The only place I can really image starting is by discussing my current health struggles that have become central to every activity of every day, and how I continue to try to find the right solution for my mind and my body.
I have what doctors call “Endometriosis.” The only way to know conclusively that I have this condition is to have a surgery called a laparoscopy, where doctors make an incision in your belly button and stick a tiny camera into your pelvic cavity and search around for the endometrial implants.
Endometriosis does not have a definitive cause, and most, if not all, of the gynecologists that I have seen have little more than a birth control “remedy” to suggest.
From my own research, there seem to be two main ideas regarding the cause of Endometriosis.
The first is that women with especially “heavy flows” have what’s called “retrograde menstruation,” where the endometrium, which is the lining of the uterus that grows and flushes out each month, (aka, your period), flows back into your body and creates painful pockets of inflammation, tissue, and excess blood (aka, endometrial implants).
The other theory, which still accepts “retrograde menstruation” as one of the symptoms, sees environmental toxicity as the main cause of Endometriosis. Because of how overloaded many of our bodies are with toxins and stress, certain systems cannot function properly. In the case of endometriosis it is proposed that the liver is a) damaged from years of dioxin and other toxic exposure, and b) that it cannot properly excrete excess estrogen from the body.
So there are a couple of things going on here: First, many toxins in the environment from plastics to pesticides to cleaning materials, act as estrogens once absorbed into the body. Secondly, the liver is already dealing with so much, that is cannot properly “digest” the estrogen and remove it, therefore recycling it back through the overwhelmed body.
I am inclined to regard the second theory as the most accurate.
This may be a good place to explain that Endometriosis is also considered to be caused be an excess of estrogen, thus the desire to eliminate excess and unnecessary estrogen is one of the most crucial aspects in dealing with Endometriosis.
Since I became sexually active, around 16, my abdominal pain has become increasingly worse. For a long time, I only noticed the pain symptoms when I was with a partner, having regular intercourse, which sometimes caused me such intense pain that I would have to curl up into the fetal position and wait until the pain just subsided. I was on and off birth control pills for years, both as means of birth control and as a way to help regulate my hormones and prevent pain. I was mostly “off “ them however, as the idea of synthetic hormones pumping through my body made me uneasy and the symptoms were mostly unbearable (severe depression and mood-swings).
I was off birth control and mostly symptom free from ages 19-21. I didn’t have a boyfriend during these years and therefore did not have much sex. The occasion pelvic spasm was tolerable and I didn’t really have to be that aware of my reproductive organs. Additionally, I had been a smoker during this time, which supposedly decreases the natural amounts of estrogen produced by the body. Who knows why, but I don’t remember having a ton of problems during these years.
Then when I met my partner, I realized that the pain was still there. I was 21 turning 22. We were together for about 6 months when I went to go see the gynecologist again to talk about my pain. I wanted to have the surgery to see if I even had this strange condition that no one seemed to know anything about. But, my doctor strongly advised that I go on birth control for 6 months or so to see if the pain went away. If my pain went away, I was supposed to use that as an indication that I did indeed have Endometriosis.
I went on a new birth control method called Yaz. Surprisingly I tolerated it quite well. I had less pressure on my bladder and pelvis, I didn’t have pain with intercourse anymore, and my periods were so light I barely noticed them come and go. Even better, I had no mood swings, not even PMS!!! So I decided to stay on it.
A year later at age 23, I started to notice my first undesirable symptoms: a severe decrease in libido and a small hard lump appeared in my breast. It had been so long since I had felt any type of pain that I thought that maybe I had imagined it all. After all, I was the kid who could convince herself that she had cancer and was going to die within one week. I better sort through my teddy bears because this was the end. I actually was in and out of hospitals during the 8th grade requesting blood tests for everything from Lyme’s disease to HIV. Yes, HIV. I was so convinced that there was something wrong with me I thought I might had AIDS. Turns out, there was nothing wrong with me. I was incredible at convincing myself I was sick because that was one of the best ways I knew how to get attention from my parents.
So, it’s no surprise that when I went symptom free for an entire year, I thought this was all, well – imagined! So I decided to go off the birth control about two months ago. The day I went off it, my cramps were so intense I threw up in the bathroom during my chemistry lab. My period came back a week later, a nice 10 day festival that I celebrated in style, rocking the super plus tampon and ultra absorbent maxi. Awesome. To top it off, I couldn’t have sex anymore. Even though my libido came right back and I was ready to go, the act of intercourse was too painful to ever successfully carry out.
I went back to a doctor to talk. No talking ever really took place. I really can’t believe how little these doctors know about this condition.
From what I gathered, however, at this point surgery is more risk than benefit, with the potential to cause more damage to my reproductive organs, birth control is associated with lower risk of cancer, and continued use of birth control (which will suppress my own pain causing hormones) will reduce the production of the painful and damaging endometrial implants and make it more likely for me to be able to conceive in the future. Did I mention Endometriosis is one of the most well known causes of infertility?
After our meeting and some serious pain, I decided to try a new form of BC pills, called Levora. Well, right away I was depressed on this new pill, with lots of mood swings. And to top it off, my insomnia is back in full swing after starting on these little gems. So yesterday was my last day on Levora and I’m terrified of the pain that I might experience soon.
I wanted to introduce my health issues, Endometriosis and Insomnia as I intend to talk about them extensively and how I aim at treating them with both holistic and conventional methods. Today I have entered into a cleansing diet that is supposed to help support and clean my liver, and reduce the amount of estrogen I introduce into my body.
I’m really stressed out right now with all the crap I’m having the deal with and the decisions I have to make regarding pills and food and life. I haven’t really slept in about 7 days. Right now I am going through one of the shittiest times, health wise, that I have been through in a long, long, time.
My goal is to learn more about the herbs, foods, and supplements that I will be treating my body with and to use aquarius nation as a forum to share my experiences with anyone who might be going through something similar. As I learn more about how to help my body and mind, I hope to share with I learn here. Thanks for reading.
-Cameren
I have what doctors call “Endometriosis.” The only way to know conclusively that I have this condition is to have a surgery called a laparoscopy, where doctors make an incision in your belly button and stick a tiny camera into your pelvic cavity and search around for the endometrial implants.
Endometriosis does not have a definitive cause, and most, if not all, of the gynecologists that I have seen have little more than a birth control “remedy” to suggest.
From my own research, there seem to be two main ideas regarding the cause of Endometriosis.
The first is that women with especially “heavy flows” have what’s called “retrograde menstruation,” where the endometrium, which is the lining of the uterus that grows and flushes out each month, (aka, your period), flows back into your body and creates painful pockets of inflammation, tissue, and excess blood (aka, endometrial implants).
The other theory, which still accepts “retrograde menstruation” as one of the symptoms, sees environmental toxicity as the main cause of Endometriosis. Because of how overloaded many of our bodies are with toxins and stress, certain systems cannot function properly. In the case of endometriosis it is proposed that the liver is a) damaged from years of dioxin and other toxic exposure, and b) that it cannot properly excrete excess estrogen from the body.
So there are a couple of things going on here: First, many toxins in the environment from plastics to pesticides to cleaning materials, act as estrogens once absorbed into the body. Secondly, the liver is already dealing with so much, that is cannot properly “digest” the estrogen and remove it, therefore recycling it back through the overwhelmed body.
I am inclined to regard the second theory as the most accurate.
This may be a good place to explain that Endometriosis is also considered to be caused be an excess of estrogen, thus the desire to eliminate excess and unnecessary estrogen is one of the most crucial aspects in dealing with Endometriosis.
Since I became sexually active, around 16, my abdominal pain has become increasingly worse. For a long time, I only noticed the pain symptoms when I was with a partner, having regular intercourse, which sometimes caused me such intense pain that I would have to curl up into the fetal position and wait until the pain just subsided. I was on and off birth control pills for years, both as means of birth control and as a way to help regulate my hormones and prevent pain. I was mostly “off “ them however, as the idea of synthetic hormones pumping through my body made me uneasy and the symptoms were mostly unbearable (severe depression and mood-swings).
I was off birth control and mostly symptom free from ages 19-21. I didn’t have a boyfriend during these years and therefore did not have much sex. The occasion pelvic spasm was tolerable and I didn’t really have to be that aware of my reproductive organs. Additionally, I had been a smoker during this time, which supposedly decreases the natural amounts of estrogen produced by the body. Who knows why, but I don’t remember having a ton of problems during these years.
Then when I met my partner, I realized that the pain was still there. I was 21 turning 22. We were together for about 6 months when I went to go see the gynecologist again to talk about my pain. I wanted to have the surgery to see if I even had this strange condition that no one seemed to know anything about. But, my doctor strongly advised that I go on birth control for 6 months or so to see if the pain went away. If my pain went away, I was supposed to use that as an indication that I did indeed have Endometriosis.
I went on a new birth control method called Yaz. Surprisingly I tolerated it quite well. I had less pressure on my bladder and pelvis, I didn’t have pain with intercourse anymore, and my periods were so light I barely noticed them come and go. Even better, I had no mood swings, not even PMS!!! So I decided to stay on it.
A year later at age 23, I started to notice my first undesirable symptoms: a severe decrease in libido and a small hard lump appeared in my breast. It had been so long since I had felt any type of pain that I thought that maybe I had imagined it all. After all, I was the kid who could convince herself that she had cancer and was going to die within one week. I better sort through my teddy bears because this was the end. I actually was in and out of hospitals during the 8th grade requesting blood tests for everything from Lyme’s disease to HIV. Yes, HIV. I was so convinced that there was something wrong with me I thought I might had AIDS. Turns out, there was nothing wrong with me. I was incredible at convincing myself I was sick because that was one of the best ways I knew how to get attention from my parents.
So, it’s no surprise that when I went symptom free for an entire year, I thought this was all, well – imagined! So I decided to go off the birth control about two months ago. The day I went off it, my cramps were so intense I threw up in the bathroom during my chemistry lab. My period came back a week later, a nice 10 day festival that I celebrated in style, rocking the super plus tampon and ultra absorbent maxi. Awesome. To top it off, I couldn’t have sex anymore. Even though my libido came right back and I was ready to go, the act of intercourse was too painful to ever successfully carry out.
I went back to a doctor to talk. No talking ever really took place. I really can’t believe how little these doctors know about this condition.
From what I gathered, however, at this point surgery is more risk than benefit, with the potential to cause more damage to my reproductive organs, birth control is associated with lower risk of cancer, and continued use of birth control (which will suppress my own pain causing hormones) will reduce the production of the painful and damaging endometrial implants and make it more likely for me to be able to conceive in the future. Did I mention Endometriosis is one of the most well known causes of infertility?
After our meeting and some serious pain, I decided to try a new form of BC pills, called Levora. Well, right away I was depressed on this new pill, with lots of mood swings. And to top it off, my insomnia is back in full swing after starting on these little gems. So yesterday was my last day on Levora and I’m terrified of the pain that I might experience soon.
I wanted to introduce my health issues, Endometriosis and Insomnia as I intend to talk about them extensively and how I aim at treating them with both holistic and conventional methods. Today I have entered into a cleansing diet that is supposed to help support and clean my liver, and reduce the amount of estrogen I introduce into my body.
I’m really stressed out right now with all the crap I’m having the deal with and the decisions I have to make regarding pills and food and life. I haven’t really slept in about 7 days. Right now I am going through one of the shittiest times, health wise, that I have been through in a long, long, time.
My goal is to learn more about the herbs, foods, and supplements that I will be treating my body with and to use aquarius nation as a forum to share my experiences with anyone who might be going through something similar. As I learn more about how to help my body and mind, I hope to share with I learn here. Thanks for reading.
-Cameren
RSS Feed