The Endometriosis Podcast

Dr. Nicholas Fogelson and Dr. Shanti Mohling take a realistic look at recovery after endometriosis surgery, emphasizing that healing happens on more than one timeline. They discuss strategies that may support recovery before, during and after surgery, including hydration, carbohydrate loading, and multimodal pain control, while also questioning some traditional post-op restrictions. The conversation also explores how movement, physical therapy, nutrition, and gradual reconditioning can help patients regain strength and function over time.
Highlights:
Why recovery can look very different from one patient to another
What patients can realistically expect when returning to work and daily life
How surgical recovery practices have changed over time
Why listening to the body may matter more than rigid recovery rules
What can support longer-term healing beyond the immediate post-op period
For clinical consultations: contact Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR at (503) 715-1377 or email us at newpatients@nwendometriosis.com 
Follow us on Instagram: @Nicholasfogelson and @drshantimohling
Download a transcript of this episode.

In this episode, Dr. Shanti Mohling and Dr. Nicholas Fogelson explore one of the most intriguing emerging questions in endometriosis care: could GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Ozempic and Zepbound, play a role in reducing endometriosis-related symptoms? These medications are not currently FDA-approved for endometriosis, and the evidence is still early. But patient reports, survey data, and basic science raise compelling questions about how GLP-1s may affect inflammation, pain, and the broader systemic nature of endometriosis. Drs. Fogelson and Mohling discuss what is known, what remains speculative, the potential risks, and why a possible non-hormonal approach is worth watching.
Highlights:
How GLP-1 receptor agonists work beyond blood sugar and weight, including effects on appetite, satiety, reward pathways, the microbiome, and inflammation.
Why endometriosis is increasingly understood as a systemic inflammatory disease, not just lesions in the pelvis.
Early observations from patients and surveys suggesting some people with endometriosis report symptom improvement while taking GLP-1 medications.
The current limits of the evidence, including the lack of randomized trials and the fact that GLP-1s are not medically indicated for endometriosis.
Potential risks and side effects, including gastrointestinal symptoms, gastroparesis, gallbladder disease, pancreatitis, muscle loss, and the need for medical supervision.
NOTE: Anyone considering GLP-1s should speak with their own physician about potential risks, side effects, and whether they are appropriate.
For clinical consultations: contact Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR at (503) 715-1377 or email us at newpatients@nwendometriosis.com 
Follow us on Instagram: @Nicholasfogelson and @drshantimohling
Download a transcript of this episode.

Olympic sprinter Brittany Brown joins Dr. Nicholas Fogelson to talk candidly about living, training, and competing with endometriosis at the highest level. From years of painful and heavy periods, to receiving dismissive medical advice, to eventually undergoing surgery in the middle of an elite track career, Brittany shares what it took to advocate for herself and what recovery actually looked like. They discuss the physical toll of endometriosis, the mental challenge of adjusting expectations after surgery, and why more honest conversations are needed about diagnosis, treatment, and life after "pushing through."
Episode Highlights:
Brittany shares how endometriosis symptoms began in college and gradually intensified during her rise as an elite sprinter
How chronic pain, fatigue, and inflammation affected Brittany's body on and off the track
Her medical journey and experience with medical dismissal, including being told to consider a hysterectomy or having a baby as a solution
What surgery and recovery looked like for a professional athlete trying to return to high-intensity competition
Brittany reflects on advocacy, visibility, and supporting other athletes navigating endometriosis and surgery


For clinical consultations: contact Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR at (503) 715-1377 or email us at newpatients@nwendometriosis.com 
Follow us on Instagram: @Nicholasfogelson and @drshantimohling
Download a transcript of this episode.

In this special episode of The Endometriosis Podcast, Dr. Nicholas Fogelson travels to Kerugoya, Kenya, for the Healing Mama Africa Bootcamp and Conference, where surgeons, advocates, and educators from around the world come together to expand access to endometriosis care in Africa. Through a series of on-the-ground conversations, the episode explores what it means to deliver complex surgical care in a low-resource setting, why patient advocacy and education matter so deeply, and how collaboration across borders is helping change the future of endometriosis treatment. 
Highlights:
Dr. Joe Njagi shares the vision behind Healing Mama Africa and how one ambitious idea grew into a groundbreaking conference bringing expert training, complex surgery, and long-overdue care to patients across the continent.
Endometriosis advocate Arti Shah reflects on her decades-long journey with endometriosis in Kenya and explains why patient empowerment, better information, and tools like her educational game Endo Quest are essential for changing the landscape.
Dr. Myriam En Nosse discusses her highly specialized work in female genital mutilation reconstruction and brings a broader global women's health perspective to the conversation, centered on dignity, healing, and surgical restoration.
Dr. Ahmed Al Minawi brings a regional surgeon's perspective from Egypt, reflecting on healthcare in Egypt broadly, the unusually severe and fibrotic endometriosis cases seen at Healing Mama Africa, and the extraordinary dedication behind offering these surgeries free of charge.


For clinical consultations: contact Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR at (503) 715-1377 or email us at newpatients@nwendometriosis.com 
Follow us on Instagram: @Nicholasfogelson and @drshantimohling
Download a transcript of this episode.

In this sponsored episode of The Endometriosis Podcast, Dr. Nicholas Fogelson and Dr. Shanti Mohling are joined by Dr. Bruce Lessey—the researcher who identified BCL6 as a marker of endometrial inflammation—and Chris Jackson, CEO of Cicero Diagnostics, the company that brought his discovery to market as the ReceptivaDx test. Together, they explore how a gene first studied in lymphoma research became a tool for detecting progesterone resistance and inflammation linked to endometriosis. The conversation covers how the test works, who it's most useful for, how accurate it is, what its limitations are, and where non-invasive diagnostics for endometriosis may be heading next.
Highlights:
What BCL6 is and how it disrupts progesterone signaling and implantation
How Dr. Lessey's research became the ReceptivaDX clinical test
When this test is most helpful in infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss
What a positive result does—and doesn't—mean
Why earlier, less invasive diagnosis could change endometriosis care
For clinical consultations: contact Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR at (503) 715-1377 or email us at newpatients@nwendometriosis.com 
Follow us on Instagram: @Nicholasfogelson and @drshantimohling
Download a transcript of this episode.