Managing Endo thru Diet

Hi there,

I've been here before but have mainly just been lurking. Lately my endo has started giving me troubles again. The last few months, my endo/period pain seems to be getting worse every month. I was wondering if anyone has any tips and ideas on managing their endo through diet? I am trying to cut out all sugary and fatty foods which is really difficult at period time because that's all I crave! I try not to take any painkillers unless I absolutely have to. Does anyone know of any foods/drinks to avoid because it aggravates endo?

TIA

Yep.. just a few Lyn... anything soy, due to the estrogen content.. endo feeds on this. Also anything peppermint, like teas etc. I also avoid sugarine or phenyleuka what ever it is.. basically 'fake sugar'.. nutrasweet.. I believe this is what gave me endo, as I used to drink and eat copious amounts of food with these chemicals in them... good luck

leis x

Thanks firemansgirl :) I don't have any of those foods so that's a good start. I suspect my biggest culprit is sugar in general and fatty foods.

Yep that too, i have very little of that in my diet... so that rules that out for me.. I think endo just affects people so differently... and the causes are so varied...

So Lynny are you going to have surgery? Or have you had it? When do you plan to start IVF? Good luck mate...

Leis xx

firemansgirl, thanks again...I had a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy in March 2005 to diagnose and cut out the endo. I went in thinking the doctor was going to tell me it was all in my head so I was really quite shocked when I came out and they told me I had severe endo. Both my tubes are blocked and that I would need IVF for a pregnancy. Also, my left ovary was adhered to my bowel.

I've been with my DP for just over a year now and we both want to have kids, so hopefully we will start IVF next year (if it was entirely up to me I would drop everything this minute and start right now!) ;)

At the moment my baby radar is in full swing and it seems like every woman I meet or walk past in the street is pregnant! Exciting for them, but makes me think about my issues and I get abit down about it at times.

I look forward to joining in in the TTC threads in the future though :pray:

In the meantime want to try and manage my endo symptoms as best I can with diet and exercise as I don't really want to have more surgery if I can avoid it. I also avoid the fake sugars as I have heard bad things about them before, but for me sugar in general is evil!

Niass, I think soy should really be avoided nearly altogether, or eaten occasionally. It is the phyto oestrogens in it that 'feed' the endo. It has also recently been linked to breast cancer! I used to eat huge amounts of soy, but now rarely eat it, maybe once every few months..

Lyn I too had my L ovary adhered to my bowel. I required two operations to get rid of the endo. 3 actually. One to diagnose, one to remove it from the bladder and the next to remove the L ovary from the bowel, and in this procedure they took out 20 cms of bowel also. However, I now have no endo symptoms at all. Occassionally I take a panadol during that time of the month. The operations have not changed anything at all with the way in which my bowel and bladde works. I wouldn't know I had the ops only for the scars and pain free periods....

Yeah I too, get that way with pregnant woman, I often think, "God is there anybody that isn't pregnant?"

Good luck

Leis x

:

---

At the moment my baby radar is in full swing and it seems like every woman I meet or walk past in the street is pregnant! Exciting for them, but makes me think about my issues and I get abit down about it at times.

---

Try not to get down about it if you can, I know this is easier said than done as I have been there too. I was diagnosed with endo 14 years ago and have had 9 laps and had some big ones where I had it removed from the bowel etc. I conceived my first bub through IVF and there are a few of us around who have had success with IVF and endo.

Have you thought about going to see a naturopath to get help with the dietary side of things? I have done this before and it does help reduce the symptoms. My big culprits were sugar, caffeine and like Leis the artifical sweeteners.

All the best

Thanks so much again guys. Just coming on here and reading everyones posts always keeps me positive. I can't wait until we start IVF.

Jane - I saw a naturopath after I had my op 2 years ago. She gave me this liquid vitex agnus cactus (sp?) to take which tasted awful! However, I had the opposite reaction to what it's supposed to do. Made my periods worse and my moods changed (turned me into pyscho woman) so after giving it about 3 days I stopped taking it. Haven't been back to naturopath since, but lately have been starting to think about it again. Willing to try anything to get my body moving in the right direction.

Thanks again :)

Sometimes you can find someone who is more specialised than others, I have seen some that were more realistic than others. I used vitex for a while as well and it didn't help me, I also was given some other herb (can't remember the name) and had the most excruciating pain on it. The only thing with them is that some of them cost an absolute bomb even after health insurance.

Ok, Goji Berries.. lyn start eating them... they are excellent and relatively cheap compared to going to a naturapath.. google search them... and i love the taste of them!

Leis xx

Wow! The goji berries sound impressive. Do you know if you can buy them in woolies/coles or health food shops or can they only be bought online? I am definitely going to look out for them when I'm at the shops tomorrow and give them a try :)

Not at Coles or Woolies yet, however most reputable health food stores, stock them.. enjoy..

leis x

Here is some of the info copy/pasted from an endo diet link which has heaps of information (you can even get an endo diet recipe e-book) :

TO SUM UP
* increase omega-3 fatty acids
* avoid meat, dairy products, wheat and sugar
* increase fiber
* modulate estrogen
* avoid caffeine and alcohol
* avoid refined foods, e-numbers, additives
* minimize or avoid soy products as they contain high levels of phytoestrogens, and soy contains a particular toxin which seems to be particularly detrimental for women with Endometriosis
* peel fruit and vegetables to remove toxic chemicals
* eat organic produce wherever possible
* drink lots of filtered or mineral water

Hi, do you know why we shouldn't have peppermint tea? I drink it a bit and have severe (level 4) endo. After 4 ops, I didn't realise that peppermint tea was bad, I thought I was helping my body by it! Do you know other teas that may help?

I have an endo-afflicted friend who saw a huge improvement in her health and fertility when she followed the diet in the book "Syndrome X" by Challem, Berkson & Smith; ISBN 0-471-39858-6. I have bought the book and intend to give it a go myself.

Hi,

I love my cheese but dairy is apparently bad if you've got endo. Cheese especially! I'm surprised I eat anything actually! Of late , I have particularly been avoiding (ok actually not eating at all) red meat because it can be naturally high in estrogen and noticed a huge improvement in bowel symptoms. It felt like quite a relief actually.

I liked your summary rainbow....sounds like my diet to a tea.

Peppermint tea - whats the go? I love it!

Mich

:

---

So if you have endo and you change your diet, does that lessen the symptons and/or stop the endo continuing to grow/spread?

And is it mint, peppermint tea, mint lollies? are all those mint things bad or just the fresh mint?

---

You know, I don't know if there is any evidence (apart from anecdotal) to suggest these diet changes will lessen symptons/stop endo. I just monitor my symptons and any changes. I also take herbs,supplements and see an acupuncturist so it may be a combination of the above that eases my symptoms. This last month the only thing I changed was the elimination of red meat and found a HUGE reduction in symptons. I have had the period from Heaven so I'm a happy camper! the big thing will be if the symptons stay lessened now.

Mich

So, does Syndrome X have an "endo diet" in it, or can anyone recommend a website or book that would have this info?

My friend has just had a lap, inc a bowel section, where they removed 40cm. She's reconering but in a lot of pain. Shes been advised, I think, to have hormone medication (not sure what the right terms are here, and whether or not it would be HRT) but I think shed prefer diet if it would help.

thanks

Hi Girls, thought i would join in and offer what i can.
I will second and third the soya info. I am vego and have been for 8 years or so. Stopped eating it this year as my mum and i found info on it that was truthfully scarey for people with endo. Not necessarily bad for menospausal women, i guess it depends on you hormone levels and requirements. I am reading a briiliant book right now called Hormone Deception. It is great, it explains what differnt things can play with our hormone levels and what to avoid to reduce risk of interference. Things like fragrances etc and dioxins. Look it up, well worth the read. now of course it is rediculas to expect to eliminate everything when we must live int he same world as everyone else. But the things i can do are things like...We now use coconut oil on our skin and in our foods. It is so very good for us and does not break down like others when heated. We even have a spoon on our cereal. Yumbo.
I have goats milk now instead of soya which i didn't thinki would like but as long as you buy the fresh stuff and not the heat treated, it does not have a strong taste.
We cut numbers out a long time ago and i am not the type to wear a lot of perfume and smelly stuff. I don't smoke or drink. My biggest weakness is sugar. My god i love it. Things that have helped my cravings are...dried fruit and nuts and not going too long without food, 2hrs max. I also take asuppliment i bought in Aus (i am in London now) called Insulex through my natropath. it is a Meta genics product and helps to balance out insulin levels naturally so you don't go through the massive highs and lows of eating and hunger. I always take an alternative with me in the tube so when i am hungry or craving i have water or a snack instead. If i don't have something with me, it is a sure bet i will fidn something naughty and justify why i am haivng it.
Another book i am reading righ now is from the elaine hollingsworth website which is interesting. SHe is very passionate.
I have also used a Zeolite drops to help with detoxing cells.
I think it is just so important to come as close to basics as we can.
In saying that, even though i thoroughly believe in how we live and eat in our life, we are still waiting for a little baby.
I hope you all have great luck
Speak to you soon
Jodie, Hippy Mum to be