<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n
Cardiac physiologist Liz has suffered with endometriosis since she was a teenager, but wasn\u2019t officially diagnosed until she was 34. Now 42, she refuses to let it stop her doing triathlon. Here\u2019s her story of exercising with endometriosis.<\/strong><\/p>\n Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. It can affect women of any age and it\u2019s a long-term condition that can have a significant impact on your life, this is how it\u2019s impacted mine and what I\u2019ve done about it\u2026<\/p>\n My mum had endo, but wasn\u2019t diagnosed until she was 42. She had a full hysterectomy shortly after, and her abdomen was riddled with adhesions; the extensive damage to her bowel resulted in her using a stoma for two years.<\/p>\n My periods began when I was nine and were always painful, but I didn\u2019t seek a doctor\u2019s help until I was about 17. After repeated visits, being put on the pill, which didn\u2019t work, I was eventually listened to when I was around 26. An ultrasound came back negative, but this is common, depending on the stage of endo that you\u2019re at.<\/p>\n I told the GP about my mum\u2019s history (it can be hereditary), she looked me in the eye and said I categorically didn\u2019t have endo, making me feel so ashamed that I didn\u2019t seek further help until my husband and I were struggling to conceive.<\/p>\n The GP we saw was the first to believe me. I was 34. Three years later, I finally had an ablation [a procedure that surgically destroys the lining of your uterus], which stopped the pain for a long time. But I\u2019ve got an appointment to go back in November because it\u2019s coming back again (I\u2019ll be 43).<\/p>\n Endometriosis facts:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Every woman has a totally different experience and mine varies wildly from month to month. My symptoms include massive, painful bloating. I\u2019ve even bought maternity trousers for those days \u2013 for someone who can\u2019t conceive, the irony isn\u2019t lost on me!<\/p>\n I\u2019m in pain a lot, especially when I ovulate, which is also when the bloating is worst. Sometimes this can double me up in pain for a day, like someone grabbing and twisting my bowels in a very specific spot. Once the twisting pain stops, I have a steady ache that gradually builds for a couple of weeks until I start my period. It doesn\u2019t end until my period ends, so it\u2019s often three weeks of pain.<\/p>\n I can be wiped out for a day or two, on many occasions being close to, or passing out. My heart rate can be erratic, too, sometimes it can be very slow (34bpm on the days of my period when I was in training for a half marathon). Sometimes it just runs a bit high all day; I work in cardiology so I\u2019ve worn every testing device, but I can\u2019t figure out why it does that.<\/p>\n Before the surgery I\u2019d been extremely stressed. I\u2019d often bleed during heavy exercise and had exhaustion akin to having stayed up all night, even though I\u2019d had a quiet week and couldn\u2019t keep my eyes open beyond 6pm.<\/p>\n Tracking my cycle, and the variations in patterns and where and when the pain occurs, was key, as was understanding what pain is significant and what caused the pain. For example, I did a 100-mile bike ride on the day of my ovulation, tired and with poor nutrition, which resulted in a huge bleed (the white saddle wasn\u2019t a great choice, in hindsight).<\/p>\n I still don\u2019t know what caused it but once it was out of my system, I knew I\u2019d be okay to continue. If I put in a very hard effort when I ovulate, this will happen again, so I don\u2019t, I ease back the pressure on myself. But I don\u2019t think you need to change your training in advance, because things can change.<\/p>\n It\u2019s better to just listen to your body and adapt based on how you feel on the day. It can also vary during the day; I often feel better in the morning than the evening, so if I can get training in early I\u2019ll do that.<\/p>\n Triathlon is the perfect sport because of its flexibility. I can\u2019t stick to a plan 100% of the time, which can be mentally tough to feel like you\u2019ve \u2018failed\u2019 at training, so it\u2019s important for me to listen to my body. If I\u2019m in pain, running is the worst exercise, because the pounding of pavements seems to carry up to jolt my insides. On those days I might swap to a walk, or a cycle or a swim.<\/p>\n Sometimes with the pain you\u2019ve just got to admit defeat and take another rest day. My heart rate sometimes rises really quickly, and it can be demoralising to try to keep in HR zones when your hormones are raising your HR anyway! Instead, I train using Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 4-6, being able to hold a conversation but out of breath.<\/p>\n I know my finishing times will be lower, but I congratulate myself for getting out there. Knowing my body has been key. When to adapt a training run\/ride\/ swim. When to take it easier, slower, fewer hills, cutting it short. When to have a rest day or do a gentle yoga session or a walk.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not always the pain that stops me. I struggle with feeling like I\u2019m going to pass out occasionally, so I just take a rest day. I\u2019ve also noticed that when I swim in cold water during my period I really don\u2019t react very well. My core temperature drops quickly and I take longer to recover, so I make sure to reduce my swim time to keep safe. Also knowing that hypothermia happens after you get out of the water, I don\u2019t wait to get cold either.<\/p>\n The exhaustion at certain times makes it really difficult to train hard. I\u2019ll push myself as far as I can, but I know I\u2019ll pay for it for a couple of days later, which makes the following two days poor quality too. Sometimes it\u2019s sensible to take an extra rest day and come back stronger, than having three days of poor quality.<\/p>\n It\u2019s mentally hard to acknowledge that\u2019s okay, especially if you\u2019re following a plan with others and you know they\u2019ve trained. Pain, bleeding and anaemia all have a massive effect on my energy levels. I often don\u2019t realise I\u2019m anaemic until I\u2019m exhausted and feeling dizzy, which impacts on everything, but especially training.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no fun coming back from a cut-short run and feeling sick from dizziness. I\u2019m trying to keep up with iron supplements daily to ensure they don\u2019t drop too low. I\u2019m trying to improve my sleep routine too, following all the usual advice.<\/p>\n Stress is a big factor in my flareups, so I do everything I can to reduce it! I\u2019m very organised, laying out everything I need a few days before, ticking it off a list, avoiding a last-minute scramble. I find meditation and journaling helpful, keeping a gratitude diary, affirmations, and using whatever\u2019s in my toolbox to reduce stress and remind myself to do my best on the day, even if that might mean coming last if my body says no!<\/p>\n Getting to know my body, what causes flare-ups and actions to take has been empowering. This sometimes means taking painkillers for a couple of days before; understanding that I\u2019m at a time in my cycle where I\u2019ll need more iron, from supplements or food; knowing that I\u2019m at a time in my cycle where I\u2019ll feel more dehydrated than usual and upping water intake before a race and taking extra water and electrolytes; assessing nutrition and packing what\u2019s required for me in said phase of my cycle \u2013 for example, it might be better to take solid food rather than a liquid supplement to avoid extra loo stops, or it might be better to use liquid supplements because solid food may upset my bowels.<\/p>\n I also use a menstrual cup and it\u2019s been wonderful, more comfortable and I don\u2019t have to change it as often as tampons or sanitary towels. I usually take a low dose painkiller the day before an event to get it in my system and then take them as normal on the day of a race.<\/p>\n Be aware of the dangers of NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen) on the kidneys when you\u2019re dehydrated, though. I take paracetamol, which often doesn\u2019t have a huge impact. I had to find out what worked for me through trial and error. Personally, cutting out gluten, alcohol and following an anti-inflammatory whole foods diet has had a huge impact.<\/p>\n Magnesium spray on my tummy helps me relax my muscles and I sleep better. And when my cramps are bad I use an anti-spasmodic, which probably works because the bowel is often a site for endo. Compression shorts help my insides to feel supported when running and cycling, and I\u2019ve even used one of those post-partum bands designed to help pull the muscles back together after pregnancy!<\/p>\n I know that being stronger physically helps me feel stronger mentally, and most of the time, gentle moving helps with bad pain. I feel happier for doing exercise as endo can be a depressing place to be. It\u2019s also great to be able to train with others on the good days when I can keep up. Being in nature is another big de-stressor, so I\u2019ll try and choose a run\/ride\/swim\/walk with a view. My motivation to train and race is driven by not letting the endo win, not letting it beat me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n By Kate Milsom Published: Monday, 11 October 2021 at 12:00 am Cardiac physiologist Liz has suffered with endometriosis since she was a teenager, but wasn\u2019t officially diagnosed until she was 34. Now 42, she refuses to let it stop her doing triathlon. Here\u2019s her story of exercising with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"9","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-scaled.jpg",2560,1708,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2021\/10\/exercising-with-endometriosis-a-triathletes-story-2048x1367.jpg",2048,1367,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Kate Milsom Published: Monday, 11 October 2021 at 12:00 am Cardiac physiologist Liz has suffered with endometriosis since she was a teenager, but wasn\u2019t officially diagnosed until she was 34. Now 42, she refuses to let it stop her doing triathlon. Here\u2019s her story of exercising with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/29"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The fight to be believed <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Wildly different symptoms <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Knowing your cycle is key<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Exercising with endometriosis<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Managing energy levels<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Liz\u2019s tips to managing endometriosis:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
Preparing for an event <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Not letting the endo win!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"