From Miscarriages to Medicine: Nikki’s Fight for Endometriosis, PCOS, and Adenomyosis Care

Cold Open: A Gut-Punch Reveal

SPEAKER_03
0:00

In
this
episode
of
Indobattery,
you
might
hear
things
that
cause
you
to
pause
and
to
relate.
You
might
hear
things
like
this.

SPEAKER_02
0:08

And
I
just
remember
my
first
one
was
so
painful
and
I
was
telling
my
mom
my
stomach
hurts
and
she
was
she
was
like,
Oh,
it's
just,
you
know,
gas
or
something,
you
know,
and
the
next
day
I
started
my
period
and
I
and
I
felt
like
none
of
my
other
friends
had
started
it.
But
she's
I'm
gonna
get
emotional.
She's
the
reason
that
I
advocate
so
strongly.
You
know,
I
want
her
to
have
a
different
experience.
And
I
want
my
son
to
know
if
he
ever
has
a
daughter
or
a
wife,
that
they
don't
have
to
go
through
what
I
went
through.
Because
at
this
point
I
had
had
so
many
horrible
periods,
so
many
miscarriages,
so
much
gaslighting,
so
much
just
misinformation
and
well-meaning
doctors,
but
they're
just
not
educated.
I
wasn't
even
like
I
had
just
I
was
this
appointment
was
about
my
endo,
you
know,
and
maybe
PCOS
too.
And
I
said,
What
do
you
mean?
And
he
goes,
and
that's
probably
what
caused
all
your
miscarriages.
I
just
like
my
jaw
dropped
and
I
instantly
just
started
crying.
I
wasn't
there
to
have
that
conversation,
and
my
husband
comes
back
and
he's
like,
What
just
happened?
He's
like,
What
do
you
want
you
crying?

Welcome & Mission of Endo Battery

SPEAKER_03
1:07

Welcome
to
Endo
Battery,
where
I
share
my
journey
with
endometriosis
and
chronic
illness
while
learning
and
growing
along
the
way.
This
podcast
is
not
a
substitute
for
medical
advice,
but
a
supportive
space
to
provide
community
and
valuable
information
so
you
never
have
to
face
this
journey
alone.
We
embrace
a
range
of
perspectives
that
may
not
always
align
with
our
own,
believing
that
open
dialogue
helps
us
grow
and
gain
new
tools.
Join
me
as
I
share
stories
of
strength,
resilience,
and
hope.
From
personal
experiences
to
expert
insights.
I'm
your
host,
Alana,
and
this
is
Indobattery,
charging
our
lives
when
Indometriosis
drains
us.
Welcome
back
to
Indobattery.
Grab
your
cup
of
coffee
or
your
cup
of
tea
and
join
me
at
the
table.

Meet Nikki: Advocate and Friend

SPEAKER_03
1:54

Today
I
am
joined
at
the
table
by
Nikki
Phillips.
Nikki
is
not
only
an
incredible
Indo
warrior,
but
she's
also
an
incredible
Indo
advocate.
She
opens
up
to
us
in
a
very
vulnerable
and
real
way.
She
not
only
struggles
with
endometriosis,
but
she's
also
experienced
the
struggle
of
PCOS
and
adenomyosis.
Please
help
me
in
welcoming
to
the
table
Nikki
Phillips.
Thank
you,
Nikki,
so
much
for
joining
me.
I
am
so
thrilled
to
have
you
on
here
today.
Nikki
is
not
only
an
advocate,
but
she's
become
a
friend
of
mine
because
of
endometriosis
and
just
talking
through
all
the
things
that
she's
learned
on
the
podcast
and
in
other
places.
So,
Nikki,
thank
you
so
much
for
taking
the
time
to
sit
down
and
have
this
conversation
with
me.

SPEAKER_02
2:40

Absolutely.
It's
just
a
pleasure
to
be
here
and
to
tell
my
story.
And
I'm
excited
to
have
this
discussion
with
you
today.

SPEAKER_03
2:45

Yeah.
What's
so
fun
with
us
is
that
you
were
a
listener
before
we
became
friends
and
you
reached
out
to
me,
which
I
love,
and
we
just
started
talking
and
we
just
clicked.
And
it
was
like,
hey,
we
bounce
things
off
of
each
other.
And
so
something
that
I
think
is
so
impactful
and
something
I
talk
about
often
is
the
fact
that
community
matters.
We're
able
to
connect
because
we're
part
of
this
community
and
it's
you
form
friendships
that
you
never
thought
you'd
have.
That's
kind
of
been
one
of
the
biggest
impacts
in
doing
this
podcast
and
being
part
of
this
community
is
that
we
meet
so
many
people.

Early Onset Symptoms and Silence

SPEAKER_03
3:19

So
it's
been
fun.

SPEAKER_02
3:20

Yeah,
I
definitely
in
the
last
year
have
met
a
lot
of
people
from
all
over
the
world
almost,
just
connecting
with
people
that
have
similar
stories
and
just
you
know,
endo
connects
us
all.
And
I'm
just
always
surprised,
and
everyone's
story
is
so
different,
but
we
all
have
something
in
common
and
it's
the
struggle.
And
it's
been
really
neat
to
meet
so
many
women
that
are
struggling
with
this
and
so
many
women
that
care
so
much
about
it.

SPEAKER_03
3:42

So
yeah.
Well,
and
I
think
too,
for
you,
and
we'll
go
into
your
story
here
in
a
second,
but
your
story
kind
of
lent
itself
to
advocacy,
which
is
what
you've
really
started
doing
more
and
more
since
the
discovery
of
the
endometriosis
and
the
surgery
and
everything
else.
But
something
that
I
I
think
is
probably
different
than
some
is
that
you
not
only
had
endometriosis,
but
you
had
PCOS.
And
I
think
we
haven't
really
talked
a
lot
about
that.
We
had
Dr.
Bebe
Hani
and
Dr.
Lou
on
talking
about
the
differences
between
PCOS
and
endometriosis
and
how
to
identify
those
two
different
things.
Yeah.
But
I
think
it's
different
when
you're
the
patient
having
to
walk
through
that.
Can
you
walk
us
through
your
story
and
just
how
you
got
where
you
are
now
in
your
advocacy
journey?
Yeah.
So
I'll
try
to
keep
it
short.
It's
okay.

SPEAKER_02
4:31

We
got
time.
I'm
I'm
39
years
old.
Um,
I
just
turned
39
last
year
in
November.
And
so
I
this
all
really
started
when
I
was
10.
I
had
my
first
period
when
I
was
10,
and
I
remember
we
had
just
learned
about
periods
at
school
and
learned
that
we
could
might
have
some
cramping
and
discomfort.
And
I
just
remember
my
first
one
was
so
painful.
And
I
was
telling
my
mom
my
stomach
hurts,
and
she
was
she
was
like,
Oh,
it's
just,
you
know,
gas
or
something,
you
know.
And
the
next
day
I
started
my
period
and
I
and
I
felt
like
none
of
my
other
friends
had
started,
it
was
so
early,
nobody
understood.
And
so
from
the
start,
I
never
felt
like
I
could
talk
about
it.
My
mom,
though,
I
will
tell
you,
my
both
my
parents
have
always
been
really
great
about
just
being
open.
That
was
not
the
childhood
they
had,
so
they
wanted
to
make
sure
that
I
could
talk
to
them
about
anything,
and
they
definitely
were
so
great
about
just
letting
me
kind
of
ask
questions
and
get
to
know
things.
But
still,
in
the
large
community,
you
know,
at
large,
I
didn't
feel
like
I
had
any
friends
that
were
I
could
connect
to
because
none
of
my
friends
really
started
till
they
were
well
into
middle
school
and
their
periods
were
all
normal.
And
so
um,
I
actually
just
kind
of
had
a
flashback
the
other
day.
I
was
remembering
a
moment
where
I
was
about
12
or
13,
I
was
riding
my
bike
to
the
corner
groceries,
you
know,
little
convenience
store
with
my
sister
and
I
think
my
cousin.
And
it
was
a
summer
day
and
I
was
on
my
period,
and
I
remember
I
got
there,
and
all
of
a
sudden
I
felt
like
I
was
gonna
what
I
thought
I
was
gonna
throw
up.
Looking
back,
I
realized
I
was
feeling
like
I
was
gonna
pass
out
and
I
didn't
know.
And
I
even
asked
the
lady
at
the
grocery
store,
can
I
use
your
bathroom?
I
don't
feel
well,
and
she
said,
No,
it's
only
for
employees.
So
I
went
outside
and
just
sat
on
a
bench
until
I
could
pull
myself
together,
not
knowing
what's
going
on,
and
then
tufted
it
out
and
rode
my
bike
home
because
this
was
before
cell
phones,
you
know.
So
uh
rode
my
bike
home
and
was
like,
Well,
that
was
weird.
I
would
have
many
episodes
after
just
like
that,
or
I
nearly
passed
out
or
did
pass
out,
and
not
really
connecting
that
to
endo
until
literally
last
year.
Just
not
even
understanding
that
like
nobody
ever
put
it
together.
Oftentimes
it
was
cyclical,
you
know.
And
when
I
would
ask
my
mom,
hey,
do
you
have
these
pains?
Do
you
feel
like
this?
She
would
say,
Well,
yeah,
that's
just
what
I
had.
That's
what
all
the
women
in
our
family
have,
which
I
think
a
lot
of
people
with
endo
struggle
with
that
same
cycle
of
just
kind
of
it's
generational,
it's
what
we
do.
And
often
endo,
as
you
guys
know,
can
be
hereditary.
And
so
that's
probably
part
of
it.
My
mom
definitely
had
an
early
hysterectomy,
and
we
we
don't
really
know
if
she
had
endo
because
they
didn't
test
her
for
it.
You
know,
they
just
her
problems
and
she
still
has
some
issues.
But
when
she
tells
me
now
all
of
her
symptoms,
I'm
like,
well,
you
definitely
had
it
just
based
on
your
symptoms.
So,
but
anyways,
I
remember
I
passed
out
in
church
um
on
Easter
Sunday.
I
was
on
my
period
and
it
was
super
painful.
And
I
stood
up
and
I
didn't
feel
well,
and
I
fell
down
and
hit
my
head
on
a
pew,
and
they
had
to
take
me
out
in
an
ambulance
because
I
kept
passing
out,
and
I
get
to
the
ER
and
they're
like,
Oh,
this
just
happens.
It's
called
some
basal
vagal
reaction.
I
don't
even
know
if
I'm
pronouncing
that
right,
but
just
this
happens
to
young
women
and

Teen Years: Fainting, Heavy Bleeding, Dismissal

SPEAKER_02
7:16

you'll
outgrow
it
and
you'll
be
fine.
And
it
did,
it
happened
repeatedly
throughout
up
until
I
was
in
college,
maybe
even
grad
school,
and
I
just
kind
of
would
deal
with
it.
But
by
that
point,
I'd
given
up
some
things
like
volleyball.
I
was
an
avid
volleyball
player
through
middle
school,
and
so
by
my
sophomore
year
in
high
school,
I
just
felt
like
I
couldn't
keep
up
with
the
conditioning.
I'll
just
be
honest,
my
coach
wasn't
very
supportive.
She
we
had
a
new
coach
that
year,
and
she
just
kind
of
made
me
feel
like
I
wasn't
gonna
be
able
to
keep
up.
So
I
switched
over
to
other
things
and
just
made
it
work.
I
would
always
have
to
take
lots
of
painkillers.
I'd
miss
school
occasionally,
but
I
didn't
think
anything
of
it.
Um,
I
was
in
high
school
and
I
actually
did
color
guard
and
marching
band,
and
there
was
a
girl
on
our
team
that
would
miss
practice
and
would
miss
school
for
a
week
or
two
at
times.
And
we
actually
marched
in
the
Rose
Parade
in
Pasadena,
California,
and
she
actually
came
down
there
with
us,
but
the
day
of
the
parade
was
in
so
much
pain
she
couldn't
march.
And
she
finally
kind
of
opened
up
to
the
girls
on
our
team
and
said
she
had
endometriosis.

SPEAKER_00
8:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_02
8:11

So
yeah,
so
I
thought
that's
endo.
Like
I
don't
have
endometriosis,
I
just
have
painful
periods.
And
so
that's
just
what
I
thought.
I
thought
if
you
have
endometriosis,
that
was
the
first
time
I
ever
heard
of
it.
And
I
thought,
well,
she
would
miss
a
school
for
like
two
weeks,
and
the
doctor's
already
telling
her
she's
gonna
have
to
have
a
hysterectomy.
And
she
was
18,
17.
She,
and
I
her
faith
was
really
important
to
her,
and
having
kids
was
really
important
to
her,
and
she
was,
I
mean,
just
you
know,
really
upset.
So
I
just
thought,
well,
that's
not
me.
I'm
not
going
through
that.
I'm
able
to
function
most
of
the
time,
but
it's
just,
you
know,
around
my
cycle.
I
also
had
I
had
been
pretty
fit
and
active,
and
then
but
my
period
started
becoming
extremely
heavy.
So
not
only
you
mentioned
um
I
have
endometriosis,
PCOS,
but
I
also
had
adenomiosis
or
adenomiosis.
I
don't
know,
I've
heard
it
pronounced
two
different
ways.
And
uh
I
didn't
know
that
until
last
year,
but
and
so
I
would
have
extremely
heavy
periods,
and
that
was
from
the
adenomiosis.
And
it
was
I
I'm
just
gonna
be
really
frank
here.
Yeah,
I
I
remember
in
high
school,
sitting
in
class,
I
bled
through
my
pants
and
my
underwear
onto
the
seat,
and
that's
just
not
normal.
Like
that
was
after
I
had,
you
know,
a
tampon
and
a
pad.
Like,
that's
not
normal
for
a
15-year-old
girl.
And
so
I
had
to
call
my
mom
and
she
had
to
come
get
me
clothes.
It's
like
it
was
just
so
embarrassing.
And
my
teacher
was
so
great
about
it,
kind
of
just
keeping
it
quiet.
I
don't
even
know
if
people
noticed,
I'm
sure
they
did.
I
don't
know.
Luckily,
nobody
said
anything,
but
it
was
just
humiliating,
you
know,
to
be
15
and
have
that
happen.
So,
you
know,
I
would
just
have
these
extremely
heavy
periods,
and
then
about
the
time
I
was
18,
I
had
other
symptoms.
I
just
started
gaining
weight,
I
couldn't
keep
it,
you
know,
down.
Then
my
periods
started
getting
really
wonky.
I
used
to
have
very
regular
periods,
like
I
could
tell
you
the
day
I
was
gonna
start.
And
about
the
time
I
turned
18,
they
became
very
irregular.
I
would
go
a
few
months
without
them
sometimes,
and
then
when
I
would
have
them,
they
were
horrible.
So
it
was
just
so
of
course
I
went
to
the
doctor
at
18
and
she
says,
Well,
here's
the
pill.
So
take
the
pill
and
that
birth
control,
and
that
will
fix
everything.
And
so
it
sort
of
regulated
my
cycles,
and
sure,
it
did
an
okay
job.
But
pretty
much
every
year
in
college,
I
would
have
to
switch
up
to
a
different
kind
because
my
periods
would
again,
they
would
kind
of
reset,
it
would
get
used
to
the
pill
and
get
heavy
again.
I
went
to
undergrad
and
then
when
I
was
in
grad
school,
I
was
becoming
a
teacher
and
I
was
doing
my
student
teaching,
and
I
remember
standing
there
and
my
student
teaching.
I
had
just
gone
to
the
bathroom,
put
a
you
know,
tampon
in,
and
was
like
20
minutes
later,
I
looked
at
my
master
teacher
and
was
like,
I
have
to
leave
to
go
to
the
bathroom
right
now.
And
there's
just
like
already
bleeding
out.
And
I
just,
and
this
was
like
my
normal,
you
know,
every
other
period
was
like
this.
And
so,
of
course,
I
would
go
and
tell
them
and
they're
like,
Well,
not
every
period
was
heavy
at
this
point
because
of
my
PCOS.
The
symptoms
would
mask
each
other,
so
I
didn't
fit
the
bill,
and
I
wasn't
like
obese,
but
I
was
still,
you
know,
I
couldn't
lose
weight
as
well
as
I
used
to.
And
they're
like,
Well,
that's
just
you
know,
the
college
15
or
whatever.
It
was
just
always
an
excuse,
always
an
excuse.
And
so
I
met
my
husband
when
I
was
25,
and
we
got
married
about
a
year
later,
and
pretty
much
we
knew
we'd
wanted
to
try
to
have
kids
someday.
And
so
I
was
able
to
try
some
other
different,
more
long-term
forms
of
birth
control.
I
tried
the
IUD,
the
marina
IUD
with
hormones.
The
insertion
process
with
that
was,
I
mean,
it
basically
passed
out
on
the
table
and
shaking.
Yeah,
same,
same.

PCOS Signs, Birth Control Loop, College Strain

SPEAKER_02
11:30

And
and
then
the
nurse
practitioner
that
was
putting
in
was
the
sweetest
lady,
but
she
was
still
like,
this
isn't
normal.
And
I
was
like,
okay,
then
do
something.
And
I
could
only
have
it
in
and
everyone's
different.
I
mean,
I
know
that,
and
I
want
to
say
that
like
this
is
my
story.
Everybody,
their
treatments
are
different,
everybody's
body's
different.
Endo,
PCOS,
like
everyone
is
so
individualized,
and
so
this
is
just
my
story,
but
it
only
worked
for
me
for
about
a
week
before
I
felt
like
pain
and
discomfort,
and
my
body
was
rejecting
it.
And
so
I
had
it
in
for
a
few
more
weeks
and
they
took
it
out,
and
it
was
just
like
the
instant
relief
from
pressure.
And
so
that
one
was
no
longer
an
option
for
me.
And
I
had
basically
tried
almost
almost
every
form
of
birth
control.
Now,
unlike
most
people,
at
this
point,
when
I
started
having
all
these
issues,
I
finally,
I
think
about
two
years
after
we
got
married
and
we
were
serious
about
trying
to
start
a
family.
I
went
to
uh
Adobe
G
UN
and
said,
Look,
I'm
pretty
sure
I
have
endometriosis.
I
started
looking
at
the
symptoms
again
and
I
started
to
advocate.
And
this
was
in
2014,
and
she
said,
Oh
yeah,
you
probably
do.
And
I
said,
Oh,
that's
it.
Like,
I'm
just
gonna
get
a
diagnosis.
Like,
cool.
And
she
goes,
Yeah,
we'll
do
surgery
and
we'll
take
care
of
it.
And
it's
okay.
And
so,
like
two
months
later,
I
show
up
and
I
have
my
surgery,
and
they
were
done
in
like
20
minutes.
And
I
was
like,
Really?
That
that's
it.
And
she
goes,
Yeah,
I
think
we
found
a
spot
in
the
back,
but
don't
worry,
we
took
care
of
it.
And
that
was
it.
And
she
goes,
Okay,
we'll
say
heal
and
and
then
at
like
you
know,
six
to
eight
weeks,
you
guys
can
try
to
start
having
a
family.
And
so
I
kind
of
went
on
my
way
and
was
really
hopeful.
And
she's
like,
Yeah,
all
your
problems
should
be
fine.
And
and
also
along
the
way,
having
all
these
symptoms
with
PCOS,
I
would
have
ultrasounds
and
they
would
say,
Oh,
you
have
a
string
of
pearls,
you
have
other
symptoms,
but
nobody
could
definitively
diagnose
me
with
it.
And
if
you
know
about
PCOS,
polycystic
ovarian
syndrome,
there's
no
test,
there's
no
one
blood
test
or
anything,
just
like
with
Endo.
They
can
do
observations
and
things,
but
again,
even
with
the
surgery,
she
was
inside
of
me
and
she
never
really
said
anything
because
I
also
wanted
to
know
if
I
had
that,
and
she
just
didn't
address
it.
So,
and
it
was
like
a
month
later
I
got
my
pictures
and
it
wasn't
very
conclusive.
And
so
I
just
went
on
my
merry
way
thinking,
okay,
all
my
problems
will
be
solved.
And
I
kind
of
went
off
birth
control
for
a
little
while,
first
time
in
you
know
years,
and
we
got
pregnant
right
away,
and
trigger
warning
had
a
miscarriage
pretty
early
and
was
like,
okay,
well,
that
I
mean
it
was
devastating,
but
I
was
also
like,
okay,
that's
that's
not
uncommon,
you
know.
We
also
know
that
I
probably
have
these
other
things,
so
we'll
try
again.
And
we
were
able
to
get
pregnant
right
away
again,
like
the
next
cycle,
which
is
you
know
unusual,
although
my
cycles
were
wonky,
but
still,
and
so
we
got
pregnant
right
away
and
then
lost
that
one.
And
that
one
was
harder.
And
so
at
this
point,
I
was
like,
look,
I
know
I
have
uh
endometriosis,
or
at
least
I
had
it.
I
mean,
the
way
she
made
it
sound
was
it
was
cured.
I
don't
have
it
anymore.

SPEAKER_01
14:07

Right.

SPEAKER_02
14:07

So
I
know
I
have
some
things
going
on,
and
all
the
women
in
my
family
have
had
issues.
So
I
would
like
to
I
want
to
be
proactive
about
this.
What
are
some
things
I
can
start
doing?
And
they
said,
Well,
you
have
to
have
three
miscarriages
before
we
can
even
consider
anything
else.
And
so
I
waited,
and
it
took
us
another
nine
months
to
get
pregnant
again,
and
my
cycles
were
just
off.
And
in
the
waiting,
I
would
have
horrific
like
periods.
Just
I
was
teaching
at
this
point,
so
I
would
have
heating
pads
on
both
the
front
and
the
back,
and
I
would
sit
there
and
just
teach
my
students.
I
was
teaching
third
grade.
I
would
take,
you
know,
massive
amounts
of
painkillers,
and
it
would
be
like
before
I
even
started
my
period,
I
would
have
pain.
Like
it
wasn't
the
day
of
it,
it
was
like
days
leading
up
to
it.
I
there
I
did
have
to
miss
work
a
couple
times,
but
also
have
start
to
have
like
other
like
sciatic
pain,
other
things
too.
So
I'm
just
now
piecing
all
this
together.
So
I
just
started
asking.
I
went
to
a
different
doctor,
just
like
a
regular
doctor
who
also
was
an
OBGYN,
and
someone
had
recommended
her
to
me.
And
she
listened
to
me,
and
she
was
starting
to
run
every
test
possible
for
all
the
hormones,
all
the
things,
everything
that
she
could
do
in
her
practice.
And
so
she
was
like
kind
of
the
first
one
to
really
take
me
serious
and
listen
to
me.
So
after
I
went
to
her,
about
the
time
I
was
meeting
with
her,
we
were
able
to
get
pregnant
again.
And
she
was
saying
that
we
don't
have
to
have
three

Marriage, Failed IUD, First “Surgery”

SPEAKER_02
15:20

miscarriages.
She
was
starting
to
look
into
possible
causes
and
other
issues
that
could
be
causing
all
my
repeated
miscarriages,
but
we
had
a
third
miscarriage.
That
one
was
devastating.
That
one
was,
I
was
like,
okay,
we're
we're
just
not
gonna
have
kids
because
that
doctor
who
was
very
hopeful
also
told
me
only
1%
of
people
go
on
to
have
three
recurrent
miscarriages
in
a
row.
And
so
I
am
that
1%.
She
also
didn't
think
that
I
had
PCOS
at
the
time.
She's
like,
because
most
people
don't
have
endo
and
PCOS,
it's
one
or
the
other.
So
I
just
was
kind
of
I
was
like,
well,
this
is
it.
We're
just
not
having
kids.
And
we
really
we
went
through
it
was
like
over
the
summer
and
into
fall,
and
we
really
kind
of
accepted
it
and
embraced
our
life
together.
We
had
a
great
marriage
and
we
still
do,
but
um,
we
were
just
like,
we're
not
gonna
have
kids,
and
that's
okay.
And
then
we
got
pregnant
one
more
time,
and
at
that
point
we
actually
had
started
looking
into
adoption.
Um,
and
we
got
pregnant
one
more
time,
and
they
put
me
on
progesterone
because
they're
like,
this
is
the
thing
we
throw
at
everyone
who's
having
recurrent
surgeries.
We
don't
know
if
it
works,
but
we're
just
gonna
throw
it
at
you.
And
lo
and
behold,
I
have
an
eight-year-old
son
to
this
day.
So
that
pregnancy
stuck.
Um,
and
they
were
like,
Oh,
look,
you
you
had
a
kid,
so
we
fixed
it.
It's
just
progesterone,
you're
fine.
Your
pregnancy,
you
know,
will
help
if
you
even
did
have
endo.
I
think
I
was
told
that
at
one
point
too.
I
was
also
told
I
did
have
gestational
diabetes
extremely
bad
with
that
pregnancy.
Um,
I
was
on
insulin,
my
numbers,
I
would
eat
a
salad,
and
my
numbers
would
be
like
235.
So
it
just
it
was
yeah,
it
was
um
there.
I
mean,
and
I
was
I
don't
I'd
lost
weight
because
I
was
so
nauseous
during
my
pregnancy.
Like
my
pregnancy
was
not
an
easy
one.
And
I'm
so
thankful
when
I
hear
women
say
that
they're
just
enjoying
their
pregnancy
because
as
much
as
I
wanted
it,
from
pretty
much
from
start
to
finish,
it
was
pretty
miserable.
It
was
a
few
weeks
there,
you
know.

SPEAKER_03
17:03

We
talked
about
it,
and
I've
talked
about
it.
Yes.
That's
something
that
I
think
I
always
struggled
with
is
like
I
wanted
my
kids,
you
know,
I
desired
to
have
my
kids.
The
pregnancy
I
did
not
enjoy.
It
was
so
hard
on
me
and
it
was
painful.
I
remember
my
round
legament
pain.
We've
talked
about
this.
My
round
legament
pain
was
so
bad.
At
one
point,
I
had
to
leave
work
with
my
first
pregnancy
because
I
got
what
they
call
lightning
crotch,
which
I
guess
is
the
actual
term.
And
I
was
like,
this
is
awful.

SPEAKER_02
17:33

I
would
be
walking
in
front
of
my
students,
like
in
the
front
of
the
classroom,
and
it
would
happen
and
I
would
just
stop
and
they
would
ask
me,
Are
you
okay,
Mrs.
Phillips?
And
it's
like,
yes,
I'm
okay.
But
yeah,
it
was
just,
it
was
so
bad.
And
but
I
yeah,
I
remember
that
like
it
just
getting
up
out
of
the
chair
hurt.
Like,
and
and
you
know,
like
I
guess
yes,
looking
back
the
endo
pain,
obviously
the
cyclical,
you
know,
adenomyiosis
pain
was
gone.
And
actually,
as
far
as
my
other
than
being
gestational
diabetic
or
whatever,
being
a
diabetic
at
that
time,
um,
it
felt
like
my
PCOS
was
normal.
Like,
I
don't
know
how
to
explain
that.
Like
my
hormones
were
almost
better.
Like
I
wasn't
people
did
had
a
lot
of
hormones
during
pregnancy,
and
I
didn't
feel
like
I
actually
had
that
issue
as
much
as
I
did
before.
But
um,
so
then
you
know,
by
the
end
of
the
pregnancy,
um,
when
I
was
finding
out
that
there
was
a
possibility
of
stillbirth
and
all
this
other
stuff
because
of

Rapid Pregnancies and Recurrent Loss

SPEAKER_02
18:20

my
diabetes,
and
they
wanted
to
make
sure
to
monitor
me,
and
I
had
to
do
all
these
extra
things,
and
just
you
know,
I
felt
really
stressed.
I
was
like,
look,
I
finally
have
this
baby,
and
so
it
all
worked
out
fine.
He
was
born,
everything's
fine,
and
now
he's
a
I
love
him.
Most
days.
I
have
to
remind
myself
I
wanted
this
very
much.
Um,
so
fast
forward,
I
kind
of
just
like
kind
of
forgot
about
all
the
pain
and
everything
I'd
gone.
It's
like,
look,
I
have
this
kid,
and
all
my
whole
life
became
about
being
a
mom,
you
know,
and
he
was
a
difficult
baby,
like
he
had
his
own
health
issues,
and
he's
you
know,
eight-year-olds
is
much
better
for
me
than
than
he
was
as
a
baby.
It
was
just
a
hard
transition
for
us
um
as
much
as
we
wanted
it.
So
my
whole
life
kind
of
became
about
that
for
like
the
next
year
or
so.
And
then
we
moved
across
the
country
because
my
husband
got
a
different
job,
and
flash
forward
a
couple
years,
I
started
having
more
pain
and
more
cyclical,
like
my
periods
were
just
becoming
worse
again.
And
I
knew
that
we
wanted
to
try
to
have
another
kid
because
oh,
we
just
take
progesterone
and
that's
that'll
fix
it.
So
I
sought
out
a
specialist
in
the
area
because
it
was
a
different,
you
know,
doctor.
I
had
to
go
start
over
again.
And
I
said,
Look,
I'm
high
risk.
I've
had,
you
know,
been
pregnant
four
times
and
only
have
one
living
child.
I
have
um,
I
had
endometriosis
because
it's
again
this
whole
time
going
on,
this
will
be
four
years
now.
I
was
thinking
it's
been
fixed,
like
I
don't
have
it
anymore.
I
still
still
suspected
that
I
had
PCOS
as
well.
So
I
said,
Look,
I
need
to
go
to
the
specialist.
So
I
met
up
with
her
and
she
said,
Yep,
just
try
to
get
pregnant
and
we'll
just
make
sure
to
get
you
on
progesterone
as
soon
as
you
get
pregnant,
and
you
know,
that
should
be
fine.
Okay.
So
I
did.
I
called,
I
got
the
progesterone,
was
on
it,
and
we
s
and
I
got
pregnant
and
I
was
on
the
progesterone
and
lost
that
one
too.
Yeah.
So
I
was
like,
Well,
now
I
don't
know
what
to
do
because
I
was
told
that
was
an
easy
fix,
and
it's
not
like
other
people
who
just
have
one
miscarriage,
which
is
horrible,
I
know,
but
I'm
trying
to
solve
a
mystery
here.
And
obviously,
progesterone
isn't
the
answer,
or
at
least
it
wasn't
that
time.
So
maybe
we
don't
know.
And
so
I
went
back
to
that
doctor
and
I
said,
Look,
I
did
the
thing
you
told
me
to
do.
What
else
can
I
do?
And
she
said,
Well,
maybe
you
just
can't
have
girls
because
you
have
one
and
it's
a
boy.
Oh
my
gosh.

SPEAKER_03
20:27

And
I
believe
can
they
be
at
figuring
out
this
mystery?
Let
me
just
throw
some
obscure
answer
to
this
that
has
no
backing
to
it.

SPEAKER_02
20:37

I
Googled
it
and
was
like,
I
don't
know,
but
I
believe
her
because
she's
listening.
And
she
did
make
me
feel
seen
and
hurt.
She
was
sympathetic
and
she
was
kind,
but
it
was
still
kind
of
like
it
couldn't
possibly
be
any
other
common
cause,
such
as
this
common
endometriosis
or
you
know,
adenomiosis.
And
I
think
at
that
point
I
had
started
reading
about
adenomiosis,
and
I
was
like,
well,
maybe
I
have
this
because
it
seems
like
if
something's
wrong
with
my
uterus,
that
it
would
create
a
hostile
environment
because
all
of
my
miscarriages
were
quite
early.
And
so
she
said,
except
this
one
actually
lasted
quite
a
while.
I
think
I
was
10
or
11
weeks
at
that
one.
And
she
said,
Oh
no,
you
can't
have
adenomiosis
because
you're
too
young,
and
only
women
who
have
gone
through
menopause
can
have
that.

SPEAKER_03
21:18

I'm
sorry,
I
don't
really
understand
where
the
science
behind
that
is.

SPEAKER_02
21:23

I
think
it's
bad
science.
I
think
it's
because
most
women
who
have
had
it
have
had
a
hysterectomy,
and
most
women
at
that
time,
and
when
the
research,
we
know
research
is
always
10
years
behind,
and
the
research
showed
most
women
who
are
having
hysterectomies
are
older,
and
so
they
just
kind
of
said
that.
Sort
of
like,
you
know,
other
comments
that
have
been
said
about
endometriosis,
it's
just,
oh,
all
these
women
of
this
age,
they've
all
had
hysterectomies,
so
it
must
be
this
age,
versus
like
we're
not
looking
at
other
uteruses
that
we've
taken
out
of
younger
women.
So
I
don't
I
don't
know.
That's
just
it's
just
bad
science.
And
I
will
say,
and
I'll
probably
get
into
this
more
in
a
minute,
my
husband
now
teaches
at
a
medical
school,
he's
not
that
kind
of
doctor.
No,
I
will
not
let
him
give
me
stitches
that
he
doesn't
teach.
He's
not
an
MD
doctor,
but
he
does
have
a
PhD
and
he
does
teach
in
medical
school.
So
he
understands
that
doctors
are
trying
their
best,
and
we
can
get
to
that
in
a
minute.
But
sometimes
when
they
say
things
like
that,
you
know,
so
you
know,
you
just
can't
have
a
girl.
So
I
thought,
okay,
well,
we'll
just
keep
trying,
I
guess.
And
so
I
was
kind
of
done,
really.
Honestly,
I
was
like,
I

Pushing for Answers Beyond “Wait for Three”

SPEAKER_02
22:20

love
my
son.
We
were
past
the
nasty
baby
stage.
I
really
didn't
enjoy
the
one
full
pregnancy
I
had.
In
fact,
all
my
other
pregnancies
were
pretty
mild
compared
to
the
one
that
was
successful,
and
the
one
that
was
successful
was
horrible.
So
I
kind
of
talked
to
my
husband
and
I
said,
I'm
kind
of
done.
And
he
said,
Can
we
just
try
for
one
more?
And
I
said,
All
right.
I
I
was
like,
I
he's
so
supportive.
I
have
the
best
husband
in
the
world.
I'm
just
gonna
say
that.
He
really
wanted
to
try,
so
we
did,
and
I
said,
No
matter
what
happens
with
this
one,
we're
done.
And
we
got
pregnant
shortly
after
that
one.
It
wasn't
took
a
few
months
to
wait.
And
uh
again,
and
this
is
the
thing,
like
nobody
believed
me
that
I
had
PCOS
because
I
could
get
pregnant
almost
really
quickly.
Like
it
usually
it's
you
can't
get
pregnant,
then
you
you
have
PCOS
or
even
endo,
because
we
know
that
endo
often
causes
infertility
in
women
and
they
can't
get
pregnant,
but
that
wasn't
my
case,
right?
So
they
didn't
believe
me
that
I
could
have
any
of
these
issues,
and
so
I
just
didn't
fit
the
bill.
And
so,
anyways,
I
got
pregnant
and
went
on
progesterone
again
because
why
not?
And
it
stuck.
And
I
have
a
daughter
now,
not
a
son.
So
that
blew
that
theory
out
of
the
water.

SPEAKER_03
23:21

Right.
So
now
you
can
have
a
daughter
all
of
a
sudden.
Yes.

SPEAKER_02
23:24

So
now
I
have
a
five-year-old
daughter,
and
she
also
she's
my
little
many
me.
But
she's
I
don't
get
emotional,
she's
the
reason
that
I
advocate
so
strongly.
You
know,
I
want
her
to
have
a
different
experience,
and
I
want
my
son
to
know
if
he
ever
has
a
daughter
or
a
wife,
that
they
don't
have
to
go
through
what
I
went
through.
Because
at
this
point,
I
had
had
so
many
horrible
periods,
so
many
miscarriages,
so
much
gaslighting,
so
much
just
misinformation
and
well-meaning
doctors,
but
they're
just
not
educated.
So
that
was
kind
of
um
the
the
gist
of
it
right
there.
But
after
that,
I
was
like,
okay,
so
I
have
my
family,
there's
nothing
else
to
worry
or
fix.
Like,
I'm
good.
I
don't
need
to
worry
about
Indo
anymore.
I've
got
the
family
I
always
wanted,
you
know,
we're
good.
I
can't
go
through
any
more
pregnancies,
you
know.
People
would
say
ins
insensitive
things,
like,
oh,
you're
just
gonna
stop
it
too.
And
I
was
like,
you
have
no
idea
what
I've
been
through.

unknown
24:11

Right.

SPEAKER_02
24:12

And
so
I
was
just
like,
I'm
I'm
happy,
we're
good.
And
so
yes,
I
still
have
two
healthy
children.
Both
pregnancies
were
awful.
Second
one
wasn't
quite
as
bad,
but
it
was
still
pretty
bad.
Lots
of
round
ligament
pain,
lots
of
nausea.
Hormones
weren't
that
bad,
but
just
I
did
um
I
had
a
lot
of
acne,
especially
with
my
son,
like
just
which
is
the
PCOS
stuff.
I
was
borderline
diabetic
with
my
daughter,
they
kind
of
watched
me,
but
I
never
totally
got
up
there.
But
I
wish
I
just
treated
myself
like
I
was,
and
I
still
had
my
blood
glucose
monitors
from
my
son's
pregnancy,
and
I
would
just
check
myself
all
the
time
because
I
was
told
that
it
could
come
back
in
five
years,
and
so
I'm
technically
never
had
it
with
her.
So
after
I
had
her,
I
was
like,
Well,
I
don't
need
to
go
on
the
pill
anymore.
My
husband,
you
know,
he
did
his
procedures,
so
we
didn't
have
to
use
birth
control,
and
I
wanted
to
see
what
my
body
was
like,
right?
I
wanted
to
know.
So
I
went
off
birth
control,
and
within
a
few
months
it
was
awful.
And
it's
not
that
birth
control
is
a
fix,
but
it
definitely
masked
some
things,
but
I
also
didn't
like
being
on
it,
it
just
caused
some
symptoms
in
me
and
everyone's
different.
For
me,
it
was
it
caused
low
sex
drive,
like
which
is
effective
in
present
preventing
pregnancies,
but
it
was
really
no
bad.
And
that
was
one
of
my
worst
ones,
and
it
just
I
don't
know,
it
just
didn't
make
me
feel
good.
And
so
I
really
wanted
to
be
off
of
it.
But
when
I
would
even
in
at
this
point
now,
in
between
my
periods,
I
would
have
this
horrible,
like
I
must
almost
like
a
swelling,
like
heavy
pain
in
my
uterus,
and
I
would
bleed
all
the
time,
like
just
constant
bleeding.
And
so
then
I'd
go
back
on
the
pill
for
a
little
bit
because
that
was
always
our
solution,
and
I
would
still
bleed
throughout,
like
it
wouldn't
always
fix
everything.
So
just
back
and
forth,
on
and
off.
And
then
in
fall
of
2023,
or
back
in
Washington
State
where
I
live
now,
we
moved
back,
and
I'm
I
I
thought
I
don't
have
endo,
right?
But
I
was
just
having
all
these
symptoms.
I
remember
I
went,
we
were
traveling
somewhere
for
work,
and
I
was
in
a
hotel

Progesterone, Gestational Diabetes, First Child

SPEAKER_02
26:00

and
I
had
a
bowel
movement,
and
I
almost
passed
out.
And
it
was
getting
to
that
point.
I
was
starting
to
have
painful
bowel
movements.
I've
always
had
pain
with
sex.
I
forgot
to
mention
that.
Always
I
would
talk
to
doctors
about
and
like,
well,
some
women
just
do
just
relax,
you
know.

SPEAKER_03
26:14

So
not
only
did
I
have
a
low
sex
drive
on
birth
control,
but
also
you're
in
pain
when
you
want
to
have
intimacy
with
your
spouse,
and
you
can't
because
you're
in
so
much
pain.
But
somehow
that's
normal.

SPEAKER_02
26:26

Yes,
yeah,
that's
just
normal.
You
just
need
to
relax,
have
a
glass
of
wine.

SPEAKER_03
26:30

So
tired
of
the
wine,
it
better
be
red.
That's
all
I'm
saying.

SPEAKER_02
26:35

But
anyways,
between
like
I
would
have
bowel
movements,
I
would
have
pain,
I
would
be
in
bed
for
hours
sometimes.
It
was
hard
to
be
a
mom,
it
was
hard
to
work,
it
was
hard
to
do
anything,
and
it
would
just
be
cyclical
and
and
not
even
cyclical
at
this
point.
It
was
actually
getting
sporadic.
And
because
I
wasn't
on
the
pill
anymore,
my
because
of
the
PCOS,
my
periods
were
very
erratic.
So
kind
of
flash
forward,
it
was
the
fall
of
2023.
It
was
kind
of
the
worst
moment.
I
was
supposed
to
have
coffee
with
a
friend,
and
I
ended
up
like
not
being
able
to
get
out
of
bed,
and
I
had
to
call
her
and
reschedule.
And
we
finally
met,
we
met
the
next
day,
and
I
was
okay.
And
I
told
her,
I
was
like,
look,
I
just
I'll
be
honest,
I'm
pretty
sure
I
have
endometriosis.
I
think
it's
back.
I
know
that
it
can
come
back.
You
can
have
a
recurrence,
but
I
started
Googling
it
more,
even
though
they
told
me
they
fixed
it
and
they
wouldn't
have
it
anymore.
And
every
time
I
talked
to
a
doctor
about
it,
they
said,
you
know,
you
got
it
fixed,
so
that
couldn't
be
it.
Lo
and
behold,
she
happened
to
open
up
to
me.
She's
like,
wait,
you
have
endo?
And
I
said,
Yeah.
She
goes,
I
have
it.
And
I
was
like,
What?
And
she
goes,
Yeah,
I
have
stage
four
endo.
And
I
was
like,
What?
And
she
said,
Yes.
And
I
I
had
no
idea.
So
she
opened
this
whole
story
and
told
me
how
she
finally
went
out
and
sought
this
excision
specialist,
Dr.
Duke.
And
so
up
in
Post
Falls,
Idaho.
And
she's
actually,
I'll
let
her
tell
her
story
some
other
time.
Um,
like
her
case
was
so
bad.
She
told
me
that
he's
just
the
the
best
doctor,
that
he's
an
excision
specialist.
And
I
was
like,
What
is
excision?
Like,
what
there's
that's
what
I
had,
right?
And
so
she
explained
the
difference
between
ablasion
and
excision.
And
so
she
sent
me
this
podcast
episode
with
him
and
another
doctor,
and
they
interviewed
each
other,
and
it
just
it
was
an
hour
long,
and
I
shared
it
with
my
husband.
I
said,
I
have
got
to
go
see
this
doctor.
I
can't
keep
living
like
this
anymore.
Like,
I
want
to
go
see
someone
who
actually
knows
endo.
So
I
called
up
my
primary
doctor
here
to
see
if
I
could
get
a
referral
just
in
case
insurance
was
gonna
be
weird.
And
my
primary
doctor
here
said,
Oh,
yes,
I'm
starting
to
refer
people
to
him.
And
I
was
like,
This
is
amazing.
Yeah,
I
just
just
refer,
you
know.
And
this
is
the
original
doctor
that
actually
helped
me
get
pregnant
with
my
son,
so
she's
awesome.
And
but
you
know,
she's
limited.
She's
a
primary
doctor,
right?
She
was
just
a
regular
OBGYN
and
a
primary
doctor.
And
so
she
so
she
referred
me
up
to
him.
And
so
I
went
to
see
him
in
January
of
2024.
I
was
scheduled
and
I
had
surgery
in
April
of
2024,
and
up
to
the
day
before
the
surgery,
I
looked
at
my
husband
and
I
was
saying,
and
I
was
having
all
this
pain,
all
the
all
this
discomfort
leading
up
to
it.
And
I
still
looked
at
him
and
said,
What
if
they
get
in
there
and
they
don't
find
anything
in
him
crazy?

SPEAKER_03
28:48

Like
and
I
I'm
sh
I
know
we
all
feel
that
way.
That's
the
craziest
thing.
Like,
I
I
don't
actually
know
someone,
uh
I
don't
know
an
Indo
patient
that
hasn't
felt
that
way.
And
it's
so
sad
that
we
have
to
think
like
that.
Like,
what
if
we
don't?
I'm
so
excited
for
those
that
don't
have
it,
from
the
sense
that
they
don't
have
to
deal
with
it,
but
also
are
they
missing
something?
And
it
just
makes
you
question
so
much,
you
know.

SPEAKER_02
29:13

And
especially
because
I
just
remember
in
high
school,
that
girl
I
told
you
about,
she
had
it
so
bad
that
she
was
missing
school
for
weeks.
And
like
I
would
just
have
these,
you
know,
smaller
episodes,
but
it
was
still
enough
and
it
was
wearing
me
down
and
I
was
fatigued.
And
and
so
I
just
I
doubted
myself
all
the
way
up
to
but
I
when
I
went
into
that
that
appointment
with
him,
he
was
like,
Oh,
you
definitely
have
this.
And
he
looked
at
me
and
just
the
initial
appointment,
he
was
like,
and
you
also
have
a
denominosis.
And
I
said,
What?
Wait,
I
wasn't
even
bringing
that
up.
I
wasn't
even
like
I
had
just
I
was
this
appointment
was
about
my
endo,
you
know,
and
maybe
a
PCOS
too.
And
I
said,
What
do
you
mean?
And
he
goes,
and
that's
probably
what
caused
all
your
miscarriages.
And
I
just
like
my
jaw
dropped,
and
I
instantly
just
started
crying.
I
wasn't
there
to
have
that
conversation,
so
I
wasn't
prepared,
but
he
was
so
spot
on
and
just
made
it
clear
and
explained.
Explain
to
me
how
it
can
cause
recurrent
miscarriages,
unexplained,
you
know,
recurrent
miscarriages.
And
he
didn't
bat
an
eye
that
I
could
get
pregnant
so
easy
and
still
have
these
miscarriages.
It
didn't
baffle
him.

Trying Again: Bad Advice and a Daughter

SPEAKER_02
30:10

He
understood.
Like
I've
never
went
to
a
doctor
that
just
didn't
scratch
their
head
and
look
at
me
like,
what?
Like
you're
crazy.
Yeah.
Like
these
don't,
these
symptoms
don't
all
add
up.
And
also
that
a
doctor
could
tell
me,
like
he
did
say
just
by
looking
at
me
that
I
didn't
look
like
I
had
PCOS
on
the
outside,
but
he
would
look
inside
once
he
was
in
there.
And
so
I
had
the
surgery.
I
came
out.
Of
course,
we
all
do
that.
We
wake
up
and
the
first
thing
we
say
is,
Did
they
find
it?

SPEAKER_03
30:33

That
is
like
the
number
one
thing
I
always
hear
from
everyone.
Did
they
find
any?
Did
I
have
it?
Yes.
That
is
like
the
number
one.
My
second
surgery.

SPEAKER_02
30:44

This
is
not
my
first
that
I'm
asking
this
question
because
you
got
rid
of
it.
And
there
was
only
the
one
spot
that
was
causing
all
this
back
pain
and
stuff
that
I
had.
Anyways,
um,
yeah,
I
had
stage
two,
almost
stage
three.
And
he
did
say,
as
he
put
it,
uh,
we
wiffle
balled
those
ovaries
because
I
definitely
had
PCOS
and
they
were
angry.
Said
my
uterus
looked
irritated
and
angry,
definitely
had
a
denominosis.
So
I
have
the
triple
threat
of
everything
and
had
it
all.
And
so
I
took
my
uterus
out.
I'm
done
having
kids.
That
was
fine.
And
my
pain,
as
far
as
that
goes,
has
it's
gone.
Like
that
pain
is
gone.
I
still
have
occasionally
some
pain
with
sex
and
some
pain
with
bowel
movements,
but
it
was,
it's
nothing
like
it
was.

SPEAKER_03
31:22

Um,
and
I
think
that
we
oftentimes
think
that's
either
endo
or
something
else,
but
we
have
to
consider
that
there
are
other
things
that
can
contribute
to
that,
whether
that's
your
pelvic
floor,
you
know,
and
that's
not
to
be
dismissive,
that's
to
say
that
we
have,
you
know,
our
bodies
are
so
used
to
a
being
in
pain.
So,
you
know,
something
I
have
recently
dealt
with
is
is
this
psychosomatic
for
me?
Is
this
like
just
bad
memories
bringing
it
back
up?
Sometimes
it
can
be
like
that
is
reality
of
how
our
brain
works.
Our
brain
is
our
signal
to
pain,
right?
Like
that
it
tells
us
when
we're
in
pain.
So
and
it
has
a
great
memory.
So
there's
that
element
of
it,
but
also
like
there's
pelvic
floor
dysfunction
and
there's
fear
and
there's
trauma
that
play
into
this,
and
there,
you
know,
like
there
could
be
endo
still
or
just
recurrent
symptoms,
or
who
knows?
And
so
I
think
like
when
people
hear
that
you
still
have
pain
with
sex,
it
can
be
a
multitude
of
things.

SPEAKER_02
32:15

Well,
and
sometimes
it's
just
in
my
head,
it's
just
trained
to
expect
it
still.
Right,
yeah.
Later,
and
I'm
still
like
I
still
get
tight
sometimes.
Like,
okay,
I
just
have
to
like
take
a
breath
and
relax
my
pelvic
floor
muscles.
And
Dr.
Duke
did
refer
me
to
a
PT
um
for
pelvic
floor
physical
therapy
before
surgery
and
after.
And
that
was
huge.
Because
he
said,
he
actually
told
me,
Yes,
you
have
pain
during
sex
and
you
have
pain
during
any
kind
of
medical
procedure.
Oh
my
gosh,
every
time
I
got
a
pap
smear,
it
hurt.
And
and
it's
not
supposed
to
hurt,
but
it
did.
And
I
just
bared
my
teeth
and
and
endured
it.
And
but
he
told
me,
he
said,
Yeah,
this
is
not
simply
because,
but
it's
mostly
likely
just
from
your
tight
pelvic
floor
muscles
from
all
the
pain
and
trauma
of
endo.
And
so
about
I
think
four
weeks
after
I
had
surgery,
I
went
back
to
PT
again.
And
four
weeks
after
that,
she
was
kind
of
doing
the
test,
the
initial
test,
and
my
muscles
were
already
way
more
relaxed.
And
she's
like,
You're
like
a
classic
textbook
case
of
why
we
do
both,
you
know,
surgery
and
therapy.
And
so,
and
I
still
need
to
do
those,
and
I
can
feel
myself
getting
tight.
Like
I
can
feel
like
when
I
start
to
have
those
pains,
like,
okay,
I'm
not
doing
some
of
my
exercises
and
not
doing
things.
And
that
was
the
biggest
eye-opener
because
the
first
time
I
had
surgery
and
they
ablazed
it
was
not
excision
surgery,
which

Postpartum Years: Pain Returns, Daily Function Hit

SPEAKER_02
33:30

I
didn't
know.
And
Dr.
Duke
definitely
found
remnants
of
that
when
he
was
in
there.
But
they
just
fixed
it.
They
move
on
with
my
life,
I
don't
need
anything
else.
But
this
time,
you
know,
when
I
had
surgery,
it
was
you
have
an
ongoing
thing.
Even
if
you've
had
surgery
to
excise
it,
it's
you're
not
done.
And
so
people
are
like,
So
you're
better
now,
right?
Like
after
I
had
my
surgery,
water.
Yeah,
I'm
great.
And
they're
like,
and
your
hysterectomy
didn't
fix
it.
And
I
was
like,
no.
So
so
and
I
still
have
my
ovaries.
I
just
I
guess
I
had
a
partial
hysterectomy,
but
I
still
have
my
ovaries,
so
I
still
have
PCOS.
I'm
actually
dealing
with
some
of
those
things.
In
fact,
I
am
currently
wearing
a
continuous
glucose
monitor
because
my
insulin
resistance
is
very
high
again.
Another
fun
joy
of
my
body
and
what
it
goes
through.
But
yeah,
and
so
just
learning
that
it's
it's
a
whole
body
disease.
Um
in
fact,
when
he
found
it,
I
was
had
stage
two.
I
did
not
have
endo
anywhere
on
any
of
my
reproductive
organs.
It
was
not
on
my
uterus,
not
on
my
um
ovaries,
not
on
my
fallopian
tubes,
nothing.
It
was
all
over
my
bladder,
which
I
also
have
had
I
had
lots
of
pain
with
urination,
which
I
had
I
never
connected
until
I
had
that
surgery.
Just
didn't
even
like
know
that
that
was
a
thing.
I
thought,
oh,
I
just
have
pain
with
urination.
If
I
hold
it
too
long,
it
hurts.
Like,
doesn't
everybody
have
that?
And
you
know,
yeah.
Um,
I
had
it
all
over
my
uterosacral
ligaments,
especially
my
left
one,
deep
infiltrating
endo
on
that.
And
then
I
had
it
um
kind
of
near
the
colon
and
the
little
cul-de-sac
area
and
just
kind
of
all
over
the
the
wall,
you
know,
the
abdomen
wall
though.

SPEAKER_03
34:55

Yeah,
like
your
peritoneum
and
stuff.

SPEAKER_02
34:57

Yeah,
peritoneum,
yeah.
So
I
but
I
didn't
have
it
on
any
of
my
reproductive
organs.
And
that's
why
I
tell
people
like
it's
not
a
reproductive
disease.
And
I
didn't
know
that
either.
I've
learned
so
much,
a
lot
of
it
through
this
podcast.
And
this
is
why
I
reached
out
to
you,
because
I
just
I
was
angry
after
my
two-week
post-off
appointment.
I
left
angry,
not
at
Dr.
Duke,
but
just
angry
that
it
took
me
28
years
to
get
a
proper
diagnosis
to
understand
to
put
all
of
the
symptoms,
um,
the
passing
out,
the
heavy
periods,
the
overlapping
symptoms,
the
kind
of
everything
I
was
dealing
with
all
in
one.
And
it
took
28
years
and
all
the
miscarriages,
all
the
gaslighting.
And
now
I
finally
had
an
answer,
but
I
also
had
a
way
to
treat
it.
And
so
I
wanted
I
wanted
to
connect
other
people.
I
wanted
to
advocate.
I
wanted
it
to
be
different
for
my
daughter,
and
so
that's
kind
of
where
my
journey
has
taken
me
now.

SPEAKER_03
35:47

This
conversation
isn't
over
yet.
It's
just
getting
started.
Join
us
next
time
because
this
is
what
you
have
to
look
forward
to.

SPEAKER_02
35:56

After
talking
to
you
and
we
had
many
conversations,
I
reached
out,
and
one
of
the
things
I
did
get
to
do
in
November
last
year,
I
went
to
that
medical
school
and
sat
down
and
told
my
story
to
the
medical
students
who
were
just
about
to
go
into
the
residency
programs.
And
I
just
wanted
them
to
know
that
I'm
not
your
typical
case.
I
mean,
no
one
really
is.
I
don't
know,
like
there's
yeah,
is
there
really
a
textbook
case
of
endo?
But
I
will
tell
you,
I
was
so
hopeful
coming
out
of
that
because
in
my
telling
them,
they
would
raise
their
hand,
I
would
tell
them
my
symptoms
first
and
they
would
kind
of
raise
their
hand
and
I
told
them
that
I
had
heavy
bleeding
and
other
things,
and
one
of
them
raised
their
hand
and
said,
Do
you
have
adenomiosis?
I
was
like,
ding,
ding,
ding.
I
was
like,
yes,
like
somebody
is
paying
attention,
you
know,
and
they're
getting
they're
starting
to
get
the
correct
information.
If
you
look
at
the
information
they're
getting
now,
it's
10
to
15
years
behind.
If
you
look
at
endo
10
to
15
years
ago,
they
still
didn't
know.
So
I
was
just
able
to
talk
to
them
and
explain
to
them
that
every
individual
case
is
different.

SPEAKER_03
36:49

They
ask
me
all
the
time,
mom,
am
I
gonna
have
endometriosis?
Mom,
am
I
gonna
be
like
this?
And
I
think
it
would
it's
so
hard.
And
I
understand
why
there
are
some
people
who
have
endometriosis
that
are
like,
I
don't
want
to
have
kids,
I
don't
want
to
pass
this
on.

SPEAKER_02
37:02

I
open
up
the
card
and
I
just
read
the
first
part
of
it
and
I
just
start
bawling,
like
right
there
in
Starbucks.
And
my
husband
comes
back
and
he's
like,
What
just
happened?
He's
like,
What

Finding Community and an Excision Specialist

SPEAKER_02
37:10

do
you
are
crying?
And
I
hope
I
just
look
at
him
and
I'm
holding
up
this
bracelet
in
Starbucks
and
he's
like,
What
is
happening?
Like,
and
I
but
it
was
like
there
is
a
community
that
someone
cares
about
endo.
I
can
I
can
talk
about
this
with
other
people
because
when
people
find
out
about
breast
cancer,
right,
people
know
what
to
do.