Author: Bloomin' Uterus

How to you manage? Endometriosis fears, doubts, and uncertainty

| Bloomin' Uterus
Bloomin' Uterus logo surrounded by question marks

So, my last period was severely painful (the worst since my 2016 surgery), but I’m trying to remain positive about it.  I missed a day from work, stayed in bed, and popped NSAIDs.  I suffered through another two days at work, still on NSAIDs.  The rest of my bleeding days were maintained by Ibuprofen.  It may have been stress-related: walk planning; wedding planning.  You know: stressful things were afoot in March and April.

But what do you do when the doubts creep in?  When symptoms begin to rear their ugly heads?  When your back begins to ache.  It hurts to poop again.  Or worse: pee.  When the cramps set in – when they force you to the floor, squeezing your stomach tightly – hugging yourself to death.  When you’re forced to take a day off of work or cancel plans to lie in bed, medicated and useless.  When you dread the start of your next period…mine is supposedly gonna show up sometime next week.

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Belated Feel Good Fridays

| Bloomin' Uterus
Clouds Dark Sunlight Sky

Whew! Last Friday was interesting!  Woke up to a huge screw sticking out of my back tire…so had to handle that, which took the tire store all day.  So I had to take a day off of work…Then I had to take the car to my mechanic due to a new squeaking noise…and he tightened a loose belt *all fixed*  Then I received a bill from the IRS for a forgiven credit card balance from 2014…$650 out the window. *groan* Friday was a BEAST of a day!

So, I was a bit preoccupied and totally spaced on the quote! BUT we’re doing it now!!!!!  Better late than never!

Anna White once wrote,

“Maybe it’s not about having a beautiful day, but about finding beautiful moments. Maybe a whole day is just too much to ask. I could choose to believe that in every day, in all things, no matter how dark and ugly, there are shards of beauty if I look for them.”

And it’s true.  My silver lining?  I got to spend a few hours with my husband before he had to go to work: we visited his ailing Aunt, ran a few errands, and enjoyed a home-cooked lunch together.  It was nice, despite the happenings of the day.

Blogs I’ve updated this week:

Natural Products that I’ve Fallen in Love With – added Orglamix’s monthly subscription beauty box

I asked my Doc about CA-125

| Bloomin' Uterus
Vials of drawn blood

Many of you EndoSisters may have heard, or are following, the use of the biomarker CA-125 as a possible indicator of the presence of Endometriosis.  I had my annual pap smear appointment this week and figured I’d ask my doc to see if they’d run blood tests with my usual annual bloodwork.

I went in fully aware and understanding that CA-125 is considered an unreliable test for Endometriosis for many reasons: it could be elevated due to other factors, it may read a false positive, or CA-125 levels may vary naturally throughout our menstrual cycles.

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2017 Walk Recap!

| Bloomin' Uterus
Group photo for 2017 Endometriosis Walk

On March 25, 2017, we had our Endometriosis Awareness Walk here in San Diego, California.  It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, and the ocean was glorious!  We walked the shores of Shelter Island.

All in all, we had 77 registered walkers (oh how we’ve grown in three years!), plus a few non-walkers there to show support to their loved ones.  We raised $1,857.42 for 2017 and it was all donated to the Endometriosis Foundation of America!  Of that $76.67 was from t-shirt sales, $115.75 was from the San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence fundraisers, $250 was from the Element Wellness Center fundraiser, and $1,415 was from Gofundme donations!  Also, one of our walkers, Allison, raised an additional $135 for the E.F.A. with her own gofundme fundraiser!  Thank you EVERYONE!

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Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus
Bride and groom kissing at wedding
Photo by Richard T. Reyes

It’s FRIDAY!!!

Nearly a week ago, my beloved and I had a “wedding” in the desert. Why in quotes?  Because, we were secretly wed on June 8, 2016; and 99% of our friends and family didn’t know.  We chose April Fool’s Day as our “wedding” date, with a full Dune-inspired ceremony, dinner, dessert, dancing, and camping.  And, of course, to announce our big secret.  It was perfect.  And we’re both still glowing.

Nearly 200 of our closest friends and family attended (some of whom we hadn’t seen in years), which has inspired today’s quote.  Some say Karl Marx once said this…others say it’s a misinterpretation of what he originally said.  Regardless, of who said it or what the original intent was, the message is still beautiful:

“Surround yourself with people who make you happy.  People who make you laugh, who help you when you’re in need.  People who genuinely care.  They are the ones worth keeping in your life.  Everyone else is just passing through.”

And it’s so very true.  Whether those people be friends, family, or friends you consider family ~ hold them close, never take them for granted, and cherish them…

❤

Blogs I’ve updated this week:

Blood Biomarkers & Endometriosis – added a 2017 study regarding CA-125 levels and helping diagnose Endometriosis.

Reader’s Choice : Hysterectomies & Myomectomies Spreading Cancer? – added a 2017 report published in the Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons regarding using specimen bags during  morcellation procedures.

Vote for The Coloring Contest GRAND PRIZE Winner!

| Bloomin' Uterus

That’s right!  You get to choose, my lovely readers!

Over the past several months, we have held a Bloomin’ Uterus Endometriosis Awareness Coloring Contest.  Each month that we received submission, a winner was chosen.  The contest ended March 31, 2017, and now YOU get to choose the Grand Prize Winner!

What the heck does that mean?  That means you vote and I’ll work with Teespring.com to make sure the winning image is screenprinted on a t-shirt, and 100% of the sale profits of those shirts will be donated to the Endometriosis Foundation of America!

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Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus
little plastic game pieces red blue yellow and green

Well, I’m writing this to you early since I’ll be away on Friday (getting ready for our April 1st wedding!!!!!!!)…so here’s to hoping the “schedule” functions works correctly and this posts Friday morning 🙂

This Friday’s quote is by Australian author, Nikki Rowe, inspired by my great long weekend with my Mom in town; being with family; being amidst nearly 100 EndoSisters, family, friends, and strangers; and a general thought that needs to spread like wildfire:

“I don’t want fleeting friendships or relationships or passion in life, give me fleeting moments in coffee shops and walks by the water but I will never be satisfied with empty kinships that are fleeting & undecided. Those connections are what make us all human and I dare not settle my wild little heart for something of so little depth.”

Have a GLORIOUS weekend!  Spend it with those people that matter most to you.  Rekindle old relationships that may have fallen stagnant.  Evaluate those that may be toxic to your life.  Grasp onto the meaningful and loved friendships.Find your passions and pursue them, overcome with madness and a desire to achieve.  But most importantly?  Find those qualities deep within yourself first…love who you are, or who you can become.

❤

Lisa

Blogs I’ve updated this week:

Endometriosis & the Bowel – added a 2017 study published in the ACG Case Reports Journal of a woman with an endometriosis mass within her intestine, which required excision.

Natural Products I’ve Fallen in Love With – added a spot acne treatment by Orglamix.

Share Your Story: Sarah

| Bloomin' Uterus
text that reads "23 years after first seeking help, I got it

New to San Diego, Sarah was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 38 years old, after seeking help for over 20 years.  Today, a year later, she shares her long and difficult Journey with us.

Sarah’s Journey:  I’m home from this year’s Endo March. I met some lovely people, reconnected with new friends (I’m new to San Diego), and learned a lot. One of those lessons was hard. It’s not as simple as saying Endometriosis changed my life or changed me.

It’s that it, along with other health problems, shaped me and, as all of this runs its course, my identity is changing. Parts of what I value about myself have shifted and this time the change is so deep that it may be irrevocable. I don’t know if I can get those pieces of me back. I used to be strong. I used to be fast. I could paint a painting in a day, code a website so that your head spun, learn a skill and build a 16 hour class around it and teach it inside a week.

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Feel Good Fridays

| Bloomin' Uterus
a long tunnel with light at the end

You may have noticed my regular absence from new blogs. Well, I’m making excuses!! Not really…but excuses!  Our Endo Walk is TOMORROW!! YAY!  And our wedding is one week away! So February and March have been jam-packed with prepping and planning and shopping…and very little time for anything else.

That being said, I miss researching and writing.  And look forward to getting back into it after the festivities!

So, today’s quote is by Kobi Yamada,

“Believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Believe that you might be that light for someone else.”

Understand that you may very well be the one person that lifts another up, reveals a course of action, or helps another rise.

Be that Light.

And have a wonderful weekend!

❤ Lisa

Blogs I updated this week:

Natural Products that I’ve Fallen in Love With – added a daily make-up brush cleaner (it’s a spray) for those in-between-brush-shampoo days.  Also added an all natural lip plumper.