Author: Bloomin' Uterus

Feel Good Fridays

| Bloomin' Uterus
Braided river delta with red & green lora at low tide Lower Cook Inlet Kachemak Bay Alaska
Braided river delta with red & green lora at low tide Lower Cook Inlet Kachemak Bay Alaska; NOAA

MARCH! Endometriosis Awareness Month! My Facebook newsfeed has exploded with EndoWarriors posting amazing things every day and I love it!

So, today’s quote IS US!

“Drop upon drop collected will make a river. Rivers upon rivers collected will make a sea.” ~Sa’di (1213-1292)

We are numerous. A mighty force. We stand together. WE FIGHT TOGETHER!

May you have a wonderful weekend! And if you need me, I’m here.

Blogs I updated this week:

Bladder & Endometriosis: Added a January 2020 study from ACTA Scientific Womens Health about a a 46-year-old woman who had complaints of painful, long, and heavy periods. She also had difficulty urinating, peed frequently, felt pain when she peed, and sometimes had blood in her urine. Turns out she had Endometriosis inside her bladder.

C-Sections & Endometriosis: Added an August 2019 study from MOJ Clinical & Medical Case Reports of a 28-year-old woman who had painful swelling beneath her c-section scar. I’ll give you one guess what it ended up being…

Endometriosis & the Bowel: Added a January 2019 study from Paripex of a woman who had a mass of Endometriosis inside of her sigmoid colon…that actually prevented a full colonoscopy from being performed.

Endometriosis & the Lungs: Added a January 2020 study from the Thai Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of a 49-year-old woman with a history of spontaneous pneumothorax. Surgery finally confirmed the presence of Endo lesions in her right lung and her diaphragm, but she had no other evidence of pelvic Endo, nor other symptoms of Endometriosis. Five years after her surgeries, she was still symptom-free.

Pain Journal: February 2020

| Bloomin' Uterus

February. Man. What a weird month for pain and symptoms…

Pain started around February 5th and continued nearly the entire month. I also took a staggering amount of Ibuprofen, none of which was related to my Endo symptoms. I did need several Naproxen and two separate halves of Tramadol, thought.

And although I spotted for several days, I technically didn’t have my period. The spotting took place far off of what would have been my normal period. And when I brought it up to my gyno, they didn’t count it as a period, either. You know, the “first day of your last period” question?

At least the pain continued to only be located at lower left, lower right, and mirrored areas of my lower back. We’ll continue to monitor it and see what my surgeon finds in May.

Would you like to see the play-by-play daily journal?

And the super silver lining? I still have zero pain when I poo! I mean, I still need to figure out what I’m doing to upset my guts on the regular poop/diarrhea scale, but…that’s a work in progress. I know cheese is a big culprit, and likely booze. Meh. I’m not over-indulging in either…but I still feel like they’re both big players in my poo-game.

Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus
Campfire flames

Happy end of the week. Happy nearly-the-end of February! And HAPPY FEEL GOOD FRIDAYS!

Today’s quote I snagged out of a book of quotations my mom bought me:

“There is in every true woman’s heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.” ~Washington Iriving

Now I’d like to alter that a bit and open it up to all humanity; not just womenfolk. We all have that ability to “kindle up” and “beam” and “blaze.”

And if you’re going through some darkness, may your fire burn brightly and you make it through the other side. ❤

Sponsor Highlight: Pelvic Pain Rehab

| Bloomin' Uterus

As you may know, we are hosting (along with the non-profit organization, Gifts 2 Help) our 2020 Endometriosis Awareness & Support Walk. This is the first year we’ve asked for sponsorships and today I’d like to honor Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation Center.

Pelvic floor therapy has been shown to help many people suffering with Endometriosis, as well as many other causes of pelvic pain. Not only have PHRC sponsored the event, but they’ll have a booth at the walk! Stephanie Prendergast, MPT and Jandra Mueller, DPT will be available to answer all of your questions!

And if you’re looking forward to our opportunity drawing, they’re also donating two copies of the book Pelvic Pain Explained as well as a free pelvic floor therapy session with Jandra!

Thank you, Stephanie, Jandra, and all the staff at Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation Center for sponsoring our walk, for making yourselves available on the weekend to answer questions, and for such a big supportive force to so many Warriors!

Instagram: Under New Management

| Bloomin' Uterus

We’ve undergone some changes and had to create a new Instragram account. One of our group admins, Nicole, is an IG-queen (I kind of know nothing about it) and will be posting entertaining and thoughtful things to get us through this Journey together. If IG is your thing, give us a follow.


And if you ever have a funny meme or something you’d like our IG to share, send a direct message to Nicole on our IG account!

SD Voyager Interview

| Bloomin' Uterus
Black and white photo of a woman in bathrobe, wearing a towel on her head, clay mask on her face, holding a cat in the bathroom

I cannot thank the folks at SD Voyager enough for spreading the word about Endometriosis!!!

Feel like learning more about me? Go read their interview of yours truly! 🙂 http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-trailblazer-lisa-howard/

I’m so stinkin’ excited about the awareness possibilities! AND excited they didn’t ask me for a more professional photograph! They encouraged me to submit a photograph that is fun and speaks to who I am.

Welcome to my Sunday night ritual: clay masks!

Sponsor Highlight: Mary VanBuhler

| Bloomin' Uterus

As you may know, we are hosting (along with the non-profit organization, Gifts 2 Help) our 2020 Endometriosis Awareness & Support Walk. This is the first year we’ve asked for sponsorships and today I’d like to honor Mary VanBuhler.

A HUGE thank you to Mary for her generous donation for our 2020 Endometriosis Awareness & Support Walk! Mary is a fellow EndoWarrior who has an incredibly positive attitude toward the fight ahead and is here to support other Warriors, too! We’re looking forward to walking with you!

Sponsor Highlight: The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

| Bloomin' Uterus
Logo for San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

As you may know, we are hosting (along with the non-profit organization, Gifts 2 Help) our 2020 Endometriosis Awareness & Support Walk. This is the first year we’ve asked for sponsorships and today I’d like to honor The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

I cannot tell you how excited I am that the Sisters are officially joining our event! Many of you know Sister Donatella Soul and Saint Angel Con Cuernos, but did you know that several other Sisters have battled Endometriosis, too? So, their booth is near and dear to my heart. “The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Asylum of the Tortured Heart, performs public service by educating the community on safety and health issues through outreach, promoting awareness through street theater, guiding spiritual enlightenment, abolishing bigotry and hatred and working to end stereotypes. The Asylum supports, works with, and raises funds for other charitable non-profit organizations.” Not only do they do INCREDIBLE things to help San Diego’s community grow and strengthen, but their loving nature and endless support is invaluable in this day and age. 

The beautiful Sister Donatella Soul; photograph by Compass Media Productions

Feel Good Fridays

| Bloomin' Uterus
B&W phot of a sinking boat

Good morning and happy Friday!

Today’s quote goes out to all you readers who are learning to accept things that may be a bit harder to swallow. But swallow it we can!

I would like to say “everything will be okay,” but (as you know) that’s a promise nobody can keep. So I found this beautiful half-way point.

“Most things will be okay eventually, but not everything will be. Sometimes you’ll put up a good fight and lose. Sometimes you’ll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. Acceptance is a small, quiet room.”

― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

Some news is hard to hear. Even if you’ve prepped yourself for it.

Sometimes you do everything you possibly can to control a situation (or your body and health) and still have to relinquish to facts you don’t want to admit.

And sometimes all we can do is take a deep breath and move forward.

And that’s okay. Just know that you’re not doing it alone. Ever.

Much love to you, Readers, and have a beautiful weekend. And if you need me, let me know.