The meaning behind the logo
For the last 20 years I have been trying to better understand and ‘treat’ my endometriosis with surgeries, birth control pills and pain medications. In the latter years I started to get wiser about the effects of nutrition and thus started to explore dietary solutions to mitigate the symptoms associated with endometriosis, namely the inflammatory diet. 20 years later, I found out that I also have ulcerative colitis, a form of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) that was present for years without rearing its ugly head. The triggers expressed themselves as common symptoms associated with endometriosis (bloating, diarrhea, pain/discomfort) that lead most endo women to be (mis)diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). All it took this time was one trigger – perhaps a glass of red wine – that flared the colitis so badly that it was enough to show up in stool workups and a colonoscopy. To understand how they diagnosed me for UC see my article here: Part 1 and Part 2
While endometriosis is not an autoimmune disease, there are a number of co-morbities, suggesting women with endometriosis may be more prone or susceptible to developing autoimmune diseases. Likewise, 25% of people with one autoimmune disease are likely to develop a second autoimmune disease. Part of that equation is genetics, some of it may be due to epigenetics (the lingering genetic effect from your ancestors), some of it of course may be environmental including the things we eat. Yet while there are billions of dollars going into understanding the mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases, there are not enough doctors who specialize in understanding the underlying causes of inflammation,… as a whole.
Up until recently my life was regaining momentum; with another endometrial excision surgery behind me in March of 2018 and rapid improvements through biologic treatment for my Ulcerative colitis. But then on July 1st 2018, I woke up knowing something was wrong. I had not eaten or drank anything funny the day before, I didnt overly exert myself, but my hormones were off, my spoons were run up, and I started to feel achy in my upper abdomen. Needless to say this pain went from a 1 to a 9 throughout the course of only a few hours and I ended up back at the hospital for what was the beginning of the journey into the investigation of my idiopathic pancreatitis. Note that I have not been definitively diagnosed with anything yet, but the doctors are puzzled as to whether they are seeing true pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis, an abnormality somewhere along the upper digestive tract or if this is endometriosis on the pancreas (spreading from the known implants on my diaphragm). You can read about this journey in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
What my life now comes down to is a Reuleaux triangle – the middle part of a Venn diagram (the fatter, black outlined ‘triangle’) – where I can reduce my three diseases down to its commonalities and start to treat them together. For the first time in my life I can start thinking about the big picture and stop trying to interpret all the different nuances of each of the diseases. While each of them have their particulars (for example NSAIDS are great for endometriosis but increase ulcer bleeding in colitis patients) that need to be well understood, perhaps looking at whats causing inflammation for one disease could assist with reducing the inflammation associated with the others (aka a holistic view).
The best (hidden) meaning for the logo though, is the perfect triangle in the middle of the reuleaux triangle – the Greek symbol for ‘change’. Honey, if there is one thing I am determined to do from this day forward, it is to change. Not my core being (I like who I am) but …
Change my mindset of how to look at these diseases.
Change my approach on how to combat these diseases.
Change the way I feel after a doctor tells me I’m insane or that I dont have any options.
Change the way I look at, and feel about, my body – the one I believed was flawed.
Change the way I carry myself.
Those are hereby here in writing so that if I forget my way, I can come back to remind myself.
Needless to say, through my journey of targeting my reuleaux triangle I hope I can continue to bring knowledge and experience to others who are diagnosed or looking for answers for undiagnosed autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses.
Cramp My Style 