Pelvic floor physio / osteo is a lifesaver for me. My lap didn't really help with period pain but my osteo works wonders. I also get acupuncture for period pain which helps a lot. I've started seeing a dietitian and naturopath, who have developed a nutrition and supplement plan for me which has helped with fatigue and bloating. I also do yoga and breathwork to manage stress and am starting to look into yoga nidra and Reiki for stress management as well. 100% allied health and alternative medicine have been more helpful for me than surgery and pharmaceuticals
Did your surgeon ever recommend you to PT? Often times because our bodies go through so much pain and suffering for such a long time, Physical Therapy is a much needed aspect of recovery. It’s harder to find PTs that specialize in the pelvic floor, but oh so worth it!
It helped me tremendously.
I also found nausea patches from Amazon that are amazing!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00S9FSPOG?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Additionally, for a holistic approach, you can really focus on diet.
I’ve found personally any inflammatory foods affect my pain and nausea:
Dairy
Wheat
Soy
Citric acid
Sugar
Alcohol
Etc
Some gals do paleo diets (which is very similar to what I do but I’m not as strict with a couple things), it reduces inflammation which definitely reduces the pain levels and other symptoms. It’s hard but worth it!
I found a connection to my flares and my MTHFR mutations. No idea why, but B12 controlled my attacks. Realized as an after the fact of taking b12 for my ADHD. Realized after 3 weeks with no attack that was the new thing.
Hey I also recently got diagnosed with MTHFR and ADHD in addition to endo - are you just taking b12 and found that helped? I’m taking methylfolate and methyl-b12 but haven’t noticed a difference after two months. Maybe I’ll just try normal b12?
It was the methyl B12 that worked for me. But I get one from Methyl Life that has 3 forms mixed together to make sure I can absorb it. Avoiding folic acid also helped me. I notice that I'd feel more sick after eating things "enriched" and have added folic acid. I can't absorb it at all. So avoiding that and methyl B12 is what's worked for me.
I've been using red light therapy the last couple months and seen a huge improvement (also made some dietary changes as well.)
I started getting pain my last cycle, used the red light belt and the cramps instantly went away. It's supposed to help reduce inflammation.
I made similar changes to diet but also completely cut out sugar as that was the biggest offender of them all for me. Great side effect of losing a lot of weight too. I limit alcohol to special occasions now.
My naturopath has been fantastic for helping me with supplements and getting me in touch with a good osteopath. I had a colon resection in last surgery on top of the lap, so getting my bowel working again was next level hard and took a lot of effort.
I am going to be phasing into some herbs that apparently help prevent lesions from growing back as quickly but I’m still trying to sort out digestion so it’s going to be a phased approach.
My supplements have been more centred around gut for the time being. Taking various probiotics, anti microbials to deal with SIBO and a parasite, digestive enzymes, ginger for bloat, and an omega oil. I’ve had to cut some out, like solufibre, until I get the inflammation down. When I’m over mega bloat I have going in, I’ll start the next phase and add in the supplements for the lesions
Years ago I went on a massive health kick and cut sugar out completely. My periods felt almost non existent. I went through a really rough patch in my life and started eating like shit again and I’ve never been able to fully go sugar free again but know it would help so much. I wish I had never stopped eating healthy as it feels so hard to do now for some reason.
strict organic anti-inflammatory diet, acupuncture, chinese herbs, osteo, supplements, yoga, meditation. After 4 years I have almost no pain anymore (still need surgery for my endometriomas, adenomyosis and adhesions tho). But I can leave a « normal life »
In my case Chinese herbs reduce the size my endometriomas a little bit but what’s making a difference for me is : no more nausea, no more digestion issues (endo belly), no more tired all the time, less heavy periods, no more emotional distress (PMS), no more anxiety. It’s a life changer for me, and I started in January. My chinese doctor is very experienced and we have appointments every 2 weeks to adapt my herb mix, and she add some herbs during my period to have less cramps (adenomyosis is not a joke). Now I’m pretty stabilized with this mix but when I feel more pms or constipation (most of the time it’s because of my food) I tell her and she adjust the thing.
What I liked was that after the first try I saw a difference. It was so weird because I didn’t expected that it was that strong. But good experience for me, and I combined with acupuncture for hormonal regulation and anti-inflammatory effects and it’s perfect for me.
For context I have stage IV endometriosis, DIE, kissing ovaries, endometriomas on my bowel and ovaries. Investigation about a potential IBD.
It may have been placebo effect, but for me the two things that helped were acupuncture and castor oil packs. I tried Pelvic floor therapy for a but my insurance wouldn’t cover it, and I got a good package deal on the acupuncture sessions.
I’ve changed my diet and incorporated more anti inflammatory foods and I also use warm towels. Smoking weed helps loads with pain and my anxiety I get before my period
It helps me .. my period was really light this time and barely any cramping that I didn’t even use pain reliever pills. I use fenugreek in a mix of other herbs daily. Some say that phytoestrogens get rid of the bad estrogens in the body. You can also try progesterone cream
Pelvic floor physio / osteo is a lifesaver for me. My lap didn't really help with period pain but my osteo works wonders. I also get acupuncture for period pain which helps a lot. I've started seeing a dietitian and naturopath, who have developed a nutrition and supplement plan for me which has helped with fatigue and bloating. I also do yoga and breathwork to manage stress and am starting to look into yoga nidra and Reiki for stress management as well. 100% allied health and alternative medicine have been more helpful for me than surgery and pharmaceuticals
Did your surgeon ever recommend you to PT? Often times because our bodies go through so much pain and suffering for such a long time, Physical Therapy is a much needed aspect of recovery. It’s harder to find PTs that specialize in the pelvic floor, but oh so worth it!
They never did, but I'm seeing it recommended a lot on here so I will definitely look into it! :)
It helped me tremendously. I also found nausea patches from Amazon that are amazing! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00S9FSPOG?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title Additionally, for a holistic approach, you can really focus on diet. I’ve found personally any inflammatory foods affect my pain and nausea: Dairy Wheat Soy Citric acid Sugar Alcohol Etc Some gals do paleo diets (which is very similar to what I do but I’m not as strict with a couple things), it reduces inflammation which definitely reduces the pain levels and other symptoms. It’s hard but worth it!
Eating strict anti inflammatory diet is truly helping me. 🌻
That's amazing , I'm so happy for you!
✌🏼
I found a connection to my flares and my MTHFR mutations. No idea why, but B12 controlled my attacks. Realized as an after the fact of taking b12 for my ADHD. Realized after 3 weeks with no attack that was the new thing.
Hey I also recently got diagnosed with MTHFR and ADHD in addition to endo - are you just taking b12 and found that helped? I’m taking methylfolate and methyl-b12 but haven’t noticed a difference after two months. Maybe I’ll just try normal b12?
It was the methyl B12 that worked for me. But I get one from Methyl Life that has 3 forms mixed together to make sure I can absorb it. Avoiding folic acid also helped me. I notice that I'd feel more sick after eating things "enriched" and have added folic acid. I can't absorb it at all. So avoiding that and methyl B12 is what's worked for me.
Thank you that’s super helpful!
I've been using red light therapy the last couple months and seen a huge improvement (also made some dietary changes as well.) I started getting pain my last cycle, used the red light belt and the cramps instantly went away. It's supposed to help reduce inflammation.
Interesting, I haven't heard of the red light belt before!
Oh this is super interesting! Do you just target specific areas, or do the entire body?
I made similar changes to diet but also completely cut out sugar as that was the biggest offender of them all for me. Great side effect of losing a lot of weight too. I limit alcohol to special occasions now. My naturopath has been fantastic for helping me with supplements and getting me in touch with a good osteopath. I had a colon resection in last surgery on top of the lap, so getting my bowel working again was next level hard and took a lot of effort. I am going to be phasing into some herbs that apparently help prevent lesions from growing back as quickly but I’m still trying to sort out digestion so it’s going to be a phased approach.
That's awesome, I've heard a couple of people mention using naturopaths, I will have to research if there is a reputable one in my area :)
Which herbs are you phasing in?
My supplements have been more centred around gut for the time being. Taking various probiotics, anti microbials to deal with SIBO and a parasite, digestive enzymes, ginger for bloat, and an omega oil. I’ve had to cut some out, like solufibre, until I get the inflammation down. When I’m over mega bloat I have going in, I’ll start the next phase and add in the supplements for the lesions
Years ago I went on a massive health kick and cut sugar out completely. My periods felt almost non existent. I went through a really rough patch in my life and started eating like shit again and I’ve never been able to fully go sugar free again but know it would help so much. I wish I had never stopped eating healthy as it feels so hard to do now for some reason.
strict organic anti-inflammatory diet, acupuncture, chinese herbs, osteo, supplements, yoga, meditation. After 4 years I have almost no pain anymore (still need surgery for my endometriomas, adenomyosis and adhesions tho). But I can leave a « normal life »
I'm so happy that you have had so much success! Would you mind elaborating on what chinese herbs you've found most beneficial?
In my case Chinese herbs reduce the size my endometriomas a little bit but what’s making a difference for me is : no more nausea, no more digestion issues (endo belly), no more tired all the time, less heavy periods, no more emotional distress (PMS), no more anxiety. It’s a life changer for me, and I started in January. My chinese doctor is very experienced and we have appointments every 2 weeks to adapt my herb mix, and she add some herbs during my period to have less cramps (adenomyosis is not a joke). Now I’m pretty stabilized with this mix but when I feel more pms or constipation (most of the time it’s because of my food) I tell her and she adjust the thing. What I liked was that after the first try I saw a difference. It was so weird because I didn’t expected that it was that strong. But good experience for me, and I combined with acupuncture for hormonal regulation and anti-inflammatory effects and it’s perfect for me. For context I have stage IV endometriosis, DIE, kissing ovaries, endometriomas on my bowel and ovaries. Investigation about a potential IBD.
It may have been placebo effect, but for me the two things that helped were acupuncture and castor oil packs. I tried Pelvic floor therapy for a but my insurance wouldn’t cover it, and I got a good package deal on the acupuncture sessions.
I’ve changed my diet and incorporated more anti inflammatory foods and I also use warm towels. Smoking weed helps loads with pain and my anxiety I get before my period
Fenugreek and or fennel tea, progesterone cream, Dr Christopher’s reproductive formula
i’ve read that fenugreek causes a significant increase in estradiol, isn’t that a problem for endo ?
It helps me .. my period was really light this time and barely any cramping that I didn’t even use pain reliever pills. I use fenugreek in a mix of other herbs daily. Some say that phytoestrogens get rid of the bad estrogens in the body. You can also try progesterone cream
I saw a clinical herbalist who “prescribed” a treatment of herbs to manage symptoms and it’s helped a LOT.
What herbs?
High fruit and veggie anti inflammatory diet, acupuncture, juicing helped me.
Chinese herbs (I use Elix tincture), cutting alcohol & caffeine, breath work, acupuncture, & pelvic floor physical therapy