I'm Fay, a 32 year old lassie with a grumpy uterus. I’m a nurse, lover of dogs, the outdoors, cheese, coffee, Italy, wine, pasta and CrossFit.
I have endometriosis, a condition where tissues similar to the lining of the uterus grow elsewhere in the body. Symptoms can happen at any time and can include heavy bleeding, nausea, severe pain, bowel and bladder problems. I experience these regularly alongside, at times, low mood and anxiety. Experts don’t really know why or what causes endometriosis and there is no cure for endometriosis. On average it can take 8-10 years to be diagnosed. I’ve been living with this condition since I was 14 and wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. Since 2020, I have had five laparoscopy treatments for endometriosis.
My tips and tricks:
For managing endometriosis: counselling, listening to your body, CrossFit (movement), manifestation (gratitude) and being around people that make you feel loved.
Counselling has been a life changer for me, I’ve worked with my counsellor for four years now and having someone impartial to listen makes a huge difference. There’s no judgements, just someone listening and offering impartial advice/tools to help mindset shifts and supporting along the way. I feel that you curate a life you want for yourself and mindset is so crucial to that.
Honouring to what my body needs and listening to what it is telling me helps me recover quicker and means I’m rested. Burning the candle at both ends has never done me favours in the past and has made recovery longer and more painful.
CrossFit has allowed me to exercise in a way that supports me on my good days and supports me better on my bad days. Exercise keeps me mentally clear and being able to move is such a privilege I am very thankful for as when I am in severe pain, moving is difficult. CrossFit gets me moving as everything is adaptable and can suited to individual needs.
Manifestation is so important, taking a moment to be thankful and acknowledge where you’re at helps the mind to manifest, and encourages self-belief and direction.
Finding people that make you feel alive, is so important. I wouldn’t be the person I am without my friends and family and their support really means the world to me. They do not judge me and let me live my life without added stress or pressures. If I need to change plans, they’re really supportive and encourage me to do what is best for me at the moment, without any judgement for cancelling plans last minute.
Life for me, right now is thriving. I’m happy, relatively pain free at the moment recovering from surgery five and building myself back up again. I’m settling into a new job and have a couple of adventures for the near future and can comfortably look forward to life while things are on an even keel. For the future I’m hoping to compete more in CrossFit and start running half marathons again. To anyone with a chronic illness, anything is possible.
My one piece of advice I would share over again is “you are not your illness, you are doing your best with what you know and the resources you have to hand.”
Instagram: @lifewithagrumpyuterus
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