🎯Three Content Types · One Force Field
Every square belongs to one of three content types — not three levels you climb. Track progress in your Course and Skills Lab.
📘 Learn It Content type
Concepts to absorb.
🛠 Live It Content type
Daily skills and habits.
📣 Share It Content type
Teach, advocate, carry forward.
🛡️Your Force Field — 16 Squares
Deeper detail lives in the Prepared Patient Endometriosis & PCOS course.
What Endo + PCOS Are
Two distinct conditions, often co-occurring. Both hormone-related.
Learn ItTreatment Approaches
Hormonal (pills, IUD, GnRH), surgical, metformin (PCOS), lifestyle.
Learn ItSpot Emergencies
Ectopic pregnancy · severe bleeding · pelvic abscess — 911.
Learn ItTriggers + Flares
Hormonal cycles, stress, certain foods. Yours are personal.
Learn ItComorbidities
PCOS: diabetes, sleep apnea, NAFLD. Endo: bowel/bladder, fertility.
Learn ItMeds + Adherence
Hormonal regimens require consistency. Don't skip.
Live ItCycle Tracking
Apps help identify patterns and response to treatment.
Live ItDiet + Lifestyle
Anti-inflammatory diet, exercise, weight management can help.
Live ItFertility Planning
Both affect fertility. Plan ahead with specialist.
Live ItMake Every Visit Count
Bring symptom diary, cycle tracking, pain logs.
Live ItYour Care Team
OB-GYN, sometimes endocrinology, REI, nutritionist, mental health.
Live ItTracking Apps
Period and symptom apps. PCOS-specific apps.
Live ItInsurance + Cost
Most hormonal meds covered. Surgery and IVF coverage varies.
Live ItTeach & Mentor
Diagnostic delays average 7-10 years for endo. Your story can shortcut others'.
Share ItAdvocate
Push for research, faster diagnosis, equitable care.
Share ItResearch & Trials
Non-hormonal options, novel surgical approaches, microbiome research.
Share ItThree things to learn before you actually need them.
Workflow lives in the Prepared Visit Tool. Trackers in your Course.
Which door do I use?
Endo and PCOS are chronic. The ladder catches acute changes and complications.
Handle at home
- Manageable baseline symptoms
- On meds or no meds per plan
- Cycles relatively predictable
Log it. Cycle tracking helps your team.
Call the office / message the portal
- Cycle change pattern
- Pain worsening
- Running low on hormonal med
- Fertility questions
Same day. Patterns matter.
Urgent / Acute care
- Severe new pelvic pain
- Heavy unusual bleeding
- Significant weight gain or loss
- Severe acne or hirsutism (PCOS)
- Sleep apnea symptoms (PCOS)
Urgent care or gyn urgent slot.
ER NOW / call 911
- Sudden severe pelvic pain with positive pregnancy or missed period (possible ectopic)
- Heavy bleeding — soaking pad/tampon hourly >2 hours
- Severe abdominal pain with fever (PID, abscess)
- Fainting with bleeding or pain
- Severe shortness of breath (clot risk with hormonal meds)
Call 911. Reproductive emergencies are time-critical.
How to describe a new symptom in 30 seconds
What is it?
Plain words.
How bad?
0-10.
When did it start?
Time + what you were doing.
What made it worse?
Movement · food · meds.
What helped?
Even a little.
What else was new?
Fever · med · supplement · stress. The forgotten detail often shifts the diagnosis.
“Severe pelvic pain for 3 days, a 8 worst, started 2 days before my period, worse with movement, heat and ibuprofen help a little, and I’ve had heavier-than-usual bleeding.”
Questions worth asking
Four for every patient, every condition, every visit:
- “Could this be a side effect of one of my medications, a supplement, or something else I’m doing — and should we change that?”
- “Would any non-drug therapy help — physical therapy, meditation, rest, ice or heat?”
- “If I can’t afford this medication or this test, can we talk about samples, alternatives, or a social worker who can help?”
- “What should I be watching for between now and my next visit — and when do I handle it myself, when do I call your office, when do I go to urgent care, and when do I go to the ER?”
Questions specifically for Endometriosis & PCOS:
- “What treatment options am I a candidate for — hormonal, GnRH agonists, surgical?”
- “Fertility — how does my condition affect it, and what’s my plan?”
- “Are we screening for related conditions — diabetes, sleep apnea in PCOS; bowel/bladder in endo?”
- “Pain management plan — what works for me?”
- “Mental health — both conditions raise risk of depression and anxiety.