Endometriosis
4th March 2021
This week is Endometriosis Awareness week.
I am writing about it because I am affected by Endometriosis and it is quite important for me to highlight and advert the importance of knowledge about it and the ability to recognize your symptoms if you have got.
It is more common than we think. 1 in 10 women suffers in their reproductive ages from this condition in UK. It is the second most common gynaecological condition in UK, affects 1.5 million women.
The problem is that many women are not diagnosed and they have to wait for years for a proper diagnosis. On average it takes 7.5 years from onset of symptoms to get diagnosis.
Unfortunately it is a long term condition and there is no definite cure for it.
What is endometriosis?
It is a painful condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places like having a period on the wrong place, not inside of the womb. The lining can grow anywhere in your body , but the most common places are the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel and bladder.
They bleed with your menstrual cycle and causing heavy period pain and inflammation. Over the time these bleeds cause scarring.
The symptoms of the condition can be different for everyone. Some women are badly affected, while others might not have any noticeable symptoms.
The main symptoms are:
Pain /pelvic pain
Period pain
Bloating, gas
Feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea, blood in your pee
Insomnia
Fatigue
Infertility
The causes of endometriosis are still not clear and there is still no cure for it, although there are treatments to help easing the symptoms. Painkillers, hormone medicines like birth control pill or stronger medicine. It is very common to use hormone treatment to stop the period cycle and the oestrogen production as it balances the hormones and reduces the symptoms.
Also the treatment can be a surgery when they remove the tissues.
Endometriosis is a big impact on women’s life as it can cause infertility . There is no guarantee that someone will be able to get pregnant after a surgery.
Sometimes if the condition is on an advanced level they might remove part of organs which are affected.
I believe in natural approach as a treatment.
As the condition is potentially caused by inflammation and worsened by high oestrogen levels, a hormone-balancing anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle can help.
With a diet which giving the right nutrients in your diet can hugely improve symptoms.
My story of endometriosis:
I have had endometriosis with horrible symptoms. Some days (nearly in every month) I could not get out of bed, I needed to leave my job in the middle of the day or I couldn’ t attend my course due to my period pain. I was feeling sick very often on the tiles of the bathroom in a lying position whole night.
I was on birth control pill for 10 years before I experienced any pain. As soon as I stopped it my hormones were not in balance anymore without the pill and I got worth in every month. After 4 years visiting the GP and trying different painkillers (none of them helped) finally they have done the surgery and they diagnosed endometriosis.
They give me two options: hormone treatment (stop my period with hormones to reduce symptoms) or if I would like to have a baby in the near future I should try and go for it.
I made the decision to go for a natural way of treating myself instead of covering the problem up with hormones.
My symptoms appeared 3 month after the surgery again. I managed to get an appointment to see a doctor In University Collage London Hospital. She showed me the right way, how can I survive the period with less the pain. She recommended me the natural “treatment” , a diet with the right nutrients to reduce the pain and to try to conceive. She told me that if I can not get pregnant in 9 months , we do need to start the process of IVF because the chance is not to much to get pregnant on a natural way.
The diet beautifully worked for me, I experienced a huge difference in my period and not in 9 month but in 1,5 years I had a positive pregnancy test in my hands.
I strongly believe that you can change and control conditions in your body, in your health with changing your nutrition. The body knows exactly what it needs.
My medicine was good food, I have treated myself with healthy eating habits. Since then I pay a lot of attention to my health and nutrition.
Be aware of your symptoms if you have a painful or heavy period. Once you are diagnosed definitely worthy to talk to a registered nutritionist and ask for a diet which might help you and make your daily life liveable.
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