F E M-E F F E C T

Health, wellness, strength and empowerment.

[femeffect-blog]

Laproscopic Surgery for Endometriosis

I'm leaning more and more towards this diagnostic surgery, even though I know it's not a cure, adhesions usually grow back and I wanted to avoid birth control. My back is totally cramped and unstable, my bowels and bladder are all over the place, and of course my low abdomen is killer cramping with intermittent shooting pains up to my ribs that take my breath away. Oh, and I'm not even menstruating yet. I'm not complaining, just reaching out for similar experiences or advice. If you've had this or multiple surgeries for endometriosis or female reproductive diseases, or have these pains but found other ways to treat them, I'd love to hear from you!

[femeffect-blog]

These exercises might be useful for those of us who desperately need to strengthen their cores like me, but can’t handle crunches due to all that lower abdominal inflammation we battle daily.

My back has also lost a good deal of muscle mass since joining the chronic pain club, which contributes even more to my knotted, spastic muscles and inflammation.

Happy strengthening!

[femeffect-blog]

Do any endo sufferers use CBD to treat their pain and inflammation? I'm curious if a certain form or extract has worked for anyone. I've used medical mj, which surprisingly helps more when I smoke rather than ingest, but I've yet to try pure CBD (which removes most if not all of the psychoactive effects of THC, so we could work, play and do whatever we want while using it!) My PCP actually suggested it as an option, and I've always been a fan of natural treatments; hence my decision to discontinue birth control due to side effects. Any advice? :)

[femeffect-blog]

I made the Golden Milk! It was delicious!

Good for inflammation and balancing hormones, so I’ve read.

-1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened -1 teaspoon ground tumeric -½ teaspoon ground cinnamon -1 teaspoon raw organic honey -Pinch of ground black pepper for better absorption -- Mix it all up in a small pot as you simmer and warm it on the stove, avoid boiling

*there are variations of ingredients and how to make this soothing bed time drink, play around and find what works for you if you’re willing to experiment. My mom, whom was recommended tumeric for osteoarthritis in her hands but hates coconut, drank this up and asked me to make her some every night!

Side note, this is my favorite hand built ceramic mug from my college days. It’s wonky and imperfect and feels like me. Celadon and heavy iron glazes.

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I just had the most amazing adventure vacation in Yosemite and Bass Lake. Staying active and getting out of my head is so important to my coping and healing process. So here I am posing like a tree, on a tree, in front of trees. Yay trees!

I did want to say a bit about the changes a body can go through while fighting a chronic illness. I’ve never been one to harshly judge my (or anyone’s) physical appearance, but my weight has been brought up in a “positive” way this past year more than ever. I say positive in quotes because although I look thin… healthy, I was very recently unable to eat, baffled by stabbing pains, an inability to finish a meal, and heartburn so intense that I wore an ice pack on my chest every night. I became one of those “crazy patients” calling my GI doc every week, begging for help.

After a mess of prescribed medicine: prilosec (the god damn devil, I will NEVER TOUCH this drug again!), carafete, pepcid and disgusting aluminum containing anti acids, I finally got another endoscopy. But Doc found something very unexpected. I don’t think even he was prepared. As he began to insert the tube down my throat he added dysphagia (trouble swallowing) to my list of conditions. Next he entered my stomach, filled with green bilious fluid - no wonder my nausea was so bad it startled me awake some nights as I grasped for a waste basket; add bile reflux to the list (due to my gallbladder removal 2 years ago), accompanied by mild gastritis.

But next… Doc entered my duodenum, the part of your small intestine connected to your stomach. It was extrinsicly compressed, meaning it was being smashed inward and leaving the hole where food empties from the stomach to the intestine very small. If it were to close, I would be at major risk for a blockage.

Cofirmation by an MRI/A diagnosed this incredibly rare condition as SMA Syndrome, caused by losing too much fat from my mesenteric fat pad. Did you catch that? LOSING TOO MUCH FAT!!! This allowed my mesenteric artery to collapse on my duodenum and compress it inward. There is a laundry list of medical reasons that led to this weight loss, but they all stem from my change in diet due to the many foods I could no longer process without my gallbladder.

Let me make it known, I was thin but not underweight. I was within my optimal BMI range receiving compliments about how good I looked, but I was invisibly sicker than I had ever been. It broke me down… constantly trying to change people’s perceptions about what a “healthy” weight means, and explain how every individual has an optimal weight that might not fit neatly within society’s expectations. I thanked them for being kind in their own way, but inside it infuriated me that when I was 15 pounds heavier and felt healthy and beautiful, I didn’t receive these same compliments. Why aren’t we more accustomed to complimenting happiness and health over thinness and weight loss?

I have since gained back 5 pounds, and my body composition is feeling healthier, stronger. My symtopms have also started to improve; I’m on ZERO heartburn medication, the stabbing pains are much less frequent, and I can eat slightly larger meals, including chicken! I’m in the process of reversing SMA (Superior Mesenteric Artery) Syndrome with diet, acupuncture and natural healing. Food and weight gain are my prescription, and so far so good. Now if I could only get this lower gut pain and post-infectious IBS under control… won’t give up anytime soon!

[femeffect-blog]

Interesting… period health as a vital sign!

[nprglobalhealth]

A Swimmer’s ‘Period’ Comment Breaks Taboos In Sports — And In China

Fu Yuanhui, a Chinese swimmer at the Rio Olympics, made headlines this week for telling the world she was on her period.

On Sunday, when she finished fourth in the women’s 4x100 meter medley relay, an interviewer found her doubled over and grimacing. She asked Fu if she was in pain.

“Actually, my period started last night, so I’m feeling pretty weak and really tired,” Fu told the interviewer in Mandarin, according to an English-subtitled video on Shanghai Expat’s YouTube channel. “But this isn’t an excuse. At the end of the day, I just didn’t swim very well.”

The interview turned Fu into an overnight sensation on Weibo, a Chinese social media site, reported the New York Times: She broke the silence around menstruation in sports.

According to The Guardian, one commenter wrote, “It is a normal physiological phenomenon, so why can’t we mention it? Fu Yuanhui is awesome!”

The swimmer’s remark also shed light on shifting Chinese attitudes toward periods.

“It tells us a lot about what’s going on in China today,” says Susan Greenhalgh, a professor who focuses on Chinese society at Harvard University’s department of anthropology. “The vocal empowerment of young people and the fact that gender issues are coming to the fore, it’s exciting.”

Read the full story here. 

[npr]

Fu Yuanhui has won the Internet. -Emily

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Yoga is my most valuable medicine. Even on days when I’m not feeling agile, when my back can’t find cobra and my belly can’t hold a boat. But damn it all if flowing through stretches doesn’t release some tension.

A couple days ago I had a follow up with a urogynocologist. She had sent me to physical therapy (helpful!) in June for pelvic floor tension myalgia, yet another condition I’d never heard of. In my case, she believes the cause is endometriosis.

I have been trying to ease the pain and stress that comes with every period. Along with the fluctuating abdominal pain, and the muscle and bladder spasms often present throughout my entire cycle. I have chosen to tackle this naturally, for as long as I am able. I have elected to not do the official diagnostic laproscopic surgery and ablation at this time. I have also chosen to work on my diet, have acupuncture treatment weekly and take chinese herbs to try and calm the cramping. The urogynocologist is not pleased.

I don’t know if what I’m doing is the right thing to do, I don’t know if denying surgery and hormonal treatment is the answer. But I do know that all of us with this disease suffer, and we suffer differently. We also decide for ourselves what the best treatment and method of action is in regards to our health, our bodies. I have read many of your stories, and I completely understand why other paths to better your health were taken.

For me, another procedure to look inside the intricate cells that make up my body, to poke and burn and scrape an already inflamed and painful area, does not feel like the answer I am looking for. I’m still trying to make peace with my body, to understand how I can better nourish my blood and calm my immune system.

We’re all tough, and we’re all in this together. Hopefully this natural approach will bring me some symptom relief, and I will have helpful techniques to share. Until then, I hope we all hang in there and relief finds us, by whatever means we use.

[femeffect-blog]

Might be worth a try for us spoonies trying to balance our hormones.

[spoonie-living]

Let’s Talk About Disability, Periods, and Alternative Menstrual Products

This article covers menstrual cups and period undies, and is friendly to all folks who have periods! Please be aware that ableist violence is mentioned in early paragraphs as the author discusses the reason this topic is so rarely covered.

In addition to the products mentioned here, we also recommend cloth pads–which, while requiring a bit more maintenance, are cheaper in the long run and great if you have skin sensitivities. To learn more about these, as well as the Moon Cup, you can take a look at Erika Moen’s Oh Joy Sex Toy review right here (NSFW content).

[femeffect-blog]

Humbly living... with chronic pain

1. Wake up, roll out my neck, rotate my shoulders, touch my toes…slowly

2. Check out those eye bags, smooth out my cheeks, slap on a grin (for myself, no body else)

3. Remind myself that movement helps, mornings are just rough

4. Take a warm shower to loosen the muscles, let it beat on my neck, back, whatever I need (sometimes ice is even better)

5. Deep breaths for the pain; in through the nose out through the mouth - get that healing oxygen back into the bloodstream

6. Give myself a blessing for all the ways chronic pain has made me a better person: patience, self discipline, empathy, humility, gratitude

7. Let knowledge be power, and never assume I’ve tried it all

8. Be present with however my body has reacted to the day, and do my best to alleviate not agitate

9. Forgive myself for ignoring my own advice, forgive others for trying to help

10. When the body is heavy, consciously allow the mind to be light

I need better practice at all of the above, but everyday is another opportunity to master this humble piece of my being. I cannot control the physical sensation of pain, but I always have the potential to control my reaction.

[spoonie-living]

Our New Healthy

Illness may change us, symptoms may challenge us, but only we can define us. Join us on the journey to discovering our new healthy, happy life!

Y’all, Our New Healthy is a beautiful new lifestyle blog for spoonies like us, with sections on beauty, health, happiness, fitness, and “on the go” (travel and then some)! Check ‘em out and join their mailing list, why don’tcha?

[femeffect-blog]

3 AM Poops, Sitz baths and finding my Center

It’s light out, I’m awake for the second night in a row at 3 AM, pooping, porcelain god help me. I’m 7 days into an IBS flare with no relief and it’s really wiping me out. My usual IB Guard peppermint pills aren’t helping at all, the yoga isn’t deflating this swollen gut and I am getting very, very little sleep. But, I’m still trying to regain my balance, Ommm. I fell of the edge, angry that my symtopms had returned so intensely.

Funny how much worse it feels when you temporarily get better and then IBS shows up like oh hey, yeah I decided I’d like to drop you off some hemorrhoids so you can’t poo, a huge gut so you can’t wear pants to work, a kinked neck, throbbing back pain and a broken vagina backed up with pressure, sound good? FML.

Well, after that rant, I’m about to take a sitz bath. They’re great for relaxing all the tensed muscles, calming swelling and other gynecological gems like infections-check, cysts-check, and pain-check, check. I just use good old baking soda, a generous amount, then sit in a tub with water that covers my belly when I lay down. Then I zone out in the warmth, ahwwhh.

Today I have my first physical therapy appointment for PFTM, eee. With manual therapy as the recommended treatment. In layman’s terms, I will get a very unpleasant pelvic exam, followed by a hopefully less unpleasant massage of my pelvic floor muscles, located down south, you know, between the vagina and anus. Say what!

I’m actually grateful that my new doctor recognized the tension in my PF muscles and wants to help alleviate all this pressure from my lady bits and BMs. I’m sure I will have plenty more on the subject soon! In the meantime, I’ll work on not losing my cool, not crying from exhaustion, and not flexing my vagina muscles every time I feel emotion #gains …kidding.

Tata

[ibsinmotion]

Wakes in the night with abdominal pain… momentarily panics at the thought of food poisoning… slowly remembers that this is now normal bodily dysfunction… farts… goes back to sleep…

[femeffect-blog]

Fart humor, saving lives.

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How personal may I get?

I’ve held off on beginning this written/photo journal for two main reasons:

1. Am I ready to let everyone in? My struggles, embarrassment, pain?

2. Am I resourceful enough to actually make a difference helping others?

I’m eager to connect on a human level again with my work, my art and my life. I concluded that to find the help I need regarding women’s health, I have to offer it myself. So far, I’ve found some great personal stories on tumblr that are helping me feel more comfortable about the stress I’ve been experiencing with my decision on whether or not to proceed with the diagnostic laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis, and to what extent. (I’m still unsure, but the more I read the better I feel, when just last week it was the opposite. Experiences welcome!) 

As I work through this process, my story and ultimately this community, I’d like to offer back resources I find helpful, so here’s a start: a great article about fighting for government funding on endometriosis research, due in part to the billions of dollars lost annually on women missing work time to take care of their bodies. Women suffering in silence: the endometriosis crisis

And this beautiful girl’s personal/support blog for teens with endometriosis. (no, I’m not a teen, but I still found it incredibly helpful and inspiring!)  @mrsendowarrior

Much love, M

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Let’s connect.

FEM EFFECT is a project dedicated to connecting women on all platforms through inspiration and empowerment. No conversation is off limits. Let’s march this movement forward and help each other progress with personal, powerful acts of connection.

How this blog came to fruition:

As a sufferer of chronic health conditions, I would weave through online forums at 3 AM, desperately searching for personal experiences from women who share my ailments. Over and over again I came across devastating stories of pain. Too many women are fighting silent battles everyday that many others remain unaware of. I want to change that. I want to help myself regain control of my life alongside the rest of you. So, I thought, we should do this together. We should share our stories. We should offer advice from experience and bring the personal-life back into whatever it is we google in the midst of panic when sleep escapes us. BUT, we should do this with stories of healing, meditation, love and above all, success at conquering impossible odds. And this, my friends, reaches far beyond the realm of health.

My Conditions:

Here’s where you get to know me, and if we have any of these conditions in common (or not!), let’s connect. Maybe we can help heal each other.

Bile/Acid re-flux after gall bladder removal

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

SMA Syndrome (Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome)

Pre-diagnosed Endometriosis, undecided on key-hole diagnostic surgery

Cysts

Anxiety

And here’s what I do to stay aligned:

Yoga

Acupuncture

Eliminate inflammatory foods (wheat, most dairy, most sugar)

Massage

Talk to myself, take really deep breaths

Cry a bunch, practically every time I see a doctor

Laugh a bunch, because too many doctors have seen my vagina

TMI all over my boyfriend, my mom and anyone who asks really

Search for answers, connection and hope

I’ll write more in depth about my experiences with each of these things in time, and I hope to meet, learn and grow with some wonderful humans in the process. Please reach out to me if anything here has struck a cord with you, or if you would like to share some words of wisdom with the world.

Healthiest wishes to you all,

Melissa