Endometriosis: Basics and Truth

cottageapothecary
Mar 18, 2017
5 min read

graphic source: https://www.facebook.com/endowarriorssupport/

if you haven't read about my personal experience with endometriosis, you may want to start with my previous blog post, Endometriosis: My Story.

I've gathered a few links and resources that discuss the proper definitions, history, and treatment of endometriosis. I've contemplated over the number of articles to share here, as well as which articles to share in this one post, which has delayed the publishing of this significantly. I've decided to hit the publish button and if there are more to add... there will be a part two someday. The internet and media is FULL of misinformation. This misinformation significantly impacts the ability for women to find proper care and treatment.

It is partially why we are sitting here in 2017 with:

176 million individuals affected worldwide (we could make our own country -- the 8th largest in the world)
1 in 10 women affected
$119 billion lost annually, in the United States alone, on misguided treatments, medical bills, lost productivity, and lost wages
currently no cure for endometriosis, though there is a gold standard treatment: excision
out of 40,000 gynecologists in the United States, only about 150 of them are performing effective excision surgery

graphic source: https://www.facebook.com/endowarriorssupport/

The entire Center for Endometriosis Care site is a huge educational resource. Full of information and articles about all things endometriosis, it's the online home for a clinic in Atlanta that is treating endometriosis on a large scale, daily. The article on Understanding Endometriosis does an exceptional job at laying out the basics of endo, with good background information, followed up by tons of links cited in text to further in depth reading.

Nancy Petersen is a retired RN devoted to endometriosis awareness. She's one of the pillars of the endo awareness movement and through that has changed the lives (saved the lives?) of countless women. Her article on Why Surgery Does Not Always Work Out outlines the history of how we got so far off track on what endometriosis is and how it is so often misdiagnosed and erroneously defined. Which directly leads to why some surgeries are ineffective.

graphic source: https://www.facebook.com/endowarriorssupport/

Dr. Ken Sinervo is the Medical Director of the above mentioned Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta, Georgia. He is arguably one of the best in the field of endo, currently, and I have seen many women travel several hours and hundreds of miles specifically for his care and surgery expertise. He also devotes a lot of time to written articles and submits to interviews to help educate the public on endometriosis. In this next article, he makes a compelling case for surgery for endometriosis to improve quality of life, ease symptoms and pain, increase fertility chances, and cease medical suppression of the disease. In fact, he discusses why medical suppression will not be an effective treatment for endo and why excision surgery is the gold standard treatment.

What is the difference between ablation and excision? Oh, I'm so glad you asked! This article from Endometriosis Australia is actually rather concise, but it does help explain excision, ablation and robotic assistance for removal of endometriosis - Tools of the Trade . And this video with commentary by my own surgeon, Dr. Patrick Yeung , shows actual footage of a laparoscopic excision surgery (I'm working on finding this video again, the SLU website was updated and this surgery video seems to have been moved or removed).

graphic source: https://www.facebook.com/endowarriorssupport/

So why is a self-proclaimed crunchy, hippie chick promoting surgical options for this disease? Well, while I do believe that homeopathic care that embraces the use of herbal medicine, essential oils, flower essences, and whole foods for healing is generally best; I also recognize that there is a time and place for an allopathic approach. Seeking the care of a well-trained medical professional is good and necessary, sometimes. This is one of those times. Simply and bluntly put: herbal medicine, essential oils, the endo diet, and homeopathy will not treat endometriosis successfully. It can help alleviate symptoms; but until the diseased tissue is surgically removed, pain and symptoms will more than likely remain.

graphic source: https://www.facebook.com/endowarriorssupport/

I learned a lot on my own about endometriosis -- the leading belief of cause, what my symptoms meant, the gold standard for treatment, the course of action followed by gynecologists and surgeons that have studied this disease extensively -- and then I sought out a surgeon that followed this path to be the one who would treat me. In the meantime, I did treat my flareups as naturally as possible. In my case, I found that treating my symptoms and my flares naturally had only little more success than treating them with conventional drugs. However, the opposite was also true -- I found little to no relief to conventional treatments. So, when it was just too unbearable to stand, I would choose natural and I found the most success with Raspberry Leaf tea (my favorite brand is Traditional Medicinals) and my heating pad. Laying flat on my back gave me the most relief. I also found that, while laying flat and placing my feet flat, with my knees bent and then letting my knees fall naturally down to the surface I was laying on, helped. Finally, I want to leave you with a few other resources that are full of responsible information concerning all things endometriosis. Endo What? is a fantastic documentary film interviewing endo sufferers and endo experts currently in the field. Their site has good basic information, as well. I own the digital version of this documentary and if you are local to me, I would love to have you over and share it with you.