Sew Yellow For Endo is back for another year! It was wonderful to engage with so many people last year and learn about, and raise money for, endometriosis as a community.

The diagnosis time for Endometriosis has now gone up to an average 8 years! AN AVERAGE. So many women wait much longer, in agony for years or finding out when it's too late and they are unable to have children.

Endometriosis is a cruel condition that affects one in ten women, making it the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK. It causes agonising periods, pain with sex, problems with bowel and bladder function, and can contribute to infertility. Despite that diagnosis takes eight years on average and honestly? That's way too long. 

No one knows what causes Endometriosis and there is no known cure. However the earlier you catch it the more effective treatments can be. The first step is knowing something is wrong which is why discussing menstrual health openly is vital. Next we need better training for GPs to understand our condition and to know when to refer us to specialists. It shouldn't be a lottery whether you get a hospital referral however 33% of women have been told their symptoms are psychosomatic before subsequently being diagnosed with Endometriosis.  

Endometriosis UK is a fantastic charity that supports and advocates for women with Endometriosis; encouraging research, running support groups and championing us at the highest level of government. After a very tough few years for small charities, I want to support their vital work! 

For March, Endometriosis Awareness Month, I am planning a series of events to raise awareness about Endometriosis in the sewing community including Instagram Lives where I tell my own story and talk to other sufferers, competitions and giveaways for sewing a yellow outfit using #SewYellowForEndo2022 and there will also be businesses offering discounts and donating to Endometriosis UK. 

I want to start open and honest conversations about Endometriosis and menstrual health, I want to encourage people to open up to their friends, families and healthcare professionals if something doesn’t feel right. So if you want to support Endometriosis UK and the 1 in 10 women suffering from Endo right now then please support my appeal in any way you can. 

My Story

I’ve always had extremely painful periods, I remember one occasion at boarding school when I was 16 being taken to the medical centre and told that if that pain didn’t go away by the morning I would be having my appendix out! 

Over the years my periods became more painful and more irregular, sometimes I would be completely unable to move. At university my periods disappeared for no discernible reason and yet I was still in agony every month, I was then screened for PCOS but nothing was there and I was given strong painkillers and told to get on with it. This is all too common an experience for Endometriosis sufferers. 

Even then I was lucky as my Endometriosis was discovered when I had my appendix out at the age of 21. Although that wasn’t a fun experience it did furnish me with incontrovertible proof that the Endo was there and that there was a definite cause of my pain - something many sufferers have to fight tooth and nail to get. 

I was referred to hospital gynaecology and Endometriosis experts as we tried a range of hormonal treatments. However, my periods got worse and worse and my body reacted violently to every hormonal intervention. I started to be in pain three weeks out of four in a month and was often rendered completely immobile by the pain.

Finally, 18 months on from my first referral I had endometriosis excision surgery that was extremely successful. Endometriosis was removed from my bowel, my bladder, my left ovary, my uterosacral ligament and uterovesical fold. Believe it or not, that is a mild surgery for Endometriosis. 

My surgery was back in 2019 and I'm lucky that no significant regrowth has occurred. I am still undergoing regular pelvic physiotherapy as a result and it's still a condition I will need to think about for the rest of my life.

Want to get involved? Head over to my instagram @SoWhatIfISew to get involved with this year's campaign and even enter the challenge using the hashtag #SewYellowForEndo2022. 

Key Dates For 2022:

1st March #SewYellowForEndo begins!

2nd March IG Live: Sharing My Own Story & Q&A 

4th March IG Live: Endo Experiences with @WhatImSewing

9th March IG Live: Endometriosis & Surgery with @SewMuchToSay

12th - 13th March: The Big Destash

16th March IG Live: What Is Endometriosis? with @MindfulScientist_

23rd March IG Live: Endo Experiences with @SewSewBecki

26th March: Sew Yellow Challenge Reveal Day

30th March IG Live: Endo Experiences with @TheHungarySewist

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