Diet for endometriosis: Hi everyone,  I am... - Endometriosis UK

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Diet for endometriosis

Chibb profile image
14 Replies

Hi everyone, 

I am new here and l have symptoms of endometriosis. I have just been put on a trial of the Mirena to easy my symptoms. However, l do take pain killers everyday and was just considering to try diet. Anyone using diet for for symptoms please help!!!!

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Chibb profile image
Chibb
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14 Replies
Alicepirate profile image
Alicepirate

I have cut out dairy and gluten and it is making a big difference to symptoms annoyingly as I wanted it not to work so I could carry on eating what I liked 😂😂😂 but seriously am sleeping a lot better and my bowel symptoms are a lot better so it's gonna be worth it 💗 Hope that helps I not got marina , but have just had a lap to have endo cut from bowel and ovary and a have adometriosis so my uterus is pushing on my bowel and bladder. Going to try goats / sheep /buffalo cheese see if they ok though.

babylily profile image
babylily

no cold food and drink at all , keep body warm all the time , I had quite bad endometriosis but don't have pain at all, only occasionally at period time, also use     

hot water bottle warm Lowe tummy every nights. do this everyday, come to tell me when it works.

Niobii profile image
Niobii

Hello. I've done a little research into this and it seems that there are foods that can cause inflammation in the body and make pain receptors more sensitive. Obviously, with endometriosis we're already inflamed and in pain and we don't want it increasing and would like to try and help, even a bit. A diet that cuts out all the obvious 'baddies' and increases the 'goodies' should help. Reducing meat and dairy may help to. I've also reduced wheat as it was bloating me anyway! There are a few links out there but this one is nice and clear; endo-resolved.com/diet.html Good luck! x

Rhiann profile image
Rhiann

Hi,

I had endometriosis symptoms for years before realising there was actually a problem. My symptoms came out of the blue, and with them I was getting a lot of bowel trouble and some sickness. 

I decided to play around with my diet and I found out that I am severely intolerant to dairy products. It is interesting though, because I certainly was not before my endometriosis symptoms became exacerbated. 

In general, I have found (through an extensive food diary) that I should avoid dairy at all costs, and wheat/gluten (I can get away with small quantities, say the flour you might find in soups, but not normal bread or pasta.)

I also avoid legumes in significant quantities (beans, peas etc.) This is quite a standard group to avoid, I believe. They effect people without bowel issues by causing gas and are difficult to digest, so for people with endometriosis in which the bowel seems to be affected, we should really just steer clear from them. If I have more than one egg I bloat a lot as well.

Everyone is different though (although a lot of people with endo identify wheat and milk as problems - as shown by the comments). Perhaps keep a food diary, noting down everything you eat for two weeks and what your symptoms are like at regular intervals, seeing if there is any correlation between food groups and symptoms.

Failing this, try cut out wheat for a week, see what happens. Then the following week cut out milk. After two weeks see if your symptoms have improved at all. It is annoying, because the last thing you want when you have something like endo is to completely cut out all nice food. But I've been doing it for 8 months now and I feel so much better.

Hope this vaguely helps.

Rhiann

lulabelle90 profile image
lulabelle90

Hello! :)

I bought a book which said no gluten, dairy, red meat, eggs, soya and some other bits. It was hard, expensive and to add insult to injury it made no difference :(!!

But everyone is different and it may work for you!!

I have just been put on the tablet cerelle, it's only been a week but I am seeing changes!! So fingers crossed!

Good luck flower!

Lucie :) x

Tullsky profile image
Tullsky

Diet worked really well for me - mainly wheat free, which is different to gluten free. Do it properly through a clinical nutritionist- you can find a local one on the BANT website as you will probably need to have supplements to make it work properly. 

Good luck

Jayne

IRM69 profile image
IRM69

My acupuncturist is also a qualified naturopath. She gave me a list of foods which are low oestrogen  In addition to all of the above. Drink hot water with slice lemon in morning. Limit alcohol unfortunately but it really works. I now can't drink cheap wine so spend little bit more but because I only have 2 glasses per week it's cheaper all round. Rye bread. Limit red meat and chicken to once a week. Lots of veg and fruit. Rhubarb is good. All food should be organic as far as possible. No sugar! Oh and don't use cling film or tin foil as these have environmental oestrogen. I know this probably seems like a lot of change but I started to do things incrementally and I can honestly say it has made a huge difference no bloating, little pain so use hot water bottle but this is getting less and less. Have organic porridge for breakfast with some agave syrup which I use instead of sugar. All supermarkets sell it. Rye bread (tried them all and aldi is the nicest with sunflower seeds) with almond butter for lunch or soup or salad with salmon. Dinner is hardest as I get home late. I made some lovely soup which I've frozen in pots so easy to hear up (but not in microwave).  Snack on organic rice cakes (I get the ones from Holland and Barrett with organic chocolate on top which is my little treat but it is organic! Oh and my final treat is green and black organic white chocolate. Just 2 pieces. Took me 2 hours on my first shopping trip to find everything that's organic and it's not always possible. Good luck!

janeingirona profile image
janeingirona

I tried cutting out all the usual things and it did help a little. However, I had the Mirena put in and that has had an interesting effect. The first five months were horrendous with lots of bleeding and discomfort but my bowels improved. By six months all the bleeding stopped and I rarely get bloated. I have allowed gluten and goat's cheese back into my diet to no ill effect. However, I still get pain related to adenomyosis and tilted uterus squashing my bowel. My coccyx/rectal and lumbar pain are worse since the Mirena but pelvic pains have eased. 

mactwin profile image
mactwin

I've also cut out gluten and most dairy (have the odd goats cheese). It seems to really be helping! I also go for acupuncture once a week and I'm taking vit d, fish oil, a probiotic, and a high quality vegan multi-vitamin. 

I've felt much better! 

natural-fertility-info.com/...

Chibb profile image
Chibb

Thank you all very much for the supportive information. VERY HELPFUL !!!!

hannah11 profile image
hannah11

Hi, 

My experience with dietary changes has been really positive so i thought i would share it here!! :) 

So a bit of background:

I had a lap at the end of last year during which all endo was successfully removed but it was also discovered that I have adeno. Afterwards, I didn't see much change in symptoms and I was really gutted. The pain was still so bad that I didn't sleep when i was on my period, i was unable to eat during it too (hello disgusting calorie drinks...blughh) and I was overall I felt very unhappy and like the op had all been for nothing. it was horrible. 

I was told the only 'cure' for my adeno is a hysterectomy, which is a terrifying thing to be told at 21 (or any age come to think of it) but I decided I was not ready to do that and so i chose to wait a year before I considered going down that route and instead decided try some alternative treatments in the mean time. This is what led me onto diet.  I did some avid googling and that is how i found my nutritional therapist.  

As per her advice I cut out: dairy, gluten, sugar, soy and caffeine. I totally relate to what some of the other people on this thread were saying about secretly hoping such an extreme diet would not work because we want to be able to keep eating all our favourite foods! At first i was proper nervous about doing such a dramatic change, but the lady i see sent me dozens of recipes, and there are so many gluten/dairy free options available that tbh it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. 

So that brings us up to date. 

I have been doing this diet since the beginning of this year and I have to say, I've seen so much improvement! Honestly, the diet changes helped more than the actual operation, how mad is that? 

Currently, I'm able to eat full meals when I'm on my period with NO DISCOMFORT (whereas before I was rushed to hospital for the crippling digestion pains I had) my period cramps are still intense but overall a lot more manageable, I'm sleeping better...it's really positive. And yes, sometimes doing this diet can be hard work (i miss chocolate!!!!!) and no, my symptoms have not completely vanished... but I have to say overall I am seeing gradual and noticeable improvements with each cycle. After years of feeling myself get worse and worse each period, it's really exciting to see improvement. 

I'm not sure if diet will get me to the point i want to go, or if I will have to go on medication or even have a hysterectomy in the future. If this is as far as diet changes will take me, that's ok, because it's still made a huge difference to my quality of life. 

Anyway that is my experience with it! Hope it helps :) 

Best,

Hannah x

ps. I'm happy to give anyone the contact details of my nutritional therapist if you are interested in trying her out, so feel free to message me! 

Chibb profile image
Chibb

Thank you. This is very promising. Would be happy to try your therapist

mountaincat profile image
mountaincat

Just wanted to add to all the good info here..

A couple of years ago I cut out gluten and limited alcohol to no more than 2 drinks per week. At the time, this felt quite extreme but my period pains were so bad and it was making me miserable, and I had bladder and bowel symptoms too which were equally bad. Back then, I didn't know what i had - I thought maybe it was PMDD, and found useful info about how to alleviate that condition, which included going gluten and alcohol free. within a short time, my period pains went from severe to mild. I couldn't believe it. I had not had this sort of freedom since before puberty - on one occasion, I actually moved a load of furniture on the first day of my period, carrying heavy things up and down stairs; I had some cramping, but it was tolerable and I didn't even have to take ibuprofen. I would never have been able to do this before, I was always rescheduling and planning things to ensure that nothing important or requiring exertion happened on my period. It seemed highly likely that the diet change did this, so I've stuck with it. I noticed that my premenstrual mood symptoms did not improve, but the pains were massively reduced, and my bladder and bowel symptoms were somewhat improved*.

More recently, I discovered the endoresolved and endoempowered blogs, saw the dietary advice they gave, and have taken up the endometriosis diet more fully. I avoid alcohol, refined sugar, processed foods, gluten, red meat, and dairy. I feel better for it, and I notice the effects if i slip - especially if I drink alcohol, I had one month of awful pain again when I drank booze (i went on a holiday where i had 2 glasses of wine most days) and during the next period I paid for it.

I try to add ginger, turmeric and any other anti-inflammatory foods to my diet. I add chia seeds to my diet for fibre, and my diet is mainly plant-based. I take a multivitamin supplement recommended by the vegan society, as i eat very little meat now.

I bought both 'deliciously ella' books, these have some lovely recipes (all free from refined sugar, meat, dairy and gluten); there are nice chocolatey treats that are easy to make, and lots of tasty food that you can make in about 30 mins. If you follow her advice in the intro and stock up on staples (ie get in lots of beans, chickpeas, quinoa, brown rice, tahini, miso etc) then it's actually not that hard to eat tasty food every day. what i find difficult is eating out, going to the pub and being the only person not drinking (!) and trying to eat organic veg - so hard to find unless you get a veg box delivered.

--

*I now know that I have a large ovarian cyst that has displaced my bladder and is probably stuck to my bowel, so the diet, although good, can't reverse that. I'm due to have surgery soon.

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