Georgie’s Wanderlust

Updated 29th March 2025

Hello all, my name is Georgie, and I am the writer behind and creator of Georgie’s Wanderlust.

I am also a long time endurer of the all too common disease Endometriosis. Did you know that one in ten women suffer from this incurable disease?! One in ten! So chances are either you or someone you know has this shitty illness.

My first symptoms of endo (endometriosis) started at the age of 17. I was at my boyfriend’s house and he had just left for work. I started to feel really intense cramping in my lower abdominal/pelvic region. It was increasing by the minute, so I called my Mum and asked her to come and get me.

She came to pick me up right away (bless her) and when we got home my pain was so high I was wailing. I remember my Mum saying it sounded like I was in labour. She rushed me to the doctors, and deeming them bad periods, they prescribed the contraceptive pill and told me to take ibuprofen.

That was the beginning of what has become a very long journey of trying to manage and understand this invisible disease. I have now recently had my first laparoscopic surgery where they found stage four severe endometriosis, everywhere. It was on my bladder, bowels, ovaries, uterus, pelvic wall and pouch of Douglas.

I want to mention while this is my diagnosis, it is not indicative of pain experienced for each individual. They generally stage endo from one to four, four being the most severe and advanced (the spread of the disease). Every stage of this disease can experience debilitating pain, and that is real and always valid. Never ever make anyone feel any less for their experience with this disease, it’s awful enough enduring it as it is without being made to feel like it’s not “bad enough”, which believe me, people will do that.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a disease that causes tissue very similar to the lining of the uterus, to grow outside of the uterus. This endometriosis tissue can grow anywhere in the body. Most commonly found in the pelvic region, growing on the outside of the uterus, on the ovaries and fallopian tubes. It can also grow on the bowel, bladder, pelvic wall, lungs, even on the brain.

Often dubbed a “period condition” because its symptoms are often at their peak around a woman’s menstruation. It is not, it is a whole body disease that can cause fertility issues, depression and anxiety, digestive issues, chronic pain, pain during sex, and extreme fatigue.

What can be done to manage endometriosis symptoms?

Endometriosis is currently incurable. I’ve spent a lot of time and even more money battling this disease. Let’s go over the options available to us endo warriors at finding some form of relief.

• Heating pads/hot water bottles/electric heating devices – I love my Myobi
• Magnesium supplements
• Turmeric – in food and also supplements
• Fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids)
• Vitamin C
• Hot cacao – I opt for minimally or unsweetened
• Topical pain relief – somedays cream is great, I’m also a huge fan of tiger balm
• Hydrating
• Anti-inflammatory diet/avoiding trigger foods
• Red light therapy – I use this on my lower belly everyday
• Iron/vitamin deficiency testing – I had an iron infusion in December
• Traditional Chinese medicine – acupuncture and herbs
• Ibuprofen & Paracetemol (and recently for me oxycodone)
• Laparoscopic surgery
• Hormonal therapy

Now the last one mentioned, hormonal therapy, is not something that agrees with me. It is probably the most commonly prescribed method of treating endometriosis. As I was advised at 17, just take ibuprofen for the pain and go on the contraceptive pill. And a few years later when I went off it at the age of 19, because I really didn’t like the way it affected me emotionally. Anytime I have ever been in a medical professionals office their advice is always the same – you should be on hormonal therapy. Sometimes aggressively, only a few months ago when I told a regular GP that hormonal therapy gives me really intense depression, her response: “well endometriosis is pretty depressing.” Nice, it’s wild that someone who has spent three minutes with me is able to dismiss any and all of my side effects concerns and to respond in such an arrogant way. Especially when I have tried again later in life different hormonal therapies, always with the same deep and dark depression.

I will not take them.

Now this is my experience with hormonal therapies, yours or others experience will likely differ, all of our bodies are different. This blog post is to talk about my individual experience with this disease, in the hopes to share on a personal level what it is like for someone living with endometriosis.

I have now tried every tool mentioned above at trying to manage and reduce my symptoms.

Surgery is my most recent attempt at calming down my pain.

What does endometriosis feel like?

For me endometriosis is absolutely the most extreme and debilitating pain I have ever experienced and in the peak of my worst flares it genuinely feels like my own body is trying to kill me through torture.

Every month is a bit different. Sometimes I have constant and dull pain in my pelvic region that lasts for days or weeks. I usually always have pain and bloating when I ovulate (often as my cycle runs 21-24 days), like a hot needle is stabbed into my ovary. Sometimes I have pain with sex. My cervix will often hurt. If I eat inflammatory foods I can get extreme bloating that lasts for days, this happens to me less and less as I have figured out my food triggers. I gave up wheat, most soy products (did you know soy is in near everything??) and coffee, all of which affect my breathing and cause inflammation in my body. I have also given up dairy as it gives me acne, and I think if my skin is reacting in such an inflammatory way, what the heck is it doing to my insides?! Without them my symptoms are well reduced. While these are pretty common foods to give up, I have had people ask me, what do you even eat? I don’t let myself get down about what I can’t eat, and rather focus on what I can. Mexican food is pretty high up on the list of foods I can eat, thank goodness!

Going back to the pain, during my menstruation this is when my symptoms are at their absolute worst. My first few days of bleeding can be absolutely torturous. My last big flare that had me screaming in pain in my apartment was actually the reason I booked in for surgery.

Story time:

Mid December of 2024 I woke up at 5.30am to get ready for my last day of work for the year. I went to the bathroom and within seconds I had a flare come on so fast and so strong it stopped me mid stool evacuation. I ended up on the floor of the bathroom naked, sweating and screaming. Nausea rippling through me. Endo pain is often described as contractions similar to what a woman endures when she is in labour (I have never experienced this, this is just what I’ve been told). For me, when they are at their absolute worst, it doesn’t let go. Just a constant gripping and squeezing as I myself hold on for dear life. Fifteen minutes into that flare up I got up, bent in half and made it to my pain killers and forced myself through my sweating and nausea to take way too much ibuprofen and paracetamol. Gagging I got them down and returned to the safety of the bathroom tiles.

Moments later my nausea became overwhelming and I couldn’t hold it back any longer, I threw up in the toilet, and again on the bathroom floor. I lay there naked and screaming in my own personal horror movie for a long time until eventually I felt the claws of the devil, that had been gripped like a locked vice in my pelvis, finally start to let up and ease off. Now with the pain waving up and down, it was giving me moments of relief between. As they slowed even further I made my way to the bedroom and crawled under the sheets. I passed out and when I woke up I was tangled in pillows and vomit dampened towels, covered in a film of sweat.

I would endure almost the same episode, just a notch down, the following day.

I was so fucked up from these episodes I cried everyday for ten days anytime I thought about it. I felt so unsafe in my own body, that at any damn moment I could just drop into such an insanity of pain that I have absolutely no escape from once I’m sucked into it, just waiting it out while screaming.

It was what led me to book my surgery, something I had been resisting for three years since I was first recommended to have it.

So if someone says to you:

“Oh I’ve seen way worse”

“You should feel bad for taking time off work”

“I find that hard to believe”

Trust me, don’t listen to them, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Surround yourself with people who will believe you and support you through your deeply unfortunate sufferings.

I myself have been incredibly blessed to have strong and supportive people in my life who believe me, and want to see me live a full and healthy life – without judgement.

I wish the same for all of the endo warriors.

What causes endometriosis pain?

Endometriosis is essentially an unwanted invader in the body. It wreaks havoc where it grows, causing constant inflammation and irritation to the surrounding healthy tissues and organs. As it is similar to the tissue that grows on the inside of the uterus, the tissue that sheds during a woman’s menstrual cycle, when a woman’s hormones change and indicate for her to menstruate, so does this endometriosis tissue. The endometriosis tissue internally bleeding freely into the pelvic cavity, with no where to go and nothing to do except to cause pain and suffering.

This is why the symptoms of this disease are often at their absolute peak during a woman’s period.

My endometriosis surgery

This was a long time coming for me, I’m 33 now and had my first symptoms of endo at 17. Almost half of my life I have dealt with this disease.

I booked in super last minute for this surgery during my chaotic meltdown in December. I’m a traveller at heart, and living between Australia and Canada didn’t see me with a lot of wiggle room. Fortunately for me, my surgeon of choice had an opening just 6 long weeks (dramatic I know, but I had a lot of stress and anxiety leading up to the operation) after my end of the world episodes in December.

I went in for surgery in Melbourne on the 31st of January.

The operation is performed under general anaesthesia, and involves a laparoscopic procedure with four incisions, one through the belly button, and three more through the lower abdomen. They also performed a hysteroscopy, which sends a camera and tools through the cervix and into the uterus.

I checked into the hospital fine, paid up, and got into the backless robe and compression socks. The hysteroscopy requires dilation of the cervix, so I was given medication to start this up before I went into theatre. I was very nervous to take this medication as I was due for my period any moment (delayed due to stress) and I was told I couldn’t have any pain medication with it so close to the operation and that I “might” experience “mild cramping”. Well I started going into a full on flare and when my surgeon came in to do her pre-op check in with me I was hardly able to speak I was in so much pain.

They promptly got me into the operating theatre, not before a nurse had the chance to tell me I was have a panic attack, and I managed to get out the word’s “I’m in pain” before they wheeled me in. The anaesthetist was gentle and quickly found a vein in my hand to put the needle and send in some intravenous pain relief that calmed me right down. The last thing I remember as I could finally stop moving my legs was “oh the pains going away”.

And then I woke up hours later in the same pain in my uterus and cervix as when I went into theatre. Now I was freaking out because I could hardly move with my body so swollen and sore from the operation. The nurses sent more pain relief into me and about 45 minutes later things finally settled down.

My surgeon came to see me for all of one minute to let me know it was a long and complicated procedure, it’s stage four endometriosis, we had to leave some on your bowel, we couldn’t take out the fibroid in your uterus (these aren’t supposed to cause problems) and that you might have to have more than one surgery. Now all drugged up and shocked with the news, I got to stay at the hospital another six hours while I waited for my bladder to turn back on and empty enough for me to be cleared to go home.

Mum picked me up at 10pm and I walked into the apartment like a frail creature, one small step at a time. I’d heard that you can’t walk after the operation but omg, literally wouldn’t have made it out of a burning building.

Healing from the endometriosis surgery

My experience of recovering from endometriosis surgery surprised me. I spent the first week in bed, laying down up to 23 hours a day. I took pain killers for six days to manage my pain and discomfort.

The second week I had more energy, I was no longer getting out of breath from simply having a conversation with a loved one, and I could walk around for 20 minutes at a time well.

I had my post-op appointment with my surgeon , Dr Shami, who gave me a big hug and told me in detail about what she found. She didn’t expect me to have stage four (2% of women with endometriosis have stage four) and explained that we will monitor my symptoms over the next 6-12 months to see if it’s necessary for me to have another operation for the piece left on my bowel.

This was better news for me.

Day 11 post op I went swimming in the ocean. This was amazing and beautiful and I loved it so much, and I had to lay down for hours afterwards while my body recovered from the little bit of exercise.

Once I started to feel more comfortable, mobile, and confident, I decided to book my ticket to the Philippines, 17 days post-op. I figured I could be recovering from the surgery on a couch in an apartment in Melbourne, or I could go to the Philippines and have some rest and recovery there.

While I have been scuba diving and snorkelling here there has been a very large amount of laying down too. I had my first proper period since the operation and it was rough to say the least. Not end of the world rough, but still hard. I took my heavy pain meds, and made it through.

I’m now writing this from a lounge chair on a rooftop in the sunshine overlooking the Verde Island Passage, listening to the waves lap the beach. I made a good decision.

I’ll go diving again in an hour, and hope to see more nudibranchs – there are a crazy amount of species here in the Philippines!

These are some photos from my time here:

Update 29th March 2025: While I originally posted this article four weeks after my operation, and I felt that my recovery was going well at the time, because it was. I have since had a flare up six weeks post op the first time I tried core exercises during a seven minute Pilates class. My entire left abdominal side became inflamed and the pain was so intense at night I wept for hours and took my layered pain medication (ibuprofen, paracetamol and oxycodone) so I could sleep. I have also found my immune system to be weakened and I have had one lengthy two week flu and multiple sore throats for several days at a time. I have just generally felt weaker. I am hoping that in a few more weeks/months my energy will return and my immune system will strengthen. Something I am actively working on through dietary choices, light exercise, mental health, and general wellness.

The experience overall

I am glad I had the operation. My recovery is going well overall, and having the knowledge that so much of my endometriosis has been cut out gives me relief in physical and emotional ways.

As I mentioned earlier, endometriosis is incurable. So while I am hoping for some good relief for a long time from my surgery, there is a chance it will grow back. In fact most women who have the surgery have to have multiple surgeries. This was a big part of my hesitation in having surgery in the first place, I didn’t want it to be a part of my life again and again. But it was there for me when I needed it, and I really needed it. I had incredible care by an expert laparoscopic surgeon and great support from my Mum in my recovery.

My hope in sharing my story, is that it can give hope to those with the disease, and give insight to others who don’t have this disease, but know someone with it. The more people know about this disease, the more women can be helped and not left in the dark for years, not knowing what is going on. I was guessing for years before I had a proper diagnosis and I was 30 when that happened, 13 years after my first symptoms. When I think about young Georgie, afraid and confused, I wish I could hug her and tell her it will be alright. That she is strong and will make it through. So hug the women you know who have (or suspect to have) endometriosis, hug them tight.

What this disease has taught me is invaluable, I would be a different person if I hadn’t experienced so much suffering. Would this be in a good way, I don’t know. But what I do know is that I feel deeply grateful for what I do have in this life, the things I am capable of doing. While this disease has taken many hours and days from me, it has also given me a gratitude that I’m not sure I would have found without the sufferings. While I don’t think suffering is the only pathway to feeling pure joy, it certainly has been an interesting road there. And if that is my road to walk then I will learn from it.

I carry these teachings with me.

I take with me the joy and the light.

✨

As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading. Questions and comments are always welcome. Any and all support of Georgie’s Wanderlust is always appreciated.

🩵 Georgie