Endo Fertility

This episode goes into more detail into the importance of cervical mucus (CM), and follows on from the interview with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack in Episode 34 last week on using the Fertility Awareness Method. This is a huge component of fertility that is often overlooked and yet is something that can be improved. It is an area that research is still developing in relation to Endometriosis and its relationship to the vaginal microbiome.

In this episode I talk about:

• What CM is
• How CM is created
• What CM looks like and its changes
• Changes to mucus with age
• How endometriosis affects CM
• How to support and improve cervical mucus
• How to use cervical mucus to conceive

As usual there is more information in the show notes on the website, including links I mentioned, resources, related podcast episodes and references, where you can also listen:

https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Also make sure you subscribe to my mailing list, as I email out extra tips weekly!

Can I ask YOU a FAVOUR? Could you please leave me a rating and a review – as this helps spread the love to other women in need. Thank you!

Check out my posts on Instagram (@endofertilityspecialist.com) and facebook (@endofertilityspecialist.com).

Don't forget to get your freebie from the Endo Fertility Resource Library where you will be added to my weekly newsletter.

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Lizzie is a certified integrative and functional health coach, holistic massage therapist, Endo sufferer and mum of one. Lizzie works with women with Endometriosis to help them find a way to get back to a healthy fertile cycle through her 1:1 coaching programmes. Find out more at endofertilityspecialist.com.

My guest today is Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and monitoring overall health.

In her new book The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa debunks the myth that regular ovulation is only important when you want children by recognizing the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Drawing heavily from the current scientific literature, Lisa presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization. She hosts the Fertility Friday Podcast, a weekly radio show devoted to helping women connect to their fifth vital sign by uncovering the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health.

Some of the highlights included:

• The concept of how our menstrual cycles is our "Fifth Vital"
• What the Fertility Awareness Method and the 3 key indicators
• The importance of having healthy cervical fluid
• Some reasons for early ovulation and implications for fertility
• How a woman's demanding life affects the health of her cycle
• How our cycles are highly susceptible to stress, sleep and exercise
• Period pain management strategies: timing your supplements with your cycle to reduce inflammation and pain

Get full show notes and more information at: https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – which will be out weekly at 6am (BST) on Wednesday mornings!

Can I ask YOU a FAVOUR? Could you please leave me a rating and a review – as this helps spread the love to other women in need. Thank you!

Check out my posts on Instagram (@endofertilityspecialist.com) and facebook (@endofertilityspecialist.com).

Don't forget to get your freebie from the Endo Fertility Resource Library where you will be added to my weekly newsletter.

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Lizzie is a certified integrative and functional health coach, holistic massage therapist, Endo sufferer and mum of one. Lizzie works with women with Endometriosis to help them find a way to get back to a healthy fertile cycle through her 1:1 coaching programmes. Find out more at endofertilityspecialist.com.

If you are travelling on holiday this summer or just away for a weekend, whether that is locally or overseas, then it might be worth listening to some tips to help you plan how you are going to manage your nutrition whilst you are away. Based on my personal experience and things I share with my clients, I share what foods I take away with me and things I do to make my life easier and then stress free whilst I am away!

In this episode I talk about:

• How to make breakfast foods easy and nutritious whilst away
• How to travel with supplements
• What really matters when it comes to food when you are away from home
• What to say to family and friends when staying with them

There is more information in the show notes on my website, including links I mentioned, resources, references, and I have even shared a breakfast recipe so go to the show notes, where you can also listen:

https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Also make sure you subscribe to my mailing list, as I email out extra tips weekly, this week I shared a couple more recipes – if you want them just email me and I will make sure to send them to you!

If this is your first time listening, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – out weekly on Wednesday morning (6am BST) and go and check out some of the other episodes!

I would love it if you could leave me a RATING and a REVIEW. Thank you!

Just a quick episode to let you know that I am taking a break from the podcast and will be back on the 21st July 2021 to continue delivering episodes.

I have also given you a quick thyroid self-help check list to work through.

In today's episode, I am sharing a fantastic interview with Lorna Driver-Davies all about the thyroid, Endo and fertility. It is a long one, but it's because there was a lot to cover, and because it is quite a complicated subject and we wanted to unpick it and simplify it for you and make sure you have some things to talk to your doctor about if you have concerns, and ensure you are taken seriously. I did contemplate splitting it into two episodes, but decided against it – you can just pause it and continue at another time!

Lorna has worked for over a decade as a registered clinical nutritional therapist and naturopath. She is also Head of Nutrition at Wild Nutrition, a natural food-based supplement company, with a specific focus on women's health at all life stages including fertility.

Lorna specialises in Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, menstrual cycle irregularities and Endometriosis co-morbities, such as gastrointestinal dysfunctions and thyroid disease. This deep clinical experience has enabled her to develop her expertise and highly specific nutrition protocols for Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.

Lorna lectures to both doctors and nurses about nutrition for Endometriosis including to specialist Endometriosis surgeons, she also speaks to the public, patients in hospitals and charity support groups. Lorna's published work includes an evidence-based peer reviewed case analysis chapter on nutrition for Endometriosis, thyroid and hormone health – the link to this book in available in the show notes.

In this episode we talk about:

• Lorna's personal experience with thyroid and Endometriosis
• How the thyroid works in the body
• Difference between hypo and hyperthyroidism and what they mean
• What thyroid auto-immune disease is and how it affects your body
• Symptoms of thyroid dysfunction
• Relationship between Endometriosis and the thyroid
• Why the thyroid is so important for fertility
• Thyroid testing and what to ask for
• Key nutrients and lifestyle to improve thyroid function
• When to seek professional help with your thyroid
• Supplements to support the thyroid

As always there is lots more information about this episode on my website, i.e. what exactly was discussed, references, and the mentioned podcast episodes, blogs or resources: https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – which will be out weekly on Wednesday morning!

And, if you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you could leave me a rating and a review – as this helps spread the love to other women in need. Thank you!

Following a request for questions that you wanted answered, I picked a number of them to go through and provide answers. They were subjects that I know many of you will want the answers to as they were great questions. I hope you find this helpful!

In this episode I talk about:

• Changes to your period after surgery
• Fertile cervical mucus and Endo
• Short / light periods
• Endo belly bloating and inability to eat
• Leg pain
• Is your only option left a hysterectomy?

I have put the full answers to these questions in the show notes, which are on my website, including links I mentioned, resources, references, mentioned podcast episodes, blogs or recipes – go to the show notes, where you can also listen:

https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Also make sure you subscribe to my mailing list, as I email out extra tips weekly, this week I shared a recipe or two – if you want them just email me and I will make sure to send them to you!

If this is your first time listening, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – out weekly on Wednesday morning (6am BST) and go and check out some of the other episodes!

I would love it if you could leave me a RATING and a REVIEW. Thank you!

Today's interview is about the balance of microbes that live in and on the reproductive organs with Debbie Cotton from Invivo Healthcare. We discuss how Endometriosis can affect this balance, and then how this can affect your fertility.

Debbie an integrative psychotherapist, naturopath and herbalist. She is currently the Head of Clinical Education at Invivo Healthcare, a company who specialises in the human microbiome. She is a busy clinician and lecturer in the health sciences for over 15 years both in Australia and the UK. Her work centres on what it is to be human, and how ecosystem relationships (human, natural and microbial) shape who we are.

In this episode we talk about:

• What the reproductive microbiome is
• How the wider ecosystem of our planet affects human health and our own microbiomes
• How hormonal imbalance, including estrogen dominance can influence your vaginal microbiome
• How Endometriosis, and those with high levels of estrogen affects the balance of the reproductive and vaginal microbiome
• Symptoms and signs of vaginal dysbiosis to look from Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) to thrush (Candida)
• How dysbiosis can affect the implantation of an embryo and cause early miscarriage
• Difference and similarities between the gut and vaginal microbiome
• Link between the oral and gut microbiome and the vaginal microbiome

As always there is lots more information about this episode on my website, i.e. what exactly was discussed, references, and the mentioned podcast episodes, blogs or resources: https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – which will be out weekly on Wednesday morning!

And, if you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you could leave me a rating and a review – as this helps spread the love to other women in need. Thank you!

Plants have been used for thousands of years for their medicinal benefits and for many of us we are not aware of the benefits of some of the most common herbs. We can all make room for using herbs in our life, we just need to know how and what herbs are good for what. I bet you know quite a lot of what I share with you in this episode, but you just never thought to apply the knowledge, or you might not be aware of the fact that, for example, mint helps to cleanse your liver.

This is a MUST listen, as what started out as a short episode ended up full of great tips to get you started to use herbs on a daily basis to help boost your health and allow your body to heal.

In this episode I talk about:

• Overarching body functions
• How herbs work on the body
• Where to get your herbs from
• How you can use herbs
• Benefits and uses of 12 great accessible herbs
• Herbs for constipation, excessive bleeding and period pain
• Where to learn more about herbs

There is more information in the show notes on my website, including links I mentioned, resources, references, podcast episodes, blogs or recipes – you can find this at:

https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Also make sure you subscribe to my mailing list, as I email out extra tips weekly, this week I shared a recipe or two – if you want them just email me and I will make sure to send them to you!

If this is your first time listening, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – out weekly on Wednesday morning (6am BST) and go and check out some of the other episodes!

I would love it if you could leave me a RATING and a REVIEW. Thank you!

Lara Thieme is my guest today, she is a postdoctoral researcher from Germany. We met doing Nicole Jardim's Fix Your Period Apprenticeship a couple of years ago. Back then I didn't quite get the link with the estrobolome, a "specific sub-microbiome in the gut and Endometrosis. Lara was talking about how she planned to research the connection between this and Endometriosis in the future and was attending some really cool research seminars about the estrobolome and microbiome. Lara has Endometriosis herself, so her personal story has really driven her interest to merge her research specialism and Endo.

In this episode we talk about:

• Lara's personal story with Endo on how it has influenced her research career
• How difficult it is to conduct research studies on women with Endo, especially during Covid
• Infertility rate increases
• Toxic burden in the environment
• Correlation vs causation in research
• Need and difficulty of evidence-based research into Endometriosis
• Why good gut health is so important in women with Endo
• Connection between inflammation and the gut
• How your gut army is being challenged to "new unknown enemies"
• Immune system relationship with the gut
• Hygiene hypothesis and the importance of "dirt"
• Good and bad bacteria within the gut connected to Endo
• Biofilms and antibiotic resistance
• What the "estrobolome" is and the importance for Endo and fertility
• Gut and reproductive microbiome
• Ways to improve your microbiome

As always there is lots more information about this episode on my website, i.e. what exactly was discussed, mentioned resources, related podcast episodes and blogs: https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – which will be out weekly at 6am (BST) on Wednesday mornings!

Can I ask YOU a FAVOUR? Could you please leave me a rating and a review – as this helps spread the love to other women in need. Thank you!

Vitex agnus-castus, otherwise known as Chasteberry is a herb that women are often recommended when they have menstrual problems, but there is quite bitty information and certainly different recommendations on how to take it. In this episode you will learn all about it and most importantly what the scientific research and literature has shown, and also what leading functional doctors and practitioners are recommending based on their clinical expertise.

In this I talk about:

• What Vitex is
• The benefits of taking Vitex
• How Vitex works within the body
• Who is it not for?
• Recommended ways to take it

As always there is more information in the show notes on my website, including references, mentioned podcast episodes, blogs or resources – go to the show notes, where you can also listen:

https://www.endofertilityspecialist.com/endo-fertility-podcast/

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any future episodes – out weekly on Wednesday morning!

I would love it if you could leave me a RATING and a REVIEW. Thank you!