Three Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before Being Operated On

Three Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before Your Operation

Most endometriosis patients have similar experiences when it comes to finally being diagnosed with the disease. It starts with the appearance of a host of inexplicable unpleasant symptoms that show up a few years after menstruation begins. Many women go from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with them. Some women will come across a knowledgeable gynecologist and figure out early on that it is endometriosis. Some women will not be diagnosed with endometriosis until they are having fertility issues. 

For most women, their first surgery to treat endometriosis is not performed by an expert endometriosis surgeon. For most women, their first surgery is performed by a well-meaning gynecologist or reproductive endocrinologist.  These doctors go in and ultimately do more harm than good.  They use surgical techniques that actually cause the endometriosis to spread in the future.  They will prematurely do hysterectomies on patients because they feel it is the only solution. They can damage vital organs in the body while trying to remove the endometriosis due to their inexperience. Or they simply leave endometriosis in places they do not feel comfortable operating on.  Some doctors open a patient up and quickly close them up after seeing how bad the disease is. They realize immediately that they are over their heads. Patients may get temporary relief from these surgeries but often, within months, they feel worse than they did before the surgery.

Here are three important questions to ask your surgeon before agreeing to be operated on:

Do you use the excision method to remove endometriosis?

Dr. Seckin, expert endometriosis surgeon and co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America, uses the excision method to remove the endometriosis. This is the best way of removing endometrial implants. Endometriosis is like an iceberg. Doctors can only see the tip of the disease when looking at it, but the majority of the disease lies deep below the surface. Most gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists use laser ablation and vaporization to remove the endometriosis. Not only can heat damage the ovary, but when a doctor burns away the endometriosis it turns the tissue black, making it very hard to see if there is endometriosis that needs to be removed from the surrounding tissue. More importantly, this method does not remove the deep infiltrating endometriosis that lies beneath the surface. Only excision can address that. Some experts believe that vaporizing the endometriosis can actually spread it to more places in the abdominal cavity. This method also does not remove the majority of the disease.

If I have endometriosis on my bowels, ureters, nerves or any other places that is not related to my reproductive system, will you remove it? Will you have other experts involved in my surgery who know how to treat endometriosis?

Most doctors are not endometriosis experts. Most often, gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists will ablate endometriosis off reproductive organs in hopes of giving their patients temporary relief or helping them achieve pregnancy. When they go in and see that a patients’ bowel is connected to her uterus or her ureters are attached to her pelvic wall, they don’t know how to handle it. Doctors will do what they can, but will leave the bulk of the disease. Ultimately this just creates more scar tissue and more pain for the patient.  Dr. Seckin will gather a team of professionals that are adept at treating endometriosis. He will have an urologist, a gastroenterologist, or a neurologist involved with the surgery if a patient needs extra care. It often takes a team of experts to combat this disease.  It is important that your doctor has a plan for treating ALL of your endometriosis.

Can you make preserving my reproductive organs a priority?

The old school way of treating endometriosis was to offer patients two options, Lupron or a hysterectomy. It is extremely surprising to hear that so many doctors still only offer these solutions, whether a patient is 19 or 46. Expert endometriosis surgeons will try their best to free and preserve the fallopian tubes, ovaries and the uterus of their patients. Dr. Seckin has not only helped many patients live a life that is more pain free, but has helped them achieve pregnancy after surgery. Sometimes the endometriosis is so wide spread or adenomyosis is so severe that even the best expert will have to perform a partial hysterectomy or a full hysterectomy on a patient.  It is one of the many devastating, lifelong impacts of this horrible disease.

Search for the Best Care

For many patients, when their doctor finally puts a name to their lifelong symptoms, there is an immediate sense of both gratitude and fear.  There is the attitude that since this is the one doctor that could finally put a name to my misery, than he/she must be able to fix it. In this time of crisis and acceptance, endometriosis patients must behave like patients being diagnosed with cancer. They must seek out the best, most knowledgeable endometriosis surgeons to ensure quality care and treatment of this debilitating disease. Hopefully one day, expert care will be available in every city, covered by every insurance plan, to lessen the already heavy burden of the patient.

 

EndoWarrior The Song!

Some of you may be surprised by this, but I like to write music! I know, I know, crazy right? I am a social worker!! But sometimes I am lucky enough to be on the side of inspiration. Sometimes the angels whisper in my ear, sometimes they hit me over the head with a frying pan. This is one of the frying pan situations. As many of you know, the Million Women March for Endometriosis is happening this March in DC and in cities all over the world. I feel like there needs to be a rally song, a song to unite us all, to make our voices heard, to explain to the world what we feel on a daily basis. I titled the song after one of my favorite Endometriosis Support Groups and a popular hashtag on twitter that explains how fierce and brave us endometriosis patients are. Below is a link to the song.  A fellow Endowarrior, Rachel Cohen, is performing it with her beautiful voice. She is not only a singer, but an author and is compiling a book of stories from endometriosis patients from around the world. Check out her blog at http://endofromtheheart.blogspot.com/

EndoWarrior Working Lyrics

People say I’m crazy,

That I’m just not strong enough.

People say I’m lazy,

That it’s time that I get tough.

They don’t understand,

This pain I can’t ignore.

It hurts with every breathe,

I can’t take it anymore.

Chorus:

I may not be strong enough or tough enough for you.

You may not choose to see my reality as truth.

But, I’ll no longer listen to your words that are only hurting me.

I am a warrior you will see.

 

Surgery after surgery

The many scars run so deep.

And yet it always seems,

Nothing brings relief.

Hard to keep my head up,

Feel so all alone.

Countless hours spent,

With my heating pad at home.

Chorus
I may not be strong enough or tough enough for you.

You may not choose to see my reality as truth.

But, I’ll no longer listen to your words that are only hurting me.

I am a warrior you will see.

Bridge

It’s time we come together and stand as one in pain.

It’s time for once our cries aren’t heard in vain.

If we lean on each other our power will not wane.

 

The mountains I have climbed,

One day you will understand

Then you’ll finally know

How strong I really am.

Chorus:

I may not be strong enough or tough enough for you.

You may not choose to see my reality as truth.

And I’ll keep fighting this disease that has completely ravaged me.

I am a warrior you will see.

Endowarrior you will see.

 

 

 

 

 

Radio Interview with Victoria Hopewell

So I officially had my first radio interview! I had the pleasure of speaking with therapist, author and infertility advocate Victoria Hopewell about endometriosis. We spoke for a half an hour about what the disease is, the fertility and overall health implications of the disease and finally talked about how patients can be empowered by advocating and joining endometriosis communities.
        Here it is!
Endometriosis Interview With Victoria Hopewell

Love, Your Friend With Endometriosis

Dearest Friend,

         I have been trying to write this letter for some time now, but it is so hard to put into words what I have been going through. I fear that my delay in explaining my past behavior has worsened the strain on our friendship.  But if there is one message to convey to you in this letter, it is that I have done and always will do the best that I can. It is just that sometimes my best falls short, and I have finally figured out why.

Last week, my doctor performed laparoscopic surgery to explore my abdomen, and he found what he had suspected all along—the presence of a terrible disease called endometriosis.  I should have told you sooner, my dear friend, but it has taken me a while to wrap my head around this harsh sentence of chronic pain, infertility and many other unpleasant symptoms.

                I know you’re wondering, “What is endometriosis?” Well, all women have a lining in their uterus that builds up and then sheds during their menstrual cycle. But for women with endometriosis, this uterine lining escapes the uterus and attaches to other organs, the pelvic wall and the ovaries, and can even travel as far as the kidneys, the lungs, and even the brain. Wherever it is implanted, this lining thickens and bleeds during the menstrual cycle, causing scar tissue, adhesions and blood-filled cysts.  This condition is not natural and is incredibly painful. After my surgery last week, my doctor told me “There wasn’t a place in your abdomen that didn’t contain endometriosis. Your abdomen was filled with the disease.” Adhesions had grown over my ovaries, causing them to stick to my pelvic wall, which made my monthly ovulation excruciating. Parts of my urinary system were also attached to my pelvic wall, and endometriosis was found on my bladder, which would explain my constant need to urinate. Finally, the disease had spread to my bowels and my intestinal tract. Now I know the cause of my horrible stomach issues for the past 15 years!

                Recovering from surgery has been really hard, but what I think is harder is dealing with the diagnosis of endometriosis itself.  There is no cure for this terrible disease, and because it is often dismissed as a non life-threatening female condition, there are very few researchers studying it despite the enormous impact it has on 1 out of every 10 women.  The only real treatment is surgical excision, but this is not a cure. There is a good chance the disease will continue to grow and I will have to have many surgeries throughout my life to treat it. 

                I am writing all of this to you in an attempt to explain what has been going on with me, and what you have been noticing, for years.  You probably thought I was a hypochondriac. Mirriam-Webster defines hypochondria as extreme depression of mind or spirit often centered on imaginary physical ailments.  Honestly, until I had my surgery, I wondered if it was all in my head!  I recall all of the times I had to cancel on you at the last minute because I had my period and was in so much pain.  When I was feeling well enough to meet you for dinner, I would often have to go straight home afterwards because my stomach was upset.  I am plagued with guilt when I think about that time I couldn’t help you move because I was ovulating and couldn’t even stand up straight. I will never forget when I missed your big party because my period left me so dizzy and nauseous that I couldn’t make it out of bed.  There are so many things I missed out on because of this disease. There have been so many times I have let you down.

                I want you to know my disease is real. My pain is real.  I know I may have come off as flaky, unreliable and even at times apathetic to our friendship.  I know I may seem high-maintenance because wherever I go I need to have a bathroom close by, and I can only eat at restaurants that have a menu that won’t upset my stomach. I know that being my friend means you have to be extra flexible and understanding all the time, which must be exhausting.  Endometriosis often leaves me exhausted, and there are many times I want to give up on myself.  But I won’t give up, because my life is worth fighting for.

 Despite how my disease has challenged me, it has also made me a better person and in turn, a better friend. I am stronger because of it and can be strong for you when you need it. I rely on hope and grace to carry me through the most difficult times and can share these wisdoms with you.  I have learned to appreciate the wonderful people in my life and hold them close.   I remind myself every day of what I have to be grateful for. If you stand by me, I will be the most loyal friend you have.  I don’t sweat the small stuff. Little things like a functioning heating pad and dairy-free ice cream make me incredibly happy.  Handling this disease and facing all that comes with it require an excellent sense of humor. How else could a person deal with highly invasive medical tests and ridiculous bowel symptoms?  I can share all of this and more with you if you choose to stick with me through this.

                I hope my diagnosis helps you understand my situation a little better. I encourage you to research endometriosis for an even clearer picture of what I am going through. I encourage you to ask questions. I promise I will talk about it with you. I will let you know how I am feeling and why. I will be open and honest with you at all times.

As you can see, with my new diagnosis I need friends more than ever! Right now, I am overwhelmed with the thought of what endometriosis means for my life and my future. Will I be able to meet someone who will want to date me with all that comes with this disease? Will I ever get married? Will I be able to have children? How will I manage to live with a disease that has no cure and very few effective treatment options? These are big questions that I don’t expect you to answer. They have no answers. What I am hoping is that after you read this letter you will want to come over and watch a movie with me.  I have a pint of chocolate coconut ice cream in the freezer, and seeing you would make my heart happy.

With Love,

Your friend with endometriosis

Ten Tips for a Successful Endometriosis Laparoscopy Recovery

Laparoscopic surgery using excision to remove endometrial implants is seen by many expert endometriosis surgeons as the best way to treat endometriosis.  Although laparoscopic surgery is one of the least invasive types of surgeries, it is still not an easy procedure to endure.  Healing from the surgery takes time and requires a lot of fortitude on the part of the patient. Dr. Seckin is a leading expert in endometriosis surgery and founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. He performed my last endometriosis surgery and together we came up with great tips that are helpful during the healing process.

1.       Use the over counter remedy, Gas-X®:  Dr. Seckin performed my fourth abdominal laparoscopic surgery and I only wished I had had this advice for the first three! During laparoscopic surgery, your doctor will fill your abdominal cavity with gas in order to lift the abdominal walls away from the cavity to get a better view. After the surgery the gas remains, and this can cause intense shoulder or back pains. Gas-X® helped me tremendously after my last laparoscopic surgery. Simethicone, the active ingredient in Gas-X®, is a powerful medicine that breaks up the surface tension of trapped gas and allows your system to deal with it naturally. Ask your doctor if Gas-X® would be right for you. It made a huge difference for me.

2.       Use a mild stool softener such as Colace: I hear so many women talk about the terror associated with having their first bowel movement post-surgery, especially women who have just had endometriosis on their bowels and rectum removed.  To compound this issue, narcotic pain medications often prescribed to relieve pain can also cause constipation and eating a diet high in fiber immediately following surgery is not advised. Drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day will help with this issue.  Although stronger suppositories, laxatives and enemas may not be advised post-surgery, ask your doctor if a mild stool softener such a Colace, can be taken post-operatively. Colace can help ease the strain and pain associated with your first bowel movements.

3.       Keep your diet light for the first few days: I remember the day after my appendectomy, my first laparoscopy, I was very hungry. For my first meal post-surgery, my parents brought me over a dish from my favorite Italian take-out restaurant.  I eagerly gobbled my down my food and ten minutes later, I was throwing it all back up.  If you haven’t experienced it, vomiting right after abdominal surgery is quite painful and unpleasant.  Through trial and error I learned that for the first few days post-surgery, it is so important to eat lightly. Broths, Jell-O and other easily digested foods will help get you back on track. Also may I recommend using this post-surgery period to start following an endometriosis friendly diet to try and make the impact of the surgery last for longer.

4.       Keep your heating pad close: A heating pad is every endometriosis patients’ best friend, including after surgery. After all of my surgeries, I found that my body was achy in other places besides my abdomen.  I was quite surprised the first time I found out that during surgery, the doctor may contort your body into crazy positions in order to find the best position to operate. I thought the position I was in when I went under anesthesia was the position I stayed in throughout the surgery! The physical stress of the operation combined with the stress on my other muscles trying to compensate for my hurt abdomen, would cause my back to hurt. The heating pad can help tremendously with these aches and pains and also can help relieve your swollen abdomen.

5.       Benefits of moving around: It is important to start moving around 24 hours post-surgery.   Small walks to the bathroom or around your bed can actually help you heal faster. Keep in mind, in the beginning, doing something little like getting up to go to the bathroom can be exhausting, but it will get easier. A little bit, goes a long way.

6.       Don’t overdo it: Less than a week after abdominal surgery, a friend of mine decided to take a walk into her small town. Before surgery, walking less than a mile wouldn’t have been an issue for her. Feeling a little bit better after taking it easy for most of the week, she thought it would be okay. I remember getting a panicked call from her asking me to come pick her up half-way there. She felt horrible. Whether it be exercising, vacuuming, or lifting, make sure not to overdo it and get your doctor’s approval first. Your body is using most of its resources to heal, so doing anything too taxing on top of that can set your recovery back, or even worse, cause internal sutures to burst.  Resting for so long can be discouraging. Don’t be disheartened, you will be back to your normal life in no time.

7.       Keep an eye on your incisions: If closed properly incisions should appear healed within a week, and then it takes about 6 weeks for them to heal completely. If incisions seem overly swollen or if they seem to be infected, schedule an appointment with your doctor to have him/her check them. During one of my surgeries with a less than helpful surgeon, one of my incisions reopened through no fault of my own. My doctor did not want to hear about my post-surgery issues and advised me to pack it with gauze daily until it healed, which took weeks. The scar the incision left was atrocious and I was angry at not only his lack of skills, but his disinterest in any follow up care.

8.       First period post-surgery is always bad: After my first endometriosis surgery I was not prepared for the incredibly painful period that came right after. It was unlike any pain I had felt on my worst days battling this disease. I was terrified that during surgery the doctor had broken my reproductive parts and now they were somehow detonating in my abdomen. Little did I know this was completely normal. During excision surgery your doctor works on every part of your reproductive parts, cutting and scraping all of the endometriosis away. Naturally there is a lot of healing that has to take place to feel completely better. That healing does not fully happen within the time of your next cycle. So as your reproductive parts start to work again, keep in mind they are still tender.  After my last surgery with Dr. Seckin, by my third period post-surgery I felt incredible, better than I had in years.

9.       Don’t Be Afraid to Call Your Doctor: I feel as endometriosis patients we have a long history of not having faith in our medical professionals to help us.  How could we? For years, so many professionals have dismissed our pain or admittedly have had no idea how to best serve our medical needs.  Sometimes I feel like we have a “Why even bother?” attitude when it comes to reaching out. As exhausting as it is to muster the strength post-surgery to be your own advocate and fight for your health, I am begging you to do it! If you feel in your gut that something is wrong with you, give the doctor a call, even if it is midnight. If it is two weeks later and you feel like something is wrong, call anyway!  Remember you are not only a patient, but a client. Certainly if you experience fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, difficulty urinating, extreme pain in your legs or abdomen or difficulty breathing, call immediately. 

10.    Keep the Faith: I remember one of my surgeons telling me that some people go back to work a few days after surgery. I was NOT one of those people, nor have I met one of those people yet. It took me three full weeks to get back to my regular schedule.  I was feeling great by the fourth week then got my period and was devastated again by pain. I remember crying, feeling so disheartened, because just as I thought I was better, I was sick again. But I eventually felt better and then I felt amazing, better than I had in years. This surgery is emotionally and physically draining. The good news is that excision surgery helps so many women feel so much better. They feel as though they get their lives back. My hope is that you will too!

 

Please feel free to add any tips you have found to be helpful post-surgery in the comment section below. As a community, standing together, we can help each other fight this terrible disease. Know you are not alone and that you are ENDOSTRONG.

Padma Lakshmi Speaks Out About Endometriosis

 

 

You may know Padma Lakshmi as the beautiful and talented host of Bravo’s hit television show Top Chef.  What you may not know about is the tireless advocacy work she does as co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America.  Endometriosis is a painful and chronic condition that affects approximately 176 million women and girls worldwide; 8.5 million in North America alone. Endometriosis is a disease where the tissue that lines and then sheds from the uterus during a normal menstrual cycle, escapes the uterus and then grows on the outside portion of the uterus, the ovaries, the intestines or other parts of the body. The disease causes internal bleeding which can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, adhesions, inflammation and disruption of the digestive and urinary systems, among other problems. Currently there is no cure for endometriosis, and the only truly effective treatment is surgery, which brings only temporary relief.

Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Padma talk about her battle with endometriosis.  I deeply respect and appreciate her passion for promoting awareness and education for a disease that has had such a profound and lasting impact on my own life. Padma always looks so poised and put together on television. It was surprising to me how her story was so similar to all of our stories.  Here are excerpts from her story, in her own words.

Misdiagnosis

The reason I that I got involved with the Endometriosis Foundation of America, at co-founder Dr. Seckin’s insistence and encouragement is because I became very angry at the fact that I personally was only diagnosed with endometriosis at age 36. I’m a college educated woman. I have a lot of resources at my disposal…like healthcare, which is very comprehensive. I have access to the best doctors. And yet, I too fell through the cracks. And I didn’t fall through the cracks because I didn’t know that something was wrong. I didn’t fall through the cracks because I had negligent doctors…they just didn’t know any better.  There wasn’t the research and there wasn’t the technology that there is now. I was operated on by a gastro doctor, who had he known that there was a bigger, underlying problem, I am sure he would have given me different care.

Taking Control of Your Medical Care

I was diagnosed at 36. I got divorced at 37. And at 38, almost 39, I found myself single and childless, feeling like many women feel in their early 30’s and even early 40’s, that we have squandered or whole-souled some of our life for other parts of our life. There was a lot of guilt and anger I felt at myself for not taking better control of my own body and not going to that second or third gynecologist and say, “Wait a minute, why am I taking handfuls of Vicodin every month?” I should have done that. But I thought that the doctors knew better. Doctors should listen to patients and patients should listen to their own bodies. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong.

The Expansive Impact of Endometriosis

I never like to call our foundation, “A women’s health foundation.” I consider endometriosis a family health issue. Because not only does it affect a woman biologically, it affects her personally. And it affects every person that woman loves, every person she cares for, every person that wants to care for her and loves her. It affects her professional life and all her colleagues.  And thereby, it affects us all as a culture and as a society.  1 in every 10 women have endometriosis.

Sharing Information with Our Younger Generations

We need to share information with younger women. My mother has a master’s degree in public health. She is a nurse. When I learned about my body, when my mother had that talk about the birds and the bees, she said to me, “I had a lot of cramps (and I knew this because I saw her with the heating pad 4-5 days every month) and I’m sure that you probably will too. Some women get it and some don’t.  It’s just your lot in life.” It is not your lot in life. We have to watch what we say to our children as they are forming, not only their bodies, but their relationships with their own bodies and their self-esteem.  Imagine if my mother hadn’t been told the same thing by her mother. Imagine if my mother said, “If this happens, we are going to find out why, and we’re going to try and fix it as much as we possibly can…so that you can live the life that you should have the opportunity to live.”

 

Thank you Padma for fighting for all of us! Your incredible work is truly appreciated.

We are ENDOSTRONG

Recently, I heard Dr. Tamer Seckin, co-founder of the EFA and a leading world expert in endometriosis surgery, describe endometriosis as a disease in which the patient feels as though she is constantly being tortured.   I thought that was quite an accurate description of a disease that has plagued me since I was 14 years old. Chronic pain and fatigue, excessive bleeding and swelling, diarrhea and bladder issues are just some of the many symptoms that I and so many other women in the endometriosis community face on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, the general public is largely unaware that this disease exists, never mind the tremendous impact it has on our lives.  So we are often dismissed as constantly sick for no good reason, weak and even hypochondriacs. No one can see the way our organs are fused together or how adhesions are often pulling our insides in a way that can make even standing up extraordinarily painful.  As wives, daughters, mothers, friends, co-workers, and students we are expected to live up to our societal responsibilities and roles as we endure the physical and emotional side effects of this debilitating disease.  We often choose to suffer in silence and carry the burden of this disease alone, because honestly, it is a hard and often awkward disease to explain, “You see, it all started when the lining of my uterus somehow escaped my uterine cavity…”  But we know we are not hypochondriacs. We are simply amazing.

Endometriosis patients are some of the strongest, most determined and most resilient women I have ever met. We are ENDOSTRONG.  What does ENDOSTRONG mean?  ENDOSTRONG means listening to our bodies when we need to take a sick day or even medical leave because the disease is too overwhelming. ENDOSTRONG means choosing another doctor because we are not getting the medical treatments we need. ENDOSTRONG means bravely facing our 3^rd, 4^th, or in my case, 5^th endometriosis related surgery with no guarantee of relief, only a hope and a prayer that it will work.  ENDOSTRONG means accepting the lifestyle limitations endometriosis can bring and accepting the help of those around us when things get bad.  ENDOSTRONG means addressing the emotional impact of this isolating disease whether it’s seeing a therapist or joining a support group.  ENDOSTRONG means taking the time to take care of ourselves even though we as women have been taught from an early age to put our needs last.  ENDOSTRONG also means helping to take care of each other by forming a supportive community and sharing our stories and experiences. ENDOSTRONG also means raising public awareness and banding together to find a cure.

Who is ENDOSTRONG?  The nurse, who despite her pain, gets out of bed and works the night shift taking care of critically ill patients is ENDOSTRONG.  The young professional who passes her tax exam shortly after recovering from surgery is ENDOSTRONG.  The hopeful mother who is on her 5^th IVF cycle after experiencing multiple losses is ENDOSTRONG.  The high school senior who despite missing her graduation because of her period manages to keep a positive outlook on life and have hope for the future is ENDOSTRONG. All of the women in third world countries who cope with this excruciating disease without any healthcare, medications or surgical relief are certainly ENDOSTRONG.  We all are the faces of endometriosis and together we are a force to be reckoned with.

I am proud to be a part of this community of women. We are survivors.  Every day we accomplish the ordinary while dealing with the extraordinary. It is an honor and a privilege to be working with the Endometriosis Foundation of America and, through these blogs, to be able to communicate with even more members of the endometriosis community. I hope we can start an endometriosis revolution and combine our extraordinary strength to raise money to find a cure for this disease while raising public awareness for our cause.   My dream is one day when my daughter is grown, 20 years from now, she will say, “Wow, I can’t believe when you were growing up so many people never even heard of endometriosis.  I am so glad they found a cure. ”

To help spread awareness and raise money for endometriosis research,  I have started a store on Zazzle where any proceeds I make from the sales will go directly to the Endometriosis Foundation of America. I was inspired by my friend,  Jen Rutner , who has been selling the #hope T-shirt for years now!  We have t-shirts, we have onesies, we have furbaby accessories and we also have ENDOSTRONG stickers specifically designed to fit onto Sharps containers for ENDOSTRONG women who are cycling. Please check the store out and let me know what you think!

You will also be able to find my official EFA blogs posted in the future at  http://www.endofound.org/ . But please note this is my personal website and posts on this site may or may not reflect the views, mission and beliefs of the EFA.