Endometriosis cleared and the arrival of a healthy baby
by Sue Kira, Naturopath & Clinical Nutritionist
Client name and identifying information changed
When April first came to see me she wanted to stop taking the pill to have a baby. April was initially diagnosed with endometriosis when only 14, after previously suffering many months of agonising pain with each period.
Later in life, she went off the pill a few times to fall pregnant, but her endometriosis would come back with a vengeance.
April’s doctor previously advised her to continue to take the contraceptive pill until she wanted to fall pregnant. However, after much research, April discovered that if she worked with a naturopath she might be able to fall pregnant naturally and clear her endometriosis at the same time. So this time she wanted to approach things differently.
April seemed otherwise healthy, not overweight, her skin was clear and eyes bright, but this was while her hormones were under the control of the pill. April explained that her skin would normally be a mess when she was off the pill.
Going over her health history, diet and lifestyle choices, I could see that she had been prescribed lots of antibiotics as a child for recurrent tonsillitis, until her tonsils were removed when she was eight. During her school years, her diet was poor, including sugary cereals topped with chocolate milk for breakfast, bread with vegemite or jam for lunch, and dinners of processed chicken nuggets, cheese and fruits, pasta dishes and she didn’t like vegetables.
As a young adult she drank lots of alcohol and took a few ‘recreational’ drugs. When she met the man of her dreams, a personal trainer and health fanatic, her diet became healthier, but still included lots of starchy carbs and alcohol most weekends. I also discovered that she loved perfumes, hair care products and make-up, all quite heavily laden with chemicals.
It was clear to me that the loads of antibiotics taken early in her life would have upset her inner eco-system friendly bacteria levels, which was made worse by her previous atrocious diet. April said she had been on her ‘better diet’ for 18 months and had tried coming off the pill – with disastrous results.
But April wasn’t aware that other current factors in her life were still damaging her body.
These included the carbs, trans fats, lack of good fats, too much sugar (still), alcohol affecting her liver, oh and loads of coffee, plus all the chemicals she used in her personal care regime. There was also the possibility that her gut flora might not be right as the ‘pill’ also destroys good bacteria, along with vital nutrients such as B vitamins.
First, we needed to see what was going on with her gut, which revealed she had an overgrowth of candida species of organisms and very low levels of all good bacteria. We also tested her hormone pathways which showed that her liver wasn’t converting her hormones through the right pathways, giving her increased risk of the endometriosis returning, and possibly more nasty things over time if not corrected.
Because April was very determined to make changes asap so she could hopefully conceive, it was easy to ask her to make a complete diet change so she could detoxify her liver, repair her gut, balance her hormone pathways and support her adrenal glands which are important for hormones.
After three months on a diet for endometriosis, as well as specific probiotics, extra vitamin and mineral supplements, no alcohol or caffeine or chemical products, April felt great and wanted to go off the pill. I told her it was important to try and fall pregnant as soon as possible to avoid any possible re-growth.
There was no issue with the trying side, as both her and hubby were very keen to make a baby. April was pregnant by the second month and there was no apparent sign of endometriosis (no pain). Time passed and one day I received an email with a lovely photo of a bouncy baby boy along with a thank you. The endometriosis never returned and April later became pregnant again and gave birth to twins.