Born of necessity, Kristy Curry—an endometriosis sufferer and accomplished app developer—knew there was a better way to monitor her health, work with her doctor and track her cycle. Curry spent years in pain and confusion, while she was trying to understand what was going on with her body. Eventually, Kristy and her husband/business partner, Jason, came up with a valuable solution. “Why not use my iPhone as an information platform to track pain?” Soon after, they created the Flutter app.
Endometriosis takes 10 years on average in the US to be diagnosed. A decade is too long to get a proper diagnosis when you know something is wrong. The Flutter app allows you to track your symptoms, take a self-diagnosis test and find an endometriosis doctor that can and will help you.
“Curry spent years in pain and confusion, while she was trying to understand what was going on with her body.”
Kristy and Jason own and operate Faction Studio, recently recognized as one of the top 10 mobile app development firms in NYC.
Our roadmap for Flutter is ambitious. While the current app has a full set of valuable features with which women can manage their health, the vision of Flutter is to connect women and their health care providers through a comprehensive but easy to use care platform.
2004
ER Visit
Ahh I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in such severe pain I almost passed out. My sister took me to the ER and I met a very terse male doctor who immediately ordered a pregnancy and STD test. He followed up those negative tests with an extremely painful and rough pelvic exam. Since he couldn’t figure it out he diagnosed me with painful periods and suggested I go home and take some Advil.
2006
Another ER Visit
Similar scenario. I came prepared for another STD and pregnancy test. Both came back negative and I advanced on to a pelvic ultrasound exam. The doctor spotted an extremely small cyst and nothing else. I was sent home and told to schedule a visit with my regular OBGYN.
2006
First Surgery — Laparoscopic Laser Ablation
Fortunately my OBGYN took my symptoms seriously. She suspected endometriosis was the cause of my pain. But the only way to be 100% sure was to perform surgery. At this point I was in so much pain that I was willing to do anything to find relief. During the procedure my doctor confirmed that I indeed had endometriosis and proceeded to perform a laser ablation surgery. My surgery was a success; however, the benefits were short lived. 3 months later my symptoms came back with a vengeance.
2008
My Pain Continues
My pain not only returned, but 2 years post-surgery it had become even worse. I had period-like symptoms every day. My hips ached, my stomach became continually distended and simply wearing pants hurt. It was difficult to stand up straight. Sex was painful. I only pooped once every 5-7 days. I later learned that was because my colon was twisted up in knots by endometriosis lesions. If a surgery only provided 3 months of normalcy, it was depressing to think that I would be living in pain the rest of my days. I became hopeless.
2013
Second Surgery — Laparoscopic Excision
My pain was getting worse and it became increasingly difficult to deal with and hide from others. I let my husband know that it was much worse than he had previously thought. He was frustrated that he couldn’t help end my suffering. We threw out what we thought we knew about endometriosis and starting researching endometriosis pain relief online. All roads to wellness seemed to be through excision surgery—cutting out the endometriosis tissue vs what I had for my previous surgery, burning it with a laser.
Our research led us to Dr. Tamer Seckin, a pioneering endometriosis excision specialist who is arguably the top guy in the world to perform this procedure. We were very fortunate to be living in NYC where he is based. It was a validating experience to meet with Dr. Seckin. He asked questions no one had asked me before and he performed what I’d describe as my first sympathetic pelvic ultrasound.
A few months later I had my surgery by Dr. Seckin at Lenox Hill Hospital. He held my hand until I went under. My surgery was over in about 5 hours. Weeks later I felt like a new person. He shared with me a video of my surgery and for the first time I could see the twisted mess inside me that endometriosis had made. And then I watched him remove it all. It was cathartic.
2016
Today!
I don’t know if another endometriosis surgery is in my future. But more than two years later I still feel great. I previously had endometriosis going down toward my left leg and wrapping around the nerve. This made yoga very painful, if not impossible. Now I can get a little twisty like everyone else. And my GI tract seems to be in regular working order as I now do once a day what previously I could do but once per week at best.
I’ve since educated myself on all topics related to endometriosis. In particular how diet and lifestyle factors can affect quality of life and influence recurrence. Flutter Health is the platform I’ve created to share what I’ve learned so that women like me can live happier, pain free lives.
2017
New Product Launch
On 12/13/16 we welcomed identical twin boys, Jack and Finn.