I am one in ten women who have Endometriosis.
That's 200 million women worldwide who experience the debilitating effects of this complex condition!
Unfortunately, many women with Endometriosis suffer for years (approx 7-10 years) before getting a proper diagnosis.
Many of which are often misdiagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Disease, despite pain typically not being a symptom of PCOS.
If you are new here and haven't read my story and journey with Endometriosis, then you can read it over here , where I share my experience with getting diagnosed and the natural approach I choose to follow in order to manage the condition.
So what exactly is Endometriosis?
'Endo' is an inflammatory disease that is dependent on estrogen. This is why often medical treatment involves shutting off the estrogen supply via inducing a temporary state of menopause through different medications and hormonal treatment. However, this does not treat the root cause of the disease which is actually due to immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation.
We are still discovering more and more about this condition which is why incentives such as 'Endo March' is an amazing worldwide campaign aimed at raising awareness and funds for ongoing research into the cause and treatment of this condition that affects so many women.
The latest research is revealing some incredible information about Endometriosis and the pelvic microbiome.
Studies on women with the condition have revealed that there are often lower levels of Natural Killer Cells in the pelvic cavity, a decrease in macrophage activity and and increase in pro inflammatory cytokines. Now these fancy terms are basically just names for our immune cells that are responsible for regulating our immune system, controlling inflammation and removing tissue debris from the pelvic cavity.
These cells should be removing endometriosis lesions but they aren't for some reason. Which is why the lesions continue to proliferate. Another interesting advancement in understanding is that there seems to be contamination with gram negative bacteria in the pelvis of women with Endo such as E.Coli. Studies have actually found that the menstrual blood and pelvic fluid of women with Endo is often contaminated with this bacteria.
So what do we do with this new information?
Well these studies suggest that the e coli is actually getting into the pelvis from the gut due to increased intestinal permeability (leaks and gaps in the cell junctions of the gut), therefore, treatment needs to involve not only addressing the hormonal and inflammatory component but also healing the gut and modulating the immune response. This is because gut permeability and gut dysbiosis (imbalance of the good and bad bacteria) can cause dysregulation of the immune system.
So effective treatment for addressing the gut-immune component of Endometriosis involves the following:
- Probiotics (particulary the strain Lactobacillus Gasseri)
- Berberine containing herbs due to their antimicrobial activity such as Turmeric (which is also anti inflammatory), Barberry, Goldenseal, Oregon Grape and Phellodendron
- Gluten Free Diet (Improved symptoms in 70% of women!)
- Avoid Dairy (Induces inflammatory response in the gut)
- Zinc (deficiency linked with Endometriosis - important for immunity, wound healing and antioxidant plus anti inflammatory actions)
- Selenium (Lower levels found in women with Endometriosis which is important as an antioxidant, anti inflammatory and immune regulation)
- Resveratrol - Suppresses Endo lesions, reduces inflammation and oxidative stress to tissues cauased by this inflammation
- N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) - Reduces inflammation and oxidative stress plus upregulates immune cell activity
This research is all very promising and an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to the cause and treatment of Endometrosis.
It may still be a complex and mysterious condition however there is so much you can do through herbal medicine, nutrition and dietary changes to help manage and treat the condition so please don't give up hope.