I Think I Have Endometriosis, What Do I Do Now?

OK, if you’ve been hanging in with us over the past couple blog posts, you know we’ve been taking a closer look at endometriosis: what it is, what it looks like, and now what the heck you should do if you think (or just learned) that you might have this condition. What we are going to talk about today is a 2-tiered approach to set up the management of this condition: what you can do on your own, and the importance/logistics of developing support. Even if you end up not getting a diagnosis, these steps will still help you manage your wellness moving forward. 

Let’s start first with what you can do on an individual basis. First, I want to reiterate the importance of tracking your cycle and related symptoms on a period tracking app. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please go back and read the “Could I Have Endometriosis?” blogpost. Tracking your cycle will allow you to identify patterns/associations as well as provide you with data to bring to your treatment team. The next thing you should do is continue to educate yourself. Look up information from reputable sites, read books, listen to podcasts. This will help you identify remaining questions or concerns you have so that you can write them down and bring them to your next medical appointment. It’s not an easy task to advocate for yourself, so having a written list can be very helpful so that you don’t forget to ask a question or report certain symptoms. Finally, I encourage you to take an inventory of your stress levels as well as general wellness habits. We will get into endo-specific daily habits in our next post about treatment for endo. 

Next let’s talk about what you can do to get the right people on your team. Managing endo moving forward should be a multi-disciplinary approach. That means you will benefit from having multiple professionals on your team. These can include: dieticians/nutritionists, mental health professionals, pelvic floor physical therapists, medical professionals including OB GYN’s and endo specialists, as well as adjunct therapies such as acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic care. Knowing your biggest struggles/complaints will be helpful in determining who all should be a part of your care team. You may need to discuss getting referrals for these services from your primary care doctor or OB GYN as some of these may be covered by insurance. 

Beyond having a professional team to help you manage your care, it is also important to develop a support system for yourself personally. No one person can be everything for you. You may have someone that is better to turn to for physical help such as childcare and house cleaning. You may have someone else who is a better emotional or spiritual support to help you work through periods of discouragement or frustration. I encourage you to identify areas of your life where you may need help, and identify who could be your “go to” for each of these areas. 

I recognize that not everyone can afford the time or money for a fully developed care team. In addition, not everyone has great relationships to utilize for a support system. These are true barriers that many of our clients with endo face. When we encounter these challenges, it is important to focus on controlling the factors that we can, and problem solving the other areas with a trusted personal or professional advocate that you have in your corner. Whatever amount of support you are able to rally will be beneficial when we start to explore which treatment options you might be interested in trying, which we will cover in the next blog post.