My Go-To Endo Resources

“These are a few of my favorite things…”

A couple of my go-to online resources are:

 

Check out podcasts like: “In Sixteen Years of Endometriosis” (also on IG @in16yearsofendo). I learn the most about endometriosis from Instagram pages like the EndoGirlsBlog or EndoBlack. Most of my endo community support is on Instagram. See the posts below

As a scientist and researcher, I appreciate the effort EndoGirlsBlog puts into teaching, educating, and advocating. You’ll learn A LOT!

 

For my black endo warriors, this is my go-to resource to connect with endo warriors who look like me. I have learned of quite a few black endo warriors.

Lauren is the lovely founder and Executive Director

 

And now for a flood of a few more beautiful Endo Warriors & platforms that I follow on Instagram!

 
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Welcome to my Vagina World.

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I was so consumed with heart stuff that my 2 year hysterectomy anniversary came and went without me even realizing it! Two years later and it is still the best decision I could’ve made for myself. A few things to point out in saying that: 1. I had a hysterectomy for adenomyosis, not endometriosis. 2. I tried other less invasive options first like a PSN (presacral neurectomy), IUD, steroid injections, acupuncture, PT. You name it I tried it. 3. It is a very deeply personal decision, so I understand it may not be the right decision for everyone. I often get asked how did I know I was ready for a hysterectomy. The short answer is, my quality of life was non-existent. As a very ambitious 31 year old who wasn’t completely sold on the idea of having children, it didn’t make sense to me to live in misery any longer. At the time, Joe and I weren’t even engaged yet. Imagine the burden of making a fertility decision that could affect someone else’s future so dramatically. Thankfully, he was uber supportive and just wanted to see me well. That’s all that mattered to both of us. I had a life to live, and people to love, a world to try to change, and constant pain was getting in the way of that! I knew I had exhausted all of my options, and truly felt I tried everything that reasonably made sense to try first. I was at complete peace with my decision, and still am. 4. My pain wasn’t magically 100% gone after surgery. I had a whole year of figuring out hormonal fluctuations, physical therapy, and seeing a therapist who specialized in trauma before I could say I was back to “normal” 5. The number of people who ignorantly ask me when am I going to have kids has not decreased. And yes, it’s still annoying 🙃 6. Dr. Sinervo and the @centerforendocare team are still my heroes. I owe them my life.

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Because when we fail to realize endometriosis affects all gender presentations, we fail warriors.

 

And finally ME!

I am a Cancer and Cell Biology PhD, by training, hoping to be a better student and educator of endometriosis and an advocate for poorly studied chronic health conditions, like endometriosis. Currently, I am a Cancer-related Population Sciences postdoctoral researcher.

“Part of why I decided to start this blog was not only because I didn’t see enough black representation in my Instagram #endometriosis search, but I definitely wanted to see #endowarriors in academia. ”
— Dr. Chrystelle L. Vilfranc :-)