Coping with endo: infographic

Endo update & training with pain

I have just had a positive meeting with my doctor for my 6 monthly med review. Last time she saw me I was on 40mg citalopram, 40mg amatryptaline, 8-10 30mg cocodamol, and 6 gabapantin a day. Quite a cocktail.

looking after number 1

This is one thing lately I have been thinking a lot about. I have been seeing huge improvements in my health and management of chronic fatigue and endometriosis as regular readers will know. The results have been coming mainly from eating a high raw diet, cutting out the CRAP ( literally Carbs, Refined Sugars, Alcohol and Processed foods), and exercising as much as I can whilst resting when my body needs it. Simple, right?

Looking after myself takes time. Time to make a green juice or smoothies and to wash it up, (those gadgets can create a lot of mess!) time to go for a run or a yoga class. As a working, self employed mum, it can be all so easy to make excuses or feel bad about making that time for myself, and I think a lot of us can relate to that. But guess what....the kids are seeing more of me now I am not in bed for 3 or 4 days a week in chronic pain. They are benefiting from having a mum who is present, not foggy headed and perpetually sore, who is energised and full of life. I am not 100% well, I am still on a journey but my goodness the difference is huge.

the harsh truth of health

I believe, wholeheartedly, that the journey to health and vitality differs for each and every one of us.

I didn't really know how much I was missing out on health-wise in my younger years until the state of my body and overall health, energy and lack of vitality was just in pieces. Broken. Beyond immediate repair.

I have spoken very openly here on this blog about living with chronic pain, illness and the ups and downs of that reality. I am starting to change that reality, slowly, and I am acutely aware how much I am learning about the personal responsibility we all have for our health. This is the one body we have on this earth, and I don't mean to state the obvious but without it we are kind of stuck....

Unreliable or endo?

This postcard, the 3rd in the series by  the wonderful Antonia, is so brilliant at relating the feeling of unreliability that endo sisters and others suffering from a chronic condition go through. The number of times I have had to cancel at last minute my plans due to pain or exhaustion are countless; luckily, my close friends and family know the score, they support me 100% and everyone knows there is a 50/50 chance I will ever be somewhere I plan to be. Those who don't get it never will and are not worth my time.

It's tough, it's frustrating, but it's life. It's my life, and the life of many, many other ladies out there.

If you know how this feels and would be willing to share your story as a guest Diva, please drop me a line.

 

Running and riding for endo

Ok endo warriors, my fellow sisters in pain and suffering, this is for you.

I am taking part in 2 events to raise money for endometriosis - the Nike Run to the Beat in September, and Cycletta 40km bike ride in Brighton in November. This is a big deal for a mum of two with extreme pain and fatigue who is on a mission.

I may have to walk the courses on the day, I may crawl it, but I will do it.

I would like to thank Freya lingerie for supporting me during my training and for sponsoring me to attend the Cycletta event.

If you would like to help me, you can donate to my JustGiving page here,.  Contact me for info on how your brand can get involved. If you want to join me and take part with me, let me know, and above all else please spread the word and donate.

Let's do this.

 

Geek chic - a real pain

 

One of the strangest outcomes of my endo is that it has really brought out the geek in me.

Not in the sense that I have a range of gadgets to help me cope, but that when I am incapacitated and having to veg out, I turn to my trusty Mac. Blogging takes my mind off things, and the fact that I am, without fail, having to spend a lot of time on my own dealing with pain and fatigue I have a new found love for social media and all it entails.  Twitter, Facebook, blogs and RSS feeds rock my world in those long hours.

The wheat cheat: intolerance and loving yourself

I have an intolerance to wheat.

I know this.

It makes my endometriosis pain much worse.  I feel hideous when I eat too much of it and I detoxed from it back in February.

Life, but not as you know it.

This little post is to share with you all how saddening, maddening, frustrating, painful and tiring it is living with endometriosis and it's associated entourage of symptoms.

Every few weeks the pain gets so much that my body hits a wall of exhaustion and chronic fatigue sets it. I don't just mean tiredness like you have after a big night out, or even the wall of foggy sleep deprivation I felt when the twins were still night feeding.  No, this is a tiredness that makes my very bones ache. My glands come up, I feel sick with tiredness, my pain reaches a whole new level of attacking every nerve, sinew and muscle. My head aches, my whole body feels battered. Shattered. Broken.

Being broken to be re-built

I was explaining pregnancy to a lovely late 20's lady this weekend, which, after a few glasses of champers turned into a long regaling horror story much to her wide-eyed terror.

I concluded that motherhood, and adjusting to it, is like military training. You are completely and utterly broken in every way - physically, mentally, emotionally, hormonally, sleeplessly - and from there you can rebuild in your new life as a mum.

Endo awareness video

This is the lovely video made by Alyssa Pinto, which I posted about last week featuring the faces of endo (myself included).

Please share it, re-tweet, and pass on.

And, most importantly, if you live in pain - don't feel alone.

DD
x

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngTHgzQQGO8

Pain, acceptance and winning

 

So, today I am in a lot of pain.

A slightly ill-fated trip to Cambridge:  trying to find shoes for my bridesmaid dress + busy shops + humid Autumn + pain + tired Mini Divas = me stumbling around shops trying to not cry/hit people/cry/faint/cry.

Asking for help; a learning curve

 

One of the hardest lessons I have been learning over the last few years is that asking for help is ok.

In fact, it's not only ok, it's often necessary, a relief to the person being asked, and down right easier all round.

#endowarriors: The faces of endometriosis video project

 

This week on Twitter I stumbled across a project by Alyssa Pinto, a fellow endo sister who is curating a project to raise awareness of our disease.

Endometriosis: 10 reasons to go running

Endometriosis is crippling. Pain management is important, and  I know ladies, exercise can be THE LAST thing on your mind when the pain strikes.

But, as an endo warrior who is on a journey with my running and training for a half marathon, here is why I think you should give it a go:

1. Exercise gives you back control; one day you may be in bed on painkillers but the next you are out there doing 9 miles and winning.

Painkillers, addiction and endo

Pain management is one of the main factors in which Western medicine manages endometriosis. Where pain cannot be eradicated it is "managed", and a cocktail of pharmaceuticals issued to numb the nerves and make life liveable.

NHS, private ethics and me

 

So, my lovely readers, where do you stand with the ethics of private healthcare versus our good old NHS?

Do you have an opinion? Ever thought about it? Me neither, until recently.

My interview on Sherryl's World on Bang FM

For anyone who missed it, here is the link to my interview last week on Bang FM with the wonderful Sherryl Blu talking about endometriosis.

Thanks to Sherryl for the airtime and for fabulous Team Bangs on the Run crew member Cass for the opportunity.

 

Jo Gifford drops into Sherryl's World to discuss Endometriosis - Mon 25th July 2011 by Sherrylsworld on Mixcloud

Cosmo blog awards- nominate me!

Dear lovely readers,

I would be honoured and delighted if you could help me spread the word of endo and it's effect on life by nominating me in the Cosmo 2011 blog awards.

Endo - playing the waiting game

I read with interest this week some findings of a survey conducted by Endometriosis UK on their news page.

The survey found that:

 On average it takes over 7.5 years to diagnose endometriosis

 Women wait nearly 2 years before visiting their GP about their symptoms

 GPs then took on average 4 years to refer the patient to a specialist

 It then takes a further 1 year 9 months to get a formal diagnosis

 Over 50% of participants waited more than 6 years for a diagnosis

 Less than 20% of those who responded received a diagnosis within two years

 One third of respondents waited at least 10 years, and 15% waited for over 15 years, to be diagnosed.

One third waited TEN YEARS.

I had 8 years from initial pain to diagnosis and that was incredibly hard. Not knowing what causes pain or what could be causing it meant I had no idea that endo could be a potential condition and therefore no power to insist on further investigations.

This is why I am so adamant about spreading awareness of endometriosis and it's symptoms so that women don't have to suffer so long without a diagnosis and a pain management plan.

So, symptoms:

• Painful, heavy, or irregular periods
• Pain during or after sex
• Infertility
• Problems on opening bowels
• Fatigue

These are the main bad boys. I would also add in ovarian pain, white hot shooting and burning pains, exhaustion, and abdomen bloating.

Don't sit for 10 years in silence girls, you know your body and if it feels wrong make sure you get seen.

DD

x