Welcome to Heal Endo
Hi I’m Katie! An endo-warrior myself. Welcome to the site!
What is Heal Endo?
It is an approach to healing from endometriosis that addresses the whole person (rather than a microscopic focus on lesions) through what is called an “integrative approach”. This means integrating all the tools we have at our disposal to heal from this complex disease, be it Western (surgery or pharmaceuticals), Eastern (acupuncture or herbs), Holistic (diet, lifestyle, and more), or anything in between!
In this site, I categorize these integrative therapies into 5 main pillars: Nutrition, Movement, Mending, Connection, and Learning. You may be missing one, two, or all of them from your life. But, as you start filling in the empty voids, I firmly believe your body will respond in miraculous ways.
Dare I say: You will feel better.
This, of course, is the goal. In the world of chronic illness where there is no official “cure,” we aim instead for words and phrases like
I feel better
I found remission, or a place on the remission scale
I have my life back
I have my baby (if I wanted one)
I am well again. Finally :)
And while there is a lot of information on this site, remember to look at your own pace and incorporate baseline items as you feel comfortable. Remember, stress is an enormous contributor to this disease, so if you’re feeling stressed at all, back off until you’re ready to add one new change in your life at a time.
Also keep in mind that you know your body better than anyone! And it's beautifully unique, so what may work for others may not work for you and vice versa. Be open to change for the sake of progress.
Hi I’m Katie, Nice to meet you
I’m an endometriosis author, educator, and Nutritional Therapist.
I wrote the 4-Week Endometriosis Diet Plan, Heal Endo: An Anti-Inflammatory Approach to Healing From Endometriosis, and numerous Ebooks to help you heal.
I live on the North Shore of Kaua`i next to the biggest mahogany forest in the United States (fun fact), have a loving husband, two wonderful “miracle” kiddos, and am absolutely passionate about helping women with endometriosis. You might not be able to “cure” endometriosis, but I believe with the correct approach, the body to heal in incredible ways.
In addition to my certifications, I’ve done the following continued education courses:
Certified Paleo Auto-Immune Protocol Coach
Certified in Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) 2017, and Trauma Informed HTMA Analysis (2023)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Continuing Ed Course: FODMAPs, fat, fiber, and flora. Kate Scarlata RDN, LDN 2019
Microbiome Mastery Program: currently enrolled. Tom Fabian, PhD, CNTP 2019
I believe in the following
1) General health and well-being is the totality of your healthy foundations built in the gut, immune system, nutritional status, and brain! These foundations are not isolated from each other, why we need to heal all systems as a team.
2) Healing chronic disease and symptoms involves first understanding the why’s, and seeking the root causes of them. I believe your own presentation of endo is very unique from someone else with endo, and you must learn about it through this lens.
3) Low-Hanging Fruit! Don’t disregard easier diet and lifestyle shifts as worthless. Some women may be surprised at just how much better they feel with a few simple tweaks.
4) Most of us are not aware of how effective and life-changing the above 3 principles can be when it comes to changing the way we life and optimizing the way we feel.
5) Endo is complex, and healing from it may be as well. We didn’t land here overnight, as it usually takes years and years for such a disease to develop. Conversely, it can take years to fully heal. With patience, perseverance, and a little bit of humor to combat the darkness, we can reclaim our lives.
MY STORY
In 2009 I was diagnosed with endometriosis that was characterized by chronic, debilitating, 24/7 internal pain.
The diagnosis surprised me immensely since the pain had come on so quickly and it wasn’t just at my period - it was all the time. Back then I was uneducated about what endo was and how it can surface in so many different ways depending on the woman it affects. Needless to day, I was devastated. Being told at 24 that chronic internal pain was here to stay was no easy piece of information to swallow. After 5 exhausting years, 2 surgeries, and a lot of diet and lifestyle depravation, I wasn’t seeing the results I needed. Yes, the pain was better managed by certain dietary shifts, but the new lifestyle I had adopted still left me underweight, with chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, skin problems, digestive failure and enormous bloating that still persisted to make a negative impact on my life. I felt like I was just surviving every day.
“The Heal Endo approach looks at endometriosis as a whole-body issue rather than just a site-specific one. In order to treat the endo symptoms, we must treat the whole body.”
It was the years leading up to my journey towards conception that I finally began to piece together the diet and lifestyle tips that were missing from my previous holistic treatment plan. What I realized is just how malnourished my body truly was - turns out all the gluten-free avocado toast weren't nearly enough for my incredibly nutrient deprived body - and just how much my gut was affecting everything. Talk about a silver lining in fertility problems! Deep nutrition, combined with a focus on de-stressing, detoxing, and re-aligning my body combined into a lifestyle that put my endometriosis in clinical remission. It was a four-pronged approach that dramatically changed my life.
For the first time in a long time I didn't feel deprived in my diet, I had enough energy to socialize that I didn't feel isolated from friends, I gained back the weight and nutrients I was missing from my terribly leaky gut, and in my movement journey my body felt so good I didn't have to deprive it of fun in fear of pain. Basically that usual endo diet stuff you hear - "No gluten, no coffee, no alcohol, no fun" - was far from the life I was leading!
In the act of coming back alive - I literally had forgotten how it felt to have energy and be pain-free - I knew I had to share this journey with my fellow endo-community in case it helps change even just one life of chronic, debilitating pain. I created this site to help those with endometriosis find refuge with a new perspective on healing from this chronic disease, and to help reclaim lives.