Miscellaneous

Today’s Pre-Op Visit

| Bloomin' Uterus

As you may know, today was my pre-op appointment with my gyno for my September 21st laparoscopy/excision surgery.  I had previously prepared a bunch of questions, to which he answered all that I asked!

First of all, let me share something he wanted me to press upon myself…and all of you.  Positive thinking is powerful.  I need not be nervous about my surgery (or my recovery).  Just tell myself that it will all work out.  That my recovery will go well.  That everything is going to be okay.  That is one of the most important steps I (and all of us) can do for ourselves.  Embrace positive thoughts.  Shoo away the negative.

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FDA Bans Ingredients in Antibacterial Soaps

| Bloomin' Uterus
A soap sud covered hand

If you haven’t already heard, this week the FDA banned 19 ingredients used in anti-bacterial soaps.  You’ll see these soaps on sale at the market only to disappear from the shelves within one year…unless the soap manufacturers can find a way around the 19 ingredients that were banned.

But why?  Either the ingredients couldn’t be shown to do squat against bacteria, or they posed a potential threat to our bodies.  Interesting to note, the ban is only for the ingredients found in antibacterial soaps, not other household agents that may contain these ingredients (like creams or hand sanitizers).

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Does coloring my hair make my Endometriosis worse?

| Bloomin' Uterus
vintage drawing of girl holding up Acme Hair Dye sign

My title is misleading.  I don’t color my hair…but it got you here! Do you color yours?

Why are we talking about hair dye on our Endo blog today?  Because it came up at one of our support group meetings.  While we were hurling out ideas and things we’ve heard can be toxic to our illness, someone asked about hair dye.  I mean, sure, it makes us look great, but it’s right up there close to the brain, but what does it do to our bodies?  It sure ain’t natural: full of chemicals!  Chemicals that could seep into your skin and…do what?

That’s what we’re here to find out.

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Two Years Ago Today

| Bloomin' Uterus
text that reads "endo is such a stupid disease, but your image symbol for endo gives it so much more meaning to me. I am a woman, I have an invisible illness, I still have value, and I am still beautiful. Anonymous."

June 30, 2014…a day that changed my life.

I went in for a cystectomy to remove a possible dermoid cyst from my left ovary.  The surgery was only supposed to last 1.5 hours.  Four hours later, I emerged from under the knife…

And received my Endometriosis diagnosis.  My life hasn’t been the same since.  And I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

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Tarnished silver?

| Bloomin' Uterus

Okay…so this isn’t an Endometriosis-related post, but something wonderful has happened and I need to share it with the world.

I woke up this morning feeling less-than-pretty.  I was bloated, exhausted from a fitful sleep, and feeling a bit crampy.  So what do I do? I went in search of some earrings to help make me feel pretty.

But…much to my dismay, they had tarnished.  Like…a lot.  Who cares.  I wore them all day anyway.

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Padma Lakshmi spoke at the San Diego Women’s Week Inspirational Conference

| Bloomin' Uterus
Padma Lakshmi speaking at a conference
Xavier Bailey Photography

Last Friday, March 18, 2016, was the San Diego Women’s Week Inspiration Conference held at Harrah’s Casino in Valley Center, California.  I coughed up the $170 to go because I really wanted to see one of the scheduled speakers, Padma Lakshmi.  Don’t know who Padma is? Not only is she a model and TV personality, but she’s the co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America.  And a little bit of my Hero.

She has recently written a new book Love, Loss & What We Ate: A Memoir, and was on her book tour around the west coast at the time of the conference.  So, I knew I’d pick up a copy of her book on Friday.  I expected she was going to talk a lot about her book, and maybe touch up a little bit about Endometriosis and how it has affected her life and career.

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My two cents : sexual abuse and Endometriosis

| Bloomin' Uterus
A group of women standing next to each other
1 in 5 people born with a uterus were sexually abused as children; 1 in 10 have Endometriosis

As you may recall, last week I shared how I have heard a lot of recent buzz about sexual abuse and Endometriosis sharing a causal link.  As promised, I did some digging to figure this out for myself.  Curious on my opinion?  Read on!  But, please remember : it’s only my opinion.

According to The National Center for Victims of Crime, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are a victim of child sexual abuse.  In 2012 in the United States alone there were 62,939 reported cases of child sexual abuse.  That same year, there were 346,830 reported rapes or sexual assaults of persons who were 12 or older.

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