I have had Endometriosis for well over a decade. I was first diagnosed at the tender age of 19 years of age.
The signs and symptoms of it began far sooner than that and were often simply dismissed as severe period pain – if you have Endometriosis, you may be familiar with this experience!
Over the last 5 years I have approached my Endometriosis using a natural and holistic approach – after 7 surgeries, I had enough!
In essence, I focused heavily on my diet and my mindset shifts to avoid feeling stressed.
I knew that these things would all influence my hormonal balance and thereby help me manage my Endometriosis. The truth is, that these things definitely do play a BIG part in how we approach Endometriosis and I can tell you that before making these changes, Endometriosis would really dominate my life. I was more often in pain and struggling, than not…. which quite honestly was no way to live.
The trouble was, that as much as I ate well and focused on reducing stress in my life, it still didn’t feel like I was totally healthy. I often felt tired, foggy brained and I would get digestive struggles – even with a super diet and on some level I just knew there was something else I needed to do.
I began exploring supplements to support my body as I think most of us do. We feel that perhaps what we need is something from the outside. Something external that can somehow “fix” us. I tried a range of different supplements and a range of different herbs and I did notice some improvement but when I stopped taking them, that same feeling of tiredness, foggy brain and listlessness would return. Whatever the imbalance was, I hadn’t fixed anything and my body was still struggling!
Endometriosis, candida, and parasites
It was only when I stumbled on an article about Candida and it’s symptoms that I started to open up…. well for the sake of sounding really silly: A can of worms!
What I discovered about Candida was that it was a yeast overgrowth that could affect our health just because there were too many strains of them in our digestive system. I learned that Candida could become systemic and spread and that this could be linked to Endometriosis and the struggles we experience with Interstitial Cystitis and hormonal imbalances. The idea of anything living in my body eating my food and nutrients also kinda freaked me out…
I found this study which demonstrated the effects of parasites on fertility. (Pubmed 2004)
I dived in a little deeper and recognized that there were in fact more potential elements, bacteria, parasites and even worms that could be living in our bodies – YUCK, RIGHT?
They move in and live off our food and eat all our nutrients, which inevitably makes us feel tired, foggy brained and would cause digestive struggles. I needed to do something about this!
These are the steps I took:
- Prepared my Kidneys with daily teas to support them. This included Dandelion Leaves, Nettle and Bushu Tea. I drank this tea, 3 times per day for a period of 7days.
- I got a really good deworming tincture. I researched this thoroughly and discovered that there were a variety of options on the market. The one I decided on was by ArtofDetox. This is a liquid based herbal formula which kills off any parasite or bacteria in the body. I believe Humaworm is another good choice.
- Drank plenty of water and rested to allow my body to detox.
- Reduced my eating to 80% full to give my digestive system a break and allow it to heal.
Here is what I noticed:
- I felt far more clear-headed than I had in years!
- My skin cleared up.
- My digestion improved.
The thing I found interesting was how different my body felt. Not tired and struggling anymore but more alive and yes, somehow cleaner….
I would love to know if you have heard of the worm/parasite/candida connection with Endometriosis and what your experience has been… did you flush them out? If you tried a cleanse, did it make you feel better?
*This was the experience of one woman, use caution and research to see if you need to work on parasite removal and work with a qualified health care professional (preferably a holistic one).
Melissa
Food and Mood: what we eat affects our emotions