What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is often confused with other diseases, and therefore take 8-10 years in average to diagnose. Characterized by tissue from the endometrium are outside the womb, which the immune system is unable to handle. This can cause chronic inflammation that can lead to adhesions between organs and blood-filled cysts on the ovaries.
What causes Endometriosis?
The endometriosis disease can be passed down through generations of a family and the genes can be inherited from the mother’s or father’s side, but triggers are required. External environmental factors such as toxins (eg dioxin) or hormones (estrogen or estrogen-like components) and factors such as stress and infection, which makes the immune system getting worse locally, can according to studies develop the disease.
Endometriosis is influenced by the woman’s hormonal cycle in the same way as the endometrium does. In the same manner as the endometrium becomes thicker by the hormone estrogen also the endometriosis outside the endometrium are growing.
What can I do to feel better?
To be cured of endometriosis is difficult but there are several different types of treatments that can improve the symptoms:
Surgery – When having chocolate ovarian cysts keyhole surgery are often used to remove the cysts. Small “islands of endometriosis” are also sometimes burned off with electrocoagulation or laser.
NSAIDs, Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drug used to prevent pain and reduce inflammation short term. Example: Naproxen
Hormonal treatments can be divided into two groups:
1, GnRH agonists – Drugs that focuses on stopping the production of estrogen in order to starve out the endometriosis. Can be taken as injection or nasal spray and places the body in a temporary chemical menopause, which means that menstruation will disappear. Provides side effects such as hot flashes and night sweats and also osteoporosis if used for longer time. Examples of drugs: Enanton depot and Synarela
2, Gestagens – Drugs containing produced substances with similar properties as for hormone progesterone (progestin). The interaction between the hormones progesterone and estrogen controls when you get your period. For example, before a normal period the ovary stops to produce progesterone and it is the declining levels of progesterone that leads to it becoming a menstrual bleeding. During pregnancy the hormone HCG is produced which in turn stimulates the ovary to produce progesterone, which is why there is no menstrual bleeding during pregnancy. Progestogens are used to influence endometriosis and also get your periods cease. This treatment has fewer side effects than GnRH agonist method above because the woman does not fall into menopause. Common side effects of gestagens are mood disorders and bleeding between periods. Examples of drugs: Provera and Primolut Nor.
A drug that recently started to be used to treat endometriosis is Visanne. The active ingredient is a gestagen called Dienogest. According to the pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer Dienogest is an suitable gestagen which bind well to the endometriosis-cells receptors. According to Bayer, Visanne has positive progesterone effects and less side effects than other drugs, which means that you can take it for longer periods (15 months). Swedish goverment does not think Visanne is cost effective and that the active substance Dienogest is the same as for other gestagens. Yet many Swedish doctors use Visanne for there patients since they see benefits with the drug and patients are forced to pay high medical costs, as Food and Drug Administration does not think it should be included in the reimbursement system.
Birth control pills, IUS – When treated endometriosis for a limited period, birth control pills are normally used to some extent prevent the endometriosis to come back too quickly. An IUS is as effective as GnRH agonists over time but at significantly lower cost and with fewer side effects.
Pregnancy suppresses the symptoms of endometriosis in the same way as hormone treatments because of the exclusion period but does not cure the disease. The symptoms often come back after birth. Many women can prolong the re-emergence of symptoms by breast-feed since breast-feed inhibits menstruation.
Aerobic exercise helps the general well being and is beneficial in endometriosis. Exercise strengthens the cells and strengthens the immune system.
Only a few small studies have been done to study how dietary factors influence on Endometriosis and the conclusions are not yet conclusive, but many individual women have reported that dietary changes have produced good results. Some women claim that they have been symptom-free by adjusting the diet. The goal of the diet is to reduce estrogen levels, stabilize hormones, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and get rid of the pain.
Omega Fatty acid balance – the relationship between Omega3 and Omega6. Omega-3 has many positive features such as boosts the immune system and reduces pain and inflammation. Omega-6 has the opposite effect for these areas, but the body also need Omega-6 for other reasons but by the modern Western diet, we eat too much Omega-6 relative to Omega-3. It is therefore recommended to eat more fish such as mackerel and salmon or supplements of Omega-3.
Vitamin D – Boost the immune system.
Low Carb High Fat Diet (anti-inflammatory diet) – Free from gluten. Select proteins from fish.
Try to buy organic to avoid dioxins. For example, do not shop fish from polluted areas such as the Baltic Sea because they contain higher levels of dioxins.
Avoid wheat that may contain hormones that provide estrogen-like effects in the body. Many endometriospatienter has developed an intolerance to wheat and the pain is reduced when they exclude gluten.
Avoid large amounts of beef and pork that is not organic. Especially from the US – May contain hormones that can increase estrogen levels. Animal fat absorb dioxins and other chemicals that are considered a possible cause of the trigger and makes the endometriosis even worse.
Wash vegetables and fruit carefully to avoid dioxins. Eat plenty of vegetables and be a little more careful with fruit that contains carbohydrates because it increases insulin which in turn triggers inflammation. But fruit has other benefits so eat in moderation. Good products are for example: onions, cabbage, broccoli, ginger and green tea.
Don’t drink too much caffeine because it can increase production of estrogen.
Don’t drink too much alcohol because it can burden the liver from the trimming of excess estrogen and etanol can make the inflammation caused by Endometriosis even worse.
Avoid canned foods – The inside of the cans are covered with plastics containing the hormone-like substance bisphenol A that leaches into the food. Attempts have been made in rats that shows that bisphenol A may lead to endometriosis-like illness. Some countries have banned the use of this substances.
Eat moderate amounts of dairy products because they includes a lot of Omega6 (too much Omega 6 in relation to Omega 3 is not good for inflammation and pain).
Sources:
- http://www.netdoktorpro.se/gynekologi-obstetrik/medicinska-oversikter/endometrios_6
- http://www.linne.se/fragorsvar/
- http://www.endo-resolved.com/diet.html
- href=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20350546″>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20350546
