"I Wish It Was Drugs" | Candice Guardino on Endo, IVF, and the Joke That Got Her Through It

"I Wish It Was Drugs" | Candice Guardino on Endo, IVF, and the Joke That Got Her Through It

Welcome to the very first episode of The Girls Room Project After Dark — and we're not easing you in. Candice Guardino is a comedian, actress, singer, and screenwriter best known for her one-woman theatrical comedy special Italian Bred, streaming on Amazon and Apple TV. She's been called the real-life Italian version of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,  Before she was making sold-out audiences laugh about growing up in Staten Island with a loud, unapologetically Italian family, she was sitting in fertility clinics, giving herself injections she called "I wish this was drugs," and learning — at 36 years old, after more than a decade of painful periods, failed IVF rounds, surgeries, and miscarriages — that she had stage 3 endometriosis. Nobody told her. Nobody connected the dots. And she's done being quiet about it. In this episode, Callie Greenberg and Candice Guardino go deep on the stuff nobody puts on the highlight reel: what it actually feels like to be dismissed by a dozen doctors, what IVF with endo looks like versus what the industry promises, the moment a dermoid cyst had grown so large it was pressing into her chest cavity (and she was blaming stress), and the natural IVF round with no medication that finally gave her her son, Maverick. They also talk about the shame spiral — apologizing to your husband for being a "lemon," calling your mom after a hysterectomy diagnosis to say you're sorry, and why the endo + infertility community still isn't showing the stories that don't end with a baby photo. This one's funny, this one's raw, and this one is long overdue. Resources and Links  https://www.candiceguardino.com/ [https://www.candiceguardino.com/] https://www.instagram.com/candiceguardino/ [https://www.instagram.com/candiceguardino/] https://www.youtube.com/@CandiceGuardinoComedy [https://www.youtube.com/@CandiceGuardinoComedy] Italian Bred on Apple [https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/candice-guardino-italian-bred/umc.cmc.4quw7e1mjp9d0vtx8djafwgfe] girlsroomofficial.com [http://girlsroomofficial.com] Girls Room Project After Dark | IG [https://www.instagram.com/girlsroomafterdark/] Girls Room Project | IG [https://www.instagram.com/girlsroomproject/]

Endometriosis & Fertility: Olympic Sprinter Brittany Brown | EP24

Endometriosis can sideline an elite athlete the same way it sidelines anyone else. In this episode of Endo Warriors, host Callie Greenberg sits down with Olympic sprinter Brittany Brown to talk diagnosis, fertility, excision surgery, and what it took to return to competition in under four months. Brittany breaks down what fertility testing actually looked like for her, how she weighed egg retrieval against excision, and the real cost of building a medical and performance team around a chronic illness. She and Callie get into the financial side, nutrition and recovery, and why so many women in sport stay quiet about endo until their bodies force the conversation. This is one of the most direct conversations on the show about competing at the highest level while managing endometriosis. Brittany does not dress it up. She talks about trusting her body, finding excision specialists, and what advocacy looks like when your career depends on the answers. This episode is for any athlete, runner, or high-performer who has been told to push through pelvic pain and is starting to wonder if there is something more going on. In this episode: * Diagnosing endometriosis as an elite athlete * Fertility testing and choosing between egg retrieval and excision surgery * Returning to elite competition in under four months post-op * Building a medical and performance team around a chronic illness * The financial and emotional cost of treating endo at the elite level Resources & Links: * Endo Warriors Podcast on Instagram: @endowarriorspodcast [https://instagram.com/endowarriorspodcast] * Callie Greenberg on Instagram: @callie_greenberg [https://instagram.com/callie_greenberg] * The Girls Room Project on Instagram: @Tgrofficialhq [https://instagram.com/Tgrofficialhq] * The Girls Room Project website: thegirlsroomofficial.com [https://thegirlsroomofficial.com] * Brittany Brown on Instagram: @_brittanyshamere [https://instagram.com/_brittanyshamere] * Brittany Brown on Substack: Brittany Brown Substack [https://brittanybrown.substack.com/]

Decluttering as Medicine: Healing Lyme, Trauma & Chronic Illness | Alison Kero | EP23

What if the clutter in your home is making your chronic illness worse? In this episode of Endo Warriors, professional organizer and healing advocate Alison Kero joins host Callie Greenberg to share her powerful journey with Lyme disease and the surprising role that decluttering, both physical and emotional, played in her recovery. Alison is the founder of From Clutter to Confidence, and her work sits at the intersection of organization, trauma healing, and chronic illness recovery. She and Callie explore how environmental overload affects the nervous system, why so many women with chronic illness feel surrounded by stuff they can't process, and the small steps that compound into real healing for endo, Lyme, and other chronic conditions. This episode is for anyone who senses their environment is part of why they don't feel well, and is ready to find out what changes when you let some of it go. In this episode: * How clutter affects the nervous system in chronic illness * Lyme disease, trauma, and the mind-body connection * Decluttering as a healing practice for endo and chronic illness * Small steps that compound into real recovery * Building an environment that supports your nervous system Resources & Links: * Endo Warriors Podcast on Instagram: @endowarriorspodcast [https://instagram.com/endowarriorspodcast] * Callie Greenberg on Instagram: @callie_greenberg [https://instagram.com/callie_greenberg] * The Girls Room on Instagram: @Tgrofficialhq [https://instagram.com/Tgrofficialhq] * The Girls Room website: thegirlsroomofficial.com [https://thegirlsroomofficial.com] Brought to you by Emet Surgical https://emetsurgical.com/ [https://emetsurgical.com/]

Endometriosis & Fertility: How to Protect Yours | Julia Kelejian | EP22

If you have endometriosis and are thinking about your fertility, this episode is essential listening. Host Callie Greenberg sits down with Julia Kelejian, who shares her decade-long struggle with debilitating period pain, misdiagnoses, and repeated ER visits before finally receiving an endometriosis diagnosis and life-saving excision surgery. The episode covers the emotional toll of dismissal, fears around fertility and treatment options, the physical recovery after surgery, and Julia's move into patient advocacy to help others get heard. Callie and Julia talk through what every endo patient should know about protecting their fertility, the differences between excision and ablation surgery, and how to push for a real diagnostic workup before infertility becomes the diagnosis that finally gets you taken seriously. This conversation is for anyone living with endometriosis who is thinking about kids now, later, or just wants to keep the option open. In this episode: * How endometriosis affects fertility * Why early diagnosis matters for fertility outcomes * Excision surgery and what real recovery looks like * Advocating for yourself in fertility workups * Becoming a patient advocate after diagnosis Resources & Links: * Endo Warriors Podcast on Instagram: @endowarriorspodcast [https://instagram.com/endowarriorspodcast] * Callie Greenberg on Instagram: @callie_greenberg [https://instagram.com/callie_greenberg] * The Girls Room on Instagram: @Tgrofficialhq [https://instagram.com/Tgrofficialhq] * The Girls Room website: thegirlsroomofficial.com [https://thegirlsroomofficial.com] * Julia Kelejian on Instagram: @chronicbeauty.co [https://instagram.com/chronicbeauty.co]

Menopause & HRT: What Doctors Won't Tell You | Heather Danby | EP21

Menopause and hormone replacement therapy are two of the most misunderstood topics in women's health. In this episode of Endo Warriors, host Callie Greenberg sits down with Heather Danby, host of Sharing Out Loud, to talk about the hidden truths around menopause, HRT, and what so many doctors aren't telling their patients. Heather and Callie explore the gap between what current science says about hormone replacement therapy and what women still hear in exam rooms, the link between menopause and chronic conditions like endometriosis, and why community and storytelling are critical when the medical system is slow to catch up. They dig into addiction, hormonal health, societal stigmas, and the healing power of being honest about your own experience. This episode is for anyone navigating perimenopause, menopause, surgical menopause, or trying to figure out whether HRT is right for them. In this episode: * The truth about menopause and hormone replacement therapy * What current research says vs. what doctors still tell patients * How endometriosis and surgical menopause intersect * Storytelling and community as healing in chronic illness * Real talk on hormonal health, addiction, and societal stigma Resources & Links: * Endo Warriors Podcast on Instagram: @endowarriorspodcast [https://instagram.com/endowarriorspodcast] * Callie Greenberg on Instagram: @callie_greenberg [https://instagram.com/callie_greenberg] * The Girls Room on Instagram: @Tgrofficialhq [https://instagram.com/Tgrofficialhq] * The Girls Room website: thegirlsroomofficial.com [https://thegirlsroomofficial.com] * Heather Danby on Instagram: @heathermdanby [https://instagram.com/heathermdanby]