Pycnogenol for Interstitial Cystitis and UTIs with Endo

Today I want to do a short episode on a slightly different topic, and that’s how to think of or how to approach your healing journey.So, in my training with Dr Jessica Drummond at the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, we were taught to always start each coaching session with a celebration - typically, this celebration is tied to our work and the client’s well-being. So, it might be something as small as they ate an apple that week, and apples are a fruit that client doesn’t eat often, or it might be something big, like a low pain period. Often though, client’s love to celebrate things that happen in their lives too, from a sunny day or a nice meal out for their birthday.But the reason we do this is two fold: Often, because we’re working with chronic illnesses, and usually multiple, sessions can get heavy and we might cover some difficult topics. Starting the session with a win starts the conversation on a lighter, more positive note, that can help the client to not spiral and to notice the good parts of life or the progress in their health, amidst struggles.As I just eluded to, it’s important to acknowledge progress, no matter how small, and this is because symptom improvement doesn’t happen overnight. It happens step by step. You don’t wake up one day with balanced hormones and no endo pain, it’s a process of small changes, leading to the body beginning to shift in it’s inflammation levels, it’s hormone levels, it’s stress response and so on.Now, I am going to come back to that and why it’s so important in a minute, but the reason I wanted to do this episode today is because over the years I’ve noticed a trend. Clients will often forget about progress, even if a symptom which was a huge problem for them entirely resolves, but there’s still another symptom remaining...Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

So last week I shared my number one strategy for ensuring your meals are blood sugar balancing.Today, I want to provide you with some key blood sugar super foods that can really help you on your way to balancing your levels in the short term and in the long term, which in turn, will improve your inflammation and oxidation levels - essential for endo management.Now, obviously, we’ve already discussed the role of fibre from veggies, protein and healthy fats, and I shared how each of these slow down the release of glucose from foods, so you know the importance of these key foods groups.But today, I want to give you some specific foods, that have been shown in the studies to give our blood sugar efforts a little (well actually, pretty big) boost. Show notesNutshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9965730/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30395790/ - peanut butterhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9965730/ - almondshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21364607/ - pistachios https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24424074/ - pistachios Viscous fibre https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9736284/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9503020/ - flaxhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30661699/ - flaxhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464623004061 - chia seedshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28000689/ - chia seedshttps://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)27235-4/fulltext - psyllium huskhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916523173011 - psyllium huskBeanshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9736284/ - soluble fibrehttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10649573/ - resistant starch https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10649573/ - compared to starchier carbshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5336455/ - compared to starchier carbshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5691712/ - black beanshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28303049/ - chickpeasResistant starchhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endometriosis-butyrate - gut and endometriosis benefitshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464622001645 - blood sugar researchhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-5491.2010.02923.x - insulinhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8092089/ - blood sugar researchhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16155268/ - blood sugar researchhttps://www.researchgate.net/figure/Classification-of-types-of-resistant-starch-RS-food-sources-and-factors-affecting_tbl1_330644723 - types of resistant starchhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19562607/ - cooling methodshttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abdulrahman-Hashem-2/publication/376857067_Effect_of_freezing_and_heating_white_bread_on_the_glycemic_response_of_healthy_individuals/links/658d0d2d2468df72d3dd7101/Effect-of-freezing-and-heating-white-bread-on-the-glycemic-response-of-healthy-individuals.pdf - breadhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17426743/ - breadhttps://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/19/2/274.pdf - green bananas https://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-carbs-blood-sugar - further listeninghttps://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning/ - safe reheating instructions for riceNeed more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

Okay so the past few weeks I’ve been talking about blood sugar and how to identify if blood sugar dysregulation is an issue for you.This week, I want to give you the number one strategy for beginning to stabilise your blood sugar. Now, I have talked about this before in the context of other episodes, I’ve done some lives on the topic and put them out as episodes, and I’ve linked to articles I’ve written, but I don’t think I have ever done a solo episode on this key strategy, so I decided, so you didn’t have to hunt for it, just to do an episode dedicated to this one tool.Now, of course there are other factors here, like how much sugar you’re eating between meals, but this strategy is key to building an approach to your daily meals that keeps blood sugar levels stable consistently, and as a result, that tends to reduce cravings and improve symptoms, which can allow you to start taking on bigger changes, like reducing sugary snacks for example.Show notesFibrehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18287346/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-009-0026-xhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9811965/ Proteinhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2386677/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S104345262200033X Final quarterhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5336455/Healthy fatshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16537685/Starchy vs. Non-starchy veghttps://www.healthline.com/nutrition/starchy-vs-non-starchy-vegetables Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

Last week we discussed signs and symptoms of dysregulated blood sugar levels. Now, if you were concerned, I recommended speaking to your GP, however, often if you’re not pre-diabetic or diabetic, they’re not very concerned about your levels, and won’t really spend the time to get them under control.So, today, I wanted to share how to take your own glucose readings, so you can see what your blood sugar levels are doing over the day, and so you can tweak your meals to better suit your blood sugar needs.Read more.Show notesReference ranges info and toolshttps://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html#google_vignettehttps://www.levels.com/blog/what-should-my-glucose-levels-be-ultimate-guidehttps://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/tests/blood-sugarHelpful resourceshttps://endometriosis.net/living/diet-sugarhttps://endometriosis.net/living/how-to-balance-your-blood-sugar-levels-to-reduce-endo-symptomshttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-blood-sugar-gargi-parikhhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/glycemic-index-load-endohttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-and-pms-the-key-to-reducing-mood-swings-anxiety-and-low-moods-in-your-luteal-phasehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/non-food-blood-sugar-managementhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/reduce-fatigue-endometriosis-symptoms-and-oestrogen-dominancehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-carbs-blood-sugarEndo and blood sugar researchhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10967113/https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-023-01280-7https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8609862/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35236-yhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512223004115https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37673102/If using a CGMA few things to be aware of –Your blood sugar may see erratic or very high within the first 24 hours of wearing a CGM, this is normally an adjustment period so don’t worry about that.Blood sugar levels tend to spike with exercise, stress and hot showers/baths. Don’t worry about exercise or showers, your body will regulate itself, but you may want to work on your stress if it’s influencing your blood sugar levels a lot!Your blood sugar will likely be more erratic in your luteal phase, so you may need to put some extra support in place.Your blood sugar levels are likely to be higher after a bad night’s sleep, so you’ll need to put more support in.Sleeping on the arm with yoru CGM can create inaccurate results, so if anything seems unsual in the night, try sleeping on another side. However, be aware we can have dips and peaks at night too.Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

If you follow my work or have coached with me, you’ll know that blood sugar balance is an absolute staple to my approach for managing endo. Whilst this isn’t an episode into how blood sugar affects endo, to give you a short explanation - blood sugar imbalances can have a significant negative impact on hormones, gut inflammation and the microbiome, and raise both oxidative stress levels and prostaglandin levels, both are key to endo growth and pain. I’ll link to some episodes and articles I’ve done on the topic, but maybe in the future I’ll do an updated episode covering these areas.Show notesHelpful resourceshttps://endometriosis.net/living/diet-sugarhttps://endometriosis.net/living/how-to-balance-your-blood-sugar-levels-to-reduce-endo-symptomshttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-blood-sugar-gargi-parikhhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/glycemic-index-load-endohttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-and-pms-the-key-to-reducing-mood-swings-anxiety-and-low-moods-in-your-luteal-phasehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/non-food-blood-sugar-managementhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/reduce-fatigue-endometriosis-symptoms-and-oestrogen-dominancehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-carbs-blood-sugarEndo and blood sugar researchhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10967113/https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-023-01280-7https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8609862/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35236-yhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512223004115https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37673102/Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

This one is a super quick episode today, as I didn’t want to do another replay, but also I don’t have the time at present to continue with our series on pain and nutrients, as those episodes take about a day to research and write up. So, today I want to talk about something that I’ve been discussing with two clients lately, and it occurred to me, that you might benefit as well. Regulating the nervous system and our stress response can have a profound and positive impact on our endometriosis pain levels and our energy levels (and of course, our stress levels and mental health). I won’t go into the science of it here, because I have other episodes on this and this is supposed to be a quick episode, but in short, our cortisol levels and our stress response don’t just influence our experience of stress, but our entire sleep-wake cycle and energy levels over the day. They also influence our pain signals and can turn up the volume on pain. If you want to learn more about this, I’ve linked to two previous episodes in the show notes.Show notesNervous system and endo/energyhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/christie-uipi-curablehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-pain-vagus-nervehttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/tired-all-the-time-hpa-axis-dysfunction-and-endoADHDhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-adhd-linkEDShttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/hypermobile-eds-endo-linda-bluesteinhttps://www.theendobellycoach.com/podcast/endo-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-connectionTapping studies https://www.thetappingsolution.com/science-research/The Tapping Solution toolshttps://www.thetappingsolution.com/free-tapping-meditations/https://www.thetappingsolution.com/store/Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of 13 conditions which all affect connective tissue (collagen) in the body. Most are rare, but one type called hypermobility EDS is common. Because the intestines are made from soft tissue, EDS affects digestion and often causes IBS symptoms. It is a major risk factor for developing SIBO, because it slows down motility. If you have EDS and SIBO, you will be chronic - but you can still live well! And we’ll get to that in the bonus lesson with Dr Allison Siebecker. And just to hammer this point home about the connection between EDS and IBS, one study of 228 IBS patients found 48% also had EDS.Now the reason why I want to bring EDS to your attention is because I am seeing it more and more in my clients with both endometriosis and SIBO.Despite these statistics, to my knowledge, most experts do not consider EDS and endometriosis to be significantly connected. At present, it is thought that most of the period pain and menstrual problems of those with EDS is not caused by endometriosis, but EDS itself. However, I have spoken to multiple health care practitioners who do see a connection and see the two conditions together in patients, and because EDS can cause gut problems and SIBO, I think it’s worth raising here.  Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

Dr. Linda Bluestein is a board-certified anesthesiologist, integrative pain medicine physician and former ballet dancer who specialises in coaching and educating dancers and other athletes and individuals at increased risk of hypermobility disorders.Dr Linda’s own experience with h-EDS eventually led her down a career path change that has seen her help countless others to live well with hypermobility and avoid chronic pain development. She is widely published, considered an expert on hypermobility disorders, and has lectured internationally.In this episode, Dr Linda and I sit down to discuss the link between Hypermobility spectrum disorders, hypermobile-Ehler’s Danlos syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome and endometriosis.Here’s what we cover:What we mean by generalised hypermobility, hypermobility spectrum disorders and hypermobility-EDS, and how they differ.What are the signs and symptoms of these conditions. The link between h-EDS and menstrual disorders, bladder dysfunction and pelvic pain and Dr Linda’s approach to addressing these problems.What mast cell activation syndrome is, how it is associated with hypermobility and EDS, and how it may be a driver behind EDS and endometriosis.The link between SIBO and h-EDS and connective tissue disorders.Dr. Linda’s key strategies for managing symptomatic hypermobility and h-EDS.Show NotesDr Linda’s websiteBendy Bodies podcastDr Linda’s InstagramNeed more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

Do you get full body pain? Does it affect your muscles, nerves or joints? Do you find that you need to rest after walking or find you tired more easily than others?It might not just be endometriosis. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of 13 conditions which all affect connective tissue (collagen) in the body. Most are rare, but one type called hypermobility EDS is common - and out of those with this type of EDS, 6-23% have endometriosis. But that’s not where the connection ends…32-77% of those with EDS have vulvodynia and or pain with sex.33-75% have heavy menstrual bleeding. 73-93% have painful periods.Additionally, histamine intolerance caused by Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is a co-condition of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and we also know that overactive mast cells play a role in endometriosis. Not only can this cause more painful periods, but it can also create problems like allergies and eczema to name a few.Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is also a huge risk factor for SIBO, and as you may now know, at present SIBO is estimated as affecting 80% of the endo population.I could go on with the overlapping symptoms and connections, but instead, I’ll let you hear it first hand from Natalia Kasnakidis who is not only an endometriosis warrior, but is also living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, histamine intolerance and potentially postural tachycardia syndrome.In this episode we talk about:What the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes are and how common they are.The signs and symptoms to look out for and Natalia’s own experience with her symptoms.The journey she tool to diagnosis and her tips for getting diagnosed. The co-conditions of EDS and their symptoms. Her key strategies for living well with endometriosis and EDS.Show noteshttps://www.thelondonhypermobilityunit.co.ukhttps://join.sibosos.com/purchase/74117-Joint-Hypermobility-Syndromes?_ga=2.165935037.2051281346.1639065076-1956767515.1601293146Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson

You all know I’ve been fascinated with the world of chronic pain science for a long time now. In fact, I did an episode on lowering pain signals through calming the brain and nervous system back in 2019 but I’ve been on a continuously evolving research journey since. And this research has led me to Curable, an app for chronic pain, that works by helping to reprogram the brain and nervous system so we can unlearn pain pathways and reduce chronic pain flare ups. I absolutely love Curable, and use it with my clients to help them to address the ways in which trauma, stress and a heightened nervous system could be contributing to their pain levels. Often I find it’s the missing piece of the puzzle in someone’s endo healing journey.So I am so excited to introduce you to this week’s guest, social worker and psychotherapist Christie Uipi. Christie is on the Scientific Advisory Team at Curable, and is specialised in chronic pain, depression and anxiety. After enduring years of chronic pain herself, Christie went on to not only cure her chronic pain but also to specialise in treating it! In today’s episode, we discuss:Christie’s personal story with chronic pain.How all pain is made in the brain and how that differs from being told endo pain is just “all in our heads”.How pain evolves to become chronic and how that changes the brain and nervous system.What factors influence chronic pain for better or worse.How to identify if pain is from tissue damage vs. an upregulated nervous system.How an upregulated nervous system can directly influence endometriosis pain.Exercises to begin reprogramming the brain to lower pain signals.I really hope this episode is useful to you and perhaps it will be the missing link you’ve been looking for in your own healing journey.Show NotesEndo Belly ChallengeEpisode 73 (pain signals, etc.)CurableChristie’s websiteThis Might Hurt filmNeed more help or want to learn how to work with me?Free resources:This podcast! Endometriosis Net ColumnEndometriosis News ColumnNewsletterInstagramWays to work with me:This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbookMasterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain reliefLive and Thrive with Endo: The Foundations DIY courseOne to one coaching info and applicationThis episode is sponsored by BeYou Cramp Relief Patches. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk/pages/how-it-worksProduced by Chris Robson