RTL Episode 47: Talking Endometriosis with April Christina
RTL Episode 47: Talking Endometriosis with April Christina
April Christina is a New York City based Women’s Wellness Advocate with focus on Endometriosis and Fertility. She received her Bachelors of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science with a minor in Psychology in hopes to pursue her goal of becoming a chemistry professor. But after being diagnosed with endometriosis in December of 2010, her goals then changed. April reevaluated what mattered most to her in life. She wanted to spread her knowledge and life experiences with endometriosis to the world. She decided to turn her pain into purpose by educating others about their health.
In 2019, April launched The Endo Brunch. This brunch was created for women and their supporters to meet others with endometriosis and various reproductive health conditions. It is April’s main objective for everyone to have access to information that can make them the healthiest person they can be. Her newest venture is being co-host of The V Dot Podcast, a podcast centered around women’s reproductive health. In her free time April loves to sing, paint, and spend time with her husband Greg.
Today, April and I will discuss:
Endometriosis diagnosis and treatment
Fertility with endometriosis
Mental health while trying to conceive and managing endometriosis
Women’s health advocacy
For more info, go to:
@imaprilchriatina
Episode 47 Transcript
Josephine Atluri:
Welcome to the responding to life podcast, where we talk about issues relating to health, fertility, and Parenthood. And today's fertility episode. I am joined by April. Christina. April is a new York-based women's wellness advocate with the focus on endometriosis and fertility. She received her bachelor's of science degree in clinical laboratory science with a minor in psychology and hopes to pursue her goal of becoming a chemistry professor. But after being diagnosed with endometriosis in 2010, her goals then changed April reevaluated. What mattered most to her in life. She wanted to spread her knowledge and life experiences with endometriosis to the world. She decided to turn her pain into purpose by educating others about their health. In 2019 April launch, the end of brunch, this branch was created for women and their supporters to meet others with endometriosis and various reproductive health conditions. It is April's main objective for everyone to have access to information that can make them the healthiest person.
They can be. Her newest venture is being cohost of the V dot podcast, a podcast centered around women's reproductive health in her free time. April loves to sing paint and spend time with her husband. Greg, in today's episode, we will be discussing endometriosis diagnosis and treatment fertility with endometriosis mental health while trying to conceive and women's health advocacy welcome everyone. So March is endometriosis awareness month and it affects one in 10 women in the United States and about 200 million worldwide and endometriosis. This is a painful condition where the tissue within the uterus grows outside of the uterus. And this can also affect fertility to raise awareness about this important issue. I have asked the wonderful April Christina to speak on today's show. I just love how you're turning your pain into purpose, and I'm excited for you to share with us. So welcome to the show April.
April Christina:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to dive into this topic. I can literally thought about this a little bit.
Josephine Atluri:
Perfect person to help lead us into this awareness month. And it's so great to finally have you on the show because we swim in the same circles, but we've never really had a chance to talk one-on-one so I'm excited. So, as I mentioned in the intro, you are a woman's health advocate with a focus on endometriosis and fertility. You were diagnosed in 2010. A great way for us to start is for you to tell us what you were experiencing and how you finally came to a diagnosis.
April Christina:
So I started my menstrual cycle when I was nine years old and being in the third grade, trying to really figure out what a period is, definitely something that I was not expecting. I was really just trying to make friends in elementary school and not really trying to figure out like which way the wing is supposed to go on a sanitary pad.
However, that ends up being my story. And it was really embarrassing because there was no other kids my age in my class that I had to go to the bathroom as much as I did. And it was embarrassing to also explain to them the reason why I was going to the bathroom, because we didn't really talk about periods in the third grade in elementary school. Like that was like so foreign of far-fetched, um, in my crews are really bad. Um, even as a teenager, I used to go up, how was extremely nauseous. I had really bad headaches and I went through that pretty much until my twenties. I had a pediatric GYN because my cycle was so bad then. So she put me on birth control at 14, and that helped regulate the flow of my cycle, but I still was nauseous, still was vomiting.
The first few days of my cycle, it was pretty bad. And then when I got to my twenties, I started experiencing really bad leg pain. I couldn't drive at this time. Now I have my license and I'm like, this, this something else has to be going on. So I started going to the doctor because they was thinking, then I have blood clots. So now I'm going to the doctor every three months to check to make sure I don't have any blood clots. And then I'm going to my GYN every six months because they're checking to make sure that my blood levels are okay. And that my birth control that they have me on was fine. So now at this point in my mid twenties, I'm a healthcare professional. And one of my patients was an OB GYN. And I was just basically talking to her about, you know, periods and how bad they were, my leg pain being so nauseous.
And she was the one that told me that she thought that I had endometriosis. And that was like a huge aha moment for me because although I did not know how to spell it, not a part of it before didn't even know what to expect. Cause like, what if this really could be my diagnosis? I went so long with no one ever telling me anything. And here I have my patients telling me that they're sabbatical endometriosis. And that's probably the reason why I was feeling the way that I felt. So I called my mom and I was explaining to her, my mom, my patient is just telling me that I may have endometriosis. So by the time I got home, of course my mom had looked at everything. She had printed out so much stuff on Google about this condition. And she was like, well, like you did have like cramps before. And he did have heavy periods before it. And I'm like, yeah, but I have leg pain. Like, what is this? So I finally did an exploratory laparoscopy and 2010. And that's when I was officially diagnosed with endo. Thank goodness. That is like, you know, when I've heard other people talking about how they get diagnosed and it's, it's crazy the amount of almost like things that you have to pursue and then eventually getting to that diagnosis. Um, yeah. And I'm glad that you were able to get it right.
Josephine Atluri:
And there's really just by happenstance because I was doing what I needed to do. You know, my parents split and being proactive. I had a pediatric how was going to get Dopplers just in case God forbid, if I did have blood clots, they were sold as a preteen all the way up to just having a conversation with a doctor that clearly wasn't mine because she was a patient of mine. And I'm just like, wow, like all of these years, like, I don't know how different my life would have been if years ago I would have known what I knew in my late twenties, you know? Cause I started so young and my early nineties with my cycle and then I did not officially get a diagnosis until 2010. So it's just like, you know, just having conversation and just talking to different people and just trying to gain like as much information and data as possible because I was at a point where I just needed to know something else, like what I was doing and how many doctor's visits only going to just cannot be life for me as I got older.
Right. so is there a better way of diagnosing people? Is there now have people come to like certain protocols that one can sort of check up on to see if you know, that might be something to consider a out?
April Christina:
Yeah. This is an unfortunate thing about a chronic condition, like endometriosis, the only definitive ways still to date right now is exploratory laparoscopy. So you would still have to consent for a physician to do a laparoscopy surgery, to even tell if you definitively have endo like blood work. My blood work always came back normal. So that didn't work for me sonograms. Sometimes they will show something, but there's no way to fully see what's going on inside your body unless they physically go in to see it. So we're still at that point. And that's really scary because you're trusting someone you're going on the anesthesia and you're hoping and praying that when they go in, they see something just so that you can have an answer on what's going on, but there's nothing else outside of that that would be so a physician that you have on death bed, that's so nuts, you know, especially considering how many women it affects it, that there are other sort of factors that can be checked off. That's so frustrating. I can't even imagine. And so then as I was reading up, um, the effects that it can have then on one's fertility, if you should go into that and how it has sort of personally affected you within your own journey on your path to Parenthood. Yeah. So this is like this new aspect of fertility in so near and dear to me specifically, because I'm currently dealing with it now, but also at this point now in my late twenties, when I turned 30 years old, I went to a reproductive endocrinologist just for myself. Like I wasn't married. I wasn't seriously dating anyone at the time. I just wanted to know what was going on with me now, my endo specialist, he does blood work. So this whole time Ash there, my excision surgery in 2011, I had two surgeries. He was doing blood work to my AMH was totally fine. My file count was totally fine. When I went at 30 to reproductive endocrinologist, everything was fine. And then lo and behold, now I get married and I want to try to have a child and there's no child. And I'm like, okay, well I'm over 30 and almost 35. And I have endometriosis. Let me go back to the reproductive endocrinologist when I went back and all of a sudden, I don't know what happened All of a sudden my AMH level was low. And I was like I'm doing my part and a real wake up call for me. And even with the work that I do and the stuff that I talk about with endometriosis, um, you know, thankfully I, you know, was doing the work, but some people are not thinking about that because you just don't want to be in pain every single month. You just want the best quality of life. And then when you start to seriously date, and then you start to wonder about children sometimes for people, it is either too late or you have to do fertility treatments, which is where I am now with, in my journey with endo and fertility with doing IVF. And that's something that's like really important to me. Make sure that you do a full blown workup, but make sure that you see a reproductive endocrinologist or reproductive immunologist to really see what your next steps are. If you're even thinking about being a mom in the future, what does it look like for everything? How many follicles do you have? Like, what is your AMH level? All of those things play a part once you're officially diagnosed with endometriosis and way back when I started researching endo, I didn't think about that. But when I started thinking, like I wanted to expand my family in the future, I need to know those things, you know?
Josephine Atluri:
Um, yeah, that is, that's just, it, it just blows my mind still. Um, sort of all the hoops that you have to go through. So then once you started to decide that, you know, you're ready to pursue a family, did you have, like, how did the treatment of your endometriosis changed or did you have to do other things before you could even start, um, trying to conceive?
April Christina:
So for me, I've been doing a holistic approach with endometriosis and I have completely cut out red meat. Um, no dairy, I don't have whole milk anymore. I've been drinking herbal teas. I also started acupuncture because of the fear of what I went through growing up, leading up to me, officially being diagnosed. I never wanted to go through that. Um, so thankfully I have not been in a position to where my endometriosis has returned. Um, actually it's not to take nine years since my last surgery. So I have been good in that area. So as far as making sure that my endo has been maintained and controlled and balance that thankfully for me has not been the case. Um, when dealing with fertility treatments now when you have, and there's two different dynamics that take place, because, you know, they're measuring the lining of your uterus, but for me, they're making sure that they don't see any endometrioma or they're making sure that they don't see any endometriosis. And they're monitoring my follicles at the same time, because you don't know what the medication with each individual, when they taken their stems would do to a person that has a condition like endo. So when I did my IVF cycle, it was very, very, very, very controlled with how many times I was going to the doctor. And sometimes it was a little bit more than a normal person that started their spins because I had endometriosis. And also before I started my cycle, I had to prime because of my endometriosis. So I was on the estrodiol patch first because they wanted to make sure that they maximize not only on my follicles or that they a hundred percent control my cycle. Okay. And then when you're looking for a doctor, if you do have a diagnosis of endometriosis, I've, I mean, are all RAs versed in how to treat a patient that has endometriosis coupled with their fertility? Or did you look for someone specifically who, who sort of treats cases like that and has a better understanding and, and protocols in place for it? Yeah, that's all, that's a real good question because when I went to a reproductive endocrinologist and I found out through that doctor that my AMH levels low, they wanted to start me on IUI first instead of IVF. And thankfully, because I am in the community and I was talking to various people, their suggestion was maybe you should just go straight to IVF because you don't have that many follicles and you don't want to waste time. The IUI probability with someone with endometriosis versus, you know, conceive natural. There's only a 10% higher rate based on all of my levels and having endo. So I knew that already going into my results with this specific reproductive endocrinologist. So when she suggested an IUI, I was like, but I have an elementary gnosis. So why would you suggest an IUI? Because I wanted to know from her perspective, because I'm the patient and she's a physician. And she honestly told me that the reason why she suggested it is so that I can save money. Not because, yes, not because she felt like this would be successful for me, but because I will get more for my buck because I live in New York. So we have, you know, facility, um, options with your insurance. So she felt like I would get more for my buck if I would do the IUI way first, before I go to IVF. And that was a red flag for me because now I'm just like, okay, I have endo, my AMA level is low. You see how follicles on working with, and you want me to go through a medicated cycle knowing that it's probably not going to work for me. So even within that, I immediately left and took all of my work is over to someone that understood endometriosis and was a reproductive endocrinologist. I didn't even want to start any cycle at that facility, no matter how much knowledge I have, just because I didn't want to have to sit there and worry about being an advocate and a patient at the same time, I felt like my anxiety level would be so high and that would not be productive for what we were trying to do with family planning. So that was, that was extremely, extremely important for me. So I just started researching different reproductive endocrinologists, and I finally decided on a facility and I ended up going with kind body because the reproductive endocrinologist that I have now is very knowledgeable with endo and trying to conceive. And I wasn't the only patient that she's had, that's had endo and was successful with actually having children. And that was really important for me.
Josephine Atluri:
Okay. Um, so first of all, I'm so glad that I asked you that question because you know, it just helps people who are listening that didn't have, you know, the questions to ask, like you did, like you had the knowledge because of the work in the community and the patients that you've talked to. But could you imagine, I'm sure you can Imagine If you did it, I'm so mad for you!
April Christina:
When I say I left there, like mad I'm like, you can do this. Like, I'm very confident in how strong I am and being strong-willed to do something that I set my mind to. But in that moment, I literally, I promise you, I cried for like a whole day. I cried for like a whole day, because not only that I want to expand my family. And then here we are with another hurdle and a roadblock. Then now I'm faced with someone telling me to do something that I know within myself. I should not go down that route. But then sometimes like with women, with us, that is a sensitive area. If you want to be a mom and you want to expand your family at any cost, you're going to do it just like when your child come into the world at any cost, you're going to make sure that you take care of that child and that you're there for that child by any means necessary. So in that moment, I'm thinking, what, how is this even possible? What am I to do? And like, as a woman, you always have that gut feeling and that intuition when it's like, okay, April. Yeah, this is what you're supposed to do. And okay. April, no. And then when you're over 30, like the whole biological clock in your mind, like, everything's you just think about all of these things, but for me in that moment as a patient, I was like, no matter how bad I want to extend my family, I'm not going to settle. And if that means that I have to take more time to feel comfortable at a facility that actually cares about every intricate part of me, including the condition that I came here with, I'm going to take my time. And it took me a whole year from that date for when I actually started my first IVF cycle a whole year. And I literally kept being holistic, kept taking my vitamins and guess what? My AMH level increase. It's not where it should be, but it increased my fall who can increase. So there are so many different things that had, I just settled in the like, okay, well, yeah, I'll just still do IVF here because I know I need to do IVF. I don't know if mentally and physically my body was even at a place that even began there. So I'm happy that I waited. So like, for anyone that's like listening to this, definitely trust your gut. If your intuition is telling you, you know, maybe I need to seek a second opinion before I decided to come back here, do that. It's okay. It's your right. Because you want to make sure that you're literally trusting a physician in a facility with expanding your family. That's a major deal for me I love to have relationships with every physician that I have, because God forbid, I don't know when my endo will return or I don't know what else may happen with my body. And I want to make sure that they understand how much I care about myself. And that plays a huge role in the relationship moving forward between physician and patient.
Josephine Atluri:
Yeah, absolutely. Um, I just love everything that you said and I mean, it's, it is really important to advocate for yourself, but it's hard. It's, it's one thing for us to talk about it now, because we've done that for ourselves. But like in the beginning, I didn't know that I could, you know, I just sort of went with what they were telling me. And when I went with my first RE, because I'm like, well, they're the ones who went to school for this. What sort of questions even should I be asking? And so I'm just, you know, that's why that's so important for both of us to have these open conversations, just to inform people of like what their options are and what they, what they should be looking for and doing with like second opinions. And, and also that whole idea of taking the time to like, really look into various options, because it's such a time sensitive process that you feel like you don't have the time and it feels like you're almost covering a detriment to yourself and your progress. But I mean, with your case as sort of, um, like as a case study, like you took that time and we're better for it. Um, because you were working now with someone who is part of a team, and that's really important to work with someone versus just feel like you're this patient it's important to have that relationship where you can be a part of the process.
April Christina:
I didn't have all the answers cause this like I've left is a way new territory for me, like talking about endo. I can do that forever. Fertility. I'm like, Oh, that's what that means. Like these abbreviations tell me, cause I'm still learning as I go. So on that, just being in the facility and like, I'm like, what are you looking for? What is this? So I, I made it my job, cause I'm still going through IVF, you know, as you speak. So I've made it my business to write questions in my notepad. And I asked them when I get there, maybe there's stuff that I forgot. If I forgot, then I would email my nurse through the portal. Or if it's, I feel like it's something I can wait, cause I'm seeing them every other day. Then I will ask it again. Like in those moments, sometimes you don't remember everything because everything happens so fast. You know, if you get a good report, you can get really excited. Like, Oh my follow-up was that wrong. Like, you know, what's next, there's so many different things that happen. So I was like, let me write this down and let me take the notes and look at my phone because there's so many things that happen. And sometimes you don't have the partner that's there to come with you to every doctors appointment or sometimes, you know, you're deciding to make the decisions to just do everything. Um, and sometimes it can feel isolated and your alone. But when you have that handy notebook with you, it definitely helps you refocus and make sure that you answer all the questions that way you're not leaving. They're like, Aw, man, I can't believe like I forgot that. You know? So that was definitely something that helped me because I'm traveling to, you know, be monitored, but I'm still a healthcare professional, so I'm going there to be monitored and then I'm going straight to work. So everything was happening so quick for me with my first cycle that I was like, okay, let me write this down so that I don't forget to ask them something. So that will help it.
Josephine Atluri:
That's a great tip. You're right. Because when you get, you know, when you ask that first question, that's in your mind, if you have a written it down, you got that first question out, but more oftentimes than not what they say to you, then your mind is like totally focused on it. And you're just, yeah. You're like stuck in your thoughts, like what they just said to you that you cannot remember. I remember it absolutely could not remember anything else that I wanted to ask because now it's like so fixated on what they had said to me. so you've already had, you've tried IVF and I want to touch upon, um, the topic of the trauma of trying to conceive whether or not one has endometriosis. Uh, I love hearing how different people sort of heal as they're going along with, you know, everything that they go through because the effects of the trauma, especially as you continue on with your journey of going through another cycle, it starts to build up and it starts to like some personally affect us. And for myself, I've been very open about how it manifested in eating disorder because I wanted to regain control of my life. And that's how it sort of played out. But I'd love to hear about, you know, how you're taking care of yourself in the process of your mental health while you're trying to conceive.
April Christina:
Yeah. So it's definitely been a journey. I speak to my therapist, um, me and her wants again, we talk about relationships, me and her have an amazing relationship. And I reach out to her. I've texted her during this time. Like, and she's been really helpful. She sent me quotes and she always knows to send it at the right time. Cause you know, sometimes I'd be on that ledge of tipping over. Um, but for me, one thing that has kept me grounded is being able to articulate how I feel. So my husband and the other part, and that is making sure that I check in with him to make sure that he's okay because for me it wasn't only a me thing. It, I realized when I started taking the medication and maybe it was a medication that made me feel this way. Like I started like focusing more on him and like, you know, what did I look like to him? And then it made me emotional if he wasn't able to articulate it. Cause then I couldn't articulate it. But one thing that I realized that I started saying, once we started IVF is like, I'd be like, I want to cry and be like, so cry. And it's like, just in those moments of not holding in my emotions within that time while he was going through IVF is what helped me stay thing. And sometimes I didn't know what to say and I'll be like, I don't know what to say, but I just need a minute. Let me just go in my room for a second and just be quiet or let me just catch up on like, this is us or something just so that I can just like zone out for that moment. He's like, okay, go do that. And that's honestly, what really helped me is sometimes I did not know what I was feeling, but I wanted to make sure that I said out loud and I heard my voice say, I don't know what I'm feeling, but I know something is happening. I don't know if I would have kept that in if I was able to be where I am now, because my first IVF cycle, I hate the word failed. I don't know what other word is fake, but it wasn't as successful to the ending of having a baby as I would have liked. Um, and now we have to start another cycle. And what does that look like? And I told my husband, I was like, I don't know if I can do this again. But then I realized, I felt that way because it's March. So it's endo month. It's my puppy's first year birthday. It's my wedding anniversary. It's my husband's birthday. And then my birthday, of course, is in April and I did not want to dim down all of those amazing things. That's taken place within the next six weeks for the emotions that I don't know what I will be feeling with starting another cycle. And I realized that that was the anxiety that was taking over was because I wanted to be able to enjoy March and April. So I suppose my husband and I was like, I really realized that it's not that I don't want to continue is that I want to enjoy these next few weeks. I think it's like some less enjoy these next few weeks. And it was such a huge weight lifted because here we go talking about time again, I'm in my mid thirties. I don't know what that looks like, but I do know that I have to be a whole knee mind, body and soul to be able to get to whatever next is. And I wanted to be able to say, okay, April, you enjoyed March and you enjoy April. Let's kick back in may in full swing. And that's something that I think that a lot of us need to be able to understand and give ourselves grace time is okay. But time is also still a part of a journey. So just being able to really understand where I am every single day is what's helping me because when I start thinking about months from now and years from now, it takes me to a whole negative place that I don't like to be. So I literally have started just focusing on each day and taking each day as a win.
Josephine Atluri:
There are just so many things to unpack there that I just love that you brought up I'm first of all, I'm so glad that you took that moment to sort of pause and reevaluate like your situation and how you were feeling. Um, I'm always trying to like emphasize that when I like talk to clients about a purchase to just anywhere about the importance of being mindful and aware of how you're feeling, because it's, it's in those moments and it just takes a couple of minutes. Not that you have to sit in meditation but just taking those couple of minutes to really just check in and be like, okay, how am I feeling? And then how do I feel about like these next few steps and being honest with yourself, like you did, and that you got to the root of what that heaviness was. And it was that you wanted to enjoy rightfully so these next few, couple months, and, and then being, uh, takes courage to, to like follow through with that. But it all starts with that awareness. And so I'm glad that you went through that and, um, it definitely helps you as you, then when you dive back into it, you are so much more refreshed. You're nourished, you're energized. You're ready to go because you took that time to take care of yourself and yeah. Yeah. That's really key.
April Christina:
And you can't, you can't give from an empty cup and when it comes to the stims and medications, like you have to be completely full. At least for me, I have to be completely full. Like, because now I know what to expect, but I just finished my first, if I didn't know what to expect, like I seen my husband like pulling up the medication and I started crying. Like, are we really here? Like, is this really, it always positive and negative? I'm like, is this really a thing? And I'm like, no, April, like you prepared, like you prepped almost a year to get to this point. Like you're okay. And let me also, let me also talk about your meditation for a second. Like this is, this is the god honest truth. of being a patient every single morning when, cause I live with Suffolk County, Long Island Kindbody all the way in Manhattan in the city. So I'm on the Long Island railroad every single morning when they would do a monitoring. When I was on stims before my retrieval, soon as I got on a train and got a seat mask on and everything I did your meditation, I promise you like that really helped me and set the tone when I was on the long Island road. So to be able to really be in stillness and I knew what was ahead of me and knew what I was about to go do, and I didn't know what the results was going to be. But I had to start off my journey every single morning that way, because I wanted to make sure that I had a clear mind and a clear head space for whatever news I was going to receive for that. So I just wanted to say thank you for that. But that, that really, helped center me during those times as well. And I know that like every morning, starting off with a clear head space that helped me be able to articulate how I felt throughout the day with my husband.
Josephine Atluri:
Oh my gosh, you're, this is my gratitude for today though. I'm so glad that you were able to use it in that way. And that's always my hope whenever I, um, work with someone or if I put out a meditation is that people can use it and really just help them sort of clear out the noise so that they can hear what's happening and then use that to like you did. And you use that with your relationship with your husband and with the process that you were going through. So that's awesome. And so happy about that. Um, and so your efforts to raise awareness, you launched the endo brunch and also the podcast. So I'd love to hear from you about the work that you're doing and how everyone listening can connect with you more.
April Christina:
Yeah. So I started the endo brunch now three years ago, but I've only had one because the pandemic literally hit the day before my brunch was supposed to happen. Um, so that's a whole nother story, but the reason why I started the endo brunch was because I remember how isolated I felt with trying to find someone like me or someone that had endometriosis. I can actually talk to. Um, we are growing to be a bigger community, but it's different when you see people do social media. And it's another difference when you actually see someone in person, you know, they say one in 10 women have endometriosis, but I wanted to have a room with patients as well as their family members and loved ones when you should be like, wow, like mostly all these people in here have endo and it's even better when you eat and have fun because then you loosen up and you were able to mingle and connect with other people cause there's food involved and it lightens the mood. So that's really what made me, um, create the endo brunch just to really bring people together in person and to not feel isolated and to actually leave with another friend. Um, the revamp podcast came about because my two endo sisters, Lauren and Samantha, we did alive during Ashley's last March [inaudible]. And we was like, all of our vis got canceled. We was able to see nobody in person. And we was like, wait, we'll just go live on Facebook and just start talking to people and engaging with them. They're like we have to do something for March. And then when we end it and we see how many people want it more, we just like, wait, why don't we just tend to send a little podcast? And that's how it started. And the funny part about it is I've only seen Samantha one time in person, right before the pandemic hit at the endometriosis summit. I have never met Lauren in person. And this is the power of the individual says community. And how much of a sisterhood we are is that our genuine love to help other people with what they're dealing with. And what we're dealing with with endo is so strong that we didn't even care that we never met each other. So we're five episodes into the visa podcast and it's been absolutely amazing. Um, we talk about in a, Michelle says, but we talk about women's health as a whole, because all three of our stories are so different and unique that led us to find out about our diagnosis, that we had so much other women's health issues that we wanted to really unpack for our audience, that they wouldn't feel alone.
Josephine Atluri:
I love that. I love all the things and it is so true. What you said about sort of have a community sort of brings people together. Um, maybe not even having met one another, but just thinking these connections. It's just so powerful to share stories, even though everyone's story is so different, but there's this common bond. Um, and that's just what I've loved seeing with social media and all the different groups and all the different apps. It's just wonderful that there is absolutely all these different avenues for people to connect and not feel alone because that's how I felt like when I was doing it 15 years ago, I was just, it was just me and my husband. And, um, you know, it's nice to have your husband and your partner, but it's also great to have other people who really understand what you're going through. I totally agree. So you already shared, uh, I always ask people for like a big sort of takeaway or a piece of advice for someone that's trying to conceive, especially when someone who's navigating endometriosis, you gave us the tip about having, you know, your list of questions. I was wondering if there was one more thing that you could share with us before we, you know, the show comes to a close, absolutely.
April Christina:
Do not beat yourself up about the condition that you have. That is one thing that has really helped me focus because sometimes you're like, it's my fault. It's my fault. This is the reason why, you know, I'm having complications with children. This is the reason why I can't go out and do what I need to do. And I'm like, you know, unfortunately that is something that has happened to your body, but it's not your sole purpose here on earth. Find other things that she loves to do, continue to do it and live, live past whatever the doctor tells you, lift, pass, whatever condition you're facing and dealing with live past the IVF, because this is just one part of your story and you have to be able to live to see the next part of it.
Josephine Atluri:
Right. I love, I, I hope that someone listening will just like, sort of keep that as something that they can just remind themselves that when they get through their low points, because that is a fantastic reminder. So thank you for that April. And I always love to pivot into a state of positivity, um, by asking my guests to finish off with their gratitude for the day.
April Christina:
Uh, that's so amazing. Um, I'm thankful that I'm actually here to tell the story. Like I'm thankful that I actually have my right mind to be able to articulate where I am today. Like our, we day may not seem like the gradings, but because I'm alive to tell the story, that's what makes it even more powerful love that that was beautiful.
Josephine Atluri:
And I'm so thankful for you to have been on the show and to share your amazing insights and your story. And it takes a lot to, you know, it's one thing to share it in retrospect and after you've gone through it, but you're in the thick of it. And so I really appreciate that, that you're able to share that with us.