ENDOMETRIOSIS

830,000 Australian women are living with endometriosis, which equates to approximately 1 in 10 women. I was quite horrified when I heard this statistic during a webinar with Donna Ciccia, from Endometriosis Australia. Sounds like a lot, but my feeling as a clinician is that there are even more women out there that have been misdiagnosed.

Endometriosis Australia explains endometriosis as follows:

Endometriosis is a common condition that a­ffects about one in 10 women. It is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the endometrium, which normally lines the uterus, is found in abnormal sites around the body. Most often though, endometriosis is found in the pelvis. These deposits can cause a number of symptoms such as pelvic pain and infertility.

Endometriosis is a chronic illness that can take on average seven to 12 years to diagnose because it shows up in the body in many different ways. The symptoms do not always match the severity of the disease. I’ve had patients with stage 4 endometriosis with minimal pain, but on the other hand, some patients experience debilitating pain with only minor growth of endometrial tissue.

The exact cause of endometriosis is still not known however, we do know there are certain factors at play. Essentially, endometriosis an inflammatory condition with a hormonal origin, that causes immune dysregulation and is linked to certain bacteria within the gut.

Symptoms may include:

Painful sexual intercourse

Painful bowel movements with period

Lower back pain before or with the menstrual cycle

Heavy, painful periods and often large blood clots

Uterine pain

Frequent UTIs – unrelated to cycle

Early menstruation (before 14 years of age)

Nausea

Fatigue

Spotting in between menstrual cycles

Infertility

Diarrhea and/or constipation

If you feel you have any of the above symptoms, I highly recommend that you speak to your GP and/or see a Gynaecologist to request a pelvic ultrasound and blood tests to investigate.

Diagnosis

The only way to diagnose endometriosis is to undergo laparoscopy and have a biopsy (tissue sample) taken for testing. The decision to have a laparoscopy will depend on your clinical symptoms and your wishes for pregnancy in the immediate future. Naturopathy can assist greatly in symptom management and I strongly recommend a treatment protocol to manage symptoms if you do undergo surgery. 

The protocol that has helped my patients with endometriosis:

+ Anti-inflammatory diet – cutting out red meat, dairy, eggs, alcohol, sugar and caffeine (see my cleanse program, it is the anti-inflammatory diet protocol)

+ Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammtory herbs – berberine and turmeric

+ Oestrogen detoxification – upregulating the clearance of oestrogen through the liver, NAC, glutathione, st marys thistle, DIM

+ Gut support – to help modulate the gut bacteria or any presence of SIBO and therefore modulate the immune system

+ Emotional and psycho-emotional support

+ Honouring the womb and healing any trauma through the female line – sounds woo-woo but I have had amazing results with patients who have been open to this work. We can store emotion in our wombs.  There was a study released that mentioned that every sexual partner left a DNA marking in the cells of our uterus. Epic huh, so it’s worth considering detoxing your womb from emotional pain.

If you would like further support please don’t hesitate to contact me or book an appointment.

Main image by Emily Watts