Timeline of My Battle

For as long as I have had a period, it has not been normal.  I had cramps so bad with the first one that I threw up.  After that, I had no cramps for years, but always very irregular bleeding.  Once I bled for 5 weeks.  I also skipped months pretty frequently.  I went on Loestrin (birth control pills) to regulate my cycles, and when I came off of them, I started having horrible cramps again.

These cramps were not as bad as the first one, but I still needed post-surgical pain meds to combat them.  Even those barely took the edge off.  Most of the time, I had to lay in bed, on my stomach, with one knee up to my chest and the opposite hand pressed against my lower abdomen.  I think the combination of the heat and pressure helped.  I remember having to come home early one day in high school because I was bleeding so much that I was dizzy, and had awful pain.

I went back on BC, and these helped, but I still had to take heavy drugs for cramps.  When I was 17, I started getting IBS symptoms.  I was too embarrassed to say anything about them for years, so I didn’t actually see a GI doctor until I was 25.  He was pretty useless, and rude… the only thing he could tell me was that it wasn’t serious, because if it was, I wouldn’t have made it 8 years.

When I was 23 I started having dyspareunia–pain with sex.  Talk about a relationship killer.  I have the most wonderful husband in the world though, as he still married me and still tries every day to make me comfortable and happy.

At 25, after having dyspareunia for a year and a half, I decided to see a doctor about it.  My GP referred me to a gyno.  My gyno tried a few things–first she said to take 800 mg Advil an hour or two before sex.  That didn’t really work.  Then she put me on Lexapro 10 mg once a day.  I was really wary of this, as I had already been on Lexapro for depression and really didn’t want to go back on it, but I didn’t know what my options were.  This didn’t help either.  She suggested physical therapy, but I never went as I didn’t think whatever I had was really that serious.

February 7, 2008 is when I had my laparoscopy.  It started out being diagnostic and ended up trying to remove as much of the endo as possible.  We got to the surgery center at 8:30 and were back home by 12:30.  My surgery only lasted an hour, and I had to eat four crackers before I could leave–which took another hour.  My doctor told Sam that I had endometriosis, but that’s all I would really learn until my followup 3 weeks later.  I went home and slept.

The first day, I was so tired that I didn’t even care enough to take off my hospital bracelet until the 5th time I woke up.  I remember sitting on the toilet and pounding the wall so Sam would bring me scissors.  Things like that normally bother me a lot, and I have to get rid of them immediately.  I think the first day I was awake for a few hours at most.

The second day I still slept a lot, but I managed to stay awake for five hours.  I pretty much ate, played on the computer a little and went back to bed.  Sam was a wonderful nursemaid the whole time.  I kept the phone by my bed so that I could call him whenever I needed anything.  Being intubated makes it very hard to talk.

After the second day, my schedule started getting back to normal.  I tried to go back to work after about a week and a half, but ended up having to get Sam to take me home.  I had to stumble through a pharmacy after about a week for more pain meds–I didn’t think to ask what over the counter medicine I could take until I needed more.  The 100 ft. walk from the front door to the pharmacy counter at a Rite Aid seems like nothing, until every step makes you feel ill.

I became increasingly dizzy after the surgery, and no one could tell me why for a long time.  I think I went back to work full time after 3 weeks, but I still would get horribly light headed.  I would be sitting in my chair not moving, yet my head would be swimming uncontrollably.  Or I would walk around Target and get disoriented, not even remembering what I went there to get, and ultimately leave empty handed.

At my 3 week followup, my doctor explained a little more about the disease to me.  She said that birth control pills are thought to slow the growth of any endometrial implants, so I went on Lybrel.  I have no idea if it has worked, but I’m still on it.  I’m almost afraid to know how bad my endo is now, and the only way to find out is to have another surgery (which I can’t afford).

January 31, 2009 we moved to Vermont.  I started seeing new doctors, and my new gyno wanted to try Lupron.  All I had read about Lupron is that it is the only drug engineered specifically to treat endo.  It worked for about two weeks, then the pain returned.  Lucky for me, I had taken a 3 month shot, so I got to deal with hot flashes for another 10 weeks.

Gradually, I started having pain sporadically where my ovaries are, and not just during sex.  It didn’t happen every day at first.  When I decided to see a naturopath, it had gotten to every day, and some days all day.  Most days it would come and go, and it was never severe pain, but pain that lasts that long is still obnoxious and frustrating.

After the Lupron stopped working, my gyno referred me to a pain management specialist.  I call her my pain doctor.  First she tried Celebrex, then Topamax, then Neurontin.  They all did the same thing as Lupron.  After the Neurontin stopped working, she suggested Celebrex again, but taking two pills a couple hours before sex instead of daily.  As much as I hate doing this, it has worked so far.

About the time I started Topamax (December 2009), I also started the special diet.  Topamax is supposed to make you lose weight, and I have shed 46 lbs. since starting the diet.  I personally think it is more because of the diet than the drug.

A month ago I started going to a naturopath, and he has helped me more than anyone else.  I am now on 4 Ease Pearls in the morning plus 1 alpha lipoic acid/acetyl l-carnitine gel cap, and a tablespoon of calcium-magnesium-zinc-phosphorus-vitamin D3 powder mixed in water.  At night I take 4 Moon Pearls, 2 cod liver oil/butter oil caps, 1 vitamin C pill, 1 alpha lipoic acid/acetyl l-carnitine cap, Pristiq, Lybrel, 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and the mineral powder.  I also have to take 4-5 tiny little lozenges that dissolve under my tongue once a day for 5 days (starting yesterday).

It seems like a lot of pills, but if it makes me feel better, I don’t mind.

Everyday Poisons, part 2

It is truly amazing how many toxic chemicals the FDA allows not only into our food and the medicines we take, but also the cleaners and personal care products we use.  I have tried to figure out why they would allow such awful things, to little avail.  My personal opinion is that they just make too much money from the producers of these chemicals (through gifts or lobbying or what have you), to make them illegal.  I have little faith in them.

I have always been anxious about keeping chemicals in my home, as my cats can (and will) get into almost anything.  Before he was even a proper cat, Gryphon learned how to hook his paws under and around doors to open them.  I put baby locks on all my cabinets in VA, but when we moved to VT, that wasn’t really an option.  We are renting, our landlords hate us, and there are already baby locks on the cabinets–though they are the cheap, plastic kind that don’t work.  My cats have been able to get under the kitchen sink (which is about the only place I had to put chemicals) since about day 2 of living here.  Thankfully, they did not often see the need to go under there.

When I learned that most of the house can be cleaned using just white vinegar, water, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda, I was nothing short of ecstatic.  Now, the only cleaning chemicals I have in my house are bleach (which I only use on the cat boxes once a month), Nature’s Miracle carpet shampoo, Nature’s Miracle laundry boost, and flea fogger.  Other things I use for cleaning include cream of tartar, rubbing alcohol, natural dish soap and natural laundry detergent.

The laundry detergent is especially curious to me, as it includes only two ingredients:  100% natural anionic coconut kernel oil-based surfactant, and water.  I don’t understand how this company can make a great product using only TWO THINGS, and all other companies seem to have the hardest time with it, having to put 10-20 things (or more) in one bottle.  It works great, too!

According to this wonderful guide from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (http://www.chej.org/documents/non_toxic_cleaning_guide.pdf), there are many common chemicals used in cleaners that can be toxic not only if ingested, but just from being inhaled or getting it on your skin.  These include methylene chloride, sodium hydroxide, ammonia, ether-type solvents, petroleum distillates, butyl cellosolve, sodium hypochlorite, fragrance, alkyphenol ethoxylates, ethoxylated alcohols, quaternium 15, nitrobenzene, naphtha, phenol, cresols, formaldehyde, silver nitrate, chromic acid, triethanolamine, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, para-dichlorobenzene, EDTA, chlorine, phthalates, and volatile organic compounds.  I bet if you read through all of your bottles of cleaner and personal care products, you will find at least one with some of these chemicals in it.

Chlorine can affect the developmental, neurological and reproductive systems, and cause cancer.  Combining chlorine with other cleaners, such as ammonia, creates lethal fumes.  Bleach made from chlorine can burn your eyes and skin.

Phthalates are generally used to carry fragrances and soften plastics.  Manufacturers do not have to list the carrier in the ingredients, it is okay for them to simply list “fragrance”.  Phthalates can cause developmental, reproductive and respiratory damage, altered liver and kidney function and asthma.  Since they are bioaccumulated, phthalates can be passed through breast milk to children.

VOCs aggravate asthma, irritate eyes, nose, throat and skin, can cause respiratory problems, dizziness, and harm the liver and kidneys.  The EPA estimates that indoor pollution levels can reach 100 times that of outdoor pollution levels, mainly due to VOCs–which are known carcinogens and neurotoxins.

One really scary chemical that we have little control over is perchloroethylene, which is used in dry cleaning.  This substance has caused cancer in lab animals.  Ever wonder why rats are used so much for lab work?  Because their bodies are so similar to ours (combined with the fact that they reproduce quickly and show side effects quickly).  You can be exposed to perchloroethylene while wearing dry-cleaned clothes.  It’s best to look for cleaners that use either wet cleaning or carbon dioxide systems.

Most people know that PABA is not good for you–sunscreen bottles make it a point to let you know that their products are PABA free.  However, parabens and sodium laureth/lauryl sulfates can also be bad for you.  PABA can increase the risk of cellular UV damage, and causes an allergic reaction in some people.  Parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors, and have the ability to mimic estrogen.  SLS also mimics estrogen once it is absorbed by the body.  Unfortunately, SLS is used in almost everything that creates a lather–soaps, shampoos, even toothpastes.

Once I learned about all these chemicals, I was a little bewildered as to what I actually COULD use.  I found that I can use simple ingredients to create a lot of the cleaning supplies I need, but what about personal care products?  Thankfully, there are a host of companies out there that make natural soaps–such as Burt’s Bees, Badger Balm, and Dr. Bronner’s.

Here is my personal list of cleaning products and their uses:

KITCHEN

Clean counter tops and make them smell sweet again with a cloth soaked in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell.  Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.

Make a metal cleanser by adding enough white distilled vinegar to 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar to make a paste. Rub it on and let it dry on the surface. Wash it off and dry with a soft cloth.

Wipe grease off exhaust fan grids, the inside of your oven, or anywhere grease gathers with a sponge soaked in white distilled vinegar.

Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain.

Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odors will disappear. Wipe clean.

Remove mineral deposits from coffee makers with white distilled vinegar. Fill the water reservoir with 1 cup or more of white distilled vinegar and run it through a whole cycle. Run it once or twice more with plain water to rinse clean. (Check the owners’ manual first.)

Renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. Then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Let them soak overnight.

Wash fresh vegetables with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar in 1 ½ quarts of water.

BATHROOM

Kill germs all around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.

To make the toilet bowl sparkle, pour in a cup or more of diluted white distilled vinegar and let it sit several hours or overnight. Scrub well with the toilet brush and flush.

Use undiluted white vinegar to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. Before you begin, dump a bucket of water into the toilet to force water out of the bowl and allow access to the sides. Pour undiluted white vinegar around the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush to remove stains and odor. Use a pumice stone to remove any remaining hard water rings.
To remove grime, mildew, and scum from the tub, tile, shower curtain or door, wipe with undiluted white distilled vinegar. Rinse with water.

Get rid of stubborn bathtub film by wiping it with white distilled vinegar and then scouring with baking soda.

For really tough bathroom surfaces such as shower walls, pump up the cleaning power by removing the sprayer element and heating the vinegar solution in the microwave until barely hot. Spray shower walls with the warmed generously, allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse. The heat helps soften stubborn soap scum and loosens hard water deposits.

Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge to tackle grimy bathtub rings, scour vanities, or remove food deposits from the kitchen sink.
For tougher grime, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the tub or sink, and allow to stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Dirt, soap scum and deposits soften and are easier to remove.
Get rid of calcium deposits on faucets by soaking a cloth or paper towel in white distilled vinegar and wrapping the area tightly. Let this sit for a couple of hours or overnight.

Remove soap buildup from faucets by scrubbing them with a solution of 1 part salt to 4 parts white distilled vinegar.

Rid a faucet of lime deposits by tying a plastic bag containing 1/2 to 1/3 cup of white distilled vinegar around it and leaving it there for two or three hours. If mineral deposits don’t wipe off, scrubbing with an old toothbrush should complete the job.

To clean a scummy showerhead, pour 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 cup white distilled vinegar into a sandwich bag and tie it around the showerhead. Let this set for an hour after the bubbling has stopped. Remove the bag and then turn on the water.

Clean a hairbrush by soaking in a white distilled vinegar solution.

Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs.

And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 peroxide solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through.  You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, faddish, or dirty blonde.  It also lightens gradually so it’s not a drastic change.

FLOORS & WINDOWS

For an economical and environmentally friendly floor cleaner, mix a solution of 3 drops dishwashing liquid to 1/3 part white distilled vinegar, 1/3 part alcohol, and 1/3 part water. Spray sparingly and mop for a fast clean-up.

Clean up pet accidents by first blotting up the area and then adding a white distilled vinegar-and-water solution. Blot until it is almost dry. Then sprinkle baking soda over the area and let it dry. Vacuum up the residue the next day.

Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
•    1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
•    1 cup water
•    1 tablespoon white vinegar

LAUNDRY

Remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.

You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them.  If there is blood on clothing, pour directly on the soiled spot.  Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water.  Repeat if necessary.

Get cleaner laundry! Add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. The acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.

Remove soap scum and clean the hoses of your washing machine with white distilled vinegar. Periodically run the machine with only a cup of white distilled vinegar in it—nothing else added to the wash cycle.

MISCELLANEOUS

Clean scissors that have become sticky (after cutting tape, for instance) with a cloth dipped in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Get rid of rust on spigots, tools, screws or bolts by soaking the items overnight or for several days in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Prevent cats from eating your plants by spraying the leaves with a solution of white distilled vinegar and water.

CARS

Keep car windows frost-free overnight in winter by coating them with a solution of 3 parts white distilled vinegar to 1 part water.

Rid the windshield wipers of road grime by wiping them with a white distilled vinegar-soaked cloth.

If you need a solution for something I don’t, chances are good you will find it on one of the following pages:

http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/vinegar

http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/peroxide.asp

http://www.vinegartips.com/Scripts/

http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products

Aloe gel is very hard to find without a lot of additives, but I did order some from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/aloe-vera-gel.php.  The gel is much more liquid than any aloe gel I am used to, but I am confident in its abilities.  Of course, if you don’t have animals that would like to eat the plants, you can always grow your own aloe gel.

For mouthwash, I mix 2 ounces of water with 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 drop of peppermint essential oil, and 1 drop of tea tree essential oil.  Tea tree oil has antimicrobial properties, so can be a great alternative for many different personal products.  I premix a bottle of this solution and just use as much as I need every night.  It does need to be shaken before use, as you can see the oils settling on the top if you look hard enough.

I have not been able to find an alternative for nail polish remover–luckily, I don’t wear nail polish very often.  I found one website that suggested toothpaste, but my toothpaste didn’t work.  Shaving cream can be substituted with conditioner, aloe gel, or castile soap.

Everyday Poisons: Dioxins

Not a lot is known about endometriosis, even though it has been around for hundreds of years.  We still don’t know where it comes from, for example.  Is it genetic?  Is it environmental?  Is it a product of something we are ingesting?  Recent research suggests that dioxins are a likely culprit.

I’m sure you all remember those chain emails about not leaving your plastic water bottles in the car on hot days, not heating your food up in plastic containers or Saran-wrap, etc.  Well, that one actually has truth to it.  When chlorine-containing plastics are heated, particularly PVC, they give off a chemical called dioxin.  Dioxin is associated with a wide range of conditions, such as chloracne, wasting syndrome and cancers.

When PVC plastics are burned (for instance, medical supplies such as IV lines and bags),  dioxins are released into the air, where they are at the mercy of the wind and rain.  They get into our crops and the food that our meat animals eat, and we ingest them in turn, allowing them to bioaccumulate in our bodies.

According to http://www.endometriosisassn.org, “in the early 1990s, the Endometriosis Association found that 79% of a group of monkeys developed endometriosis after exposure to dioxin in their food during a research study over ten years earlier.”  It can take that long, and longer, for symptoms of endo to appear.  As endo has been found in autopsies of newborns, it is safe to say that at least for some of us, we are born with this disease.

For more information, simply google “dioxin” or “dioxin endometriosis”.  You’ll come away with a plethora of new knowledge.

What I Can Eat

With all of those dietary restrictions, it can be overwhelming to try to determine what I can actually eat.  Snacks are the hardest, but apple with organic peanut butter works pretty well.  I was having egg sandwiches for breakfast, until I learned that I’m allergic to eggs.  I had oatmeal for a while, but got sick of it.  Granola is pretty good, but most of it is made with cane sugar, so I have to read the ingredients.  Right now I like Barbara’s Cinnamon Puffins with Rice Dream rice milk.  Rice milk is very sweet, even without sugar.  Tasty stuff!

Instead of wheat, I can have buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, chick-pea flour,and rice flour.  It’s virtually impossible to find items made with these substitutes.  Lucky for me, I know how to cook!

Red meat has been very easy for me to give up.  I’ve never really craved meat, and I do just fine on occasional chicken, duck, or seafood.  Fish is also so much easier to cook–just wrap it in foil and stick it in the oven.  The duck I get is precooked, and I make a really great soup with it.  Dairy is harder–I really miss it.  I miss ice cream and cheese, especially pizza.  I’ll live though.

Refined sugar, while hard to avoid, is not that hard to give up.  I simply modify my baking recipes.  For instance, I have a great brownie recipe that I make with quinoa flour instead of wheat, maple sugar and maple syrup instead of brown sugar, and goat butter instead of cow butter.  Goat butter does not affect the body as bad as cow butter does.  It does still caused the production of some prostaglandins, but I figure brownies are not supposed to be good for you anyway.  The hardest thing about giving up sugar is chocolate.  Supposedly carob is a good substitute, but I’ve yet to try it.

I have given up caffeine almost completely.  The only time I ever have it is when I have not slept well and then have to drive long distances.  Fortunately, that is very rare.  Whenever I do have caffeine, I get sick, though that might be more from the sugar and dairy.

About soy:  most forms of soy are bad for you, but a few forms are okay in limited amounts.  The difference is in the processing.  According to the book ‘Recipes for the Endometriosis Diet’ by Carolyn Levett, “The soybean did not serve as a food in China until the discovery of fermentation techniques, some time during the Chou Dynasty” and “the Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans as they did other legumes such as lentils because the soy bean contains large quantities of natural toxins or ‘anti-nutrients’.”  Fermented soy products include miso, tempeh, and tamari, and are ok to use in small quantities.

The modern use of soy came about from an attempt to use the leftovers from soy bean processing, after the oil had been extracted.  “There was so much soy bean residue that extensive multi-million dollar campaigning and advertising was used to promote this new ‘wonder-protein’.

Soy bean by-products are mixed with alkaline solution to remove fiber, acid washed to precipitate and separate the mixture, and washed in an alkaline solution to neutralize the resulting product.  Acid washing is done in aluminum tanks, and aluminum is leached into the soy mixture as a result.

The curds are then spray-dried at high temperatures and extruded at high temperatures and pressures, which denatures proteins in soy (other than textured vegetable protein).  Spray drying produces highly carcinogenic nitrites, and alkaline processing produces toxic lysinoalanine.  After all this, soy is artificially flavored to resemble meat, sometimes using MSG.

Soy is used in many, many products and foods.  Next time you go grocery shopping, just read the ingredients labels quickly to see how much soy you actually consume.  I know for me, it was way more than I ever thought.  One last note:  “After multi-million dollar figures spent on advertising and intense lobbying to the Food and Drug Administration, about 74 percent of US consumers now believe soy products are healthy”.

Since I cannot use vegetable oils (such as soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil), I have to look to alternatives for my cooking.  I do a lot of cooking on the stove top, so I tend to go through a lot of oil.  Acceptable oils are safflower, walnut, flax seed, linseed, borage, star flower, olive, and coconut.  I had been using olive oil for just about everything until my naturopath told me it does not do well at high temperatures.  I have since switched to coconut oil.  The important thing is that the oils are natural, unrefined and cold pressed, and not allowed to go rancid.

Coconut oils provide a variety of health benefits, including:  faster metabolism, reduced risk of heart disease, lowered cholesterol, disease prevention, healthy thyroid function, energy boosting, and skin rejuvenation.  They also improve the condition of people with diabetes, chronic fatigue, and certain gastrointestinal disorders.  Coconut oil has gotten bad press in the past, based on flawed studies completed over 4 decades ago, some using hydrogenated coconut oil.  “Hydrogenated oils are oils with trans-fatty acids, which have been altered from their original chemical composition and have been shown to raise cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease and other health problems”.

Coconut oil does contain saturated fats, but the majority of these are medium-chain fatty acids.  These are easily digested and utilized differently by the body than other fats.  Medium-chain fatty acids have even been shown to have anti-microbial properties.

Fiber is important for everyone’s digestion, but for women with endometriosis, it has an added bonus as an estrogen-binder.  Excess estrogen is filtered out by the liver (when it is not overburdened by poisons), and excreted from the body; fiber assists in this by disallowing the re-absorption of estrogen before it can be excreted.  Good sources of fiber include whole foods, unrefined whole-grain cereals, nuts, seeds, berries, pulses, and vegetables such as celery, carrots and potatoes.

While the majority of my diet includes fruits and vegetables, even these aren’t always safe.  They must be peeled, as they potentially could have picked up dioxins from pesticides.  Even organic foods can be exposed to these.  The best option is to buy locally organic.  Some people think that foods with a peel that you don’t normally eat (such as bananas) are safe to buy non-organic.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  If you took high school biology, you know that plants absorb water mainly through their roots, and this water then travels throughout the plant.  Any chemical that is sprayed on the ground near the plants can get into their water supply after a rain, and the chemicals are then transferred throughout the plant, instead of just being on the outside.

Certain foods can be helpful in eliminating estrogen from the body.  Foods that contain plant sterols are thought to block estrogen receptors.  These foods include peas, beans, pulses, red and purple berries, garlic, apples, parsley, fennel, cabbage, cauliflower, nuts, seeds, celery, carrots, rhubarb and sage.  Elimination of estrogen is important not just for women with endometriosis.  Those suffering from adenomyosis, polycistic ovarian syndrome, and breast cancer can all potentially benefit from less estrogen in the diet.

Noni juice seems to have been a “superfood” fad about 5-10 years ago, but there are health benefits to back up this title.  For starters, noni juice contains 9 essential amino acids (not found in the body), vitamins A, C, E, and the B vitamins, beta carotene, linoleic acid, bromelain, calcium, magnesium and zinc, as well as others.  Bromelain is particularly effective as it is an anti-inflammatory enzyme, and also assists in digestion.  The drawback to noni juice is that it is expensive, and has a very strong taste, so I am not currently taking it.

Green tea is a wonderful antioxidant, but should be consumed in the decaffeinated version.  Natural decaffeination, using spring water and effervescence, is best; otherwise the antioxidants are not preserved.  Green tea is also thought to protect the body from dioxin.  Dioxin plays a huge role for women with endometriosis, so this is particularly important.

Overall, processed salt, caffeine, alcohol, soy, red meat, fried food and artificial additives have been the easiest to avoid.  Sugar is a little harder, as is dairy because I like it so much.  Wheat is the hardest, as it is everywhere.  Usually I don’t worry too much about wheat, since I have never been prone to yeast infections.  Sugar is probably the biggest problematic food for me personally.

‘Recipes for the Endometriosis Diet’ by Carolyn Levett

I better do this now, before I get too tired again.  Last December, I was looking for a way to control my disease.  I was desperate enough to try anything except pregnancy.  I stumbled upon a website (www.endo-resolved.com) which talks about healing through diet.  It makes perfect sense, and the cookbook was only $23.  I figured if it didn’t work, it only cost about as much as a regular cookbook, so I ordered one.  It took a while to get here, because they are printed to order, but it was worth it.

At first, I only made the recipes that sounded yummy to me.  Since I don’t like beans, zucchini, eggplants, and quite a few other things that are common throughout the book, it didn’t take long for me to run out of recipes.  I switched to just going through the book cover to cover.  Using this method, probably about half of the recipes are very tasty, and the rest are either nothing special or I just don’t like them.

In addition to hundreds of recipes, the book has a section to explain what foods to avoid, and why.  The foods are wheat and other gluten grains, red meat, dairy, refined sugar, caffeine, soy, processed salt, fried foods, tinned and frozen packaged foods, and food additives such as artificial colorings, flavors and preservatives.

Wheat is a contributing factor to the overgrowth of Candida yeast (which thankfully I do not have a problem with).  Wheat also “appears to aggravate the symptoms of endometriosis.”  Wheat contains phytic acid, which impairs the absorption of minerals, calcium in particular.  Finally, many women with endometriosis also suffer from celiac disease, so wheat is just not a good option for them.

Our bodies produce chemical messengers called prostaglandins.  There are different types of prostaglandins, and they have different functions.  One in particular, F 2a or series 2 prostaglandins, is responsible for increasing inflammation.  Red meat and dairy contain cortisols, which promote the production of these bad prostaglandins.  It follows that red meat and dairy promote inflammation in the body.  Since endometrial lesions cause inflammation (and this is half of the problem with them), it is a good idea to cut red meat and dairy from the diet if you have endometriosis.

Meat and dairy are also rife with hormones, unless you buy from a hormone-free source.  Most people know about rBGH by now (bovine growth hormone), but another hormone I have recently learned of is rBST.  rBST is given to dairy cows to force them to go into heat.  It stays in their bodies in small amounts, and is excreted in their milk and their feces.  The hormones from feces are then assimilated into the grass that they eat, and each year they are injected again, causing a buildup of the amount of hormone that stays with them, and that’s in their milk.  Since endo is greatly dependent on the balance of hormones in our bodies, eating anything containing hormones is ill advised.

Refined sugar causes a few problems, and not just for women with endo.  It lowers your immune system, upsets your digestive health, feeds Candida yeast, causes hormonal imbalance, and “will increase menstrual cramping as well as aggravate PMT.”  I used to have IBS-like symptoms at least once a week, for years.  I could never pinpoint what caused it, because my diet in high school and college (and after) was just so terrible that it was probably everything.

I would be walking around Walmart, for instance, and suddenly get very very hot.  I came to realize that meant that I had half an hour to get to a bathroom.  I would have watery diarrhea for 20-30 minutes, sometimes longer, and then feel awful for hours afterwards.  Often, I would get sick multiple times that day.  Since going on the endo diet, my IBS has all but disappeared.  If I have too much sugar I will get sick, but at least now I know what causes it and can avoid it.

One important note about refined sugars:  high-fructose corn syrup has been shown to cause more weight gain than regular sugar, and the weight is harder to shed.  Producers of this chemical are trying to change the name to corn sugar, as the dangers of HFCS are becoming more well known.  If you can do one good thing for your health this year, it will be to cut out HFCS/corn sugar completely.

Caffeine increases estrogen in the body, which is the last thing anyone with endo needs.  According to Carolyn Levett, “drinking more than two cups of coffee daily may boost your estrogen levels and could worsen the symptoms of endometriosis, as well as problems with breast pain.”  Caffeine from coffee is also linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, miscarriages and birth defects.  Mentally, coffee contributes to insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks and depression.  Decaf is really no better, as petrol-based solvents are used in the decaffeination process.  Do you really want to drink something related to what runs your car?

Soy is a horrible culprit of many things.  The funny thing about soy is, most people that I have talked to about it will defend it viciously, and they really have no idea what they are defending.  I am not sure if it is because soy is such a convenient alternative for protein and people are just afraid of what they can eat if they can’t eat soy, or if it is something else.  Quite honestly, soy is awful no matter who you are.  Here is the list of bad things soy does from the book.

“1. High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.  Phytic acid in soy is not neutralised by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking.  High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
2. Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders.  In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
3. Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
4. Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer.  In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
5. Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
6. Soy foods increase the body’s requirement for Vitamin D.
7. Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
8. Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
9. Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods.
10. Soy foods contain high levels of aluminium [British author] which is toxic to the nervous system and kidneys.
11. The various negative effects of soy weaken the immune system.”

One thing the list leaves out is that aluminum is a poison, and thought to be carcinogenic.  This is another reason that soy is such a problem; it is processed in aluminum vats.

A few more quotes:

“Two isoflavones found in soy, genistein and daidzen…were said to ‘demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid.”

“When we first questioned the safety of soy, representatives of Protein Technologies told us that they had:

‘Teams of lawyers to crush dissenters, could buy scientists to give evidence, owned television channels and newspapers, could divert medical schools and could even influence governments.'” (from http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz)

For further reading about soy, check out the book in this post’s title, as well as ‘What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause’ by Dr. John Lee, and ‘Endometriosis – Healing Through Diet and Nutrition’ by Dian Mills.  Not all soy is bad, and I will get to the differences and the good kinds of soy in my next post.

Processed salt is the common iodized table salt that is bought in bulk.  A much healthier form of salt is sea salt.  Sea salt has natural iodine, so it doesn’t need additives.  It does not go through the same extraction, recrystallization, and iodization that is so necessary for processed salts.  Foods in their natural states are always healthiest.

Fried foods, margarine, and hydrogenated fats are really just not good for anyone.  Processed foods fall into this same category, and additives are awful.  Many additives that are approved by our FDA are illegal for use in other developed countries because of the known perils to our health.  The food coloring red #40 is a prime example.  It has been shown to be a contributing factor to autism in children, and is thought to be carcinogenic.  Most European countries have outlawed it, but our FDA has not.  I don’t know what the big deal is with colorful food anyway–most of the stuff I make is some shade of brown or yellow.  It is tasty and good for me, so whey should I care what color it is?

Next time I will go over the foods that I actually can eat, and the foods that are particularly good for anyone suffering from endo, or with a fragile immune system.

Naturopathy is Not Hocus Pocus

Yesterday I mentioned a few things that had been prescribed to me by a naturopath.  A naturopath is a doctor specializing in areas like homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and acupuncture, among other things.  I’ll admit, I avoided going to a naturopath for a long time because it sounded like a bunch of bull, and because I had no idea how to tell which ones were good and which ones were not.

I finally got fed up with traditional medicine after having a laporoscopy with laser oblation, being on Lupron for 3 months, and trying different pain meds (Celebrex, Topamax, and Neurontin) over the coarse of a year.  The only other things that traditional medicine can offer me are a hysterectomy or pregnancy.  Those are both legitimate, widely used treatments for endo, sad to say.  I was all for the hysterectomy, but in about 1/3rd of cases, the disease comes back, and then doctors don’t know what to do because the female reproductive organs are thought to be the origin.  I decided a 67% chance of success wasn’t enough to go into early menopause, so I began exploring other options.

There is one naturopath in my area, Dr. Christopher Hollis at Integrative Health.  I asked the girls at the health food store about him.  They said although they had never been to see him, a lot of their customers are part of his clientele, and they all love him.  I figured I’d give him a shot.  He’s covered by my insurance, I’ve tried about everything else, and it couldn’t hurt.  That was 2.5 weeks ago.

At the appointment, he asked me a lot about my health history and how I feel on a day to day basis.  He took my blood pressure and pulse in both wrists, palpated my abdomen, and looked at my tongue.  He said I have blood stagnation (many women with endometriosis do), hypoglycemia, adrenal problems, probably thyroid problems and food allergies, and possibly celiac disease.  He took some blood to test food allergies, and set me up to go to the hospital for the celiac test.  He said I should eat something every few hours to combat hypoglycemia, and it should include fat, protein, and carbohydrates.  He also said sugar is not good to have on an empty stomach (like alcohol, but for different reasons).

He prescribed me Ease Pearls for the morning, and Moon Pearls at night.  The ingredients lists on both of these are in Latin and Chinese, so I had to look them all up.  Here’s what they include.

Ease Pearls:

Bupleurum chinense (root)–chaihu–thorowax, hare’s ear

Ophiopogon japonicus–maimendong–mondo grass, monkey grass, snake’s beard, fountain plant

Paeonia lactiflora–baishao–Chinese peony

Wolfiporia cocos–fushen–tuckahoe, Indian bread, China root

Pinellia ternata–banxia–crowdipper

Glehnia littoralis–bei shashen–beach silvertop

Scutellaria baicalensis–huangqin–Asian skullcap, golden root

Ziziphus jujuba–dazao–jujube, red date

Angelica sinensis–danggui–female ginseng, Chinese Angelica

Atractylodes macrocephala–baizhu–largehead Atractylodes

Zingiber officinale–shengjiang–ginger

Perilla frutescens (leaf)–zisuye–beafsteak plant, wild basil, rattlesnake weed, purple Perilla

Magnolia officinalis–houpo–Houpu magnolia

Glycyrhizza glabra–gancao–licorice

Moon Pearls:

Aconitum carmichaelii (cured)–fuzi–azure monkshood, wolfbane, autumn monkshood

Paeonia lactiflora

Rubia cordifolia–qiancao–Indian madder, madderwort

Panax pseudoginseng–sanqi–Himalayan ginseng, mountain paint, three-seven root

Atractylodes macrocephala

Zingiber officinale

Equus asinus (gelatin)–ejiao–donkey gelatin

Artemisia argyi–aiye–Argyi wormwood

Angelic sinensis

Sparganium eurycarpum–sanleng–broadfruit bur-red, giant bur-reed

Curcuma zedoaria–ezhu–zedoary, white turmeric

Ligusticum sinense–chuanxiong–Chinese lovage

Glycyrhizza glabra (honey-fried)

I have not gotten a chance to look up what each of these herbs do specifially yet.  I do know that they make me feel better.  Most days my pain is negligible.  I do still have some rougher days, but overall, the herbs have definitely helped.

He also said I should turn the shower on cold at the end, and stand in it for 30 seconds.  The first time I did this I thought I was going to freeze right out of my skin–it hurt so bad I could barely breathe.  Now what I do is turn the cold all the way up, and turn the hot down as far as I can.  It’s still hard to do, but at least I can tolerate it.  This is called hydrotherapy.  The word itself kind of put me off, having watched “Creation” about Charles Darwin’s life, but if you think about it, we know that it works.  Who has not gotten into a hot tub or a warm bath at the end of a hard day, and felt their muscles relax from the heat?  It’s harder to think of cold water as therapeutic, but it is supposed to increase circulation, boost the immune system and rejuvenate the skin.

In addition to the capsules I take every day, I have a powder containing Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Phosphorus, and Vitamin D3.  It is orange-flavored (with real orange powder), and while I don’t really care for orange juice, I can at least get it down.  I mix it with a glass of water, shake it up well, and drink it twice a day.  At night, I add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to it.  I was adding 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed to it as well, as flax contains omega fatty acids, which are good for all kinds of things.  I think the flax seed was giving me orange, loose stool, because I have stopped taking it and things are going back to normal now.  Bummer, since it’s supposed to be so helpful.  I’ve never had a problem taking flax oil in pill form.

One other thing I have not gotten yet is cod liver oil.  I haven’t been able to find it in the store, and the doctor is on vacation until Monday.  I can’t say that I’m particularly looking forward to cod liver oil, but it does contain Omega-3 in different forms, as well as vitamins A & D.  Dr. Hollis said I could stop taking my multivitamin as long as I keep eating well.  Strange to me, because I always thought I needed one, but I’ve been feeling better so I’m not going to question it.

He mentioned doing acupuncture at a later time–I guess he wants to gradually start new things so that we know what works and what doesn’t.  I am actually very excited about trying acupuncture.  I’ve heard that it helps a lot–both with instant relief, and with helping to relieve pain over time.  At this point I don’t even care if it’s a placebo effect, so long as it works.

I guess I do believe in that mystical hippie stuff after all.