{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Hormonal Hotline","title":"You're Not Overreacting\" - Wales Rugby Star Gwen Crabb on Playing an Entire World Cup With Undiagnosed Endometriosis","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/8d65c25d\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3704,"description":"\n\"Even after they found it, I was still gaslighting myself into thinking maybe I don't have it.\"\n\n\nWhat does it take to get diagnosed with a disease you didn't even know existed — while playing international sport through it the whole time? Ellisha sits down with Wales international rugby player and endometriosis advocate Gwen Crabb for a raw, eye-opening conversation about growing up with dismissed, debilitating periods, playing an entire Rugby World Cup with undiagnosed stage four endometriosis, and the three-year fight for a diagnosis that changed everything.\n\nWhat We Cover\n\nGwen got her first period the same year she started playing rugby, aged 14 — and was told by doctors for years that her symptoms would \"settle down.\"\n\nShe spent four years on the contraceptive pill unknowingly managing her symptoms, then had the worst period of her life when she came off it at 22, which kickstarted years of confusing, dismissed symptoms.\n\nAfter a three-year battle for an NHS referral, Gwen was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis in December 2024 — just months after playing an entire Rugby World Cup without knowing she had it.\n\nShe opens up about the brutal World Cup match against Canada that pushed her to breaking point, plus her recent excision surgery and recovery.\n\nGwen shares the lifestyle changes, coping strategies, and conversations with her coaches that have completely changed how she manages her condition day to day.\n\nShe and Ellisha answer two listener dilemmas on advocating for period pain at work and balancing elite training with a chronic illness.\nOur Sponsor\n\nEvelyn Health is dedicated to helping those struggling with PMS and PMDD through expert-led, science-backed supplements and functional foods. Having used them for over a year to manage my own hormonal health, I'm so proud to have them as a partner.\n\nGet 20% off your first order with code HOTLINE20 at evelynhealth.com\n\n\nConnect with Gwen Crabb\nInstagram: @gwencrabb\n\n\nTimestamps\n 00:00 - Welcome back...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/lPk3ICO79wNq0iJHgObQZZOsRpZyoNUh-NOR2XsCUt0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mNWIz/MTkzM2IxYTNhY2Ji/MDdiMWYzYzkzNDNi/YjgzNy5qcGVn.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}