'Its Not The Endo The World...'

Hi All, Just a reminder that tomorrow hosts our next North Essex Endometriosis UK support group. Come along 10.00 - 12.00 at Myland Parish Church Hall, Colchester. Absolutely everyone is welcome, so please come along for a cuppa and a biccie. Hope to see some of you there! A x

I've had some lovely messages of support since my last blog on Tuesday from friends and family. I really do appreciate all your words and although I am struggling, it does help. Unfortunately, I had to leave work at lunchtime today due to my pain. I had taken painkillers and had a hot water bottle, but whilst I was talking to a colleague at my desk, all of a sudden it felt like my heart was doing somersaults, I felt faint and I was feeling nauseous. I have no idea what it was but my heart was pounding in my chest and I was struggling not to be sick. It was horrid. I hate what this disease is doing to me. Not only that but I'm embarrassed. I don't want people to see me when I'm struggling, especially at work. Some might say I'm too proud, or simply just too stubborn but thats just how I am. I've had the chance of having a natural family taken away from me, so I find it extremely frustrated that its now effecting the one thing I've thrown myself into. My w...

I don't know whats happened this week but it feels like its been pretty hard going. I can't even say its been anything in particular. I've just found work draining. And my tolerance levels have been questionable. The afternoons have hit me like a tonne of bricks. Its been an overly frustrating week, and although I'm all for repping the positive vibes thing, sometimes its easier said than done. I think I rely on others around me being positive and when that starts to fall, I struggle to go with it too. I know I haven't been sleeping well so perhaps its just me being tired and grumpy too. I'm just glad its Friday, put it that way. A x

Its been a quiet few days after my birthday craziness. Thursday after my hospital appointment, Bex and I headed into London to see John Mayer at the O2. It was a good night but I was still struggling a lot with pain after my birthday meal on Wednesday. It was also a late night which I have paid for since. So the last couple of days has involved a lot of sofa time and relaxing at home. After having the reaction to the steak the other night, I am more motivated than ever to get my diet back on track to help ease the pain. I have been eating plenty of veg and avoiding anything I know is going to make my flare any worse than it has been. Luckily, the pain has eased up now, although I'm still bloated. Its my first full week at work this week, since the beginning of April. I've been using holiday up and now the new holiday year has begun so its time to knuckle down and push on with my project. Hopefully my body will allow me to do that. Still no movement on my operation date an...

So I had my hospital appointment at 9am this morning to discuss my bowel endometriosis. I sat down with a nurse practitioner who was very attentive and informative. She explained the different options that may occur in my excision surgery at the end of the year. Below I have detailed these with a little help from Endometriosis UK website (thanks!). There are essentially three surgery options for bowel endometriosis, which will be tailored to an individual’s needs: Affected areas or nodules can be “shaved” off the bowel leaving the bowel intact. This option may leave residual endometriosis. For smaller areas of endometriosis, the disc of affected bowel is cut away followed by the closure of the hole in the bowel with stitches. The affected segment or section of bowel is removed and the bowel is re-joined (re-anastomosis). There is a possibility that a temporary colostomy will be needed. However, I was told this is rare and would only be required for 6 weeks. Some complica...

10th May can only mean one thing, it's my birthday! And what a birthday it's been. For the first time in years I decided to work my birthday. It wasn't all bad as my team took the time  and effort to decorate my desk with LED lit balloons, a banner and a huge badge! They're a good bunch and I hope they know how much it brightened my day. This evening I've been to Miller & Carter with my family and bestie. Wow! What a meal. But damn am I paying for it right now. I knew deep down eating a steak was gonna become a regret but I wanted to treat myself, after all if you can't treat yourself on your birthday when can you! But within 30 minutes I was in cramping hell! By the time I got home I felt sick and my stomach was absolutely screaming at me. It's not the best way to end the day but the food was pretty amazing so it was kinda worth it! Thank you to everyone who gave me wonderful gifts and took the time to wish me a Happy Birthday! I love birthdays beca...

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was writing about hitting 10,000 views on my blog. But today I doubled that and am now at over 20,000 views! Wow! I'm humbled by the continued support and response I get to writing my story. It still takes a lot for me to share what is a very personal journey for me, but I appreciate everyones kind words. Thank you thank you thank you! A x

Its been a busy but positive few days. Friday was a productive and successful day, I managed to sort my mortgage and save myself some pennies. Plus I received a phone call which contained some feedback from work which was so positive and uplifting. I worry about my work sometimes and the impact this disease has on how I perform at my role, including the time I miss due to being unwell. So its a massive boost when I hear that people think I'm doing so well. Saturday I woke up nervous because it was my first Endometriosis UK Support Group. The idea of walking into a place where I don't know anyone is always daunting but I promised myself I would make the effort to attend. Well, I don't know what I was worried about! Everyone was really lovely and I'm looking forward to the next meeting already. The only problem was I had to leave halfway through because typically my little Pebbles got ill and needed to be taken straight to the vets! £95 and over an hour in the waiting...

I've been researching and also speaking to some of you about what you do to ease some of the symptoms that Adeno and Endo present. One in particular is nausea. For a while now I've described it as having morning sickness. Bit of a bad joke considering thats what you get when you're pregnant!! But for a while now I've woken up feeling sick and by lunchtime its usually worn off. Some days it can last all day but it seems to be a common morning thing. Upon speaking to fellow sufferers and through my own research ginger is of course known to help with nausea. I've tried ginger tea before but it can be time consuming to make in the morning before work. However, ginger shots were recommended as something else to try.  I've looked into recipes for the famous ginger shot but whilst I was in Waitress this morning, my bestie noticed they did them there. So for £1.50 a shot, I thought I'd give them a go. They taste great! I've got together a couple of reci...

Its been an odd week. I've felt pretty up and down, although with the news from the hospital its been a bit more down than usual. But I've taken their advice and already started to make changes to my diet. I've swapped my Ben & Jerrys for dairy free Perfect World ice cream. And I've swapped my normal semi skimmed milk for lactose free semi skimmed milk. Its a start at least. On top of making changes, I've got a few days off, today being the first of four days. And its been a good day. I got up and went to the gym, did a food shop, dismantled my old bed and got a lovely new king size bed, put that together, hoovered the house, and cooked dinner. I've laughed a lot and feel like I've achieved something with my day. Shout out to the Bestie for laughing with me today... and for helping me with my new bed. You're a gem! I like days like today.... A x

Been having a bit of a low day today. I contacted the hospital as I hadn't heard anything about my scan results. The good thing is there were no more cysts. The bad thing is my bowel was extended and they don't know why. If you remember I said they couldn't find my left ovary. Well it turns out thats because my bowel was enlarged and in the way. When I spoke to the nurse today she said it must have been really enlarged for it to be blocking my ovary. Now the question is, why is it so big?! 70% of endometriosis sufferers are also diagnosed with IBS. Many women also find they have intolerances to gluten and lactose. For those who struggle with Endo on the bowel, it is advised they keep a food diary to see what causes discomfort and flare ups, with the view to removing those items from their diet full time. My mindset today says isn't it enough that you have taken my chances of having children naturally away from me? Now you want to take chocolate and Ben & Jerry...

Hi All, Today I've been investigating how to keep track of my symptoms and diet so I can help determine if I have certain triggers that make the pain worse. I've got two apps that I'm testing on my iPhone at the moment. Pain Coach by WebMD and Nanolume. The second only allows 10 free entries before it costs which isn't ideal but its minimal for something that could potentially help. Has anyone got any apps that they would recommend for keeping track? Please get in touch. In other news, its been a week since my second Prostap injection. I think the nurse lied to me. Just saying. A x

Ss you can probably guess from the title, I've got a headache. A headache that hasn't shifted for days now. Which has meant today has involved plenty of sofa surfing and cat cuddles with Pebs. Spent some of the time looking into the Endo diet. Considering trying to cut out some of the common foods that cause Endo sufferers additional pain. The pic below shows these main things (Thanks Endo Warriors). If anyone has any experiences with changing your diet to help with symptoms, please do let me know. Hoping to get into the gym in the morning so wish me luck for a good pain day! A x

Been feeling pretty horrid since lunch today. Homemade chicken & mushroom pie and salad clearly hasn't agreed with me and now I look pregnant... which is quite hilarious considering thats never going to happen! Got to laugh! What foods do you find worsen your symptoms? For me it seems to be anything bad, the dominos, the chinese takeaways, the burgers, basically the naughty stuff that tastes good. Any suggestions on what to avoid or what helps in terms of what to eat, please let me know! A x