Endo Untangled

This is a special combined episode of Endo Untangled and the Australian POTS Foundation. We're joined by Dr Marie-Claire Seeley, CEO of the Australian POTS Foundation, and Dr Fraser Burling, New Zealand rheumatologist and internationally recognised expert in hypermobility and connective tissue disorders. Together we explore why connective tissue might be the missing link for some people living...

Why do so many people with endometriosis also have food sensitivities, bloating, bladder symptoms, migraines, fatigue, POTS or hypermobility? Is it coincidence, or are we missing part of the picture? Recorded live at the 2026 Australian POTS Foundation Conference, we sat down with internationally recognised cardiologist Dr Alexis Cutchens to talk about mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a topic...

Why do we have periods at all, when most mammals don’t? In this episode we catch up with Dr. Deena Emera, evolutionary biologist and author of A Brief History of the Female Body , and look at menstruation through an evolutionary lens that shifts the usual framing. We unpack what’s actually happening between the brain, ovaries and uterus, and why menstruation may be less about a monthly inconvenien...

Why do so many people with pelvic pain feel like they have constant UTIs… even when the tests keep coming back negative? In this episode, we sit down with urogynecologist and pelvic floor expert A/Prof Tanaka Dune to unpack the incredibly complex world of bladder pain, urgency, frequency, pelvic floor dysfunction and the nervous system. We talk about: • why bladder pain is so often misunderstood •...

Have you ever wondered how a pathologist actually decides whether tissue is endometriosis? Endometriosis is often described as “endometrial-like tissue” growing outside the uterus. But what does that really mean? What does endometriosis actually look like under the microscope? Where does it come from? And what can pathology tell us about this complex disease? Joining us is anatomical pathologist D...

If you’ve been told your ultrasound was normal but your pain isn’t, this episode is for you. Join us on Endo Untangled as Dr Alecia Macrow and Cherie Noble sit down with Alison Deslandes – clinical academic sonographer, endometriosis researcher and founder of Astute Ultrasound Education – to explore how advanced imaging is reshaping the diagnostic landscape for people living with endometriosis and...

Pelvic pain isn’t driven by one thing. It’s multiple systems hitting each other and keeping pain in motion. In this episode, we zoom out and examine some of the main drivers of persistent pain and how they interact, in particular, our key swinging balls: menstrual cycling, bowels, pelvic floor and the nervous system. If you’ve tried everything and you’re still stuck, this is the episode to listen...

So much of pelvic pain care focuses on finding and fixing a single cause. But what happens when the system itself becomes part of the problem? In this episode, we’re joined by psychologist Laura Grace to explore:how the nervous system learns painwhy dismissal, delay, and fragmentation matterthe impact of trauma and “micro-traumas” in healthcarehow neurodivergence changes the way pain shows upand w...

Is the pill just a band-aid for pelvic pain and endometriosis? It’s a question many patients ask, and one that comes up again and again in clinics and online. In this episode of Endo Untangled , Dr Alecia Macrow and Cherie Noble are joined by women’s health GP Dr Jessica Floreani to unpack how hormonal treatments actually work. From the basics of the menstrual cycle through to combined pills, prog...

If you've got pelvic pain, you probably know it's not just about the endometriosis lesions. But did you know how much your muscles are contributing to your symptoms? Pelvic health physio Caz Berry is back to explain the anatomy that matters. She's brought her pelvis model and she's not afraid to use it. In this episode, we're covering the three things Caz wishes every patient k...

Pelvic pain doesn’t exist in isolation — and neither does the nervous system that processes it. In this episode, world-renowned pelvic health physio and storyteller Michelle Lyons explains why what happens in the vagus nerve shows up everywhere . We explore persistent pelvic pain through a nervous-system lens, unpacking how the vagus nerve connects pain with the gut, bladder, pelvic floor, immune...

Forget the candles and face masks. This episode gets real about what self-care actually looks like when you live with endometriosis or chronic pelvic pain. Dr Alecia Macrow and exercise physiologist Cherie Noble break down the Circle of Control and why so much energy gets wasted on things you can’t change. They explore how pain, sleep, work stress, and relationships all feed into each other, and s...

Next in our Summer Series - Interviews from the 2025 Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia Annual Practitioner Seminar. *we'll be back with our long form eps in late Jan* What does a physio educator wish you knew about pain? In this episode of Endo Untangled, Alecia and Cherie sit down with Emma, a physiotherapist and pelvic pain educator, to break down the complexities of pain, especially pelvic pa...

In this Fast and Curious episode from the Pelvic Pain Foundation annual seminar, Michelle Nielsen talks about PPEP Talk, the Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program . PPEP Talk is an engaging, medically accurate education session for secondary students that helps young people understand what normal period pain looks like, when pain is concerning, what endometriosis is, and practical strategies to...

TW: Fertility is discussed here, and we know this can be a painful subject for those with endo and pelvic pain. If this raises concerns for you, give yourself permission to skip this episode. In this episode, we talk with Professor Louise Hull, a reproductive medicine specialist and world-leading researcher in endometriosis. Louise shares her story, from IVF training at Cambridge to leading nation...

In this episode we sit down with world class excision surgeon and leading pelvic sonologist Dr Matthew Leonardi to explore how high quality pelvic ultrasound transforms the way we understand endometriosis. Matthew explains how advanced ultrasound maps disease in three dimensions, reveals deep lesions that laparoscopy can miss, and helps patients build a clearer, more accurate story of what is happ...

In this episode of Endo Untangled, Dr Millie Mardon PhD shares how her long trips from Port Augusta to Adelaide as a teenager shaped her work in pain science. She explains how understanding what pain really is can help us change it, slowly but surely. We talk about where pain discussions go wrong, how what we think, feel and see can shift the way pain shows up, and why personal stories matter in r...

In Episode 08, we dive deep (no pun intended) with specialist colorectal and pelvic floor surgeon Dr. Chris Gillespie as he lifts the lid on everything your bowels don’t want you to ask. From the anatomy and reflexes behind a good poop, to what’s going on when your colonoscopy is “normal” but symptoms persist, we cover it all. We unravel the role of anorectal manometry, bust common myths (do laxat...

Titled Pelvic Health Physios Alycia Scannell and Carolyn Berry explain how overprotective pelvic floor muscles can tighten and guard, leading to stabby pains, bladder urgency, bowel changes, deep pelvic aching, tailbone pain, or painful sex. They share how treatment goes far beyond exercises. It is about calming the nervous system, teaching the body safety again, and helping people reconnect with...

In this episode of Endo Untangled, physiotherapist Sophie Sheppard shares her lived experience of chronic fatigue as a teenager and later discovering she is autistic and ADHD. We unpack the science of persistent pain and how it reverberates through the nervous, endocrine and immune systems (the NEI ensemble), and explore how understanding the whole-system impact changes care. Sophie explains how t...

Welcome to the first of our Endo Untangled mini ep series, Fast and Curious. We met with A/Prof Susan Evans at the recent Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia Annual Practitioner Seminar in Brisbane, to pick her brains on: - the relationship with the uterus, brain, nervous, and immune system - Dr Evans' work with Alyra Biotech in the development of some novel therapies for endometriosis and pel...

From tests to treatment, here’s how to take your next steps with POTS. In Part 2 of our conversation, Dr Marie-Claire Seeley takes us deeper into the journey of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). We explore what investigations can actually help, practical management strategies that make a difference, and how to start feeling better day to day. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or years...

Unwell in Central Asia. Dismissed as “just anxiety.” Four kids, nursing shifts, and a fight to be believed. Today Dr Marie-Claire Seeley is CEO of the Australian POTS Foundation, using her PhD and lived experience to change care for people with POTS.

Why does endo care feel like a tug-of-war? Pill pushback • stabbing pains • surgery debates. Why do so many endo appointments leave patients feeling unheard and doctors feeling stuck? In this episode, GP Dr Alecia Macrow and EP Cherie Noble sit down with Prof Susan Evans and Dr Carmel Reynolds to unpack why care can feel like control, why “they just want to put me on the pill” is such a common ref...

Ep 2: The Pelvic Pain “Super Syndrome” with Dr Sneha Wadhwani Why the fatigue? Why the headaches? Why the lightning arse?! In this episode, we dive into the messy overlap of gut issues, pelvic floor dysfunction, heavy periods, and crushing fatigue – and why these symptoms so often show up together. Dr Sneha Wadhwani joins us to explore what we’re calling the Pelvic Pain “Super Syndrome” and how re...