LJG was 30 when she was diagnosed with Endometriosis.  Now 33, she tells us a bit about her Endo journey and how diet has helped her along the way.

LJG’s Journey:   Always had painful first day of cycle and thought it was normal. Wasn’t sexually active till 25 and had no pregnancy scares while using little to no protection. My hubby and I decided to try for a baby so we both got checked out. He has kids and his sperm was fine. My gyno suggested an HSG test. Did it, no pain which is odd cause I heard horror stories. One of my Fallopian tubes was blocked. Shortly after I had painful sex, I couldn’t walk well for days (I think he hit a cyst). Went to a different gyno cause the other didn’t seem to have urgency. He found an infection due to the dye that got stuck in the tube from the HSG test. We went to a fertility specialist and suggested a laparoscopy to see if it was endo and said I have a higher chance of getting pregnant if the damaged tube is gone. At that time I found out my mom has endo (I knew she got a hysterectomy when I was 4 but didn’t know why).  He did the lap, removed scar tissue, several chocolate cysts, and one Fallopian tube. The best chance was within 6 months. This created issues with my hubby and I, planning intimacy and heartache every month. I started to have more pain each month. So I turned to support groups online and learning more natural things I can do. I tried one month drinking wine with dinner and eating whatever I wanted, dairy, gluten, sugar, processed crap and soy. I was in the worst pain. So I cut out alcohol fast and tried to cut back on everything else. Less and less pain. All this took a year going from one doc to the other. Changing eating habits is a process I’m still learning and fail at 3 years later but this last cycle I didn’t take any pain meds!

Words of Advice: Try a diet that works for you and keep at it! I cut out alcohol, cut down as much as I can on processed food, soy, animal products and gluten. When I do eat animal products I do organic, grass-fed type of products. Learn more about GMOs and what the animal eats is what you’re eating. Add things to your diet like turmeric (natural aanti-inflammatory spice in Indian food) and tart cherries! I drank a couple shots of tart cherry mixed with dark cherry juice the day before and during my cycle and pain decreased. I have also started to juice: mainly beets, carrots, celery, apple. Sometimes I put in pear or blueberries. Trying different period products, I tried a couple brands of organic cotton tampons and pads at the same time cause my flow was heavy. Some organic tampons came apart easy so I got nervous and tried the diva cup. I only do it in the beginning now but the results are amazing. My flow when from heavy to a medium to light flow. (could be a mixture of cup and healthy eating).

The Last Word: This month I’ll be 34, my hubbies ex is giving birth any day to another child. I used to feel crappy cause she could give him a kid and I couldn’t. I haven’t looked into seeing if my other tube is blocked so there could be a chance I could get pregnant. My hubby and I have talked about adoption and ivf and just this past week I finally feel like that option is an option for me. There is hope! Things don’t always come on our time or the way we expect.

I want to send a special Thank You out to LJG for being brave enough to share her journey with us today!  Best of luck maintaining your diet, finding what works best with your pain, and your ongoing efforst with your hubby for a child!    ❤ Yours, Lisa.

And if YOU would like to share your story, you can do so by clicking here.  The best part about this disease is the strong network of love and support from our fellow EndoSisters, and our friends and family, too.