Bit of background : I'm 30 years old, got stage 4 severe endo. Was diagnosed at 23 and from then I was on all different contraceptive pills & the coil to try and deal with the heavy periods and the awful pain. My husband and I went through IVF when I was 28 and we were incredibly lucky that it worked first time and we now have an 18 month old little boy. For the first 6 months after the birth my periods were amazing - just like how I imagine normal periods to be! I thought pregnancy had done the unthinkable and actually helped my endo! Sadly, since then my periods have rapidly gone downhill & are now back to how awful they were before.
As we are hoping to start a second round of IVF in the fairly near future, I'm currently not on anything to try and keep the endo at bay and feel like it's getting worse and worse with every passing month. I feel like I need to try and do anything I can to help myself as I'm in so much pain for most of the month at the moment. Has anyone had any success with trying the Endo Diet? Has anyone found this has helped with reducing pain levels at all? Or, has anyone had any success with other natural ways of coping with endo?
Lots of love to everyone xxx
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Jojo1986
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hi. Found your post very interesting as I'm 6 weeks into trying the Endo diet. I was only diagnosed last year and have found the various pain killers have made it worse. I've been quiet strict and on the odd occasion ( cake for my husbands birthday) when i tried something i was in a lot of pain and quickly decided it wasn't worth the pain. I'm sure it doesn't work for every one but 6 weeks ago I was in so much pain i couldn't walk our daughter to school but i took her every day last week with only minor discomfort so its worth a go. I got a book about it to start me off and have done various internet searches, I'm seeing a specialist this afternoon and being introduced to their endometriosis nurse so I'm hoping for further ideas. Good luck and I hope it helps you. Xx
Wow that's brilliant I'm so pleased to hear it seems to be working for you so far! It sounds really positive & makes me think it is definitely worth me giving it a go in that case, nothing to lose!
When you say you are quite strict, do you follow the diet completely as in cutting out gluten, dairy, red meat, processed foods, sugar? I'm really worried about how I would sustain that level of restriction! (Although to be honest with how I feel at the moment I'm willing to try anything) What kind of things are you having for meals? Is there any particular websites you've found that have been helpful in giving ideas on what you can eat rather than what you can't?
Hi, I have been doing some research on what is a good endo diet and to be honest the internet gives much mixed messages on this that I am still confused on which to avoid. For example i remember reading somewhere that bananas are not good and then another site would say that it is okay.. same with potatoes. it's hard to know what exactly needs to be completely eliminated but for now i am trying to balance things out. i buy gluten free bread and pasta, try to eat more fruits and vegetables. can't live without my morning tea so that stays or maybe i will replace it with green tea. substituted milk with rice or almond milk but of late i've been taking lactose free milk. i guess it's all about finding ways to reduce inflammation in the body and balancing the hormone levels. in my case it's hard to tell which food will cause discomfort as I was diagnosed with endometriosis with zero symptoms aka no pain except for embarrassing bowel sounds.
hi. Its definitely worth a go I wasn't convinced it was my husband talking to a lady at work who recommended the Endo healing through nutrition book which is written in an academic way but it has made so much sense to us! Yes I don't have anything with gluten, wheat or refined sugar. I was never a big read meat eater so that was easy enough. I'm trying goats milk at the moment I don't notice much in taste. I eat plenty of fruit ( not citrus) and vegetables ( dark green ones are good and getting a rainbow of colours in during the day). You have to play about with it and work out what is for you, I can't tolerate pasta in any form the pain is just too much but I do sneak in the odd coffee as treat. I do have a sweet tooth and have found that hard but now I'm feeling an improvement I will look into baking something I can eat.
for ideas I have granola or gluten free crumpets for breakfast, snack on whatever fruit we have, salad at lunch with fish or chicken and then veg with a small jacket potato with fish or chicken or a veggie sauce, rice is ok, can still do roasts and most soups are ok. The website Endo resolve has some good ideas. Live yogurt with fruit is nice to. I drink plenty of water and like peppermint tea find it helps.
I am strict with it as the pain was so bad I couldn't get down the stairs on my own the end of January let alone walk the mile to school so it has made a huge difference and it does become the norm after a few weeks.
Thank you both so much for your ideas & advice, really helpful. I'm definitely going to give it a go, if I start to see an improvement in pain levels hopefully that will be the motivation I need to continue with it! Good luck to you both xxxx
Hi, I am 3 months into an endo diet, I started really strict and cut out everything, gluten, dairy, red meat, soy, sugar, caffeine, processed food. Anything that can cause inflammation in the body, I even stopped using a lot of my skin care products and started using totally natural stuff to reduce the amount of chemicals I was putting on and in my body! I was so desperate I would try anything!
3 months in, I've noticed that my periods have gone back to normal cycle! Still awful, but regular. I've notice that my pain has reduced, so I won't have it all the time anymore, and that I have more engery too, my joint pain and back pain has also got better too. Don't get me wrong it's not a miracle cure, but it meant I've been able to go back to work and do normal daily stuff.
I've also started looking into aromathepy treatments, because I was sick of taking so many tablets. I use a women's balance oil (put in a diffuser) from a company called Neal's yard remedies which has really helped also!
Hi, I'm 6 months into the endo diet and it has really helped. I feel better and have more energy. I can't say whether it has helped with periods as I'm on gynopyctel injections but I would say definitely give it a go.
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