Hey guys,

Does anyone else out there have endometriosis too? Or know anything about natural remedies for it?

I've had endometriosis for about 10 years now, starting when I was about 15. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's when part of your endometrium somehow get outside of your uterus. Each month during your period, it has no where to go, so it causes immense pain and it builds scar tissue, which causes it to get worse over time. It can only be diagnosed through a laprascopy, which I had, and they removed as much as they could. Unfortunately, it's impossible to remove all of it, so it continues to cause problems.

Prior to my surgery, the pain would begin a few hours before my period started and would last a few hours into it. And this pain...I can't even begin to describe it. You get extremely nauseous, pale, weak, shaky, and the cramps are so intense that it feels like your insides are being ripped to shreds. It's unlike any other pain I've ever experienced. And the bad part used to last for about 6 hours. I used to take birth control pills to help with the pain - that's about the only thing that Dr's offer you. After the surgery, the monthly pain lessened quite a bit, but was still pretty bad. And it got worse when I started this diet and had to stop taking the pill.

Last night, I was hit with the worst endometriosis pains that I've had in the past 6 years since my surgery. By FAR, the worst. It was just like it used to be before I got the surgery. I assume it has to do with the insane amount of stress that I am dealing with right now, and possibly the fact that I've added a small amount of caffeine (through mild green tea) to my diet. But I used to drink caffeine and it didn't seem to do this. And like I said, I only have a tiny bit of it to help me study. Last night.....well, the word AGONY doesn't even begin to describe what I went through for hours on end last night. If I had thought there was anything they could have done for me, I would have had Paul take me to the hospital. It blows all pain I can possibly imagine right out of the water.

Poor Paul had no idea what to do. I was just lying there moaning, crying, wailing....The nonstop, intense pain luckily only lasted for about 2 hours, but the horrendous cramps and nausia lasted through the night and all day today. I need to find something to help me get through this. I'm terrified of having to go through that again. I don't know how I ever made it through 4 years of this before I had my surgery.

Doctors have no idea what causes it, but as you might have guessed, I'm positive that Endometriosis is linked with candida. So I know that treating this helps because I have seen the difference. When my candida gets worse, so does my endo. and when I'm doing better, I don't have as much endo pain. Since I'm not doing worse with yeast at the moment, my only guess is that this intense stress caused my episode last night. So I would like to try some other natural therapies that might help with it. I'll do anything to avoid that agony...

Does anyone have any suggestions? I plan on going to an alternative practitioner soon, but there's no chance of it until January. I know that this candida diet and treatment will eventually help with it, but in the meantime, I need some supplemental help. Has anyone found any help for themselves with this or know of things others have used successfully? I would appreciate any insight or suggestions you guys might have.

Thanks,
~Tia

Gee Tia, I am sorry that you are feeling so tough, I know nothing about it, except it gets much better as blood sugar and hormones and adrenals are balanced, but then what doesn't? I wish you could see Dr. Matsen for testing, he has helped so many people with health issues and he says when your body reaches homeostasis, it will heal itself. I think you are right about the diet, pure natural foods and a clean healthy lifestyle will help ease your symptoms, but there is something that is holding up your progress and you have to find out what that is.

Have you tried the arnica tincture for your pain? That may help. MSM is also good to reduce inflammation. Do you think the metal issues that you have may be linked to your endometroisis, in that case, take extra C, selenium, and other antioxidants to protect you from it. I have read that melatonin may help also. If you could manage it, I would consider purchasing one of his books; I think Sharon ordered them awhile back, I wonder if she got them yet? Primrose oil helped me trememendously with my horrible pms and then later with the hot flashes, have you tried that? I had really heavy periods when I was younger and then had my uterus removed when I was 34, or maybe I would have had the same issues....do look into metals Tia, they screw up our whole system. If I knew then, what I know now, my whole life would have been so different.

Best luck with this bout and I hope you feel better soon.

Sandi

Tia,

I am so sorry to hear you have been in such pain. My daughter 27 has endometrosis as well. In fact you and her have an awful lot in common. She really suffers alot. It was better for a while after her surgery but it comes right back. We have not found anything that works so far but I have read recently that it is caused by being estrogen dominent, so I was thinking about trying some natural progesterone cream, but I really hate to self treat cause I don't like messing with hormones. I thought about getting a appointment with a endroconoligist (hormone specialist) to see what they think. If we have any luck I will let you know. It is a horrible and debilitating illness. I wish you luck on this journey. I do believe that candida plays a huge role in this as well. Unfortunatley stress is a major contributor (what else is new) but it really does seem to help her alot when she just slows down a bit and takes time for herself. Take care cutie!! Blessings Annie

PS- EstroFactors by Metagenics is a hormone balancer and some people have had really good results.

Also "Plus" by Mannatech is also a entire body hormone balancer. Have heard incredible results with that as well. So much information so many products enough to make one crazy!!

Thanks for the info! I'll reply soon...

Oh Tia,

That sounds just wretched! I’m so sorry to think of you all in agony like that. How terrible. You must both have felt so hopeless. I’ll throw out a bunch of ideas for you.

First of all I would suggest, if you haven't already started using it (again?), that you get onto some Zymitol throughout the month. Here's a little excerpt about the key anti-inflammatory ingredient in it, serrapeptase:

"Serrapeptase: A Natural Anti-Inflammatory
Serrapeptase is also proteolytic enzyme and is found in negligible amounts in the urine, suggesting that it is transported directly from the intestine into the bloodstream. Clinical studies show that serrapeptase induces fibrinolytic, anti-inflammatory and anti-edemic (prevents swelling and fluid retention) activity in a number of tissues, and that its anti-inflammatory effects are superior to other proteolytic enzymes. Besides reducing inflammation, one of serrapeptase's most profound benefits is reduction of pain, due to its ability to block the release of pain-inducing amines from inflamed tissues. Physicians throughout Europe and Asia have recognized the anti-inflammatory and pain-blocking benefits of this naturally occurring substance and are using it in treatment as an alternative to salicylates, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs."

High levels of MSM (up to 6000 mg per day for two to three weeks and then 3000 each day) may also be very helpful Yellow Sun Vanilla-Orange MSM Powder It will help reduce inflammation while helping to deliver the serrepeptase to where it's needed. It will also reduce your need for pain medications by increasing their effectiveness.

You may also want to look into serepeptase on it's own. I'm not sure if Linda has a source for this or not. You may want to message her to ask. If you're dealing with such extreme pain you might want to take Zymitol all month with MSM and then premenstrually take the MSM with straight serepeptase in higher doses.

Nutritional support for hormone balance may help. Using B6 in high doses along with a multi-b formula can help in some cases to reverse the hormone imabalance that worsens this type of condition. You can take as many as three b6 250 mg tablets per day. Taking extra zinc with the grape seed extract twice a day may also help with inflammation and hormone balancing Activin Plus OptiZinc
400 i.u. to 1000 i.u of vitamin E complex aids in hormone balance as well.

A super absorbably calcium magnesium product Yellow Sun Cal-Mag Plus

Buffered vitamin c at 3000 mg a day can help to speed the healing as the renegade cells receed. It also reduces our susceptibility to inflammation.
Yellow Sun Buffered Vitamin C

Check out Nordic brand oil blends. They make a lemon flavoured EPA mix that is very good and I believe they also have one with evening primrose oil added. These essential oils are specific to endometriosis and inflammation problems. If you can’t find it, just try to find a very good quality, super pure fatty acid product. Castor oil packs are said to be super for menstrual and edometriosis pain. I can’t remember if you’ve said you’ve used these before? If not, they may be worth a shot for use at the time. Another thing that can help is doing a veggie only diet or at least eating super light and super clean with no sugar, fat, or caffeine and with really low protein for two to three days before your pain is expected.

I know you said that you’re using just a wee bit of caffeine but I have read that even the smallest amount, such as that found in chocolate, can be enough to trigger severe pain in those susceptible to endometriosis. Have you looked into Think O2 tea by traditional medicinals and Remember FX by Herb Tech as alternatives to caffeine for studying? They are more specific to mental clarity than caffeine is.

If you take the zinc, b6 and vitamin e therapy for hormone balancing, you may want to be sure to have a multi vitamin formula to ensure overall nutritional balance. Taking a few nutrients in high doses can throw off overall balance without a complete vitamin/mineral support product like the Yellow Sun capsules. Of course it will pay off for you to seek out additive free supplements whenever possible especially if you are taking high levels of them. When the products are clean and potent it is hard to underestimate the power of vitamins and minerals.

Yellow Sun Multi-Plus



I’ll be thinking of you Tia and I hope you are able to afford some extra supports and to ease your way through to your next period. Take good care and best of luck.

With love and hopes for your speedy imrovement,

TLC

Hi Tia,

I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have to deal with this. I'm recovering now from pelvic laparoscopic surgery myself -- although no endo was found.

I don't know what I would have done during my illness without the Zymitol. I'm convinced that it helped me both pre-and post surgery with all my myriad pelvic complaints. And I've been so impressed with the Yellow Sun Vitamin C here that I've thrown out our old Vit. C and I'm placing the entire family on Yellow Sun Vit. C.

I also wanted to add to our sweet Annie's comment about progesterone cream. I was diagnosed with estrogen dominance years ago. I couldn't take the pharmaceutical hormones and the oral micronized "natural" progesterone that I tried to take just made my yeast flourish. When I switched to a natural progesterone cream, though, my hormonal problems improved immediately. It's so easy to use too. Just a little dollop on the inside of the arm, neck, leg... they say you should rotate areas of application.

Anyway, I'm convinced that my candida contributed, perhaps even caused, my hormonal imbalance. Once I introduced a progesterone cream, my cycles normalized and as long as I'm good on the WA diet here, the PMS is pretty much marginalized. You might want to look into progesterone cream for endo -- it might really help and it's not something that doctors traditionally recommend or even know about. And, it's available over the counter.

Hugs,
Sharon

Tia,

Are you out there?

Oh dear, after that post expressing the terrible trouble you've been having I've been worried about you. Hopefully how that your cycle has past the pain is well over with and you're just busy catching back up with your schoolwork. I'm thinking about you and just wanted to know how you're doing. If you get a minute, please do give us an update.

Take good care,

Tari-Lee

Tarilee,

Yes, I'm here! Just weary and with no time! Sorry I hadn't replied yet - things have yet to settle down for me. And I don't think they will until Christmas time, if then!

Anyway, I'm hanging in here...and doing relatively ok. I'm going to look into all of your suggestions, along with those from the other wonderful women who responded - thank you all so much for your feedback!

I am already taking high doses of the YellowSun Cal Mag supp and Multi. I've also starting taking organic flax seed oil caps, which contain omegas 3,6,& 9. Would that be good enough for the EFAs I should be taking? I also have a small amount of zymitol left that I'm taking again, but I will run out of that soon. I would like to take B vitamins too, but I'm having a hard time finding ones that aren't filled with bad ingredients. I'm taking SBX and Astragalus as immune boosters and ginseng for my mind. I use the Bachs Rescue Rememdy as needed too. And of course, the ProbioPlus - I never stop taking that. I'm a walking natural pharmacy!

The only thing I'm not taking is the antifungals. I've been taking the purge without them every couple days to help flush the toxins though. I think my body is too weak to handle them, and on top of it, I don't want to risk die-off when this last month of school is so critical for me to get caught up. 4 weeks to go and about 70 pages of papers to write, a couple projects, and a final exam. Yee ha!

I have been trying to cut the caffeine down - even though I drink very small amounts to begin with. As you said though, even small amounts can hurt. I haven't been able to find those teas you mentioned, but I will keep looking. I'll order them if I have to. I will try to find the castor oil packs too - everyone has said those are helpful. As soon as I get time, I will also research into the Serrapeptase and see what I find. Ahh time....

Annie - Thanks for sharing your daughters story. Somehow, it always helps to know you're not alone out there. Endometriosis is terrible, but I know it will get better as my candida problem gets better. I've just hit a rough streak. I'll check into the natural progesterone creams - thanks to you and Sharon for the idea. It would be wonderful if that could help balance my hormones and decrease the pain levels. I'm so scared of getting my next period!! Annie, if your daughter finds anything that helps, please let me know - and I will do the same.

Sharon - I'm taking zymitol again until it runs out. That one is quite expensive, so I'll have to see if funds will allow be to resupply that one. I bought it after hearing all of its amazing qualities, but I didn't really notice any changes for me. Maybe they were there and I just didn't realize it. It didn't help at all with my sinus problems though. But I'm sure it would help with inflamation, so I'll see what I can afford. Yikes!

Thanks again guys. I wrote this really quick and I have no idea if it's coherent. By I truly apprecate all of your suggestions and concern. I will look into all of these ideas as soon as I get more time. In the meantime, wish me luck!

,
~Tia

Hi Tia,

The EPA from fish oil is very specific to the problem you're dealing with and the body can only be successful at making it from flax oil if it is functioning optimally. Supplementing with preformed EPA can be very effective.

Thorne makes B vitamins that are fairly clean. Contact naturopathic physicians in your area as they sell them.

For the castor oil packs you just need a cotton cloth, a bottle of castor oil and a hot water bottle. You can find information about procedure on the internet. It's hard to do it wrong.

I wish you a much easier cycle this time through. Be well,

TLC

hi, i dunno if you're into this kind of stuff, but you maybe you'd wanna try acupunture and/or the chinese herbs? not that it would get rid of the endometriosis but it might be able to help balance out some of the hormones that are causing this. i dont have endometriosis but i've tried both and they work really well in balancing the hormones...definately helped me get thru some of my symptoms before i was able to get some of this yeast out of me..

maybe if you tried it the week before you get your period you might have less pain?? it just kind of balances out the body and the hormones. that might help a little if estrogen is to blame.... plus they gave me herbs to balance my liver which is what filters the hormones.. i though it helped a lot and it also helps you to feel less stressed and more calm

hope i could be of help and i hope you feel better soon

Hi Tia, I just found this post. I commented earlier on "some good news" about what I take, and I wanted to update my finds here.

I've never been diagnosed with endometriosis (I avoid doctors like the plague, I've had so many bad reactions to their recommendations!), but I have all the symptoms. Like I said before, I took herbs to regulate it, the main ones being chaste tree berry (vitex), black cohosh, cramp bark and dong quai (red raspberry and wild yam are also very good, but it's hard to find a blend with all of these). Chaste tree berry is key to rebalancing proper hormone levels, as well as the cohosh and dong quai.

Before I took birth control, I took Rosemary Gladstar's Vitex 20-40 blend from Frontier. But for some obtuse, unexplained reason, it's been discontinued for years, to much protest. It had all the right herbs, and now I can't find a comparable blend that isn't an alchohol tincture! She has a book on herbs for women that is awesome, by the way.

Vitanica is the best I could find, and even they don't include everything I used to take. Oh well. I'm going to try the Fem Rebalance from them and see how it goes. I hope this info. is helpful to you, and that you feel better!

Sending good thoughts your way,

Marisa

Marisa,

Welcome to the forum! And thanks a lot for all your suggestions and info! I've been meaning to reply to your other post to me, but I've been so insanely busy that I've barely had time to log on to the foum at all. Booo. Writing papers is taking over my life! Anyway, I will look for those herbs and try to get some. You are the first person I know of that has found some natural herbs that have helped. I don't know many other people with endometriosis, and the ones that do are either in the same boat as me, or else go with pharamceuticals and birth control pills.

If you think you might have it, they use a laproscopic surgery to actually diagnose it, and while they are in there, they remove as much of the misplaced endometrium material that they find. Some of it soaks into the tissues and is impossible to remove with the laser. I had it done about 7 years ago. It helped, but it didn't take it away. They say it can can grow back, resulting in some people having more than one surgury. This in turn causes more scar tissue, more pain, etc. So I can see why you might not want to get it done.

I told my doctor that I observed a link between my candida and endometriosis (as the candida gets worse, so does the endo.) and he agreed that there is some sort of link. Many practitioners feel that a hormonal imbalance is either one of the root causes of candida, or else often a coexisting illness that can prevent recovery. And hormones are definitely linked to the endometriosis too. It's all such an elaborate mess. That's an interesting theory you shared about endo. - I'll have to read more about that b/c I've never heard of it before.

I won't have too much time to research into the herbs and treatments until May, when my semester ends. At that point, I plan to dedicated a LOT of time to reading up and researching into my health conditions once again, now that I have a more complete picture. Then I return to the doctor on May 10th...so we'll see what he has to say. He put me on a natural prosterone cream for both the endo. problems and b/c he feels that hormone imbalance is keeping me ill with the candida. This is my first month on it, and he claims it should really help, so we'll see. I'll let you know how it goes. If the Fem Rebalance seems to help you out, let me know.

Take care,
~Tia

I'm sorry to hear this and I see that this post is from some time ago. But I would not beable to sleep if I didn't post this now.
I once was dignosed with endometriosis. that was 10 years ago and it's back.
I beat it with a "new" new then shot to make my body make less estrogen. Which made the endo.. die off. I know that not every thing is for everyone but I since have had 2 children. and am now going to have to make the decision of either asking for the shot or... what I am doing trying the natural way... getting rid of the metal and yeast toxins in my body. I will give that a try first. and if all else fails I will be back to my OBGYN to have the series of shots. It's been 10 years but I remember it like this...
For 3 months I received a shot each month which made my body go through symptoms of menapause at the age of 19-20. I was very happy with the results. I wish I could remember the name of the med.. sorry I cant. Im sure a doc would knonw.
Every... body is differenT

Good Wishes to all,
Ginnology

Tia,
I understand what you are going through, but am still looking for answers myself. After fighting with serve pain for over a that caused me in the ER at least twice. I was diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovarian sydrome. I went through surgery a month ago and that has helped the pain some. The next stage of treatment was hormone shots for six months to go through menopause. I put my foot down and refused I am only 26.
I have spent the last month doing my own research. Yesterday I went to my ND and he said my Candida had invaded my hormones. It's been five years since I have dealt with my Candida and I was starting to see the symptoms again this past year. I started detox today.

Ginnology,
I think the shots they want to give me are what you are taking about. Than they want to do a round of birthcontrol for a year. I am just worried about the side effects. I work in a middle school and am attending college. Last year I had some major struggles at work due to the side effects of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian sydrome. I am going to try the Candida treatment first and than if it doesn't help do the shots.

Hi Freedom,

It sounds like you've been looking at some tough choices. I hope the candida detox helps a lot. Detoxing your diet and your lifestyle and personal care products/homecare products can also help the process of strengthening your body and clearing out chemical residue that may be interfering with your bodies healing abilities. The ND may also be able to offer you some herbal and homeopathic supports to 'steer' your bodies rebalancing in the right direction.

Good luck and please stay in touch if we can help you with the Whole Approach product and food therapy program.

Take good care,

TLC

I am going through the same thing myself. I had major abdominal surgery two weeks ago for fibroids, and they diagnosed me with stage 4 endo. It only took me 15 years to get a diagnosis! LOL! They want me to do the shots, too, called Lupron. I am going to decline. I read about an endo diet that is very, very similar to the candida diet, so I will try that. Massage therpay has helped me, and so has acupuncture. Studying a martial art I believe has also helped keep it at bay. I am going to try yoga when I can move better and my doctor lets me. Hang in there!!!

Hugs
Leisa

Ick, what a drag to have to have surgery. I'm sorry that was necessary for you. It sounds like you've got some strong coping skills on your side. Keep on taking good care.

Good luck Leisa!

TLC