Stefanie Valakas, aka The Dietologist, is an accredited practising dietician and nutritionist based in Sydney, and through her online dietetics practice works with people all over Australia and even internationally. She helps those who are trying to conceive optimise their chances through tailored fertility nutrition, as well as helping those affected by endometriosis, PCOS and amenorrhoea. In this post she shares three fertility nutrition tips for endo warriors trying to optimise their fertility, whether pregnancy is in your present or far off future.

In this blog we hear from Emily Abdolali, who experienced a myriad of painful and debilitating symptoms from the age of 12, before initially being diagnosed with PCOS. Years later, still unable to pin down a cause for her pain or heavy bleeding, and enduring many painful ruptures of ovarian cysts, Emily finally sought another opinion. This is her story of being diagnosed with PCOS, endometriosis and adenomyosis. She shares her story in the hope that it will support and empower others to share theirs, and take control of their health.

Emily-Jane Bromley, aka The Endo Nurse, is passionate about raising awareness for endometriosis and adenomyosis, as well as empowering patients to take control of their own health and find the management strategies that work for them, alongside their healthcare team. In this blog she shares her own journey from adolescence to diagnosis, and how focusing on her self care, listening to her body, and making changes unique to her situation changed her relationship with her chronic illnesses, improving her quality of life.

September is PCOS Awareness Month, and at QENDO we’re sharing stories from the incredible people in our community who live with this often overlooked condition - 1 in 10 are effected by PCOS. Tiffany Bright shares her journey to diagnosis with both PCOS and endometriosis, giving a name to the symptoms that she always assumed were normal, until she had a conversation with a workmate (and QENDO volunteer!) who shared their story and offered support.

September is PCOS Awareness Month, and here at QENDO we’re sharing stories and resources from those living with PCOS. PCOS effects an estimated 1 in 10. Much like endometriosis, if you know ten people, you know PCOS. In this blog we meet Margo Reynolds, a talented artist and “cyster”, and the woman behind Soft Edges. Margo writes eloquently about living with PCOS and through her art and Instagram raises awareness about PCOS as one of the many conditions silenced for too long.

If you suffer with endometriosis or adenomyosis, bloating and digestive symptoms, including the dreaded “endo belly”, you’ll know how debilitating these symptoms can be. So what causes our least favourite endo symptom? And what can you do about it? Enter Clinical Nutritionist Meredith East-Powell, who discusses some of the factors behind endo belly, and ideas for combatting this symptom.

A member of our QENDO community, who is a talented wordsmith has kindly shared these two inspirational poems for her fellow Endo warriors. The author is 29, and has had three surgeries, as well as currently trying to conceive. She hopes that her poetry may resonate with someone in the community. Enjoy.

We continue with our international story series, hearing from Tish Singh in South Africa. Tish shares here her journey with PCOS and the road to diagnosis with endometriosis, one she is still travelling. In this eloquently written piece about a turbulent health journey, Tish hopes to empower others to advocate for themselves, listen to their bodies and know that they are not alone.

Elissa Harris talks through a powerful and emotional story that started in adolescence and ended in a hysterectomy at 33. In this piece Elissa takes us through symptoms, having her pain dismissed by medical professionals, the challenges of pregnancy and childbirth with fibroids, and finally how she’s coped with having a hysterectomy. Elissa also talks about her journey on the QENDO podcast, Let’s Talk, Period.

Nineteen year old Renee shares her journey with the symptoms that would eventually be diagnosed as endometriosis and IBS. She has been dealing with her symptoms since the age of 11 and was only recently diagnosed. Since finding out more about her condition, she has been inspired to raise awareness and educate through her Instagram account, helping others realise they are not alone on their journeys.

Painful sex is common, that doesn’t make it normal or mean you have to accept it. Those affected by endometriosis and adenomyosis, as well as vaginismus, often cite painful sex as a major symptom of their condition. In this blog, Asti Maree shares her top three tips for navigating painful sex. Asti is passionate about empowerment and changing the narratives around sex. She is the author of “Pleasure Codes”,

PCOS is a hormonal condition which affects approximately one in ten who are of reproductive age, symptoms may include: an irregular menstrual cycle, excessive facial or body hair, hair loss, acne, reduced fertility, as well as depression or anxiety. Lauren shares her PCOS story with QENDO in the hopes of raising awareness and supporting others who have also been diagnosed with this common gynaecological condition.

Sara Harris from Follow Your Flow guest authors this blog for QENDO, where she talks us through the impact of stress on our health and cycles, and how stress reduction should be an important part of our support plan for living with chronic illness like endometriosis, including her top tips on the subject. Sara has been working & studying in the field of complementary medicine for nearly two decades and is currently completing a Masters in Women's Health Medicine. She works in private practice in Complementary Medicine, Massage & Counselling.

Demi Spaccavento is a menstrual educator and founder of Bright Girl Health, and we’re happy to welcome her to the QENDO Blog to share how she supports her hormone health and overall wellbeing with this hormone nourishing routine. As a menstrual educator, Demi knows that knowledge is power and that better understanding your body and how to work with it can make an important difference to how you cope with your menstrual cycle, or with chronic conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, infertility and fibroids.

Dr Maddy Walker from Thrive Acupuncture and Wellness discusses stress the impact it can have on our cycles in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), emphasising a holistic approach that recognises periods not only as an event of the reproductive system, but one affecting our whole selves . She also discusses how acupuncture can help alleviate the impact of stress, and the other ways in which you can optimise your experience based on the principles of TCM.

Mel from House of Beauty Tofu talks about her new wellness space and journey to healing and self love that inspired this passion project and labour of love. As a fellow Endo Warrior, Mel has made The House of Beauty Tofu an endo friendly space and donates to QENDO to support her fellow endo warriors on their wellness journeys. Read about the space and what inspired Mel to start her wellness business.

Heavy bleeding is a common symptom for those experiencing adenomyosis and endometriosis, and is also associated with other gynaecological conditions such as uterine fibroids. It can be an incredibly frustrating, embarrassing and exhausting symptom to cope with. Read up about what needs assessment, some of your options to tackle heavy bleeding, and looking beyond pads and tampons to deal with your flow.

Our support coordinator Dannielle and HR/management consultant Tracey Stewart continue discussing this essential topic of chronic illness in the workplace with part two! In part two we discuss leave entitlements, flexible working arrangements, using your QENDO App as a tool to improve your workplace experience, and how employers can support employees with endometriosis. Dannielle also shares her experience of coping with endometriosis and adenomyosis in the workplace.

Sharing one’s chronic illness story is an act of both bravery and compassion, and doing so can inspire and empower others on their journey. Today we hear from Emily Johnson, who shares her adenomyosis journey, and how one odd symptom pushed her towards a diagnosis despite having other symptoms ignore since early adolescence. Emily is the instagram account @_livingwithadenomyosis_ an account that promotes awareness and education surrounding adenomyosis.