Reflecting on Growth, Gratitude, and Advancements in Endometriosis Care: Honoring Advocates and Exploring new Perspectives

Speaker 1:
0:03

Welcome to Endo Battery, where we are sharing our endometriosis journey and learning along the way. This podcast is in no way meant to diagnose or give medical advice, but a place where you can gain knowledge and information that can help you to not feel alone, as well as become your best advocate. We want to learn with you and support you wherever you are in your journey. Thanks for joining us as we navigate the ups and downs and share stories of strength, resilience and hope. Come with us as we dive deep into the world of endometriosis, from personal experiences to expert insights. This is Endo Battery charging our life when Endo drains us. This podcast is dedicated to Dr David Redwine. He, along with others, really pioneered endometriosis excision care, but he didn't stop there. He continued to research the origins of endometriosis and he was loud and clear about his disdain for Samson's theory, but only because it benefited those of us with endometriosis. Even in his retirement from surgery, he continued his advocacy work. He continued presenting all the origins of endometriosis and why it was so important to get it right. He used his clipart and his humor to convey a message that was so important to so many. Without Dr Redwine, many of us would not have the quality of life that we have today. So for that, thank you, dr Redwine. We'll carry your legacy with us as we continue the work of advocacy.

Speaker 1:
1:46

Welcome back to Endo Battery. I'm your host, elana. Go ahead and grab a cup of tea, a cup of coffee. Get comfortable, because I'm going to reflect the last year of Endo Battery. Can you believe? It's almost been a year since Endo Battery has started? Well, it has. So buckle up. Let's go through some of the fun things that I learned this year, some of the backstories of things that have happened this year and some of the things that are yet to come. Where do I start? This year in this podcast has been insane. There have been some moments of frustrations, some moments of cheers, some moments of tears, you name it. It's probably happened because when we started this podcast, we had no idea what we were doing. So let's take it back a little bit further and why we started this podcast.

Speaker 1:
2:36

We started this podcast because we had found that there just wasn't enough information out there that was accessible to everyone in every stage of life, in every stage of their journey, and it didn't really encompass the entire life. Shelby had come to me and asked how my surgery was, and there just wasn't a lot of resources available when she was going through her surgery and how to prepare and how to recover well, and so we decided that this was the best platform to get some good information out. Let me also say that there are amazing resources out there, amazing people out there doing other podcasts and other resource avenues that are helping people. It's just that we hadn't found them to that point or exactly what we had been looking for, and so we felt like maybe we could lend our voice to that market. And so we started this platform as really just a passion project and we thought it would take a day here, a day there to do. But what we didn't realize is that the endometriosis community needed more, and it grew substantially. We put ourselves out there and it started growing and we started seeing more and more content that we needed to make that we felt like would be beneficial to everyone. And so this project grew out of a passion for information, a passion for good, clean knowledge of endometriosis and by clean I mean that's not riddled with a bunch of misinformation, because there was enough of that out there. And so when we started this, it really started from a place of wanting to get information out. We had no idea what was to come. This year I felt very green coming into a lot of the discussion topics and I felt very unequipped, to be honest, and I also think that that lent itself well for me to learn with you and I really appreciate the people that have come on this year that have been so informational for us. But, with that said, it has been a challenging year to find time, as it has grown and there's been more demand for more information and with that you've probably noticed that there's been a voice missing over your speakers.

Speaker 1:
4:56

Shelby has taken the time to step back from Endo Battery. She has been phenomenal in the support and in the start of this podcast and without her this podcast would have never been possible and without her we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did. But, as I said, it grew and the time commitment grew and the time we needed to plan and prep and everything else just increased. And it's great, but it's also challenging. She is a wife, she's a mom, she's a business owner owning her own Pilates studio and on top of that, if that wasn't enough, she is an advocate and she, along with myself and three others started a nonprofit called Endo Village that is aiming for support and education in our community, and it takes up all our time to be able to do as much as we can, and we want to continue doing more. But what Shelby realized is that her bandwidth just wasn't there, and that is OK.

Speaker 1:
5:57

I just want to say that for anyone out there if you are feeling like your cup is just crammed and about to overflow, but maybe not in the best way, like burst at the bottom, it's OK to step back. And she will always have a space here and always have a voice on Indobattery, and I'm just so grateful for everything that she was able to do with me here and for the Indometriosis community, and she's not stopping and we're not stopping. We're going to continue doing our advocacy work with the nonprofit as well. As I mean we work out together. We see each other. So I just want to take the time to say thank you, shelby, for feeding into this Indometriosis community, and best part about it being a community is that I don't have to do this alone either, as I continue this podcast to the best of my ability. I invite you to be my co-pilots and making this podcast fly.

Speaker 1:
6:50

One of the things that I've learned this year in doing this podcast is just how amazing the Indometriosis community really is. Without the patients, advocates and health care providers in this community, none of us would be here and where we're at now. And that advocacy really started with someone that has impacted both Shelby and I's lives and has an integral part of the support for Indobattery, and that's Nancy Peterson. Something you may not know about Nancy is that she is not only an advocate that believes that self-taught learning is the best kind of learning to advocate for yourself, but she's also quite funny and witty.

Speaker 2:
7:24

So I get home and I'm supposed to have my gallbladder out. So I run into red wine and I said say I'm going to have my gallbladder out next week. Would you mind stopping by the OR taking a look, just in all your spare time and did you? Have. Indometriosis and I said, yeah, I did. He said well, it doesn't work like that. You have to come into the office for a consult. Can we get this done before my surgery next week?

Speaker 1:
7:47

He said, yeah, come on in.

Speaker 1:
7:48

And something about Nancy that you may not know or maybe weren't aware of is that she steps up to the plate to help so many advocates in this journey.

Speaker 1:
7:58

Nancy didn't bat an eye at coming on Indobattery and saw our mission and saw what we were doing and said, yes, I'll be a part of it, and she has stood by us this whole time and we have been talking back and forth. I could ask Nancy questions, she could ask us questions, and it's just been such a beautiful relationship to have with Nancy, and really Nancy is one of the biggest reasons I'm able to do this, and that is because for multiple reasons, but because her Facebook page allowed me to find the surgeon that helped me and ultimately, I feel significantly better. And so without Nancy first becoming an advocate, so to speak, for endometriosis, I would have never been where I'm at, nor would Shelby have been where she's at. So to that, nancy has been a massive support for Indobattery and I'm so grateful for Nancy and everything she's done. And our conversation with Nancy led to a lot of funny moments. She has stories that you would not believe because she's been doing this for so long.

Speaker 2:
9:01

I saw the magazine in Northern California called Medical Self Care and it was kind of a small little journal that was run by a physician and it's no longer in publication. But at that time they had about a 60,000 circulation. And I said to him you know, I think this guy's onto something really important and kind of fits the kind of things that you look for which are kind of off the mainstream but kind of effective. So he sent a reporter and a photographer up and they did a story. The writer and I did an article called Endometriosis Reconsidered and they did a nice, I think, three or four page spread in their magazine. It was really well done. The thing I didn't anticipate was the week the magazine hit the street. We had a thousand phone calls. I virtually shut down a circuit board and so I went whoa, there's something going on here.

Speaker 1:
10:04

And, honestly, nancy's nook is not an easy thing to run and she does the best to her ability, and I am so grateful that it's out there for so many people.

Speaker 1:
10:15

And I think, when we started this podcast and we started doing more research, we started looking into the statistics and all the different numbers with Endometriosis, and it really floored me. When I first started recording with Shelby, I really honestly, didn't know a lot of those statistics and I, like I said, I was so green, but it took me a minute or two to really figure out that there was a lot of discrepancies within Endometriosis care. It didn't take long for me to figure this out, but Nancy highlighted some of these discrepancies in that podcast episode that we did with her. The thing about that, though, is the more that we learned, so did her husbands, and the thing about having our husbands on and when we started this. We would not have even started this without the support of our husbands, but they also recognized the discrepancy and care within the materialist, but also the need for support, for support people, and we never had put that together At least, I hadn't put that together too much until they got together and they said wait, you're experiencing this, I'm experiencing this.

Speaker 6:
11:21

We knew like we at least had a name, we at least had an enemy.

Speaker 7:
11:25

And I think that's the difference for us is we didn't, so we were just throwing things at the wall and it would stick for a long time, and we I think that was my biggest frustration as a caregiver was that we didn't know what I was to be caring for.

Speaker 1:
11:40

After that conversation that Dane and Elliot had in that episode, elliot looked at me and he said I didn't realize some of the things that I was holding back or the things that affected me that I just didn't even think were affecting me, and just talking to someone else that has experienced this was so insightful for me and it was really helpful, and that's when it kind of clicked in my brain even more that we need more support for the support people.

Speaker 1:
12:07

This is not an easy journey for them to take either, because a lot of times they feel so helpless, they feel like they can't do anything to help us, because this disease doesn't warrant as much help on the outside as it does the inside, although there are a lot of facets that involve mental health support from people just saying, yes, I believe you, yes, I get it, and my husband has always done that and he's been very honest about that and the episodes that he's recorded with me.

Speaker 1:
12:37

But I think it really did ring true that our support people need support as well, and so that was something that I didn't really see coming into this as being something I wanted to be passionate about, one of the people that Nancy had recommended to come on and talk about advocacy as it stands with mental health and supporting our mental health was Karen Newton and she has become such a good friend and supporter of Inno Battery and she really highlighted just how much of a need we have for support and I think that when I talk to her and after talking to Elliot about this, it's very imperative that we need to address the mental health element of endometriosis, but how much it means to people to have support and how it supports their mental health, and that I was so thankful for that episode and everything that Kira has done for our podcast and for the endometriosis community as well.

Speaker 1:
13:40

With every episode I found myself in awe, whether it was stories told or education. I've been touched and incredibly thankful for those who are vulnerable in sharing their stories, like Chelsea, inga, lee. Chelsea, inga and Lee have been such a massive support system for Inno Battery and have been the cheerleaders behind the microphone and you've heard their voices here on the podcast and you've heard their stories and you'll continue to hear them on this podcast because they are such an important part of our support system as a podcast, and so I'm so thankful for people like that. But I've also heard other stories, stories like Amber's story, which broke my heart to hear about her journey through endometriosis in her stripped fertility because of a lack of knowledge, which spurred me on even more to continue talking about this.

Speaker 9:
14:34

So this, this doctor, who had initially ruled out Indo, was like all right, let's do a hysterectomy. And when he went in to do that hysterectomy and I was, I was 21. So I was a young age. Yeah, I, I didn't, I was, I was just like I. I just need this, I just need the pain to stop and like. This is what I'm being told. But this doctor, he's supposed to be the best in Northern Colorado. Um, this is what I'm being told. So hysterectomy it is, I guess.

Speaker 1:
15:05

Sitting down talking to Amber, I had tears in my eyes and just kind of was trying to hold it together. She's talking about her story, but the thing about her story and the redemptive part about her story is that she didn't stop at the loss of fertility, the pain. She's still experiencing a lot of these things and yet she has built her life and career around helping other people navigate this so that they don't have to go through what she's gone through. But I also really value the perspective of education that Katie and her wife Allie brought to the mic with Katie's story and navigating endometriosis as part of the LGBTQ plus community.

Speaker 11:
15:47

And also we're nurses, so we know how we should be treated because, we treat our patients that way Exactly, and so we kind of don't have much of a tolerance for anything else, and we've had our doctors before we go. However, a lot of other people do not have the same experience.

Speaker 1:
16:04

It's also powerful to hear Alex's story from the invisible. Iconic, she has an incredibly unique perspective on endometriosis care and legislation around the world. She continues to fight for better care for herself and for better education worldwide.

Speaker 10:
16:20

How they're doing treatments in Australia, what type of endokere we're getting in Australia. It's all really based on this first and second line to treatments. Our Australian endometriosis guideline is based on the NISG guideline in the UK and, frankly speaking, it's not good enough because when you look at the NISG guideline, some of the studies they're basing on they only have 88 participants.

Speaker 1:
16:44

She inspires me all the time with the things that she's doing in the midst of a flair or in the midst of navigating her own chronic pain, illness and fatigue. I'm in awe of her constantly. And then there's Kimmether from the Rebellious Uterus an endothic of it podcast with her husband Brandon. Her knowledge about racial injustice and endometriosis is just mind blowing. Her journey through infertility diagnosis and proper treatment and all of that is just something to step back and look at and say she is quite a woman and she's still on the road to improving her quality of life.

Speaker 4:
17:22

Provider to be aware of this because we're at risk of perpetuating history and just it, never dying if we're not fully aware of it, so that we could be intentional about not falling into those same awful behaviors that resulted in that results in so many black people being poorly treated within the health care system.

Speaker 1:
17:40

I still someone that I look up to so much in advocacy work. I love her perspective. I love her ability to communicate so clearly and she does it all with grace. She, along with some incredible advocates, really filled the battery of Endo warriors everywhere telling their stories and advocacy journeys. I was once again humbled to be able to sit down with Heather Guadon and learn more about why she continues to advocate for everyone with Endo.

Speaker 8:
18:05

I'm going to be very careful and kind of build a base knowledge that we can go from a baseline, understanding the basic definition. It's not the native endometrium, it behaves differently, so it's endometrial like. It's not a menstrual disease, although painful periods might be part of it for some people. It doesn't just affect the pelvis, it's a systemic, inflammatory, fibrotic, body-wide disease. You know we have to have a base knowledge and then from there you can kind of build onto that.

Speaker 1:
18:35

She's got a voice and a knowledge to back it up and she is not afraid to use it. Heather is doing so much and is part of so much education. She is not afraid to ruffle feathers to get legislation changed and she puts herself out there time and time again in a vulnerable place to have a target on her back for critics, but she continues to show up. We truly wouldn't be where we are without her and her continued efforts. But she is not alone in that and with those in the Loud Voice department that will use it at all costs. Someone that you've heard a lot of on this podcast lately is Dr Sally Thorell, and she has not only been an incredible supporter for Endobattery, with coming on and talking about growing ecology and hernias and hormone health as it pertains to the musculoskeletal system, which took me multiple listens to garner as much information as I could out of, because my mind was literally blown and I felt like she was talking just to me and she is so knowledgeable and I love how she just tells it like it is.

Speaker 5:
19:36

I'm the gynecologist doesn't look at. Well, what's innervating this? What is the skin like? What is, you know, in people in our population, lots of people with hysterectomies what is the hormone level like? That's the new piece that's emerging right now, because you can get a lot of dryness and pain from absence of estrogen and unfortunately we're a population that, like, loses estrogen very early use right, you know, we think it's a great thing because it helps many not all with the disease, but it actually has health implications with our joints and ligaments.

Speaker 1:
20:14

Absolutely so much value and so much meat in those episodes. And Sally's story is one of gasping air. Like every time that I would hear Sally's story or told us a little piece or a little negative of her story, I just am like, wow, this woman has not let that hold her down, it has only propelled her forward to create change for those living with endometriosis so that they don't have to go through with what she went through. And she didn't do this alone either, but her and Dr Vidalhi started the endometriosis summit, which really was pivotal with creating this podcast and really getting it going, not only from the standpoint of education, which I learned so much.

Speaker 1:
20:58

I walked into the endometriosis summit really not knowing even some of the terms that they were talking about but also just learning about the disease itself, the way it manifests, the way it impacts other people. It also really brought to light how strong of a community this is, and I met so many different advocates and doctors and providers and patients that I felt right at home and I've said this so many times before but this community is very strong and without the endometriosis summit and everything that I took away from that, I wouldn't have had the ability to meet some of these amazing advocates and patients that we've been able to have on the podcast. Talk about an impact at the summit and leading up to growing relationships with some amazing people and doctors. One of those families and one of those people was Mike Baker. In the Baker family, mike has been an incredible advocate as a husband and a father of endometriosis patients, and he doesn't stop. I don't know how this man has the energy he has, but he doesn't stop.

Speaker 13:
22:07

My dad had just gotten home from playing hockey and he came into my room and I was crying because, like I, was in a lot of pain, and then we were just like laying together for a while and then I found out the next morning he made an endodad account. He had already had like 10 posts and like 10 followers.

Speaker 1:
22:35

He continues to fight for the least of these, as Kimmether would say.

Speaker 4:
22:40

I think we're only as good as the way we treat the least of these.

Speaker 1:
22:44

And I am just in awe of Mike and the work that he's doing and he's doing everything that he can to bring light to this disease and allow endow warriors to really see the warrior with inside them. With the art that he's creating and what change he's making in his professional life in the healthcare system, he just encompasses what an advocate is. Hats off to Mike Baker and the Baker family. I just adore them greatly.

Speaker 1:
23:10

One of the things I've learned this year is not to take for granted amazing doctors, and I have met some incredible doctors who have come on the podcast and I've had a different perspective in what they share with me now as opposed to when I had first started this. Never in a million years did we think that we would have some of the best surgeons and doctors come on this podcast so willingly and talk about not only the disease but what they're seeing on their side of this disease. And one of the first doctors that joined us for an episode was Dr Jose Senoio Cologne, and he has a heart and a passion for not only endometriosis patients but specifically for those in the Dominican Republic and around the world really. But he really showcased what passion is when it comes from a doctor and I just appreciated everything that he lent as far as his knowledge was concerned.

Speaker 6:
24:10

I wanted to stay in the end of the world, because the one thing I realized is that, in order to get good right at this, the only thing you need to do is you need to drop everything else, so you cannot be doing pap smears and breast exams and delivering babies right and then have a seven to 10 hour surgery the next day, because you can't do that.

Speaker 1:
24:30

Meeting him at the endometriosis summit, you understood how passionate he was. He sat down with me one night and we really just hashed it out as far as some of the concerns that we had as humans with endometriosis, Some of the things that we were passionate about. I love his heart for international work and specifically in the Dominican Republic of the Latino people, and I just am in awe constantly at the things that he is doing around the world. I don't know how he does it. I don't know how he fits time in his schedule to actually do surgeries on top of education, on top of being a human, a dad, a husband. I don't know how he does it, but he does. Another thing that I took away from the endometriosis summit that I hadn't really put as much emphasis on again, I was very green coming into this. I knew my symptoms, I knew what I was going through, but Dr Yannivar Leriche talked about the importance of urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, endometriosis as it stands with the urinary tract and with the bowel and bladder and everything else.

Speaker 7:
25:35

Right, so, like my opening line is always why don't you tell me a little bit about your bladder? Is it nice to you? And the answer is always well, what does that mean? And I said it means whatever you want it to me, you tell me, and then you know, and then the flood gates open and you let no pun intended, and then you can.

Speaker 1:
25:53

I have gotten so much more information out of 10, 15 minutes of sitting down with him than I had in years and I didn't put two and two together when it came to not only my symptoms but other people's symptoms.

Speaker 1:
26:10

It has allowed me to help others and to speak into a space of endometriosis that I didn't have prior to meeting him and his part at the endometriosis summit talking about this, and he has continued to partner with me, not only in my personal journey to get better, but also within the nonprofit work and in other avenues. He is always someone that I have bounced things off of and he is so funny. I have laughed so much with him and Dr Adam Duke. They are the bros. They are so funny, they play off of each other so well, but it's because their passion and their human side mix so well with the endometriosis care and they understand us as humans, but they also understand the disease, and when they came on to talk about the importance of combining not only the patients, advocates and support people with doctors at the endometriosis summit, I learned in about 15 minutes Okay, that went on for about three hours but I learned not only the lack of education for doctors when it comes to endometriosis care but what about endometriosis?

Speaker 14:
27:25

And I went what's that? And she goes you're at the end of your second year of med school and you've never heard of endometriosis. I said, no, what's endometriosis? She goes, go, look up endometriosis. So I got up my Robbins pathology Remember the little Robbins pathology book? And it was the little pocketbook that was in my short white coat because I was a dumb little med student and I pulled it out and there were two lines in Robbins pathology about endometriosis being rogue endometrial tissue that causes inflammation and pain in the body. And I remember hearing about that. And then I didn't hear about endometriosis again until I had a single lecture on it in residency, I think my second or third year of residency. So I heard about it one time in medical school and, like I said, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing and whose office I was in.

Speaker 1:
28:12

But I also learned that they have to fight day in and day out to prove themselves over and over again in what they're doing they are not just taking too much tissue, they are indeed excising and taking care of the disease and they have to fight for that. And I appreciate every aspect of fight that they put into creating a space that is safe for those of us with endometriosis and getting better care across the board. And that really wouldn't have been started if it weren't for Dr David Redwine, who came on and talked about Samson's theory being made of clip art.

Speaker 15:
28:48

I first heard about Samson's theory of reflux administration as the origin of endometriosis when I was in medical school, and I recall distinctly now that when I heard it I laughed almost out loud. It sounded preposterous. Okay, fine, I went through medical school internship. I decided I wanted to go into OBGYN because you could do surgery, you could do medicine, you can do a little bit of pediatrics you can do. You know, you're treating kind of several different cross-specialties, and so that appealed to me. I kind of envisioned myself being a surgeon as I was growing up, and that's what eventually happened.

Speaker 1:
29:28

He is so witty and so funny and really good at clip art. He's very good at that, but he continues to show up for advocates and for patients and speaking about this and not letting false theories get in the way of accurate science. These are the derm invade the ectoderm.

Speaker 15:
29:47

Don't all answer at once. We're going to get back to that. What we need in the future is we need more excision surgery because it's as we've heard from apocrates himself, it's true Hippocratic medicine and we need more excision for cure. We needed to augment genetic research. We need anatomic, site-specific analyses of the genomics, the prognomics and any other omics that we can figure out.

Speaker 1:
30:08

And I just appreciate Dr David Redwine and his knowledge and wit and humor. And I understand now why him and Nancy have gotten along so well is because they are very witty, the both of them are very smart and he's just a fun guy, just a great guy.

Speaker 5:
30:27

But we met other doctors Dr Beth Dupree, who is on our bus, bitch is on the end of bus and you're going to have a hard time kicking her off.

Speaker 1:
30:35

She has talked about pain science and is very keyed into that, as well as Dr Amanda Olson, who has equipped so many endometriosis patients with the ability to care for their pelvic floor without having to go in the office all the time.

Speaker 16:
30:50

Also meant to be an asset for people that don't have access, whether it's because the co-pays too high or there's insurance issues or there's not a pelvic PT close. You know, I have patients that are driving two and a half hours in some rural locations to come and see me, and that's not a sustainable life pattern for very long. And so the tools are, you know, really intended to be part of the home program as you're starting to get going, and then to offer and afford you more of that freedom and independence in managing, so you're empowered with it.

Speaker 1:
31:21

As we all know, pelvic floor physical therapy is not always accessible to those in smaller communities even larger communities, honestly but with her wands and other products that she has on the Intimate Rose website, she has been able to create a way for patients to continue their care on their own in between the care that they get from their pelvic floor physical therapist. If you want to check out the products on there, you can use EndoBattery as your promo code and that will help the EndoBattery podcast continue going. But beyond that, she has done amazing work and she continues to do so. She'll have Amanda Olson on any day of the week and she's a great advocate because she's a patient as well. The other person that I didn't know if I would even get through the podcast was Dr Laura Lu. I loved hearing about her family history.

Speaker 3:
32:13

So me and my brother just sitting there eating our dinner not a big deal. So, anyways, that was vaginas, uterus, ovaries, discharge, all of that stuff, bowel movements, all of that stuff was just like dinner talk for us.

Speaker 4:
32:25

So that's kind of how I got into it.

Speaker 3:
32:27

That's how I grew up. That's kind of how I grew up.

Speaker 1:
32:30

What I really loved hearing is her heart for her patients even more and realizing that it is not her choice but her patients. But she will equip them with the information to make that choice. And the other part of Dr Laura Lu is that she's just so down earth and I'm really honestly surprised. We made it through the podcast because we were laughing and giggling like giddy school girls the whole time. We just and it was like we had known each other for years and had great conversation and we talked what you? I mean, I think it was like an hour podcast or something like that. Really it was like two hours of recording that day, I think, and we barely made it through without laughing every five seconds, like it.

Speaker 1:
33:16

Just there are just those people in life that you gravitate towards and that you just enjoy being around and with, and that is Dr Laura Lu. And we hadn't really met. Prayer to that. Of course, I'd heard amazing things about her from about every colleague of hers and people that had met her before. She really was so warm from the instant that I met her and she's so intelligent and I love that she majored in music. She's honestly just well rounded, is all I'm saying. I just look forward to having her on more and more as the time goes on, because she, her and I are just well.

Speaker 1:
33:56

We might get kicked out of the summit. Actually, a year with Sally Sally's going to kick us out, I just know it. I just know it. But without Sally's recommendation as well for Libby Hinesley, I would have never put the pieces together in my own story. And when Libby came on I really didn't know the direction of that podcast very well. I knew I was bendy, I knew I had endometriosis and I had heard from Sally and like she said, you need to have her on. She is putting some correlations together with neurodiversity and endometriosis and hypermobility. And I said, okay, great. So I reached out to Libby and honestly it was instant with her. She was like, yes, I'll come on, sounds great.

Speaker 12:
34:38

My curiosity is about the relationship between mast cell activation syndrome and endometriosis.

Speaker 1:
34:45

Oh yes.

Speaker 12:
34:47

Well, but from what little bit that I'm starting to gather, that may be something to help us understand this correlation. So there's a trifecta that people like to talk about with hypermol, like HSD, HEDS the trifecta, and that is Bindi, Itchy and Dizzy. Well, when I tell you.

Speaker 1:
35:05

She blew my mind. I don't know if you could hear this on the podcast. If you haven't listened to it yet, go back and listen, but listen very closely, because I literally was almost stunned silent a couple of times and I didn't really know how to process some of what she was saying fast enough, because I just felt like, oh, that's a piece to my puzzle. Oh, that's a piece to my puzzle. Oh, that's a piece to my puzzle. Oh, my lands. I didn't understand this part of this. The work she is doing and the things that she is doing are groundbreaking and I didn't really put the ADHD neurodiversity portion together with the hypermobility and EDS and when she's talking about the correlation between that and endometriosis being with mass cell activation and pots and all this other stuff.

Speaker 1:
36:05

I felt like she was seriously just putting pieces together for me and gluing those puzzle pieces in. I have now been able to navigate my own journey and my body and what I need for my health care, whether it's working out, whether it's talking to doctors, whatever the case is. I have been able, since the episode, to put things together a lot more clearly and have been able to advocate for myself better and get better care for me and to treat my body better, because I'm understanding things in a whole new light from what she was talking about. And so Libby will be on again. I guarantee it. She may not know that yet, but I can guarantee Libby will be on again because we need to. I just have more questions for her. Libby, I have more questions for you. I'm coming for you because I got more girl. I got more.

Speaker 1:
36:54

So it's just been like my mind this year has been blown time and time again. We've learned a lot about nutrition and movement from Matt Squared, which trainer Matt works. I work out with him all the time, but I continue learning and without him and the way that he trans, there is no possible way I would be where I'm at within my joint stability Again, libby, and within my muscles anything else. He has been an integral part of my healing journey and my growth journey. So hats off to both Matt's, because both Matt's have been there for me in doing this, and Matt Nutrition as well has changed my mind on nutrition as it stands, and we've talked about hormones and functional medicine and things like that that have really encompassed a full life and there is something for everyone in those episodes. But behind each guest and every episode are people that support us in what we're doing and our biggest cheerleaders. But without these people in my corner, there's no way that this would have been possible.

Speaker 1:
37:57

Without these people in my corner, I feel like this podcast would have fizzled. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and emotion and effort to put this together, but I'm so happy I get to do it. I feel like this is where I should be and I have felt so strongly this year that I have found my place in a lot of ways. I feel like the one thing that I have taken away personally is that I really struggled prior to doing this and finding my purpose outside of just being a mom or being a wife or being a friend. All of those things are purposeful and I think it was okay. But sometimes, when we really find where we are meant to be, it changes you, it gives you that purpose and I never really had that before. I felt like I doubted myself a lot more, and not to say that I don't now I very much so deal with a lot of the imposter syndrome still.

Speaker 1:
38:58

But I think this podcast has taught me a lot from a personal perspective about me, and without people like you sitting and being part of this community and listening and engaging with us, I don't think I would have had this feeling for a very long time. So thank you for not only allowing me to speak into your lives and bring people on that can help you navigate your journey, but thank you for giving me a sense of purpose in this community. And it's not over yet. We have so much this year that we have on the dockets. It might look a little different. It might feel a little bit different.

Speaker 1:
39:40

I'm going to continue bringing people on and talking about different facets of endometriosis, different facets of living with endometriosis. Look forward to hearing more from amazing community members and let's talk about more mental health things. Let's talk about financial things. Let's talk about not only physical things that endometriosis does to our bodies, but what does it do to our lives, and we're going to help with navigating that together and I want to do this with you.

Speaker 1:
40:12

If there is one way that I can support you, go to our website, endobatterycom. Did you know we had a website? We have a website. Go to endobatterycom and we will do our best on this end, with all the support that we have to get really good quality information and still make it fun. We're going to have fun this year, we're going to continue learning this year and we're going to continue doing it together and building community. So thank you for one year of purpose, one year of having an amazing conversation after another and one year of friendship. I really do appreciate every single one of you and everything you've done for Endobattery, and let us continue. Until next time, though, continue advocating for you and for those that you love. Thank you.