The very first time I got my period I was terrified. Not just because it was new, or because of all the hormones I was drowning in, but because of the pain that came before it, with it and after it.

At the age of 14 I didn’t know how to process it. I did what I was told, using hot water bottles and naprogesic, I sat in warm baths and tried to sleep. But the pain was so intense I would literally pour sweat through my clothes. To boot I was nauseated, mo...

Endometriosis is a complex condition, with pain as one of its main symptoms. The treatment of both endometriosis and pain is difficult, but one treatment option that consistently shows promise is exercise. Exercise is an excellent form of medicine, having protective effects against a host of diseases and health issues. The difficulty for some women with endometriosis is that exercise can have side effects, most commonly in the form of a pain flare (1)...

Many women with endometriosis report that they find their pain and other symptoms, like fatigue or nausea, are still bothersome, even with medication and sometimes even after surgery.  Our research has found that women often report that they become their own ‘health care manager’ and try and manage their symptoms through a multi-disciplinary approach, including medical, surgical, and, in almost 75% of Australian women with endometriosis, using no...

“Surgery is sexy. But you need a specialist that considers all complementary services. Surgery may be helpful, but it won’t solve all issues of the disease. You need physios, psychologists and a support network to help you get better and be resilient enough to fight the disease.” Dr. Valeria Lanzarone, Obstetrician Gynaecologist.

UNSW Sydney’s Students of Medical Science Society (SMSSOC) organised an interactive panel event at UNSW Sydney’s Kensin...

Roger Hart CREI, Professor of Reproductive Medicine, University of Western Australia &

Medical Director of Fertility Specialists of Western Australia

What are some of the ways we can help preserve fertility?

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological condition that, in addition to causing pelvic pain,

can also be associated with difficulty in getting pregnant. The great news is, that most women

with endometriosis can successfully have a baby. However a small...

After suffering period and abdominal pain for over 6 years, I was totally stoked to receive my diagnosis of stage four Endometriosis last August. Sounds weird I know, like who would be happy to have a chronic illness? But for me, it was the confirmation and validation I needed. I needed an answer for the heavy bleeding, clots, nausea, pain during sex, fatigue, cramping, the pain and frequency of my bowel/bladder movements. Now that I have one, I want...

Imagine if your life didn’t truly start until you were 27 . . . picture yourself as an 11-year-old girl . . . just a child about to go through 16 years of medical hell.

My name is Claudia. I’m 27 from Perth, Western Australia. My personal story with endo is as unique as it is not. Unique in the fact that it is mine alone, but sadly it just as common as the millions of us suffering worldwide.

I know we each suffer differently, but, like you all, I have l...

What do we know about the best self-care strategies for Endometriosis?

Women with endometriosis often don’t get symptom relief from their medications or find the side effects sometimes difficult to deal with. The new study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, from researchers at Western Sydney University looked at how women in Australia with Endometriosis used self-management to help deal with problematic symptoms, either from endom...

A few weeks ago a group of women with endometriosis, their partners, family, health care providers and researchers in the field were at the SBS studios to film the last of this season’s “Insight” program hosted by Jennie Brockie and all about Endometriosis.

A huge note of thanks to Monica Forlano, television executive and media guru for the pitch and organization to get the show underway and to all the women, men and endometriosis community for contri...

My name is Shadae Boylan, I am 32 and am currently a Student Helicopter Pilot with The Australian Helicopter Academy based at Helispirit in Kununurra, Western Australia.

I have been working as a Station hand in the Beef Cattle Industry from the age of 16, I have been fortunate enough to work on properties in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley’s, Pilbara & Gascoyne areas of Western Australia.

We are a culture of hard workers in these...

I was saddened and shocked to see this week that Sophie Monk had been diagnosed with Endometriosis at the age of 38, today I called her and checked in to see how she’s going after her first surgery and in true Sophie fashion she was thinking about everyone else instead of herself and asked if there was anything she could do to help other women? I asked if she wanted to share her journey of Endometriosis to help normalize it, she was quick to say ‘Of c...

Because for too long I’ve kept quiet. That’s what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it? Hide in shame when we are bleeding. Suffer in silence. So it’s no wonder I’ve been let down. And you probably have too.

When I hit puberty I was introduced to a type of period that wasn’t normal. But I didn’t know my flow was abnormal, because it wasn’t something that was talked about. The only thing that I couldn’t handle was the acne that began taking over my face. 

In s...

​‘’Perhaps it is just very bad period pain?” – Just one question asked by many (including yourself) when you are suffering without an answer. 

At the age of 19 my back would pulse with pain, from my hips down through to my legs, leaving me feeling nauseated.  This is where it all began and unfortunately my symptoms were dismissed as ‘’growing pains”. The pain was not just once a month, it was whenever it bloody felt like it! Thanks ‘’growing pains’’.

Wh...

My name is Jamie Boiskin and I am a music theatre and cabaret performer. I have been diagnosed with PCOS, Endometriosis and Von Willebrand’s disease and wrote a cabaret show about de-stigmatising period shame. As someone who has suffered immensely from endo and period pain, this was the best way I could turn my negative into a positive. 

I had been on the pill on and off when I was a teenager and decided to go off it because I didn’t like it, and decid...

My first impressions of the Gynaecologist my GP sent me to weren’t really that great, living in a small country town options under the public health system were few and far between.  She didn’t look at any of my scans and only read the report from the radiologist, a 9cm cyst that’s a big one, we better get that taken out.  She wrote out the appointment booklet for the surgery and that was the end of the consultation. 

After spending a nervous...