Some tips when you have your period
Every month it comes – your period. As women we follow our monthly cycle. What you feel one day can change to another day. Having your period can be terrible days if you have pain and other problems connected to it. But, there are some things you can do to feel better. And there are also things you´d better avoid. The period is a natural state and should not be the hell that so many women are experiencing. Slow down The reason you bleed for some days every month, is to get rid of old endometrium (the lining of the uterus). The endometrium is very important to feed good nutrition to the...
Read MoreHeather’s Fertility Diary: Health Insurance
As some of you may know, I have been off work due to surgeries and my poor health. I have been off of work since mid-October, and I have had to cover my portion of my health coverage premiums. However, my checking account is running on empty. My husband and I have had to dip into our emergency funds a lot lately and our emergency stash is basically non-existent. Since I have been off work, we have had to pay $266 every two weeks for healthcare coverage. $532 per month for insurance premiums is more than we can handle now. As of February 15, 2013 I will no longer have health insurance...
Read MorePain Gate Theory and Managing Chronic Pain
The “pain gate theory” refers to the concept of a neural pain gateway between the central nervous system and the brain. By managing to “switch off” the signal as much as possible, living with and managing pain can be so much more effective. This article explains the theory further. The list below are strategies which can help “close” the pain gateway: Distraction by having things to do and planning ahead Distraction using specific distraction techniques Pacing yourself in your activities using time rather than pain as a prompt to rest of change...
Read MorePacing for chronic pain
Pacing is a well known technique used to manage chronic pain in conditions such as endometriosis, and also chronic fatigue. Getting used to the idea of doing slightly less than we want to can be very difficult; so many of us make the best of “good” days by doing EVERYTHING we couldn’t do after a few bad days. Unfortunately this can perpetuate the pain and tiredness, and “pacing” is a method which helps conserve energy and pain by taking an active approach in the management of it. The idea is to break the cycle of pain, anxiety, tension, stress, more...
Read MoreHeather’s Fertility Diary: RE Testing
Tyler, my husband and I had our first meeting with the Reproductive Endocrinologist last Wednesday (January 9, 2013). I will get back to the consultation in a moment, but first I want to share something with you. The night before the RE consultation, my 19 year old sister called me with news that I was not prepared for – she called to tell me that she was expecting. A million emotions ran through my head, and I feel guilty to admit that they were not all good thoughts. All night long, I tossed and turned trying to heal my hurt. I even had a good cry before my consultation. The next...
Read MoreNicole’s story – what does endo mean to me?
What does endometriosis mean to me? That’s pretty simple, it’s something that I can look back over the last many years and have true mile markers in my life. I seem to get somewhat lost in time without these “markers.” They’ve reminded me when I was in so much pain I needed to be put on the Hospital for several days. It’s reminded me of all the surgeries I’ve had that I now have war marks on my stomach. It’s even reminded me of the relationships I’ve been in with men that thought they could handle this horrible disease and quickly ran...
Read More