Firstly I think that having this forum is absolutely wonderful as we all need to help and empower one another. I was diagnosed with endometriosis around 9 months ago and before this I suffered with endo for 7 months. The first time I experienced the pain was in the morning when I was brushing my teeth. I was due to come onto my period that week or the following week. As I was brushing my teeth I started to feel a pull in my lower abdomen on the left side and this pain began to worsen. After 1 minute I was on the floor unable to move because I was in such bad pain, struggling to breath and thinking I was going to die. I couldn't even reach out for my mobile which was in arms length.
I began to pull myself together, control my breathing and slowly got up after 15 minutes of pain. For some reason I really needed the toilet (almost as if I had Diarrhoea ) this hurt quite a bit. After 7 months of continuous pain and no coping mechanisms (I really badly didn't want to go on the pill and sat in consultants offices for hours arguing with them) that I finally found a surgeon who could feel a cyst.
I had a laparoscopy done and my surgeon told me that she got rid of the endo and if I have any other pain, it will be due to my bowels as she noticed that they were inflamed.
I went to see a bowel specialist as I carried on getting pain but it was nowhere near as bad as before my operation. He told me I have no signs of any disease, all my tests came back fine and that I should continue as normal.
A long story cut short - I still encountered pain but it was manageable and I still have loose stools here or there however the past month I have started to feel a pull in my lower left abdomen when I am menstruating and I am worried my endo has come back.
Does anyone have any advice please?
Thank you so much in advance!
Written by
Jaas1
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If you want to avoid drugs you can experiment with diet.
Gluten, in wheat and casein in milk are both believed to be inflammatory. I have eliminated dairy and reduced gluten a lot and notice the difference.
Turmeric is meant to be good for inflammation though I've not tried it.
Alcohol puts a strain on the liver so reducing intake may help boost your endocrine and immune system.
Eating lots of organic veg and avoiding processed foods will all help you feel more healthy generally.
I eat soya but some find it also an inflammatory. The theories about it being bad hormonally have now been refuted I believe. As a processed food item it's not ideal. Organic tofu is or soya milk fine though.
Also worth investigating pain management clinics to explore alternatives to drug pain killers maybe tens, meditation, acupuncture etc.
I have tried turmeric, found it helped with my skin but that's about it! I have been having it every morning for the past 3 months, but maybe I need to continue. At the moment I can't have milk as it has an effect on my bowels so maybe i will try soya and see if this makes a difference but I will definitely try pain management techniques. Thank you!
Just a gentle reminder that gluten is not bad for us, unless you legitimately have Celiacs Disease or a diagnosed gluten intolerance, which is rare. It's become a fad to demonise gluten, but there is little to no scientific evidence to support this, however, cutting it out of your diet is costly, difficult, and can lead to other nutritional deficiencies.
I don't demonise any food stuff and I've had similar debates with people about soya products which I do still consume ( I have a nut allergy and need protein sources) and has also acquired a bad rep. I would always suggest someone experiments themselves and with only one thing at a time.
However with gluten from my own recent personal experience and experiments in the past 6 months, I notice my bloating is worse when I eat more gluten containing foods and less when I eat less of them so I have benefited personally from cutting down the quantity significantly. I dont exclude it completely though as it would be too hard. But I have made my breakfasts gluten free by using oats and mesa sunrise and introducing rye bread for my lunches. So my diet is improved and more varied.
I have been dairy free for years so can't comment on any personal endo specific benefits. The main thing I noticed is my claggy throat goes away when I am dairy free and returns if I have cheese or dairy on the odd one off meal out.
I haven't tried turmeric yet.
Some of the benefit could be from reducing processed frozen foods and increasing fresh unprocessed fruit and veg intake in general as a consequence. That said I am pretty consistent now with fresh food so it's likely most of the impact is down to gluten reduction
But every individual varies. Suck it and see would be my advice.
I am just a bit concerned that if I change my diet, that I will be losing out on other nutrients. Maybe it may be worth seeing a dietitian I suppose and trial and testing it out that way x
Well, its a good idea to research any dietary change throughly, but it's easier to eat healthy than you think. There are an awful lot of stereotypes and myths out there.
Plenty of successful athletes are vegan, both Williams sisters, Victoria Pendleton, David Haye, Phil Neville to name a few. There are even bodybuilding clubs.
Much of the vast population of India has long fed itself on veg and rice which together form a full protein complement. People overlook the fact that vegetables contain protein and calcium.
Historically even in Britain meat was a rare treat eaten infrequently until post war industrial farming came in so we used to eat a lot more fresh unprocessed fruit and veg than today.
The main thing is to find what works for you personally and introduce any transitions gradually. Vit B12 is the main one to ensure you get enough of but is in most vitamins and a lot of fortified cereals.
Learning about fresh food and veg and introducing more and greater variety into your diet can only be a good thing whatever you decide.
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