Your Guide to Managing Endometriosis

Last week my guest on Facebook was Melissa Turner from Empowered.  Melissa came on to help answer your questions and chat about endometriosis.

The topic of endometriosis is interesting for me. You might be aware of my history with hormones? Back in 2004, I had surgery for a large ovarian cyst almost the size of an orange. Having this surgery left me wondering if I could conceive! It left me with scar tissue and inflammation at a young age.  The surgeon also told me that they found some endometriosis. He announced this and then left the room never to be seen again. So, I didn’t know what was going on or what I should do about it!

Many women have similar stories, that’s why it’s great to share these stories so women suffering can feel empowered in in control of their future health.

My Crazy Hormones

From 2002 – 2006 my hormones were all over the place. I had the Implanon inserted into my arm to support my body, this helped with the symptoms of oestrogen dominance. But of course, this synthetic progesterone only a masked what was going on and had a knock-on effect. It wasn’t until I became a Naturopath and Nutritionist and studied ‘Human Reproductive Biology’ at University, that I began to connect the dots between my health and hormones.

My estrogen dominance came from several things. High sugar & alcohol intake through my teens. Stress!! The use of oral contraception, high gluten diet, extreme low magnesium and zinc. Plus high soy intake. I stopped having soy all together in 2010 (that was a game changer for my health). My allergies disappeared, iron levels increased. I felt freeking great!

Melissa’s Take on Endo

Melissa explains every BODY is different. She is right. Through my years of treating estrogen dominance, I’ve found stress, diet, MTHFR and the genetic issue COMT a problem. This genetic SNP means you cannot excrete estrogen metabolites effectively from your body. But, each person has a different root cause. So, start by changing your diet, then take it one day at a time, connecting dots and seeing what the root cause it for you.

Endometriosis is a common yet complicated issue (as all hormone issues are) and it’s not a simple quick fix. Melissa explains, how she came to understand that if you don’t treat stress all the other components may not help as much.

Melissa uses The REACH Technique© in her Kickstarter online program for endometriosis sufferers. This method takes her members through some concrete steps starting with REPLENISH. The first step is about getting the foods needed to replenish the body and support its various functions. Next in Melissa’s Kickstarter program is EXERCISE. Melissa finds that Type A personalities tend to suffer from endometriosis more. Which means yoga is a great exercise to adopt, anything relaxing and YIN style for that matter is great.

Melissa then takes us through the last three steps in her Kickstarter program, these are AFFIRM, CLEANSE, HELP.

You can watch the full chat here

Acute Endometriosis

For those in the acute stage, it can be hard. Work ends up being such a chore; you feel lonely and disconnected. Many people don’t understand the extreme pain suffered. That’s why Melissa’s HELP part of the program is an excellent way to connect with others and get support through these difficult times.

For acute pain, Melissa suggests magnesium spray or gel pop on the abdomen area. Herbs such as turmeric, curcumin help to reduce inflammation and massage is a wonderful way to get relief during an acute phase.

You know how much I love ginger, it’s excellent for pain and inflammation so you can take a ginger decoction for a few days prior, during and after your period.

Ginger Anti-Inflammatory Tea

Large cup filtered water
3cm piece ginger

Pop in a saucepan and simmer for about 3 minutes to help the release of the good stuff in the ginger. Sip on this.

The Liver is Key

LIVER health is key to helping and healing you and your endometriosis. Melissa suggests you try and find Coptis. This is a beautiful bitter herb which helps to stimulate your liver and Gallbladder.

 Connect with Melissa

If you want to watch the full interview, you can watch it here. And if you want to connect with Melissa, you can look at her Kickstarter Program here.