Get to Know your Endo with Jessica MURNANE
We had the pleasure of sitting down with educator and endo activist, Jessica Murnane. Jess is an author, speaker, mother, and all around badass. Here what she has to say about living with and managing endometriosis.
Please introduce yourself and tell us why endometriosis matters to you:
I'm Jessica Murnane, author of Know Your Endo and endometriosis advocate. Endo matters to me because 1 in 10 people born with a vagina have endometriosis – yet it takes an average of 8-10 years to be diagnosed! We need more awareness around it's symptoms, mental health impact, and how to better advocate for ourselves. This isn't about having bad periods (in fact, not everyone with endo has painful periods), endo be a full body condition that impacts our relationships, careers, and self-worth. It can be a lonely, confusing, and painful condition and I want to help provide the tools we need to understand and manage our condition better, and most importantly, feel less alone.
Let's get some info:
What exactly is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a disorder where the tissue similar to the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows on the outside. It usually involves the ovaries, bowel, or the tissue lining your pelvis, though sometimes it can spread beyond the pelvic region. During your menstrual cycle, this displaced tissue thickens, breaks down, and bleeds. Because this tissue has no way to exit the body, it becomes trapped. This can lead to cyst formation, adhesions, and pain.
How common is it?
1 in 10 people born with a vagina have endometriosis. It's estimated that it's 176 million people worldwide!
What are the symptoms?
Very painful periods (pelvic pain, cramping, lower back and abdominal pain)*
Pain during ovulation or two weeks after your period
Leg pain or neuralgia (nerve sensations) associated with your cycle
Hip pain and/or back pain
Shoulder/chest pain or shortness of breath with your cycle
Pain during or after sex
Thick blood clots (often dark) with your period
Painful bowel movements or painful urination
Excessive bleeding
Fatigue and chronic pain
Diarrhea and constipation
Bloating
Nausea and vomiting
Urinary frequency, retention, or urgency
Allergies and other immune-related issues
Infertility and pregnancy loss (though many people can still have children)
*Not everyone with endometriosis has painful periods. Some people experience periods without pain but then experience other symptoms the rest of the month. With endo, you could experience one or all of these symptoms.*
How is it diagnosed?
You will need a diagnostic laparoscopy with a biopsy of the tissue to have a definitive endometriosis diagnosis. You can have a high level of suspicion from some imaging, but the only true diagnosis is through laparoscopic surgery.
How is it treated?
Excision surgery is recommended over any other surgical methods. And contrary to what you may have seen or heard, hormone treatments and getting pregnant (yes, many of us are told this!) are not treatments for endometriosis. While there may not be a cure (and even after surgery, your endo may return) – there are management solutions to help manage the pain and symptoms.
Let's talk fitness:
How have you used fitness as a means to help aid and cope with your endo?
Movement is so important to manage my endo! I always knew it made me feel better, but it wasn't until I did research for my book that I truly understood why. Physical therapist, Heba Shaheed (who specializes in treating people with endo and I interviewed for my book) sums it up like this: “Because people with endometriosis often spend a lot of time in pain, often curled up in bed, the muscles and connective tissue in the pelvis, abdomen, back, and hips can become tight and sore as well. It’s important to keep the body moving to allow the muscles and connective tissue to lengthen, and to allow the nerves to slide and glide freely within the tissues.” Doesn't this make you think about movement/fitness in a whole new way?!
What type of workouts do you personally do?
I'm not just saying this...but I love rebounding! Most days, I just get on and bounce to my "bounce playlist" or even watch a show while I'm doing it. The bouncing not only gets me moving, but always helps calm my mind down too. Personally with my endo, I have to stay with gentle movements like pilates, rebounding, and foam rolling – but other people with endo can run marathons, rock climb, and are Olympians. It's different for every body.
Food:
Please talk about finding "your good foods" and how diet can improve your quality of life with endo.
In my book, I have a whole chapter called Good Foods.
Good Food = Foods that don't make you feel bad. There is not one endo diet for us all and your good foods might be completely different than mine! Diet will not always make your symptoms vanish completely..but many people with endo have seen a huge improvement by following a low-inflammatory diet. Endometriosis at its core is an inflammatory condition, so doing your best to limiting inflammatory foods can help. Changing my diet changed my entire relationship with my endo and my first book (the cookbook One Part Plant) dives even deeper into this topic (with lots of recipes!).