Natural Endometriosis Pain Relief Manual : A Message to My Younger Self

This Endometriosis Pain Relief Manual is for everyone who has been diagnosed and is feeling overwhelmed about how to live life with Endometriosis. This is for those fighting for their dreams with a smile while taking several pain pills just to make it through one day of work.

This year makes 10 years since being diagnosed with Endometriosis. I am truly in awe when I think about how far I have come. The life I live now is the life I prayed for while crying in debilitating pain from Stage IV Endometriosis. I live a pain-free life I didn’t know I could have after experiencing 12 years of menstrual pain prior to even knowing what was causing my pain. Endometriosis has been a part of my life for 22 years!! It’s wild to think about what my life would be if I had just accepted that my pain was the product of just “menstrual pain”. The crazy part is that I have only been pain-free for the last 5 years.

Every day, I am still learning something new about how to stay pain-free with endometriosis. As well as how to evolve with new obstacles and body changes. That being said, this blog post is dedicated to everyone dealing with menstrual pain in silence, thinking that it is normal. I am proof that you can become pain-free with endometriosis, and this is what I would tell my younger self to speed up the process.

My Endometriosis Story | How Endometriosis is diagnosed

How to Get A Fast Diagnosis

By-Pass the OBGYN visit and find a Gynecologist!

You do not need a recommendation to see a specialist for menstrual pain.

Trying to get an OBGYN to believe your menstrual pain is not normal can feel like the hardest thing you can possibly do. I want you to know that it is not your fault. There isn’t a magic word you need to find to get a different answer. Even though your are starting to doubt yourself in the process, understand that this is the way the medical system is setup. It is not your fault. The great thing is your don’t need a OBGYN to believe you! You need a specialist to diagnosis you. Skip talking to a general OBGYN about your menstrual pain, and go directly to gynecologist. These are doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating diseases with the female reproductive system.

I know you are waiting for your OBGYN to validate your pain and give you the green light to see a specialist, but I am 90% sure most won’t. They will suggest birth control which will mask your pain for a while, and you will continue to wonder how long you have to be on it before it’s time to figure out the cause of your pain. When I was first experiencing extreme menstrual pain, I was given a lot of pain pills and opioids to “deal” with the pain. Times of changed now, so they may not be giving those prescriptions out like they used to. But, don’t worry, you have natural ways to deal with the pain that does require putting your liver at risk with managing Endometriosis pain.

I personally went to the Institute for Gynecologic Care at Mercy in Baltimore. They also have an Endometriosis Center with some of the top doctors for your surgery.

What to know about laparoscopy for Endometriosis

This surgery is not a cure. It may offer some relief, but its main goal is to give you an official diagnosis of Endometriosis.

When you finally find a doctor who believes your pain is not normal, you will be so excited and willing to take whatever next steps they offer. However, do your research, check reviews, do a Google search, and check Facebook groups before taking this step. Not all surgeries are created equally. And if you do get your diagnosis from an OBGYN, ask for references for a surgeon. Please don’t assume any OBGYN is qualified to do your surgery.

After your surgery, you will have so much hope that you will never have to deal with the same kind of pain. Unfortunately, that is not the case. You are still going to have to do the work and figure out what it means to live with endometriosis.

You see, because you were living with endometriosis for so long, you had lesions everywhere. It was affecting all areas of your body, and you didn’t know it. You lift out of your surgery only to find out you were dealing with symptoms of appendicitis every cycle because it was covered in endometriosis lesions. So this is the first step to finding the relief you need, but the journey has just started.

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What Helps Endometriosis Pain?

To manage Endometriosis pain naturally, you will need to create a proactive self-care plan

This ensures that all of your vitamins and minerals stay at an optimal level. As well as, maintain low stress levels.

After your laparoscopy, it is time to learn how to live the life you want with Endometriosis. This means you are going to have to make some tough decisions in all areas of your life. Understand that your diet plays a major role in this journey, but it doesn’t stop there. You are still in the red zone when it comes to your pain, and you are going to have to do everything in your power to shift things in your life to live pain free with Endometriosis. Similar to any other goal you set in your life — getting out of debt, saving money, finding a new job, etc. This first part is going to feel really hard, but it is necessary.

Managing Endometriosis Pain Relief

You will be tempted to go back to your old ways of dealing with pain after having your surgery. This is because your current lifestyle is still causing your body to fight chronic inflammation. But this is the time for you to take a holistic and proactive approach to your pain. The first thing you need to do is get your blood work done. You need to know where all of your levels are and what your body is missing. You can request this done during your primary care visit, during your OBGYN visit, or your can go to a wellness clinic and get it done.

I go to LifeMed Institute every 6 months to get a full panel ran, and from there I am able to determine what my body is missing. This is similar to how you keep your plants alive, you can’t just keep giving them tap water for a full year thinking that are getting all the nutrients they need. As your plant grows, things change. They may need a new pot, they may need new soil, they may need better lighting. Think of yourself as a high-maintenance plant that needs more that just a little water and sunlight to survive Endometriosis pain.

Alternative Endometriosis Pain Management

Vitamins for Endometriosis:

After you know where you are with your levels, it’s time to start a vitamin regimen. This may not sound exciting, but you can have fun with it. You have options. You can take pills, you can get liquid vitamins to put in drinks or smoothies, you can get patches, you can do IV hydration, or you can get monthly injections. I personally do a combination of all the above depending on what is happening in my life. And this is why I go to a place like LifeMed. When you find a proactive health center, you can get IV Hydration, injections, red light therapy and more to help get your levels back to where they need to be. This will help you cutdown on the amount of pain medicine you will need to take on your Endometriosis journey.

Acupuncture for Endometriosis:

Also, don’t be afraid to try alternative pain relief methods. Acupuncture combined with a vitamin regimen can do wonders. Just remember, like doctors, not all acupuncturists are created equally. Don’t give up on finding the perfect practitioner if your first experience isn’t the best. It took me a while to find someone that could give me the results I was looking for, but when I did, I saw a big difference in my pain levels.

Personal Experience with Acupuncture and Endometriosis

If you are in the Baltimore area, here are two acupuncturists I would recommend:

1. Resilient Health Acupuncture – 11350 McCormick Rd, Cockeysville MD
2. Curio Wellness (Far & Dotter) Spa – 2060A York Rd, Lutherville-Timonium MD 21093

Olive Oil for Endometriosis Pain:

Replace your pain medication with olive oil! I know this sounds crazy. But, Ibuprofen contains Oleocanthal, an anti-inflammatory phenolic compound derived from virgin olive oil. A study in 2014, broke down how virgin olive oil is beneficial for inflammatory diseases similar to Ibuprofen.

CBD for Endometriosis Pain Endometriosis:

I know the world of marijuana may still be a little trivial for you. But there is some relief for you here! If you are not ready to dive all the way in yet, hemp seeds and CBD are a good place to start. There are studies that show CBD can effectively support women with Dysmenorrhoea, aka, painful cycles. CBD Suppositories are going to become your new best friend when you need immediate pain relief on your cycle!

Managing Stress for Endometriosis

First, understand the role stress plays with Endometriosis pain. For a long time, you have been in fight or flight mode, trying to prepare yourself for the pain that comes every month. This has caused a rise in inflammation in your body that you need to learn how to control. Similar to if Dave Ramsey were to give you advice about taking drastic budget cuts to reach your financial goal, you need to make some stress cuts at the being of a pain-free journey with Endometriosis!

Take inventory of everything that is causing you stress in your life. From your job to your friendships and relationships. Be honest will yourself about how everything makes you feel and set up healthy boundaries. Be honest about what you want out of life, and understand you do not need to settle for anything less than that. This may mean some relationships come to an end. And/or it’s time to start looking for another job, but don’t let these things linger. Some things you will be able to eliminate immediately, others may take some years of strategy and planning with counseling. But, you owe it to yourself to do what is necessary to live the life you deserve.

When you become a mom, understand this all means asking and soliciting the help you need. You are not superwoman, and the moment you realize that things will get a little easier.

How to Start an Endometriosis Self-Care Journey

After taking inventory of the stress in your life and setting healthy boundaries, use the extra time you have to start a radical self-care journey. It is important for you to learn how to put yourself and your health first. At first, “self-care” may sound like something as trivial as getting your nails done every month, but it will soon evolve into you being proactive about your health.

Endometriosis Self-Care Ideas

Self-care with endometriosis can include the following:

1. Counseling sessions
2. Acupuncture
3. Indulging in herbal tea
4. Finding delicious healthy foods
5. Exploring places that inspire you
6. Massages to drain your lymphatic system
7. Practicing yoni steaming
8. Daily walks to soak up vitamin D
9. Prioritizing sleep
10. Taking baths with sea salt

Endometriosis Pain Relief Diet

Foods that help Endometriosis

Remember, you are what you eat! This means paying attention to the foods that can create estrogen and progesterone in your body is crucial. You may think simply going on a vegan diet is the answer for eating healthy with endometriosis, but that is not always the case. Things like soy, tofu, flax seeds, and sesame seeds are high in phytoestrogens, the plant estrogen, which may cause unwanted inflammation with endometriosis.

Foods like walnuts, kale, wild yams, and spinach contain plant progesterone that can help keep your hormones balanced with endometriosis. “Superfoods” that are high in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that our bodies need to stay balanced are also essential to keep in your diet. Beets, Chlorophyl and Sea Moss are two must-haves weekly to stay balanced. High-fiber foods will play an important part in your health journey as well because they will help release toxins from your body regularly.

Keep a food diary, especially at the beginning of your journey, to track how food is making you feel.

Endometriosis and Your Environment

Endometriosis is an estrogen dominant disorder. This means you need to keep your estrogen levels down and remove any “estrogen like” substance for your body daily. Unfortunately, our environment plays a big part with endometriosis. Things like plastics and pesticides contain chemicals that can act like estrogen in our body if consumed. Do you best to stay away from these things. However, even if you try your hardest, you can still come in contact with it while living life. This is why it is important to have a high fiber diet to ensure you body is removing all waste from your body consistently.

That said, try not to add unnecessary chemicals to your environment that you don’t need to. Pay close attention to the type of menstrual products you are using. Try to buy chemically free pads that are made of things you understand. I personally love Honey Pot pads and getting into menstrual underwear on my Endometriosis journey.

Evolving for Endometriosis Pain Relief

Endometriosis is one of those disorders that is forever evolving in our body. There is no one-all cure or treatment. You have to do listen to your body and become your own personal expert on what is working and not working for you. It takes work and time to stay pain-free with Endometriosis. Be patient with yourself and take a step everyday.

There is still so much I can share and dive deeper into. Let me know in the comments if you want to expound on anything. I hope this helps you jump-start your journey to becoming pain-free with Endometriosis! Just know it is possible, and if you have any tips beyond this, please share them. I would love to hear about what is working for you.

HOW STOP PERIOD PAIN Naturally

Here are things that have worked for me to stay pain-free: 50 Natural Remedies for Period Cramps.

Posts about Endometriosis

If you need more insight on your endometriosis journey, check out the following posts:

• Red Wine Benefits for Endometriosis
• Chlorophyll Water for Healing
• 7 Life-Changing Facts about Endometriosis
• 12 Vitamins for Endometriosis
• Endometriosis Pantry Guide
• Endometriosis Questions with Dr. Hawkins
• Smoothie for Endometriosis Flare-ups