Endometriosis and diet

[ponyos]

Hello I was hospitalised the other day from my period pain as my body went into spasm and I was convulsing for hours. It was not the first time at all that this has happened to me. I had an ultrasound two years ago but it was clear so they shoved me off. They suspect I have endometriosis now and I am going to be waiting a very long time for a laparoscopy that I’m terrified to have. I’m wondering what I could do in the meantime to help my pain and fatigue. I have read several recent peer reviewed medical reports stating a plant based diet can reduce inflammation and I have been vegan in the past, only thing is I struggle to eat enough as it is due to anxiety and my autism making it hard for me to prepare food and in turn retain fat and I heard being slim can also contribute to pain. I want to be on a low inflammation diet but also reach a healthy weight so my body has more energy to support being in pain. Does anyone have any advice on this, as well as other ways to reduce inflammation in the body, I’m feeling very scared and in the dark. Thank you

[FrecklesandFlowers]

Hiya, if you're struggling to cut meat out entirely (I am too), what I've done is just cut out red meat, which is linked to inflammation. I find that beef is something that does not agree with me and makes inflammation worse, but things like chicken and fish are fine and I don't notice anything when I eat them. And they have the protein/nutrients we need. I also don't drink coffee or alcohol which are linked to inflammation as well. Don't pressure yourself to always adhere to a strict diet, just do the things you can and it will all help. Sometimes it's trial and error to figure out what food works for you.

For period pain, the biggest help for me has been being prescribed naproxen. I start taking it 2-3 days before my period starts and it does help reduce the pain, though not completely.

[Bellebell]

Sorry to hear you're experiencing such bad pain. I think different people have different dietary triggers. I did an elimination diet before making changes to see what was triggering me. It was hard for a couple of weeks with no gluten and dairy (I'm already vegetarian and when I later gave up caffeine, it made no difference to me), but when I discovered how dairy was impacting my endo, giving it up was a no-brainer because my quality of life improved drastically (but not 100%) until I was able to have an operation. This (elimination diet) might be an option for you, or I feel that for a lot of people - especially with gluten - it's not so much the food group that is the problem but excessive processed food in your diet. If that is the case, maybe start by reducing that and see if it helps. Finding out what triggers you is helpful as you might not have to give up meat. Good luck!

[ponyos]

thank you for these replies, I am already vegetarian but confused as to wether I should be or not, I think I’m going to try plant based again but make sure I get enough fat to stay a healthy weight. Have either of you had tests by doctors to check your hormone levels or vitamin levels? I want to get tests to help me figure out what the best foods would be but not sure if the gp does them upon request

[ClaudiaGrace in reply to ponyos]

Hey, also to this when I saw the women’s health nutritionist (this was private) she wrote a letter to my gp asking for blood tests and they did this and measured everything meaning she could advice me to take specific supplements.

[Bellebell in reply to ponyos]

Yes, I have regular blood tests, also to check some endometriosis-linked hormone indicators in my blood (level is high if you have endo). I'm not a fan of supplements but have added iron and B12 (crucial if you are completely plant-based as milk and eggs are vegetarian sources) to my diet - prescribed. Iron is particularly important as my GP, one of the very few useful pieces of advice given, pointed out that with conditions like endo, it's a bit of a vicious circle as you bleed heavily because of endo making you anaemic and (iron-deficient) anaemia also causes heavy bleeding... Ask for a full blood test and see what you find out before you set yourself on a diet. If you don't mind spices, there are lots of good Thai and Indian recipes that are plant-based and are tasty to help you stay a healthy weight and not get bored.

[Sunset-lady]

It really is trial and error. There's a girl on instagram "endospectrum" who is currently trialing lots of foods as she has endo. I've gone Paleo which seems to work but then something odd can trigger the inflammation. I get restless legs in bed and feel like my entire body is swelling and on fire. I'm still trying to work out the main cause. Good luck x

[Jadedayna]

Hi, I have heard that taking certain supplements can help. Such as curcumin turmeric, milk thistle, magnesium and a few others. Wild nutrition do an endo supplement but it’s quite pricey. It’s around £40 and I can’t afford that every month while I am studying so I haven’t tried it myself. Good luck with everything

[ClaudiaGrace]

Hey, so I have sought advice from a nutritionist regarding this and she hasn’t suggested plant based at any point actually. Things she has suggested trying to cut out are dairy and wheat because she said so many people have intolerances to them and an intolerance can cause inflammation but you have to cut something out entirely for 3 months to see a difference.

I haven’t done this, instead I’ve done everything else she’s suggested which is more about including rather than excluding foods. Eat at least two portions of anti oxidant rich foods a day as these are anti inflammatory, you can easily Google. Ensure you are eating enough protein with every meal, it’s more than you’d think. Eat at least one portion of sprouted veg such as broccoli or kale a day as this clears excess oeastrogen. Two portions of oily fish a week, these are high in omega 3 and are anti inflammatory, I also take omega 3 daily. Consider cutting out caffeine if you have associated bladder symptoms and replace with green tea as it’s anti oxidant rich. I have also reduced the amount of wheat and dairy I’m having, and try to choose goats or sheep’s cheese like feta or sourdough bread when I do as these are better. I also try to eat a varied plant rich diet as much as possible to increase my gut health which again can contribute to inflammation, so lots of nuts, seeds, veg variety etc.

I notice I can take control of my pain when I follow this diet and use the meditation/stretches the physio recommended daily so it’s definitely worth trying.

You could also try taking NAC as again that can have anti inflammatory effects.

Best of luck with it x

[ClaudiaGrace]

Oh and it sounds like you might be cramping? She recommended me magnesium for that, 2-3 with dinner per day, it’ll say on the bottle.

[EmB18]

I also found that changing to a more anti-inflammatory diet really helped my endo symptoms. We all react to foods differently, so it can be a bit of trial and error to see if particular foods make things worse for you. For me it was wheat and sugar and reducing those helped. Try to focus on adding in lots more anti-inflammatory foods like fruit and veg, avocado or oily fish to make sure you don't lose too much weight.

[ponyos]

thank you for all of this advice I’m really grateful. I think the best port of call would be to get the blood tests then see an nutritionalist and in the mean time will try adding many more anti inflammatory foods, keep being vegetarian but stay very minimal on the dairy like I have been

[Gemsstones]

I did a dairy free diet for a while which did really make a difference, I didn’t do vegan as I’ve also gone through stages of not eating enough and I didn’t think that would help me, but i haven’t been very good at sticking to it lately. I like the idea above of adding in foods to your diet rather than removing things - think I might try that.

[OlgaSz]

Hi there, these are the things I did that changed my life.I started eating whole foods plant based diet. I was vegan previous to my diagnosis, but after some research I changed my diet completely - I eliminated all processed sugar and fat, including oil, alcohol, caffeine, soda drinks and so on. There is a fantastic book about the subject "How not to die" by Dr Greger that I can't recommend high enough. He explains the importance of the diet and how it affects our day to day life in a really accessible language and backed by MANY research. I also eliminated gluten, as it was worsening my symptoms. I started doing 30 minutes of yoga everyday. And I mean 30 minutes every single day. It did hurt when I started, especially when my fatigue was kicking in, but it reduced my PMS to a fraction of what it was previously. I don't get back and hip pain anymore!

The next thing was to remove or reduce all endocrine disruptors from my house. Many things had to go - everything with added fragrance, so scented candles, air fresheners, fabric softeners, perfume; anything foamy with SLS, so convencional beauty products, shampoo, shower gel, even toothpaste were next on my list. Later I also looked into the cleaning cupboard, from where I replaced: washing powder, fabric softener, dish washing liquid, anything with bleach etc. it took months to find all the replacements!

The next step was adding things - I found a research that green tea with ginger significantly reduces menstrual pain from day 1 and it keeps giving better results the more it is used. The recommended dose it 3 cups of green tea with a 1/4 of a teaspoon of ginger, 3 times a day. You don't have to drink it everyday, but you can start on day 1 of your pms. I swear by this! After 5 months of drinking the stuff regularly my pain levels are lower than ever. Seaweed is also well known for helping with painful menstruation, so I introduced sushi Fridays. We all love in the household and it makes me feel better.

After all of that I realised that my endometriosis is going to stay with me forever. I can do all the adjustments in the world, but sometimes it can take a toll on my mental health - I finally allowed myself to feel worse on some days and just let go. I use my TENS on some days and take it easier. I openly talk about my diagnosis with friends, family and in the workplace. While I don't want to be identified through endo lense, it is a part of my life now. I found that speaking openly about what I am going through makes it easier to bare. It turns out that there are many more people than I expect who also suffer from endometriosis, but they didn't know anyone with the diagnosis so assumed there is noone around them either. Around 1 in every 10 women suffer from endometriosis. If you know more than 10 women chances are there is someone else suffering alone. 🤍

I know it sounds like a lot, but I swear by the above. I know we are all different and there is no cure for endo, but I really believe that the sum of all the tiny changes ads up and makes all the difference. I have never been better in my life - my pain levels are low, I don't deal with side effects of any medication, as I don't take them, and I found a good support network both over here and by being open about my diagnosis and struggles. It still sucks to have endometriosis, but life now is way better than it's been in years.

I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have some more questions. I am more than happy to share everything I tried 🤍

[emilylb]

I have just started reading a book called Heal endo which loads of people on here were recommending to me, which has a lot of info about nutrition. Could be worth looking into 👍