Your body isn't broken.
It's asking for different food.

If you're suffering in silence, feeling unheard, fobbed off and completely defeated: your symptoms are real. You are not crazy. You are not making it up. We hear you, and we support you.

From the age of 14, my periods were always irregular. When I was 19, I went to a male doctor to ask if there was an underlying cause. He dismissed it as completely normal and simply warned me not to wear white, because when my period did arrive, it would "just come gushing out."

By 22, I knew I'd found the man I would spend the rest of my life with. Having babies soon became a priority, but I was deeply concerned about potential fertility issues because of my irregular periods. I went to a GP who referred me to a gynaecologist. That first specialist performed an invasive physical internal exam that left me feeling extremely uncomfortable and violated at such a young, vulnerable age.

Seeking a second opinion, I saw another gynaecologist who assured me an internal check was entirely unnecessary. He ordered an ultrasound, leading to my diagnosis of PMOS. Fortunately, at this point in my life my symptoms were relatively mild, and I'm profoundly grateful I was able to conceive two children without needing IVF.

But after my first baby at 25, my periods became very painful. After my second child at 27, the pain became completely unbearable — a sharp, stabbing pain alongside severe cramps and lower back pain that would drop me to my knees. For eight long years, multiple GPs repeatedly told me this level of agony was "normal."

The pain escalated until I couldn't get out of bed for days on end. My entire abdomen, from my pelvis up to my ribs, was in such severe pain I couldn't move, eat or function — and it came in waves lasting five to seven days at a time. Desperate for answers, I saw a wonderful naturopath who advised me to get an ultrasound to check on my PMOS. When I asked my GP for the referral, she flatly refused and told me I didn't need to check on PMOS. My naturopath was stunned by the GP's refusal and urged me to advocate for myself: go back and tell her, "It is my body, and I want an ultrasound."

The GP begrudgingly handed over the referral, but flippantly remarked, "You have endometriosis. Read this website and come back if you have any questions." I had the scan, and the technician told me everything looked completely fine. So I kept living with the excruciating, full-abdominal pain that flared unpredictably and lingered for up to seven days at a time.

Months later, after extensive research, I found an incredible GP. During our appointment, she asked why I'd never followed up on my previous scan results. I explained that no one had ever contacted me to say I needed to come in, and that the technician had told me everything was clear. My new GP delivered shocking news: the ultrasound had actually revealed a 6cm cyst on my ovary with a 4.5cm internal mass that carried a risk of cancer. She urgently referred me to a gynaecologist, and I underwent surgery to remove the cyst and mass — thankfully not cancerous — along with my ovary and fallopian tube. The unbearable pain I'd been enduring wasn't endometriosis at all: it was ovarian torsion caused by the mass, a critical condition the previous GP had casually brushed aside. The surgeon confirmed there was no sign of endometriosis. I was furious that a doctor had misdiagnosed, dismissed and abandoned me while I was dealing with ovarian torsion and a potential cancer risk.

The surgery relieved the severe full-abdominal pain, but I suddenly started having regular periods for the first time — and they were still agonising, with heavy bleeding and large clots. Six months post-surgery, my supportive GP referred me for a specialised ultrasound, and I finally got an accurate diagnosis: Adenomyosis.

Even with an official diagnosis, I wasn't given any real guidance on what the condition was or how to support it. I was told there was no cure and that my only option was a hysterectomy. That wasn't a path I was ready to take, so I lived in pain for several more years while doing my own extensive research.

Realising through my own research that adenomyosis is a chronic inflammatory condition, I committed to a strict gluten-free, sugar-free, anti-inflammatory lifestyle, with targeted nutrition and intentional movement — Pilates, walking, jogging, strength training and mindfulness — that I adjusted depending on my cycle, energy and how my body felt. It helped me manage the pain.

In more recent years, my symptoms evolved. I began battling widespread joint pain, headaches, and lower back pain so severe I couldn't move. I struggled with heavy brain fog, Raynaud's disease (which may or may not be related), and bone-deep exhaustion that lingered even after nine solid hours of sleep. I dealt with constant bloating, a puffy face, changes in my bowel movements, and an uncomfortable swollen-throat sensation. On top of that, I've always had a very low resting heart rate of 45bpm, have had to work relentlessly just to maintain my weight, and find it nearly impossible to lose any. When I brought this growing list of systemic symptoms to a doctor, his solution was to offer me antidepressants. He didn't even check my hormones — even though I was about to turn 40, starting perimenopause, and down to one ovary.

That medical gaslighting, dismissiveness and total lack of care and education is the heart and soul behind why I built Synora — a dedicated companion for women navigating conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, PMOS, perimenopause and menopause. Synora is designed to adapt entirely to you, your specific conditions and your daily symptoms, through evidence-based, holistic support:

• Comprehensive cycle & symptom tracking — detailed daily logging built specifically around chronic pelvic, metabolic and hormonal conditions.
• Wearable integration — syncs with devices like the Oura ring to capture objective physiological data alongside your logged symptoms.
• Practitioner-ready health exports — turns your logged data into organised reports, giving you real evidence of what your body is experiencing to take to your next appointment.
• Intelligent nutrition support — built-in AI tools like Ask Synora and Synora in the Supermarket take the guesswork out of anti-inflammatory living, helping you plan meals in minutes and building grocery lists packed with foods that support your body.

You should never have to fight this hard just to be heard, believed, and properly investigated and treated. Synora is here to ensure you never have to navigate it alone again. 💖

— Bec, founder of Synora · Perth, Australia