Endometriosis is a common plight in the infertility community. I’d love to dive deeper with you in regards to what endometriosis is and how it connects to other reproductive disorders, including infertility. Let’s talk all about endometriosis.

Endometriosis is inflammation of the peritoneum.

Let’s break this down:

  • Inflammation: when your tissues get hot, red, angry, and swollen. Think of a sprained ankle that swells and gets hot and discolored. You could also picture a rash on your skin, or any drug commercial on TV that shows a glowing ball of red pain. 
  • Peritoneum means the tissue in between your organs. There is tissue that keeps your bowel, bladder, uterus, and ovaries in place. My best basic description would be to picture kitchen cling wrap that is somehow sticky and slippery at the same time. It is hard piece of anatomy to study because it’s shape is generally just the outline of whatever things are around it. This is still a living breathing tissue and has the ability to grow and get irritated. 
  • Endometriosis = tissue similar to that which lines the uterus, is found in the peritoneum instead, and gets inflamed and dysfunctional. Because there isn’t a lot of extra space in the abdomen, the extra tissue growth gets stuck to things and can cause mild or severe pain depending on the situation. 

Endometriosis often piggy backs with other reproductive struggles.

Over 75% of women with PCOS have grade 1 and grade 2 (mild) endometriosis. 54% of women with uterine fibroids had moderate to severe endometriosis. This is common because PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids all have similar mechanisms of inflammation causing dysfunctional cells.

So what can cause this tissue inflammation?

I personally think it’s a product of having a specific set of genes (thanks mom and dad) that are turned on by environmental irritants (physical, chemical, or emotional). Here are a few things that exacerbate endometriosis:

  • Environmental toxins, smoke, pollution, etc. 
    • Ex: Atrazine (often sprayed on golf courses) increases the conversion of hormone building blocks into estrogen, which can send your estrogen balance way out of whack. High estrogen creates even more tissue inflammation.
    • Ex: Pesticides can block estrogen receptor cells in the uterus, so the estrogen doesn’t land in the right place to do its job in the uterus.
  • Chronic inflammation in other parts of the body
  • Hormonal imbalances
  • Nutritional deficiencies
  • Circadian rhythm dysfunction (i.e. your sleep schedule is off, and your sleep quality is poor)
  • Gut microbiome dysfunction

Overall, remember, your body isn’t broken or evil.

I see lots of posts of women who resent their organs because they’re in so much pain. In general, I truly believe that your body is doing its best to deal with the environment it is in – whether that’s emotional stress, toxins, previous illnesses, surgeries, or generational traumas (the list goes on). The answer might not be getting rid of your organs, but rather getting rid of the inflammation by taking their stressful burden away… or at least decreasing it. 

Treating endometriosis is important because those with moderate to severe endometriosis have higher risks of cardiovascular disease, yeast infections, headaches, IBS, panic attacks, allergies, asthma, and eczema.

Treatment of Endometriosis

One large source of inflammation can be dietary. Overall, the data is slightly more favorable for a plant based diet vs. a ketogenic diet in regards to endometriosis improvement. However “plant-based” should involve more vegetables than pasta. In general, the best rule for eating to cure inflammation is to replace processed foods (foods with many ingredients, made in factories) with whole foods (foods you could find on a farm, that have one ingredient). 

One of the reasons endometriosis is painful is because dysfunctional cells have abnormally high levels of mast cells (the cells your body deploys to fight invaders). The mast cells sound the alarm in your pelvis that something has gone haywire, and release a chemical called substance P. In this case, P stands for pain signal, and your brain responds accordingly.

Conventional or typical treatment of endometriosis may involve:

  • NSAIDS
  • Oral contraceptives
  • GnRH agonists
  • Aromatase inhibitors
  • Immune modulators
  • Surgery

Alternative Options

If you’ve tried those with no success, or are looking for an alternative route, you may consider:

  • Polyphenols like Quercitin and Curcumin to stabilize mast cells (therefore decreasing the “P is for Pain” signal.
  • Limit endocrine disrupting chemicals like the pesticides mentioned above.
  • Changing your diet to a more nutrient dense, whole food diet with lots of vegetables.
  • Supporting your detox pathways gently with regular exercise and quality sleep.
  • Other supplemental nutrients like D3, omega 3, antioxidants, fiber, digestive enzymes (when taken at night before bed, these can help break up extra unnecessary tissue), and vitamin A (repairs tissue linings).

I think it’s easy to go deep into the world of natural treatments for endometriosis because there are so many options for lowering your total body inflammation levels. Everything from light therapy, to exercise, to meditation. However, I’ll leave the small list above while encouraging you to reach out to holistic women’s health specialists. You can always find me at corridorwellclinic.com.

 

Written by Dr. Hannah Anderson for the Hopeful Mama Foundation.

Dr. Hannah Anderson is a chiropractor at Corridor Wellness in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She specializes in women’s health, fertility, pregnancy, and pediatrics. She works with patients of all ages in regards to nutritional, emotional, and physical health by addressing the whole person rather than pieces. Dr. Hannah is certified by the ICPA in pediatric and maternal health care, trained in Neuroemotional Technique, Quantum Neurology, and Mercier Therapy. She is passionate about helping women during all phases of the motherhood transition, preconception through postpartum. You can find her at corridorwellclinic.com or on Instagram @drhannahanderson.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Hopeful Mama Foundation. Any content provided by our authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.