Episodes

Amy speaks with Dr. Adam Duke about: —what endometriosis care would look like of he could rewrite the guidelines for care —what it was like to open his own excision practice in a more rural part of the United States —the importance of endometriosis advocacy in improving patient care 🎤WHO IS Dr. Adam Duke?🎤 Dr. Adam Duke is an endometriosis excision surgeon who is nationally recognized for his excellent endometriosis care. He considers himself as much of an endometriosis advocate and ally as an e...

Amy speaks with Dr Sula Windgassen about her new book called “It’s All in Your Body: A Practical Roadmap to Healing Through Mind Body Connection”. We talk about: —an overview of the mind-body connection and why it can be hard to embrace after years of medical gaslighting and being told “it’s all in our head” —how stress affects the bladder —the difference between safety behaviors and necessary behaviors 🎤WHO IS Dr Sula Windgassen?🎤 Dr Sula Windgassen PhD MSc is a health psychologist who has dedi...

Amy speaks with Jade Walker about SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) —how SIBO is an umbrella term for multiple bacterial overgrowths —what causes it and why it’s a common co-condition with endometriosis —different ways of treating and managing it. 🎤WHO IS JADE WALKER?🎤 Jade Walker is a degree-qualified naturopath and educator known for her work in complex endometriosis, gut health, and hormone conditions. With eight years of clinical experience, and a personal journey with endo, Jade ...

Amy speaks with Casey Berna about her new book “Endometriosis: From Harm to Hope”. We talk about topics discussed in her book, such as: —medical narcissism and how to navigate difficult experiences with our healthcare professionals —what the medical industry complex is and how it harms patients —the importance of identifying our needs, how to do so, and putting ourselves first. 🎤WHO IS CASEY BERNA?🎤 Casey is a social worker, endometriosis patient, published author, and highly regarded endometrio...

Amy speaks with Dr. Lora Liu about excision surgery. She explains to us: —Tips for asking your surgeon about their multidisciplinary surgical team. —How she decides when to operate on a patient. —Some of the risks vs benefits of excision, especially bowel surgery. 🎤WHO IS DR. LORA LIU?🎤 Dr. Lora Liu is an excision surgeon who became interested in surgery as a teenager watching her father, Dr. CY Liu, operate. Dr Liu is a trainer and proctor in the use of robotic surgery. She firmly believes in m...

Amy speaks with Judith Chavarría about: —what her personal experience with endometriosis is —what’s helped her physically and emotionally to live better with this disease —her advice for others living with endo 🎤WHO IS JUDITH CHAVARRÍA?🎤 Judith is 38 years old and lives in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. She has been married for 6 years and has a 12-year-old daughter. She is an English teacher and enjoys sharing her knowledge to help others learn the language. In her free time, she loves watching and list...

Listen to a chapter from Amy’s audiobook: 📖Chapter 67: “No Matter What Happens, I Will Be Okay” Amy’s book is available as a paperbook, e-book, and audiobook. See where to find it here: https://insixteenyears.com/where-to-find-my-book/ ☀️CONNECT WITH AMY☀️ Instagram @in16yearsofendo Website: www.insixteenyears.com Like my show? Please rate it or leave a review! Support me by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/insixteenyears

Amy speaks to Orla O’Connor from Ireland and Jennifer Todd from Canada about traveling abroad for excision surgery. They share about: —what they think is most important to keep in mind when going to another country to medical care —their process for choosing a surgeon —logistics such as post op care and flying home after the surgery 🎤WHO IS ORLA AND JEN?🎤 Orla O’Connor is a fourth-year BSc Public Health Sciences student who runs a WhatsApp peer-support group that helps patients understand their ...

Amy speaks with Dr. Jorge Carrillo about the complexity of chronic pelvic pain. We talk about: —his strategy for evaluating menstrual, bladder, bowel, musculoskeletal, and neuropathic symptoms in his patients —the biopsychosocial model of pain and why it’s important —the need for integrative pain care for endometriosis 🎤WHO IS DR. JORGE CARRILLO?🎤 Dr. Carrillo earned his degree as a Medical Doctor and Surgeon from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. He then completed his re...

Amy and Brittany talk about self-forgiveness: —what it is —the benefits it provides —some examples of situations related to chronic illness that we’ve found difficult to let go of and forgive ourselves ☀️CONNECT WITH AMY☀️ Instagram @in16yearsofendo Website: www.insixteenyears.com Like my show? Please rate it or leave a review! Support me by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/insixteenyears ⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️ The information on my platforms is educational information only and not medical advice. ...

Today I’m speaking with Dr. John Dulemba about: —surgical gatekeeping —endometriosis recurrence —the importance of treating this disease early and not after years of symptoms 🎤WHO IS DR. JOHN DULEMBA?🎤 A now retired excision surgeon who was in private practice in Denton, Texas, from 1986-2023. He performed over 7300 endometriosis surgeries, both robotically and via standard laparoscopy, so he has a lot of insight on endometriosis. ☀️CONNECT WITH AMY☀️ Instagram @in16yearsofendo Website: www.insi...

Amy speaks with Sharida Mohammed about: —how medical gaslighting caused her to doubt and invalidate her pain —how upsetting it is that treatment options are so limited and inaccessible for people with endo —her advice to others living with endometriosis 🎤WHO IS SHARIDA MOHAMMED?🎤 Sharida Mohammed is a graphic designer from the twin islands of Trinidad & Tobago. She has been living with endometriosis since the age of 12 and has undergone four surgeries for the condition. Sharida runs an Instagram...

Amy speaks with Dr. Laura Gouge, ND about managing mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). We talk about: —the varied symptoms we can have with MCAS, including neurological ones —the importance of a multimodal approach for addressing MCAS symptom drivers —what she’s learned over years of working with MCAS patients and what she would have done differently in her own MCAS journey 🎤WHO IS DR. LAURA GOUGE, ND?🎤 Dr. Laura Gouge is a licensed naturopathic doctor and Certified Nutrition Specialist with e...

Amy and Brittany talk about what it’s like to live with chronic diarrhea: —the social embarrassment it can cause —the close calls we’ve had in public, including times we just didn’t make it to the toilet! —the unhealthy coping mechanisms we had ☀️CONNECT WITH AMY☀️ Instagram @in16yearsofendo Website: www.insixteenyears.com Like my show? Please rate it or leave a review! Support me by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/insixteenyears ⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️ The information on my platforms is educationa...

Many of us understand the benefit of PFT for pelvic pain, bladder, and bowel symptoms, but it’s hard to know how to actually find an expert PT. Amy speaks with Abby De Angelis about: —where we can search online to start putting together names of potential PTs —what kind of questions we should ask them to judge their knowledge and treatment plans —examples of PFT practices they are likely to do during your appointment 🎤WHO IS ABBY DE ANGELIS?🎤 Abby De Angelis is a specialist in women’s physical t...

Amy speaks with Stephanie Moss, MD about: —the importance of trauma-informed medical care —how being an endometriosis patient has informed her perspective as a new doctor —navigating disability accommodations and her insights on this as a medical student 🎤WHO IS DR. STEPHANIE MOSS?🎤 Stephanie Moss, MD, is an endometriosis warrior and a PGY-2 Psychiatry Chief Resident Physician at Rosalind Franklin University. Dr. Moss is an active public speaker and writer, with her work featured on platforms li...

Amy speaks with Tanner Murtagh about the nervous system. We talk about: —how having a flexible nervous system helps us to better face the challenges of our lives —Polyvagal theory and what a dysregulated nervous system is —ways we can regulate our nervous system for physical and emotional health benefits 🎤WHO IS TANNER MURTAGH, MSW, RSW?🎤 Tanner is a therapist who treats clients with chronic pain and symptoms that are fully or partly brain generated. He is the director of Pain Psychotherapy Cana...

Amy speaks with Rey about various topics. We talk about: —the independent research project they spearheaded which is focused on illustrating how improving practitioner education will result in positive patient outcomes. —why they made the decision to leave their country to seek expert treatment elsewhere. —their experience with MHT/HRT. 🎤WHO IS REY?🎤 Rey (they/she) is an independent patient advocate dedicated to raising awareness and driving change in endometriosis care. After a strong suspicion...

Today Amy speaks with Dr. Tatnai Burnett about endometriosis treatment. We talk about: —the challenges of treating pain associated with superficial endo. —how endo needs a multimodal approach using all the tools in the toolbox. —his approach to exploring the causes of recurrent pain post excision. 🎤WHO IS DR. TATNAI BURNETT?🎤 Tatnai L. Burnett, M.D. is an assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Following medical school and residency at the Univers...

Today Amy and Brittany talk about working with endometriosis: —the mental battle to decide when you’re “sick enough” to call out and take the day off —the pressure we might feel to hide how we are really feeling —how draining it can be to work with chronic illness and how much it can take out of you physically and emotionally 🔗RESOURCES🔗 Clickable links at www.insixteenyears.com/episode152 🔗Episode 89: Endometriosis and Disability 🔗Episode 116 and 117: Disability Accommodations in the Workplace....

Today Amy speaks with Christina Saldanha about HRT/MHT. We talk about: —options for hormone therapy such as: combined options, progestins vs progesterone, and using the pill in perimenopause. —the different types of estrogen and how much estrogen blood levels rise with systemic HRT/MHT vs blood levels during our cycling years —how soon a person should begin HRT/MHT after surgical menopause 🎤WHO IS CHRISTINA SALDANHA?🎤 Christina Saldanha is a PA, writer, speaker, and fierce advocate for women's h...

Today Amy speaks with Anna Holtzman about mind-body pain. We talk about: —how black and white thinking in the mind-body world has led to gaslighting patients and harm. —some of the ways that mind-body practices have helped us as people who had chronic pain. —how are goals for our symptoms aren’t focused anymore on being 100% pain free, but rather on improving quality of life and knowing how to support ourselves on high symptom days. ***IMPORTANT: Both Anna and I recognize the harm that can come ...

Amy speaks with Lula Cuba about: —how impossible it can be to find trustworthy endo information for non-English speakers —her experience as an adolescent with endo growing up in difficult housing conditions —the importance of checking your medical charts for mistakes, misdiagnoses, and harmful comments. 🎤WHO IS LULA CUBA?🎤 Lula Cuba is 33 years old and from Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2020 after more than 10 years searching for answers. Since heari...

Listen to 2 chapters from Amy’s audiobook: 📖Chapter 8: “Climbing Out from Rock Bottom” 📖Chapter 56: “Be Proud of Yourself” Amy’s book is available as a paperbook, e-book, and audiobook. See where to find it here: https://insixteenyears.com/where-to-find-my-book/ ☀️CONNECT WITH AMY☀️ Instagram @in16yearsofendo Website: www.insixteenyears.com Like my show? Please rate it or leave a review! Support me by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/insixteenyears ⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️ The information on my platf...