The Hormonal Hotline

In this episode, Ellisha sits down with Thanai Caesar - CEO and founder of This Won't End Me, a UK and Canadian non-profit supporting people with endometriosis and menstrual health. Thanai shares her nine-year journey to being diagnosed with stage four deep infiltrating endometriosis, and opens up about the racial disparities in women's healthcare, how art became her lifeline, and why she turned her pain into purpose.

Whether you're in the thick of trying to get a diagnosis, feeling completely alone with your symptoms, or just desperate to know someone else gets it - this one's for you.

What we cover

What endometriosis actually is - from the basics to the types most people have never heard of, including thoracic and deep infiltrating endo.

The reality of living with endo before diagnosis - Thanai's nine years of being dismissed, the impact on her mental health, and the toll of chronic, invisible pain.

Racial disparities in women's healthcare - why Black women face a harder road to diagnosis and what needs to change.

Heat therapy, TENS machines and self-advocacy - practical tools for managing endo pain and getting the medical support you deserve.

The role of the pill in masking symptoms - and what could happen when you come off it.

This Won't End Me - how Thanai built a community-led non-profit from a drawing of a uterus she made in therapy during COVID.

Using art as a healing tool - why creativity and community go hand in hand when you're navigating a chronic condition.

Three listener dilemmas - including how to push through pain without people around you understanding, when to seek help if you've been dismissed before, and how to share your story online without feeling too exposed.

About Thanai Caesar

Thanai Caesar is the CEO and founder of This Won't End Me (TWEM) - a UK and Canadian non-profit raising awareness of endometriosis, menstrual health and reproductive health. Through storytelling, workshops, exhibitions and community events, TWEM creates space for women to feel less alone in their diagnosis.

Follow Thanai: @thiswontendme

Find out more about This Won't End Me

Read Imogen Hooker's blog: My Health is My Job

This week's dilemmas

Dilemma 1

"If sharing your story could help others feel less alone but also makes you feel vulnerable, how do you decide what parts of your experience to make public? I really want to start a page but I'm scared I'll give away too much of myself."

Dilemma 2

"If your pain is super severe but invisible to others, how do you decide when it's serious enough to seek help - especially if past experiences have made you feel dismissed?"

Dilemma 3

"Do you push through the pain or cancel plans, knowing people might not understand?"

Resources mentioned

Under the Belt (documentary) — directed by Shannon Cohn

This Won't End Me — community events, blog and storytelling platform

Endometriosis UK — information and support

Imogen Hooker — My Health is My Job

Our sponsor: Evelyn Health

Evelyn Health is dedicated to helping those struggling with PMS and PMDD through expert-led, science-backed supplements and functional foods. Having used them for over a year to manage my own hormonal health, I'm so proud to have them as a partner.

Get 20% off your first order with code HOTLINE20 at evelynhealth.com

Shop Evelyn Health

A note from us

This podcast explores research and lived experience around women's health and chronic conditions. Our discussions aim to reflect current evidence while acknowledging that understanding in this field continues to evolve. The content is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalised medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listeners experiencing significant or distressing symptoms should seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.

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Kelly Newton spent 25 years normalising painful, heavy periods before being diagnosed with endometriosis at 39. Coni Longden-Jefferson is deep in the postpartum hormonal fog, trying to manage her PMS while running a business with a baby in tow. Together, they built Nixi Body - and together, they join Ellisha for the very first episode of The Hormonal Hotline.

We get into period taboos, self-advocacy at the GP, pelvic floor health, sustainable period care, and the link between hormones and mental health. Plus: the Hormone Hotline opens for its first anonymous listener dilemmas.

Key Insights

• Pain is never normal, even if your mum said so. Missing school, missing work, flooding through a pad - these are signs, not facts of life. If your period is disrupting your daily functioning, it's worth investigating.
• A symptoms diary is your most powerful tool. Track your cycle, pain, mood, and symptoms before any GP appointment. Go in prepared. Take someone with you. Ask for a second opinion if you feel you’ve been dismissed.
• Your hormones are not the enemy. Learn your cycle and you start working with it, not against it. Knowing you're in your luteal phase doesn't make you weak, it makes you informed.
• Period care is healthcare. The vagina is one of the most absorbent organs in the body. What you use during your period matters - for the environment and for your health.
• Hormones and mental health are deeply intertwined. For many women, exploring the impact of their cycle can be the missing piece in their treatment plan. By integrating hormonal health into the conversation, we can better support those navigating PMDD, perimenopause, and postpartum

Timestamps

00:56 - Introductions. Ellisha meets Coni & Kelly, co-founders of Nixi Body.

03:40 - How Nixi Body started: Kelly's painful periods, bladder leaks, and a prototype pair of knickers designed at her kitchen table.

05:42 - Coni joins the story: women's health clients, a free social media class, and a very good business partnership.

09:29 - The system let Kelly down, not her body. Coni reflects on helping Kelly reframe her experience.

10:12 - Normalising pain. Why even elite athletes don't know their periods aren't normal.

13:33 - The biggest menstrual taboos. Language, shame, and why calling things by their name actually matters.

17:30 — Self-advocacy tools: symptoms diaries, taking someone to appointments, and being audacious.

23:29 — Ellisha on her PMDD diagnosis. How isolating it felt even with support around her.

23:48 — Coni on postpartum hormonal health and the ripple effect that nobody warns you about past three months.

27:13 — PMS management with a baby. What worked before doesn't always work now.

33:07 — Period care and sustainability. 11,000 disposable products in a lifetime. The health and environmental case for switching.

52:17 — Coni explains the menstrual cycle using pop girls: oestrogen = Taylor Swift & Sabrina Carpenter; progesterone = Billie Eilish & Olivia Rodrigo.

This Episode Is Brought To You By Evelyn Health

Evelyn Health is dedicated to helping those struggling with PMS and PMDD through expert-led, science-backed supplements and functional foods. Having used them for over a year to manage my own hormonal health, I'm so proud to have them as a partner.

Get 20% off your first order with code HOTLINE20 at evelynhealth.com

Get 15% off Nixi Body with code HOTLINE15! at nixibody.com

Connect & Subscribe

If this resonated, share it with someone who needs it. One conversation really can change a woman's health trajectory - it's the whole reason we're here.

Got a dilemma for the Hormone Hotline? Submit it anonymously and send us your dilemma’s via our IG DM’s! Have a listen, leave a review, and come find us.

Follow Nixi Body at @nixibody and reach out to Coni and Kelly in the DMs.

A Note On Our Content

This podcast explores research and lived experience around women's health and chronic conditions. Our discussions aim to reflect current evidence while acknowledging that understanding in this field continues to evolve. The content is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalised medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listeners experiencing significant or distressing symptoms should seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.

Do you ever feel like your health struggles are “all in your head”?

You’re not dramatic. You’re not lazy. And you’re not imagining it.

Welcome to The Hormonal Hotline - the straight-talking, supportive girls’ group chat for young women navigating PMDD, women’s health, hormonal imbalances, and misunderstood women’s health issues.

Hosted by Ellisha - your resident big sister, fellow struggler, and open book — this podcast creates space for honest conversations about:

• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

• Women’s health 

• Hormonal mood swings and anxiety

• Burnout and executive dysfunction

• Being dismissed by doctors

• The impact of symptoms on relationships and careers

  
  

If you’ve ever left a GP appointment feeling unheard…
If you’re chronically online researching symptoms at 2am…
If you’re overwhelmed by information but still feel unsupported…

This podcast is for you.

We know what it’s like to look “fine” on the outside but feel completely dysregulated internally. We know how isolating hormonal and neurodivergent health struggles can be - especially when they’re minimised, misdiagnosed, or misunderstood.

It’s time to change the narrative.

What to Expect Each Week

Raw & Relatable Conversations

No inaccessible celebrities. No medical jargon overload.

Just real stories from everyday women navigating PMDD, women’s health, hormonal health challenges, and mental health struggles - shared openly and honestly.

Because sometimes the most powerful thing you can hear is, “Me too.”

The Hormone Hotline

Each week, we unpack anonymous listener dilemmas - from PMDD relationship conflict to ADHD burnout at work - and offer grounded, big-sister advice that feels practical, not preachy.

Support without shame. Guidance without overwhelm.

Self-Advocacy & Education

You’ll learn how to:

• Advocate for yourself at medical appointments

• Better understand your hormonal patterns

• Communicate your needs confidently

• Move from information overload to informed action

Because understanding your body and brain is the first step toward feeling empowered.

Women’s health deserves better conversations.

PMDD is often misdiagnosed.
Women’s Health in women is frequently overlooked.
Hormonal symptoms are normalised until they become debilitating.

You deserve clarity.
You deserve community.
You deserve to feel heard.

If you’re ready to stop chronic comparison and start healing — this is your space.

Hit follow and join the chat.

You aren’t falling behind.
And you are absolutely not alone. 💛

Click here to view the episode transcript.