Author: Bloomin' Uterus

Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus
chain with a broken link

We’ve made it through another week!  And since March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, I figured I’d pick one that had to deal with awareness…and I can’t think of a better way to say it than American author, David Foster Wallace:

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”

Thank you, David, for putting into words what I couldn’t!

May you begin to find your own bit of freedom…from whatever you’re shackled to.  Begin to love yourself as you deserve to be.  And may you reach out to help those in need.

And have a wonderful weekend!

Yours, Lisa

Endo & Liver Function

| Bloomin' Uterus
Diagram of human digestive system

Most of my blogs are started out of my own curiosity, and this one is no different.

I’ve read in numerous sources that people with Endometriosis need to keep our livers in tip-top condition; well-greased and in proper working order.  I’ve seen a few Facebook posts from other EndoWarriors that they have heightened levels of *something* when they have a liver panel blood test done, and they wonder if their Endometriosis may have something to do with that.  That struck a chord with me because I have Gilbert’s Syndrome, which is a liver disease diagnosed through heightened liver panel results.

Does my Endo affect my liver’s functions? And does that, in turn, add to or affect my Gilbert’s Syndrome? My liver blood panel test results?

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Artichokes : MmmMmm Good!

| Bloomin' Uterus
trimmed artichokes ready to cook

Tonight I’m cooking one of my favorite meals : roasted artichokes!  I’d never cooked one before last year.  Had NO clue how to do it, and boy was I intimidated.  But with eating healthier for my Endo, I started shopping at my local farmer’s market (living in California, they’re readily available year-round), and hit the wonders of the internet : I have since learned! And it’s EASY, delicious, and oh-so-good for you!

Which got me curious : why are they so good for you? I figure they’ll be roasting in the oven for the next hour, so : Internet, here I come!

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Share Your Story : Lisa

| Bloomin' Uterus
A red-headed pirate laughing and holding her tankard of ale

I realized that I’ve asked you to share your story, but haven’t actually put mine out there in one place (maybe a snippet here or there)….time to get everything out on paper so it leaves my head and heart (sorry it’s so loooooong…I couldn’t stop!).  I was diagnosed when I was 35 years old in 2014. 

My Journey:  I started my period when I was 12 or 13 years old.  I remember them hurting (but not as devastating as they have in my adult years), but figured it was normal.  I grew up hearing we were cursed because of Eve’s decision to sin, punished into pain and childbirth. I also heard that some of my family members had really painful periods. So again, it was normal. Classmates said they had cramps, too…so I figured mine were just normal. I became that girl in Junior High and High School that would walk around with a hoodie tied around her waist every month because I’d almost always overflow.  I had classmates come up to me during the really hard cramps, ask if I was okay, that I was white as a ghost and sweating…and I’d spend time curled up in the Nurse’s office after taking an Ibuprofen. But it was normal. Every girl went through this.  Right? My family physician had wanted me to go on birth control, but just to prevent “baby accidents” from happening, which I quickly dismissed since I had no intention of having sex. Little did I know BCP may have helped with the pain…

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Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus

We made it to another Friday!!

Today’s quote is by English poet, William Wordsworth:

“The best portion of a good man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.”

It’s the little things you do, not for glory, but for others that bring the greatest joy:  dropping change into a cup for a hungry Vet on the street, buying the coffee for the person in line behind you, joining a team to help clean up your local parks or neighborhoods, patiently waiting for someone to cross the street before you turn your car, passing on a smile or a nod to a stranger, volunteering at a nursing home or hospital.  The list is endless.

Each of these things, albeit small and “off-the-record” may be just what someone else needs at that moment.

Don’t do it for you…do it for someone else.  You may just find your day is equally touched by your small acts of kindness.

Happy Friday and weekend!

Yours, Lisa

Symptoms of a Normal Period

| Bloomin' Uterus
A splatter of blood

So I’ve written a lot about abnormal periods caused by Endometriosis: extreme cramps, heavy bleeding, insane bloating, loooooong periods.  You’ve heard it all before.  But what constitutes a NORMAL period? I know they are supposed to hurt, you’re supposed to bleed, and you’re supposed to be uncomfortable. Just not this miserable. My Endo pain started in my teens. But I thought it was normal. So here I sit, curious : what is normal?

So, just for laughs, I figured I’d iron out the details of what a normal menstrual cycle is supposed to be like.  If anything, it may help me catch signs of my Endometriosis returning or worsening, or it may help you in some way…

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The Lion and the Mouse

| Bloomin' Uterus
Aesopes Fables illustration of a lion tied down to the ground being freed by a mouse

One of my childhood favorite Aesop’s Fables is the story of the lion and the mouse.  In short: a mouse wandering through the forest woke a sleeping lion, and was captured beneath his big paws.  Begging for his life, the mouse promised one day to help the lion.  The lion scoffed, “How can you help me?”  Regardless, the lion let him go.  A few days later, the lion was captured by hunters, trapped, upset and roaring.  The mouse scurried over to see what had happened to the lion and saw him all tied down and caught up in the hunter’s net.  So the mouse nibbled and chewed on the rope until it tore, allowing the lion to escape and live.

It has always reminded me that I can do anything. Being small doesn’t matter.  I can try. And I can do.

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Feel Good Fridays!

| Bloomin' Uterus
Rosie the Riveter poster "We can do it"

Good morning! It’s Friday! And that means, Feel Good Friday!

Today’s quote is by Swami Vivekananda, an Indian spiritual leader:

“A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.”

What can you do to help change the world? Even the smallest influence.  Just bringing a smile to a stranger’s face may alter the course of their day (and yours). Together we can make a difference, even the slightest difference.  In anything.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month.  The whole month!  For us, EndoWarriors!  What will you do to help spread awareness?  I plan on:

  • Wearing my Bloomin’ Uterus button every day (like I do already)
  • Participating in the social media Endo Challenge
  • Whenever I use a public bathroom, placing a Bloomin’ Uterus Endo Awareness card in the mirror
  • Wearing my yellow “Ask Me About Endo” ribbon provided by the Endometriosis Association
  • Wearing my Endometriosis Awareness t-shirt created by Lauren Siciliano
  • Wearing my Bloomin’ Uterus t-shirt created by yours truly
  • Walking in March with other women, friends, and family to raise awareness
  • Trying to start a San Diego area Endometriosis Support Group, to meet once a month

Together we can bring change.

Yours, Lisa

Free Yellow Ribbons for March!

| Bloomin' Uterus
yellow awareness ribbon that reads "Ask me about my Endo"

How do you feel about boasting to the world that you have Endometriosis?  Want to shout it from the rooftops?  Raise awareness any way you can?

Here’s your chance!

The Endometriosis Association is offering FREE “Ask Me About My Endo” yellow ribbons and encouraging everyone to wear them during March for Endometriosis Awareness Month.  They’re also offering free Yellow Fliers you can pass out about Endometriosis. reach out to them for your own free goodies.

Yours, Lisa