This Endolife

You might remember Paige from an interview I did with her last year, recently after the launch of her podcast The Uterus and The Duderus. Paige is the Uterus half of the show; and she shares her life with endometriosis (and advocates for women everywhere) with her co-host and best friend Nik. On top of that, she also has a YouTube channel; Fireside Chats with The Uterus, which is about the spiritual, mental and emotional side of living with endometriosis and other chronic diseases. In this episode, Paige and I discuss her recent diagnosis with adrenal fatigue, her intense struggles with chronic migraines and her upcoming surgery, plus the link between endometriosis and chronic migraine syndrome. We also get real geeky about the universe, mindfulness, and changing your mind set around chronic illness and your health; plus we crush out on Gabby Bernstein and chat hormonal acne. This one is a roller coaster - it's emotional, painful but Paige's positivity, persistence and resilience shine through. She is a truly

Saschan Fearon-Josephs is the founder of The Womb Room and event series; Real Talk. The Womb Room is an online digital space, which Saschan is currently re-developing, to become a network where women can get access to information, professionals and communities - all related to reproductive issues. The Real Talk series is a 12 month period of events taking this digital space and making it a physical reality, with guest speakers, workshops and an opportunity to connect with other women. We talk about Saschan's painful and courageous story of diagnosis; not with just endometriosis, but fibroids, uterine polyps and adenomyosis, and the experiences that has inspired her to start The Womb Room. We also talk about how women from BME communities are more likely to suffer with specific reproductive health issues yet receive the least support medically and socially, and what needs to be done to provide services to hard to reach communities and how Saschan is doing that through The Womb Room. This conversation, to me, i

In episode 9 I'm talking with Anoushka Florence Loftus of The Goddess Space. The Goddess Space is a beautiful physical and digital sanctuary for women to gather together, to get in touch with their mind, body and spirit and tap into their own wisdom, desires and guidance. Anoushka holds workshops where women can feel empowered to not only share their story but find their story, and her work varies from 1:1 sessions, to workshops, retreats and even woodland walks. Anoushka and I cover a lot of ground in this episode! We get into the complex areas of politics, gender roles and equality and how the election of Donald Trump has seen women rise up and speak out. We also explore the mystical and spiritual world of Anoushka's work; from getting in touch with your inner Goddess, to using tarot, crystals and astrology to support you in your life. Whilst it may sound hippy, I'm a firm believer that we all should have the right to heal and find happiness in any way that feels right to us (as long as it's not harmful to

This week on This EndoLife Podcast, I'm talking to herbalist, Natasha Richardson, founder of the gorgeous Forage Botanicals. Forage Botanicals is all about supporting women to have better periods, through herbal medicine and other natural methods of self-care. Natasha has suffered with primary dysmenorrhea for nine years and during this time, she's gone on a journey of trying to mange her pain through herbal and natural remedies and more conventional treatments, like metamorphic acid. As a result of her experiences, her research into the history of women's health and the stories of her clients, Natasha has tailored Forage Botanicals to help women feel empowered about their cycle, to help them to really understand it, work with it and reduce the negative symptoms of conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and PMS. In this episode, we're talking about why society rejects women's natural hormonal rhythm, how to use our hormones to our own benefit, how natural treatments can help manage endometriosis and why y

Meghan Cleary is the creator of Bad Periods; an incredibly clear and informative website covering endometriosis, fibroids and other conditions that contribute to "bad periods". The ex-Wall Street marketing executive is also writing a book on her 31 year diagnosis experience and has only just begun in her pursuit to support women with these conditions. Meghan is also a DES Daughter. DES was a synthetic oestrogen given to up to 10 million women in the US alone, during 1938 - 1971. Since then, the drug was discovered to be unsafe and the following generation of females are at a much higher risk of endometriosis, as well as other serious side effects, than women who were not exposed. In this episode, I talk to Meghan about her painfully long journey to diagnosis; the many many forms of alternative and conventional treatments she has tried, how to get the right care from your doctor and how endocrine disruptors are linked to reproductive health disorders in women. This is a big one. Perhaps even a controversial on

This week I'm talking to Rachael Welford of Welford Wellbeing. Five years ago Rachael hit rock bottom when she experienced a breakdown and her entire life changed. Up until her breakdown, Rachael had been partying, working a million miles per hour and was self-medicating - all the while with severe anxiety. Following her breakdown, Rachael spent nine months recovering, and in that time, found support from medication, the Samaritans, therapy and eventually alternative healing. As a result of her experience, Rachael now runs Welford Wellbeing; a space where she supports and heals others through reiki, sound therapy and tapping, also known as the emotional freedom technique. Rachael and I get pretty deep on this episode; we're talking wanting a break by any means possible (even being hospitalised), just how bad anxiety can feel in the work place when you don't know how to tell people what you're feeling and how Rachael found finally peace with her mind.

Vickie Williams is a yoga teacher, reiki healer and theta healing practitioner with severe endometriosis. Since she was eleven years old, Vickie has dealt with intense endometriosis symptoms and was fainting repeatedly as soon as she began her period. When she was finally diagnosed, they discovered just how bad her endometriosis had progressed in all those years and since then, she's tried numerous treatments from the coil, to zoladex, to surgery. Now Vickie is facing the possibility of bowel surgery and an colostomy bag, but after seeing some dramatic and positive results, is giving the endometriosis diet and lifestyle changes a chance before moving forward with the procedure. This episode may not be what you're used to hearing from the podcast - Vickie's approach to endometriosis is both scientific and spiritual and her healing work features heavily in her own self-healing and management of endometriosis. We chat about how our experiences can affect our body, how yoga and alternative healing has improved he

This week on the podcast I'm talking to Shelby Hadden, Writer, Director and Producer of short animated film Tightly Wound. Shelby Hadden grew up with vaginismus, a condition which causes involuntary contractions of the pelvic floor muscles that tighten the vaginal entrance, causing pain, penetration problems, and an inability to have intercourse. Last year Shelby created a Kickstarter to make a film raising awareness about the condition, with her good friend Sebastian Bisbal, and not only did they exceed their target - the world came out to back her. I talk to Shelby about how it felt to grow up as a teenager with such a difficult condition, how she's worked to become vaginismus free, how medical professionals failed to find an answer and the link between vaginismus, pelvic floor dysfunction and endometriosis. I'm just letting you know now - there's a lot of sex talk!    

Heather Crosby is the creator of Yum Universe, an incredible online resource full of recipes, meal plans and support for those looking to eat good, comforting food and increase their intake of plants. Heather's own struggles with health came to a climax when she was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, which is a chronic condition with no current effective treatment or cure, and so she turned to diet to help her manage the painful symptoms. Heather's health is now in an amazing place and she has just released her latest book, Pantry to Plate, which is all about cooking without recipes!  We talk about the possibility of Heather having endometriosis, her challenges with her health and interstitial cystitis, how listening to her body completely transformed her attitude to her health and how she went from refusing to eat vegetables to drinking mushroom lattes! 

Autumn Smith and Fela Dunfee are the duo behind the Endotwins, a website and newsletter serving up sick humour for sick minded girls. Both in their twenties, Autumn and Fela have stage four endometriosis and are facing serious surgeries, including a hysterectomy. We talk honestly about what it feels like to be so unwell with endometriosis at such a young age, why and how they started The Endo Twins, their plans for a future charity and just how important (and weird) their friendship is. Expect a lot of realness, a lot of laughter and a little bit of sex talk.

In this first episode, I'm talking to Jessica Murnane, host of the podcast One Part Podcast, creator of One Part Plant and author of One Part Plant. Jess is super passionate about supporting people to eat more plant based foods, as a result of changing up her diet to help manage her stage 4 endometriosis. We talk the endodiet, mental health, eating disorders, supporting hard to reach communities and of course, her debut cookbook...