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Endometriosis is suspected to affect 1 in 10 women!

Yes! While it's often described as very rare, this disease affects millions of women in the world. Understanding what endometriosis really is and how it affects the body is the first step to knowing your real options to manage symptoms.

What is Endo?

Endometriosis is when cells that are similar to that of your endometrial lining, or uterine lining, migrate and implant outside of the uterus. This implantation can occur on other pelvic organs such as the ovaries or bladder and may cause inflammation and severe pain. 

Although endometriosis may be affecting 10% of the population, this ailment harbors a lot of confusion and isn’t often talked about. 

 Common Symptoms of Endo:

• severe pelvic pain
• severe period pain
• pain during sex
• inflammation
• heavy periods
• difficulty getting pregnant
• pain while urinating    
• pain while having a bowel movement 

Many women live with these symptoms and don't know if it's normal or not. Are all periods supposed to be painful? Is pain with sex normal? Women often have these questions and seek out their doctor to find out what's going on. 

Getting an endometriosis diagnosis can be tricky! On average it takes 8-11 years for a woman to finally get an endo diagnosis. 😮  Why?? Because:

--Gender bias still exists in medicine and painful periods have been “normalized” in our Western society. This means it can take YEARS for a woman to be taken serious by her doctor when she complains of debilitating period pain.

--An endo diagnosis requires a major surgery called a laparoscopy. Doctors don’t typically want to proceed with a laparoscopy unless they deem it totally necessary. 

Most common treatments in Western Medicine:

In the Western realm, the most common treatments offered for women with endometriosis include pain medications, birth control, a laparotomy, a partial hysterectomy or severing nerves in the pelvis to manage pain. 

These treatments can be helpful to manage pain, though it's important to note that a partial or even full hysterectomy does not always effectively get rid of the pain. 

So what other options are there??

Whatever options and resources that you decide to utilize for your endometriosis, you are welcome here! We are advocating informed consent and honoring what you feel is the best option for your personal situation. 

There are some correlations, research and studies that are beginning to piece together things in regards to endo and its symptomatology. Some of the most prominent correlations I see are excess estrogen and endo. Studies suggest that endo is dependent on estrogen and I commonly observe this in my practice when clients with endo take the DUTCH test. Often, their estrogen levels are incredibly high and progesterone is near nonexistent. This can be because the patient has not ovulated and is experiencing anovulatory cycles. 

Another prominent correlation is between gut health and endometriosis. This makes a lot of sense because the gut helps the body remove excess estrogen. If our gut is unhealthy, we are likely unable to properly dispose of extra estrogen.

Lastly, environmental toxicity is thought to play a large role in endo presenting. Many chemicals and toxins increase estrogen and make it difficult for the body to function and eliminate adequately. I did a whole podcast episode on the huge implications environmental toxicity has on hormone health with Dr. Yvonne Burkhart you can listen to here. 

My two big goals I have when working with clients who have endometriosis:

✅Understand WHY it’s happening and address it at its root.

✅Help them manage their pain.

Gathering the data is imperative to understanding why endometriosis is an issue. Hormone testing allows us to see what is going on with estrogen, progesterone, cortisol and stress hormones. Toxicity exposure and gut health are also very important pieces to the puzzle that we must examine. 

Learn how to work with me here

 You don't have to feel in the dark about your symptoms anymore and if your doctor is saying "NO" when you request hormone testing, please know there are options! If you're ready to get to the root of what's going on, check out my Work With Me page to learn how to begin this journey of support, nourishment and hormone balance. 

If your hormones feel off, they probably are! So don't brush it off and assume everything is "normal" when you feel anything but. xx

Dr. Cassandra 

Was this information helpful? Let us know! And for my full explanation on Endometriosis and how to manage symptoms, check out my episode on the CYCLICAL Podcast! 

Want to hear more?? Be sure to tune into the CYCLICAL podcast!

Episode #145 "A Holistic Approach to Endometriosis"