Endometriosis: What Goes Undiagnosed for Years & What a Care Team Looks Like | Alanna Trzcinski

Endometriosis affects 1 in 7 women...and most of them wait years for a diagnosis. In North Idaho and across the country, women are being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and left to figure it out alone. This episode of the Better Together Podcast changes that conversation. Mike Baker sits down with Alanna Trzcinski, president of Endo Village and host of the Endo Battery Podcast, to talk about what endometriosis really is, why it gets missed, and what it looks like when a patient finally gets the care team they deserve. What you’ll hear in this episode: Symptoms most people don’t connect to endometriosis — cyclical migraines, nose bleeds, hip and back pain Why “unexplained infertility” often isn’t unexplained at all Why doctors only get half a day of training on a disease that affects 1 in 7 women The neurodivergent connection nobody talks about Why primary care — not just specialists — is the first line of defense What a real endometriosis care team looks like The nervous system can’t heal in isolation — why community is medicine Hope: what the next five years could look like for endo patients If you or someone you love has been told their pain is normal, this episode is for you. 0:00 – Introduction 1:19 – Meet Alanna Trzcinski: her endo story and how it started 3:30 – Dropping out of premed — when the pain became too much 4:42 – Surgery, a hysterectomy, and finally finding answers 6:09 – Endo Battery podcast and Endo Village: why Alana built community 8:00 – “My daughters are 7x more likely to have endo” — her why 9:10 – The loneliness of chronic illness: what families go through 10:02 – Symptoms you shouldn’t ignore 12:00 – Unexplained infertility and the endo connection 14:20 – Why doctors only get half a day on endometriosis in medical school 15:35 – The neurodivergent connection and why pain scales don’t work 18:00 – Primary care as the first line of defense 20:42 – What a real care team looks like: PT, nutrition, mental health 24:00 – “I believe you” — why those words change everything 27:00 – Don’t doctor blame: blame the system, build the team 35:00 – What gives Alanna hope for the next five years 37:00 – The nervous system cannot heal alone — community as medicine Learn more: endovillage.org | endobattery.com Heritage Health: myheritagehalth.org 🎙️ Better Together Podcast | Heritage Health | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 📍 Serving Kootenai County and all of North Idaho #Endometriosis #WomensHealth #NorthIdaho #HeritageHealth #BetterTogetherPodcast #EndoVillage #EndoBattery #ChronicPain #CoeurDAlene #YouAreNotAlone