I think the biggest mystery with Endometriosis is figuring out what might have been the cause. Somehow we think that if we knew the cause, perhaps we could figure out the solution, right?
Thing is, no one knows the cause and there are many different possible factors, many of which are hard to measure. I mean, how do we know if our mom’s had it, when they might not have been properly diagnosed? How do we know if we had it from a child, if we never got a proper examination as a baby? How do we know for sure what any of the possible causes are, and in the end does it really help us move forward?
For me, I think knowing that my mom had it or that Endometriosis might be hereditary helps a little. At least it takes the blame off myself. But it doesn’t help me to move forward. I am still stuck with having Endo and figuring out what I can do to get better.
What I have figured out over the years is that Endometriosis is ultimately stimulated and aggravated by 3 key things. Yes, they will vary according to each person and there are many, many factors involved but it gives us somewhere to start and somewhere to focus our attention on our healing journey.
So, here are 3 key starting blocks to figure out Endo:
1. Our immune system
I have noticed that many of us with Endo do share some commonalities with our immune system. It is usually low or we have auto-immune responses happening in the body. What I mean by this is that we have things like allergies and food sensitivities and any responses by the body which are elevated or heightened.
I strongly believe that this auto-immune response is what actually triggers the Endometriosis to grow. The key thing that many doctors and gynecologists mention about these “retrograde” cells of ours is that MOST women get them. The biggest difference is that their bodies are able to clean them out and flush them out of the body, without any reaction. What our bodies do is go into an overdrive and try and “fix” these cells, by sending “repair” cells to the area.
Our immune system is ultimately located in our gut. Yes, I know that sounds strange but this is where the good bacteria that protect us from disease etc grow. One of the other key things that many of us with Endo suffer from is candida. We generally have had some kind of candida overgrowth, either in the bowels or more systemic candida like thrush or in other parts of the body. The reason this candida becomes systemic is because we don’t have sufficient good bacteria in our gut to keep it under control.
These good bacteria are found in fermented foods and probiotics. We want to ensure we get back the control of candida so it doesn’t run rampant and take over!
The immune system doesn’t just rely on herbs and diet etc to protect it but also eliminating any of these overgrowths is key to getting back a normal balance within the body.
2. Your thyroid is struggling
I have recently been studying the effects of low iodine in women with Endometriosis and the figures are astounding. Most of us with Endometriosis have low thyroid function. This low thyroid function (hypothyroidism) is often a result of simply lacking enough iodine. What is interesting about this is that low iodine can trigger growths in the wrong places!
Correcting thyroid imbalances is so simple when you know how! I think I tried swallowing kelp tablets for months until I discovered I could simply eat seaweed!
When your thyroid struggles, it has implications on all your other hormone functions. This includes estrogen, progesterone and all those important ones you want for your healthy PMS and pain-free period. Low thyroid function is also directly linked to miscarriages.
3. We are carrying toxins
I think for many years I thought I could just control my Endo with my diet. I thought that if I ate well, it would all be good. The trouble was that the minute I didn’t eat well, I would feel like rubbish for 3 days straight! It felt like my body was just getting by on the good diet but should I push it any further, it would just keel over! Very annoying when you are traveling, believe me!
The biggest thing I noticed is how my body reacted when I did “fall off the wagon” was that it seemed to break out in bad skin, get achy all over and just feel incredibly tired and run down. It was like I was giving my body just too much work to have to deal with!
What on earth was it working on? Why was this little extra bit of toxicity from my food causing it to struggle?
The reality is, I have tried to wipe out the past 30 years of things I have done to my body. All the hormone treatments, all the painkillers and drugs to solve some or other side effect from some or other treatment I was on. I forgot about the countless antibiotics, the poor diet and the high stress for many years. All of these things are still there—I can’t just shove them under the carpet!
The biggest one I think I neglected for many years, which added to my toxic load, was my teeth. I had mercury fillings in for years and inflamed and infected gums. They would bleed every time I brushed them and I never considered that this was adding to the toxic load on my body. This indicates bad bacteria in the mouth and when we ignore them, they travel right down into the rest of the body.
Bad bacteria from anywhere are contributing to the toxic load on our health. This includes any candida overgrowths, bad mouth bacteria or anything you can think of that might be bothering you or causing some kind of discomfort.
We need to flush out these extra toxins. They are not going to leave our bodies that easily! Mercury and lead are strong heavy metals and they can stay stuck in the body for years!
There are many fantastic ways to flush out toxins from the body but the key point is that we need to get them out!
Endo can seem like a giant beast at times. I know for me, there always seemed to be new angles with it. I always seemed to find other factors, possible causes and various tangets to explore but in the end, these three starting blocks have always brought me back some sense of focus on what to do:
1. Make sure I have good digestion and plenty of good immune fighting tools like probiotics, fermented foods and herbs which boost immunity.
2. Eat plenty of iodine (seaweed is best) and check my thyroid function regularly. If my feet and hands are getting cold easily, it means things need rebalancing!
3. Do lots of cleansing. Use juicing, herbs and any types of cleanses to just get the bad stuff out! Make sure my teeth get a regular good clean out and rebalance with natural methods to ensure good bacteria can thrive.
What do you think are the key areas we should focus on with Endo? Do you agree with the ones I have mentioned or do we wish to add some? Do you notice similarities in what I have shared in your own Endo journey?
Please share your comments below…
This Post Has 17 Comments
Hello all. I highly recommend to tou all to try coffee enemas. It helps with the pain. It cleans your liver. It gives you energy after. I feel more grounded after a coffee enema. It is so easy. It doesn t cost much. It is like a break in your day. It is important to drink 3 juices during your day though so you don t lose all vitamins. Dr Vickers fron the gerson therapy hospital talk about them on google. Type his name and coffee enema you ll find it. On the gerson therapy website there is instructions on how to do a coffee enema. Optimum health sale enema buckets. Try it! You ll get addicted to them cause they make you feel so good.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. You wanna a clean liver and help your body to release toxins? This is the best way!
Take care
France
Hi Katie. My name is France. I had endometriosis and like you i felt sooooo tired all time. You have to have tour thyroid checked. First the endometriosis make your body work trying to fight the disease so your body gets tired more quickly but you might have hypothyroidism. That is my case anyway. It might ne yours. Like you i could sleep 12 hours and still feel so tired. You can try to take your own temperature and check tour thyroid or have a test done by a doctor. Both test is better. Every morning before getting up even sitting up take your temperature in your mouth and write it down. If you wanna do it i can give you more info. I m myself doing the gerson therapy but only juicing doing coffee enemas and eating only vegetables would help you much better. I was doig coffee enemas for more than 2 years and i love them. They have helped with the pain. They gave me energy for short term yes but it was precious. It is easy and so powerful. Pills will make you feel worst. Maybe you can try what has worked for me. Castor oil pack helped me soo much. Sleeping with one around my belly. It gives me energy. I ve doing the gerson therapy for 3 months now because all this made me feel better every day but it never healed my body. This is why i am doing the therapy. I want the endo metriosis to be over and put all this in the past. It is working. I love it!
Hope i helped. I can give you more infos if you are interested in my way of healing
Take care. I totally undestand you 🙂
France from whistler canada
I can totally relate to what you are experiencing Katie. My recommendation is to get off the anti-depressants. They suppress Serotonin in the body which is your sleep hormone. I would also look at adding more good nutrition into the body – well done on cutting out dairy and gluten 🙂 this will help for sure but it does take time. I recommend Juicing or blending up smoothies each day. Add as much good stuff as you can find. Green Juice with Kale, celery and a pear or apple is fabulous. Smoothies can give you a real booster too and you can add heaps more into those. MSM powder is fabulous for you.
The reason you feel tired is that your liver is simply overworked. Give it a hand – Milkthistle is great or some other liver tonics. You have come to the right place sweetheart. Just keep reading 🙂
I am only 19 and it has taken doctors ages to finally diagnose me,I had to beg them for an ultrasound and then finally for a laparoscopy. I was supposed to get Lupron injections for three months before I have my surgery in a week, except I didn’t get my third because the side effects are awful. Hot flushes every hour, for at least 15 minutes, really bad bone pain, mainly in my hips, constantly tired, and just feeling unwell all the time.
I have honestly give up with this condition, I am a college student and work but have missed so much time from college that I probably won’t be getting into university. I am ALWAYS tired, I end up sleeping for around 16 hours and wake up still tired, I miss so much because I sleep through my alarms and I’m always exhausted. I don’t go out anymore because I am just too exhausted to do anything.
I have just started to cut gluten and dairy out of my diet, and limiting meat consumption (I only eat chicken, turkey and fish), but I just don’t know what to do! I feel like my manager and college just don’t understand how exhausted I am, and I’m also on anti-depressants because I am so stressed, and the side effects that come with them don’t help!
Please tell me someone else has been in this situation and how do you stop the chronic tiredness?
Thank you Leone,
You might be keen to join the new healing course: Endo Wellness Technique 🙂 It will help you keep on track and be super healthy. Check it out http://www.endowellnesstechnique.com
Hello
I’ve been told by my Natropath that the liver problems is the cause of my endo. I have been eating healthy but with a stressful job, I never know what each month holds. My diet is 90% good, but at Christmas I ate lots of sugar and this caused terrible pain. Thanks for a great article
Melissa,
One more thing, have ever had blood test on thyroid hormon level?
Where I live this is standard blood test for women that are trying to conceive or are pregnant
Dear Melissa,
This is so true. Thank you for his article!
There is just one point I would like to clarify hypothyroidism is a state in which the thyroid gland does not produce a sufficient amount of the thyroid hormones (low thyroid function)while hyperthyroidism is the opposite. The names are very confusing.
Thanks for sharing France 🙂 I will need to try it too!
I tried on my own. Scary at first but i had faith and trust. I told myself if coffee enemas are being used to treat cancer they must be good. I statted to search about those and read enemas are part of jesus s healing techniques and after that the french king were doing this every night and even more stories. i thought that was amazing, powerful. It wasn t coffee at the time. Science added coffee but still wow!. I m not religious but i m a believer.
Anyway, i follow the gerson institute technique. I think it s the easiest and more powerful one. It s worth the try! There s no shame or danger. I ll send you an amazing link i have kept somewhere safe. Great stuff on enemas.
Thanks Jo! Stress is a big one and I think being “present” can really help this. Us women are so inclined to want to multi-task!
THat is a great point France and thank you for sharing 🙂
I really want to try the Coffee Enemas too! I have heard so many great things about it! Did you try it on your own or did you go and see someone first to show you how?
Hi Melissa, I think you are right however i would stress too. From my point of view, it s what start the fire. My endo never came back since i ve been taking care of it with daily habits of natural techniques. but i find as soon as i m a bit stress even by just being late, my body weakens. I get more tired , moody, skin stuff, bloatings…does it make sense?i m doing my best to breath, read or exercise, yoga, meditate, relax. But you are absolutely right about weak immune system and the importance of flushing out toxins. I wanted to mention i ve been doing coffee enemas or even herbs enemas and found they help me so much. coffee enemas are the best. The gerson institute inspired me and find they have great information. i thought i d share what s helping me to keep my immune system strong.
thank you
France
Totally agree with these. I think also having a genetic propensity to oestrogen dominance tipped me, also emotional issued and blocked sacral chakra stuff around femininity, relationships and creativity were a big factor. Similarly, ability to handle stress 🙂 xxx
Hi Gigi 🙂 Yes, the sluggish liver is definitely up there but kinda relates back to toxic overload. If the toxic overload is reduced, then the liver will cope easier with everything -including excess hormones 🙂
Glad I could steer you into the right direction.
I just want to start off by saying thank you for writing such an informative article. It actually opened my eyes to the ways I’ve been neglecting my body. I wholeheartedly agree on everything mention. I also have an under active thyroid. I want to start taking kelp and seaweed. We’re are they sold? I live in the US. I also wonder if a sluggish liver may somehow contribute to Endo.