My Journey with Endometriosis: Why I Founded This Practice

Nobody’s journey with endometriosis looks the same, but I suspect you may recognize parts of mine. I share my story so you can understand how I arrived at a truly holistic perspective on endometriosis—and why I founded this practice.

Early Beginnings

I got my first period when I was nine years old, early like many people with endometriosis. Within a couple of years, my bleeding was so heavy that I frequently soaked through overnight pads, and the cramping was severe enough to keep me home from school multiple days each year. By age 13, I was started on birth control pills, which helped for a while—especially important since I was competing in high-level tennis and couldn’t afford to miss days.

High School & College

By high school, new symptoms crept in: diarrhea that worsened around my cycle, severe fatigue, mood swings, and worsening cramps despite being on the pill. My gynecologist told me these symptoms were “normal.” My mom—drawing from Chinese traditions—attributed them to eating too many cold foods.

In college, things escalated. I played Division I tennis, but I often had to ask the team van to pull over during road trips due to sudden, explosive diarrhea. After cutting out gluten and dairy, my symptoms improved somewhat. A gastroenterologist ruled out celiac disease and infection, leaving me with a diagnosis of IBS.

By senior year, migraines appeared every month. Suspecting my pill, I stopped it—only to land in the ER two months later with excruciating right-sided pelvic pain. Imaging showed fluid in my abdomen, likely from a burst ovarian cyst. When it happened again the following month, a kind ER doctor suggested something I’d never heard before: endometriosis.

Searching for Answers

After moving across the country, my symptoms persisted. In Seattle, another 10/10 pain episode left me crying on the floor of a Target. I tried Depo-Provera for nine months but bled constantly, gained weight, and felt awful.

When I returned to Massachusetts for nursing school, I was desperate. I had stabbing pelvic pain for days each month, pain with intercourse, diarrhea nearly daily, sciatica that disappeared after my cycle, and what felt like barbed wire wrapped around my uterus. Weekly acupuncture and Chinese herbs helped some, but even my acupuncturist eventually urged me to seek surgical evaluation.

At Brigham & Women’s Center for Endometriosis, I met a surgeon who, within minutes, dismissed me with a warning that she wouldn’t prescribe narcotics. Still, I went ahead with surgery. It revealed Stage 3 endometriosis. My first laparoscopy brought relief, and for six months progesterone pills kept symptoms at bay. But the side effects—especially cystic acne—were intolerable. Switching to a Mirena IUD gave me three of the best years of my life. For the first time, I sometimes forgot what chronic pain felt like.

Setbacks & Surgeries

But endometriosis is relentless. After a major life stressor, my symptoms came roaring back: pain with sex, constant pulling on my right side, and barbed-wire pain after even mild drinking. A new IUD and combined pill didn’t help. Orilissa, a stronger option, triggered an angioedema allergic reaction.

In March 2020, I was scheduled for another surgery with a general OB-GYN I wasn’t confident in. Then the pandemic hit, and my case was cancelled. Days later, I woke in the night with searing pain—an emergency surgery revealed my ovary was twisting due to an endometrioma. The cyst was drained, but the rest of my disease was left untouched. My pain eased, but my other symptoms persisted.

Finding the Right Team

With new insurance, I eventually found Dr. Karen White at Palo Alto Medical Foundation. For the first time, I felt truly listened to. Even though my pain was at its worst, I trusted the process. I adapted my exercise to yoga, Pilates, and walking. I committed to acupuncture twice monthly, restarted Chinese medicine and supplements, pursued trauma therapy, and returned to a gluten- and dairy-free diet. Despite layering a Mirena IUD with daily birth control pills, nothing seemed to bring lasting relief.

Adding a fertility doctor to my team, we planned another surgery. Around the same time, I met an integrative medicine physician at UCSF who reframed everything. She reviewed my entire history, simplified my routine, and explained that my supplements might be counteracting my birth control. She introduced me to an anti-inflammatory diet and emphasized pelvic floor physical therapy—not as a quick trial, but as an essential, ongoing practice. It was a breath of fresh air.

A New Chapter

Against all odds, with Stage 3 disease and a very low ovarian reserve, I conceived naturally within a year of surgery—three months after stopping birth control. Today, I’m back to playing tennis and doing high-intensity workouts. I eat a balanced diet, including gluten and dairy. While I still need to adjust my medical plan from time to time, I know my body, I trust my team, and I believe in my ability to live a full life with endometriosis.

Why I Founded This Practice

I want to be the kind of team member for others that I finally found for myself. Too many of us are dismissed, disbelieved, or medically gaslit. My goal is to help people make tough decisions, build sustainable care plans, and trust the process again.

I will never push unvalidated supplements or unnecessary blood tests. I promise transparency at every step. Most of all, I will meet you where you are—because I know how much energy, time, and money you’ve already poured into this disease.

Thank you for trusting me. You don’t have to walk this path alone.