugar, so a cranberry supplement is a great choice! It's a small thing that can make a big difference for your overall health. 

If you are struggling with bladder issues like me, I strongly recommend all these strategies to combat it. Going back to pelvic floor physical therapy is the best decision I've ever made for myself because it has helped me so much with all my problems, big or small. I understand not everyone is lucky enough to be able to go to physical therapy, but there are a lot of things you can look up online to help yourself. And as always, feel free to DM me on Instagram @endoisnottheendblog if you are experiencing any of these problems and want someone to talk to who understands!

My Health Goals for 2021

 Happy New Year everyone!! 2020 was a hard year for everyone around the world but now is a chance to start fresh and create some goals for the coming year. The second half of 2020 for me was focusing a lot on my health. In the context of this post, health means my chronic illnesses, my pelvic floor dysfunction, and eating an anti-inflammatory diet. I plan on making 2021 a year about focusing on my health, listening to my body, and hopefully minimizing my pain. So, for my first blog post of the year, I wanted to share some health goals I have for myself!

1. Continue going to pelvic floor physical therapy regularly 
2. Do all the stretches, exercises, and techniques my PT gives me every day
3. Try harder to eat an anti-inflammatory diet (it was so hard around the holidays!)
4. Talk to my college's dietitian about foods I should eat while at school that won't work up my dairy, sugar, and gluten sensitivities 
5. Get out for walks more
6. Drink 64 oz or more of water every day
7. Continue taking the supplements that are helping my urinary tract health
8. Get plenty of sleep every night
9. Make sure I don't overly stress myself out since that works up my endo pain
10. Continue writing and posting a blog post every other week
11. Bonus: Try my best to achieve all these goals, but not be too hard on myself if I miss a day!

If you want to focus on improving your health like me this year, then I recommend making a list like this and sticking to it. I chose goals that I think are attainable for me because I have already been doing them, so make sure you are making goals that are attainable to you, and don't be too hard on yourself. I make a to-do list every day because it keeps me motivated to check things off my list and so I know I've completed everything I wanted to for the day, so I recommend that too. I hope you have had a great start to the new year and I'm wishing you all happiness, safety, and health in the year to come!