At the endo the day we all have a silent fire within us….

“The Silent Fire”

“ How Inflammation Fuels Endometriosis”

written & voiced by Elizabeth Castle

There’s a silent fire that burns in the bodies of millions of women around the world and many don’t even know it’s there.

It’s called inflammation.

And if you live with endometriosis, adenomyosis, pcos this fire is not just a side effect it’s a powerful driver of your symptoms, your pain, your exhaustion… and sometimes, even your emotional overwhelm.

So let’s take a deep breath.

And talk about what inflammation actually is, what it does to your body, your mind, your emotions and how reclaiming your health means learning how to cool that fire.

WHAT IS INFLAMMATION?

Inflammation is your body’s emergency response system.

When you get injured or face infection, white blood cells rush in like an ambulance crew releasing chemicals to destroy invaders and start the healing process.

But here’s the catch:

In endometriosis, this system malfunctions.

The body sees the Endometrial like tissue as “foreign” and tries to fight it.

White blood cells flood the pelvic cavity.

Cytokines, prostaglandins, and other inflammatory chemicals are released.

But instead of solving the problem… they create more damage.

This leads to chronic inflammation a low-grade internal fire that never fully goes out.

And that’s when everything starts to spiral out of control.

INFLAMMATION & ENDOMETRIOSIS: THE DAMAGE IT CAUSES

1. Promotes Lesion Growth (endometriosis lesion growth)

   
   

   Inflammation triggers the release of growth factors that actually help endometriotic cells survive.

   
   

   Instead of being destroyed, the tissue implants, spreads, and digs deeper into organs.

2. Worsens Pain by Growing Nerves

   
   

   Inflammatory molecules like NGF (nerve growth factor) encourage the growth of new nerve endings into lesions.

   
   

   More nerves = more pain sensitivity.

   
   

   This is why even a small lesion for example stage 1 endometriosis can feel like a knife.

3. Causes Scarring & Adhesions

   
   

   Inflammation leads to fibrosis the body’s way of sealing off “injury”.

   
   

   This results in sticky scar tissue that pulls organs out of place  bowel to uterus, ovaries to bladder creating frozen pelvis, painful sex, and difficulty moving.

4. Disrupts Hormones

   
   

   Chronic inflammation affects the endocrine system.

   
   

   It messes with cortisol, thyroid hormones, and insulin all of which affect your cycle, energy, mood, and weight.

5. Affects Immune Function

   
   

   Over time, your immune system becomes dysregulated.

   
   

   It starts attacking healthy tissue or missing what really needs removing.

   
   

   This can trigger autoimmune like symptoms, fatigue, and increased susceptibility to other illnesses.

THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION of inflammation  inflammation doesn’t just live in the body.

It shows up in your mind and emotions, too.

• Cytokines cross the blood-brain barrier — impacting neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.

  
  

  This contributes to depression, anxiety, brain fog, and even panic attacks.

• Chronic inflammation is a stress loop.

  
  

  Your body is in constant fight-or-flight.

  
  

  Cortisol stays elevated.

  
  

  You feel wired… tired… burnt out.

And if you’ve been dismissed or told “it’s all in your head” — this adds layers of emotional pain, mistrust, and isolation that deepen the suffering.

LONG TERM RISKS OF INFLAMMATION IN ENDOMETRIOSIS

This is not “just a bad period.”

Unchecked, this inflammatory state can lead to serious complications:

• Kidney damage from obstructed ureters, kidney removal kidney loss.

• Bowel obstruction, parts of the bowel having to be cut out, possible sepsis from bowel obstruction.

• Lung and thoracic endometriosis causing breathing issues, that I’m currently dealing with.

• Bleeds in & on the brain, nerve compression, partial paralysis that my sister deals with.

• And increased risk of infertility, organ damage, and in some cases, life-threatening complications which we are seeing more and more of!

This isn’t to scare you.

It’s to validate what you’re going through, and to underscore the need for real action and support. To educate you, that you can control a good 60% of the pain that you are currently in.

YOU CAN COOL THE FIRE

The good news is inflammation is influenced by lifestyle, environment, and nutrition, allergies.

And you can take steps to reduce it.

• Anti-inflammatory diet: Whole foods, omega-3s, turmeric, leafy greens, colourful veg

• Allergy testing

• Eliminate triggers: Gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine, processed food  they all stoke the fire, it’s up to you To get your own allergy tests done.

• Because every female is individual those tests will show you what you need to eliminate, what triggers your inflammation, because you may have something completely different to me and vice verser.

• Look at Gentle movement, to help the fascia to help those lesions, Yoga, stretching, walking, Tia chi, qi gong, it calms your nervous system, clears your lymphatic system and works on your fascia.

• Prioritise sleep: Deep rest resets your immune system

• Manage stress: Breathwork, therapy, journaling whatever helps you feel calm and safe.

• Work with specialists: Endometriosis-experienced practitioners who treat the whole person, not just the uterus & the ovaries

FINAL MESSAGE: YOU ARE WORTHY

I want to end this with…..

You are not being dramatic.

You are not overreacting my love and

Your pain is real, but your healing is worth fighting for.

You are worthy of your own help.

You are worthy of your own time.

You are worthy of putting your energy into small, consistent changes that will get you on the road to recovery.

Endometriosis is not your fault.

This is not something you created yourself, you “manifested” yourself! You wanted to keep for yourself. This is not something created or born from “parasites”, “mould”, “trauma”, this is not something you did wrong when you were younger! You didn’t create this, it’s just something you have! Your different, your special, so you need to live a special way. Just like a celiac does!…just like somebody with copd does, just like somebody with chroans does, your exactly the same in the sense of your lifestyle plays a huge part in your disease.

It’s not your fault!

But reclaiming your power… can be your choice.

Until next time xoxo