Endometriosis

[earthmagic]

I was recently diagnosed with Endometriosis when my OBGYN did exploratory surgery with the Lapieroscope. I have been experiencing severe abdominal cramping during periods for nearly 20 years but have never found a physician willing to do more than medicate me. No medications do more than take the edge off the pain. Generally, the first day of my period, I begin having waves of pain and eventually end up passing out from it and incapacitated for the better part of a day, until I can medicate enough to tolerate it.

Presently, my OB has prescribed synthetic progesterone, 5 MG twice a day for 3 months, to see if the pain will lessen. I'm not willing to undergo the Lupron injections that send women into pre-menopause...I'm only 34. I have tried the pill and had no results.

I would like to hear of any suggestions and/or experiences anyone has had with treating Endo with herbs or other alternative methods. It worsens as the months go by now and is beginning to interfere with my ability to work and have a healthy sexual relationship with my partner. There is quite a bit of discomfort internally during certain times of the month. I would appreciate anything any of you might be able to share.

I love the forums...I have had an interest in alternative methods of healing and in herbs for a long time but have just now begun to explore and increase my knowledge.

Hugs,
Earthmagic

[maria]

Earthmagic, years ago I saw a laser operation of endometriosis on TV, where the woman said the same thing: she would pass out of pain every period. I only know the name of this disease and remember the program because it was the most satisfying thing to look at, how the laser just zapped away at all the slimy disease part and the inside of her body, which had been folded and tied up in unnatural position by the threads of it, just unfold and relax. I believe they said she had a baby some years later but cannot remember for sure.
However, the disease looked like slimy threads and such things must be possible to treat with herbs and foods. If cancer is! I am sorry I could nto help you more but I am sure there are others here who can.

[perfect4ofus]

dear earthmagic;

I have lived with indometriosis for many years. I was first diagnosed when I was just 15 yrs old. That was incredibly young at that time and in our city there were three of us teenagers diagnosed at the same time. My specialist put it in his medical journal. They were shocked.


I first learned I had endometriosis when I nearly passed out in pain at the dinner table and my mother decided she had had enough of the md and told them to refer me a specialist immediately. He did a quick pelvic and told his nurse to schedule a laporoscopy. I had one a month later and they removed cist's and endometrium tissue from one ovary and tissue from the second. My specialist said Had the surgery been scheduled for two months later they would have needed to remove the first ovary! This was at 15! It lessened after the first surgery and I had a second exploratory shortly after because of the pain but no surgery was needed. After the birth of our first daughter I had a second laporoscopy with a different specialist and they removed a small cist. After the birth of our second daughter I have had no problems! They say if you have indometriosis pre-birth that sometimes it clears up after you birth. Some it doesn't. For me my husband jokingly said it took two! ( I had two c-sections sot his is why it probably didn't work for me) Anyway, my recommendation and this is after over 15 yrs. of endometriosis is to see a different specialist. Tell him/her your history and what they have tried and that you are in severe pain and would like exploratory surgery with the possiblity of a laporoscopy. That means they will go in through a small slit under the belly button and make another small slit just above the pubic hair line and "explore" and see if everything is ok, then if there is a problem they will remove the endometrium tissue and or any cists and if there is a greater problem etc. then they will discuss this with you when you wake up. I DO NOT like surgery and am all for a healthy and natural approach to everything. Yes, the surgery is invasive but lets face it. Endometrium tissue can travel throughout your body and doesn't just stay in your female organs. They have found indometrium tissue in people's shoulders that have caused "cementing" of muscles etc. That stuff moves around! It sounds to me, and just in my opinion that you ob isn't on the up and up as far as treatment and what YOUR needs are with this. Pills and medications are fine but if you have this growing and mulitplying each month you need more done that experimenting. Most ob's don't even mess around and will schedule you right away. It can become serious and causes so much pain. I don't konw how well they explained it to you but, endomtriosis is where the lining of your uterus isn't fully expelling from your body and is building up each month and causing problems with your phalopian tubes, your uterus, ovaries and all sorts of other area's. Causing of course pain, inflamation and severe cramping any time of the month. It's extremely disabilitating to someone with severe endometriosis. I COMPLETELY KNOW first hand how you feel. Please just go get a second opinion. Get that stuff out of there and if you want to try herbs that's great. I'm sure that there is somthing that can help. I am not knowledgeable in that part of it. Usually they put you on birth control immediately following your surgery so that you can regulate your periods and make sure that that tissue is on it's way out each and every month. I know this is lengthy but I hope it helps you understand a little bit about what is going on and what 99% of american women usually do to combat it. I have never met anyone else with it that has been able to take care of it with any sort of medication herbs or anything else. I'm no dr. but I just know that after so much build up they need to take a more drastic measure and then you can start fresh and use something. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have concerning this or drop me a private e-mail. It all SEEMS so simple but can and is so frightening especially when you are in the middle of SO much excrutiating pain! You poor thing. I'm thinking of you! (((hugs)))

[earthmagic]

I forgot to mention in my post that my OB removed the endometrium when he did a laporoscopy on March 15. He told me the severity of the pain, it seems, cannot be determined by how much endometrium is found in each person. In my case, there was only endometrium found on the ligaments that support the uterus. He removed that and the period I had following the surgery began without the usual pain I experience, then, after the first day, the intolerable pain re-asserted itself and I was again passing out and in bed for a day.

I would seek another opinion, but my only insurance is Medicade and the only way I was able to get as far as I have with this is because I was pregnant last year and got a referral from my MD, then I miscarried and from there I filled my OB in on all the problems I've been experiencing for so many years. I'm feeling rather stuck at this point.

My periods are pretty regular, it's the pain and frustration of the Endo that has me. I have read about it and understand what it is but have also gathered that there doesn't seem to be a solution after the removal of the cysts and tissue.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Just knowing there is support helps.

[sapphire kate]

earthmagic - you might also check out a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor. TCM has a range of understandings and tools for dealing with chronic illnesses that western medicine has no answers for.

I don't know what the TCM view on endometriosis is, but you could probably find out online.


Best wishes,
kate.

[sapphire kate]

ok, I got curious, and had a look online. This article has a good overview of how TCM sees endometriosis and how it addresses it (it looks encouraging):

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0KW ... icle.jhtml

Because one of the thing that TCM sees about endometriosis is that there is a stasis of energy in the pelvic area, therapies that focus on moving energy may be helpful too. I am thinking things you can learn and then do at home like yoga or chi kung.


<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I love the forums...I have had an interest in alternative methods of healing and in herbs for a long time but have just now begun to explore and increase my knowledge.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

You sound very open to finding a holistic way of working with your body. Maybe it's a matter of finding the modality or practioner that you feel drawn to or comfortable with?

[perfect4ofus]

That's an excellent suggestion Sapphire Kate! Yoga, might help greatly when I think back. Under normal circumstances I feel a thousand times better after yoga and if you start SLOW, you might find the tension lessen. Sometimes even slow walking helps relieve the pressure.

Please let us know about the other suggestions Sapphire Kate had. I would be very interested to know if they help. It would be wonderful to learn of some other alternatives to surgery. Minor or not, I can't stand any surgical proceedures. Yuck

[karen joy]

Earth Magic, I would not wish that pain on anyone. I struggled since 12 years old... though I must say I was repeatedly diagnosed "endo" but never went through with the laparoscopy, seemed too invasive. I would have hellacious cramping, screaming and kicking till I got to the bathroom, and puked until I passed out on the bathroom floor...every month! I was in bed at least two days in pain.

I experimented with a lot of things, and researched a lot as well. I know now it is routine to laser outt he endometrial tissue found where it doesn't belong while doing the laparoscopy. I have heard that it frequently grows right back though.

I found it was incredibly important I took my pain killers at the first sign of pain, long before I needed them, because the pain could escalate so fast and bad it then became near impossible for event he strongest drugs to work. I used to take things like codeine and such, then later discovered miraculously that the antiinflammatories with the painkillers (don't remember the name) helped too... showing me inflammation was part of the problem.

I even went a period of my life where I did not take any pain killers, deciding there was a voice behind my pain I needed to hear. It was quite a trip to ride it full force every month.. gave me days of intense me-time!

I tried among other things, rife machine, vegan diet, vegetarian diet, focused exercising in the groin area, and acupuncture. For the latter I was lucky enough to be accepted for an experiment for free acupuncture treatments for the "pms" (hah what a laugh of a name!) Well if helpd while I was getting the treatments bring some releif... I then moved to Berkeley to study acupressure!

I got worse on a vegetarian diet, and real bad on my short vegan stint. Though I found it incredibly helpful to eat salad like things right before my bleeding started and into the beginning. I learned this by doing a program with my ND of a strict diet with baking soda water in the morn for bowel movements, and then regular DEEP stomach (intestine) massage. Well, I wouldn't recommend this harshness now for anyone, but I learned how the state of my digestive system could affect the level of pain.

The rife machine helped while I did it.

The most miraculous time was when I had begun a vigorous wiorkout routine, with much focus on mygroin area, and my bleeding started after 28 days (rather than the ususal 35) and was totally pain-free. I will neve forget that month!!!

At age 27 I decided to go ahead with the laperoscopy... and being told I was probably infertile (already miscarried once early on) after 14+ years of this, I left all caution to the wind iwht my new husband. A couple weeks before the scheduled surgery I found I was pregnant! Since birth and getting back my bleeding a year later, I have little pain... enough that i like to take it easy for the day, but I cna function well, read, relax, and all with just a little motherwort tincture. Of course I am not suggesting pregnancy as a remedy solely as many did to me.

From my further study into this, here are a couple things I have learned that may help one in your situation:

~[url="http://www.susunweed.com/Weed_letter_Nov-01.htm#q2"]Vitex berry tincture[/url] - "Chasteberry, also known as vitex, is a remedy which has helped many women with endometriosis and possibly could be an ally for you, too. A dropperful of tincture can be taken four times a day for several years or until you experience relief from pain and other distress."

~[url="http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com/An_Excerpt-114-menstrual_cramps.htm"]Liferoot tincture[/url] - "Liferoot is one of my favorite remedies for menopausal women dealing with intense cramps, especially if accompanied by severe fatigue, nausea, and faintness. A small dose (5-10 drops) of the tincture of the fresh liferoot flowers, taken daily during the luteal phase (from ovulation to menstruation) for at least 3-6 months has "worked wonders" for many women who were totally incapacitated by menstrual distress."

As you may guess I feel personally close to this topic...please do keep us updated as you go along. I feel a certian kinship with any woman suffering as I did. Feel free to ask any questions as you want [;)]