This EndoLife

For many years, I thought I had bladder endometriosis. But after two surgeries showed that I didn’t have endometriosis on the bladder (though I did elsewhere), I had to start asking questions. Why did I feel bladder pressure all the time? Why did my bladder burn when it was full and even after emptying? Why did it feel like my bladder was never empty? Why did I have to urinate 20 plus times a day? I had assumed that the bladder frequency and urgency I was experiencing was just down to endometriosis alone, but I was mistaken.

Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome is a condition that many people with endometriosis also have. In fact, it’s been dubbed by science as the ‘evil twin’ of endometriosis - and the symptoms are so similar, you can easily mistake one for the other, when in fact you have both. As a result, I treated my endometriosis for years, reducing my painful periods and other symptoms, but found my bladder pressure, frequency, urgency and burning pain just continued to get worse It’s only in the past three years after receiving my diagnosis, have I really started addressing how to treating my interstitial cystitis as well as endometriosis.

So in this episode, I’m talking about the symptoms of painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis, what causes it, what can trigger flare ups and how to reduce symptoms with the interstitial cystitis diet and other options like pelvic floor therapy. I share my struggles, the things that have worked for me, what hasn’t and what I’d like to try in the future. And most importantly, I chat about how we can learn to manage painful bladder syndrome alongside endometriosis.

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

This episode is also sponsored by my free Endometriosis Diet Grocery List. This pdf list includes all the foods I buy on a monthly basis, categorised into easy sections. I share my personal endometriosis diet plan, free recipe resources, recommendations to help you get started with the endometriosis diet and nutrition tips. Download here.

This episode is also supported by the Gluten Free Baking Academy.

Show Notes

NHS IC page

Interstitial Cystitis Association

Beating Endo book

Heather Crosby interview 

Food list from Beating Endo 

Biona foods 

Eden foods 

Today on the podcast I‘m talking to the incredible Megan Hallett about PCOS, blood sugar and endometriosis.

Megan Hallett is the co-author of The Happy Balance, which she wrote with period expert Nicole Jardim. I absolutely love this book and recommend it to everyone. The cookbook not only gives us an awesome quick stop tour of our hormones and why health foundations like sleep and stable blood sugar are so crucial, but it also includes 60 beautifully nourishing, hormone feeding and blood sugar balancing plant-based recipes.

Megan is a certified Integrative Nutrition Coach, is studying at CNM to become a Nutritional Therapist and is also a food writer and recipe developer.

As you can tell from the length of this interviewed, I LOVED talking to Megan and ended up getting really specific with her about the ins and outs of balancing our hormones. In this episode, we talk about her experience with PCOS, managing PCOS with blood sugar balancing, what blood sugar balance actually is and why it’s important for endometriosis and so much more, as you’ll come to hear!

Megan’s book is available on Amazon and wherever good books are sold - and right here!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

This episode is also sponsored by my fee guide ‘Managing Endometriosis Naturally’. This guide is perfect for anyone just starting out on this journey of managing and reducing their symptoms. Download here.

Show Notes

Megan’s website

Megan’s Instagram

Nicole Jardim

The Happy Balance book

Vivo Life protein powder

Woman Code book

First things first, I’m not a physio therapist or personal trainer, but I am someone who likes to keep healthy, so this episode is all about what I’m learning about exercise with endometriosis and how I’m working towards my fitness goals.

Don’t worry if you’re in way too much to move much at all right now - save this for future reference, or speak to a pelvic floor physiotherapist about what kind of gentle movement could be right for you. Just do what works and feels right for your own body. This episode isn’t supposed to make you feel bad, it’s about sharing my experiences, the tips that are helping me and the information about exercise that made me want to add more of it to my daily life. I’ve seen some really big improvements in my health and strength since changing up my fitness routine, so I wanted to share what I’ve learnt with you!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

This episode is sponsored by my free “Endometriosis Symptom Tracker”. If you feel like you’re just in pain or tired all the time, and you can’t tell what’s making your endo better or worse, this tracker could help you begin to understand the subtle patterns in your endometriosis symptoms. As always, this guide doesn’t replace your medical treatment and is not intended to treat or cure endometriosis, but provides you with options that helped me to live well with endometriosis. Download here.

Show Notes

Endometriosis lower risk study

WomanCode

Period Power

Code Red

Atomic Habits

Yoga with Adreinne

Cassie Ho YouTube Channel

Rebecca Louise YouTube Channel

Rich Roll

NHS exercise guidelines

Kelly Sephton

Steph Fit

Jessica Drummond MPT, CCN, CHC is the founder of the Integrative Women’s Health Institute and the leader of the course I’m currently studying; Integrative Women’s Health Coaching! Jessica has over a decade of experience as a women’s and pelvic physical therapist and has studied at the University of Virginia, Emory University, The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and Duke Integrative Medicine. Yes - this lady definitely knows what she’s talking about when it comes to women’s health, especially pelvic pain and endometriosis.

Jessica’s approach to treating people with pelvic pain and endometriosis is holistic and focuses on the whole person; their lifestyle, trauma, genetics, food and even their spirituality. She takes a Functional Medicine perspective, which looks at the root causes of a condition and addresses those factors, rather than simply treating and often masking the symptoms.

In this episode, Jessica and I discuss why it’s so important to have a support network when living with pelvic pain, how the foundational pillars of our life need to be in place if we want to heal endometriosis pain and her functional nutrition approach to the endometriosis diet.

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

This episode is also sponsored by my free Endometriosis Diet Grocery List. This pdf list includes all the foods I buy on a monthly basis, categorised into easy sections. I share my personal endometriosis diet plan, free recipe resources, recommendations to help you get started with the endometriosis diet and nutrition tips. Download here.

Show Notes

Jessica Drummond

IWHI

IWHI Public Courses

IWHI Coaches

Can gluten affect endometriosis? It’s a topic that’s been subject to a number of debates and studies over the past few years, so I thought it was finally time to talk about it!

In this episode I dive into the reasons why I went 90% gluten-free, and how I changed my diet. I talk about the changes I made, things I struggled with, what I found surprisingly easy and share my tips for reducing your gluten intake if you so wish. I also dive into what the research and what the experts are saying about the link between endometriosis, inflammation and gluten, so you can decide for yourself what sounds like the right choice for you.

I hope this episode offers you some practical tools to tackle the endometriosis diet and provides you with data and professional opinions on the affects of gluten on endo.

I also made a Gluten-Free Endometriosis Diet Grocery List download for you guys to accompany this episode! Download here.

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or sign up to my newsletter.

This episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-works

This episode is also sponsored by my fee guide ‘Managing Endometriosis Naturally’. This guide is perfect for anyone just starting out on this journey of managing and reducing their symptoms. Download here.

Show Notes

Take Control of Your Endometriosis Book

Womancode

Period Power