Endometriosis ~ natural pain relief.
I've had a few people ask about this again recently so I thought I'd put a post up about it.
What is endometriosis:
Endometriosis is when the tissue that usually lines the uterus grows outside of it, on and around the pelvic and abdominal organs. People can have various symptoms. It can feel more intense when there is any sort of inflammation going on around the area, and often especially when ovulating.
For me it started 11 years after my M.E began in 2010 when I had a relapse of my M.E. My symptoms ~ severe pain in my right ovary which radiates into my bladder, bowels, intestines, back and down my right leg. To me the intensity often felt like being in labour when I was about 5 cm dilated, the level of pain would sometimes make me feel sick. Mine only happens when I'm in the middle of my cycle when I'm ovulating. It has an affect on the workings of my bowel too and can bring on IBS symptoms and fatigue. It's been nothing like as bad as it used to be the last year, and for three months there I didn't have it at all, however it came back with a vengeance last month when I had a stressful situation to deal with. This month there has been nothing so maybe it has finally gone! 😊
Pain relief aromatherapy blend:
Blend 100mls of grapseed, almond or olive oil in a dark glass bottle with 20 drops of camomile and 20 drops of mandarin oil. This blend of oils have analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties in them. Which helps to calm down inflammation, ease the pain and stop the spasms around the bowel and digestive tract areas. If you use about a ten pence size and rub it all round your stomach area in a clockwise direction three times a day if need be, you can also rub it on your back and leg if that is affected, and then put a warm covered hot water bottle on your stomach. This method always got rid of my pain in between 5 and 10 minutes. I’m always amazed by how quick and affective it is, whereas pain killers which caused me more problems would take one and a half hours to work. Mandarin oil is photo-toxic (renders the skin more susceptible to sun damage) and shouldn't be used if you are going to be in the sun or on a sunbed for the next 24 hours, if you can’t avoid doing this just make your blend up with camomile only. Camomile oil shouldn't be used in the first trimester of pregnancy or with a history of miscarriage. Although many people do find their symptoms go into remission during pregnancy anyway due to the high progesterone levels. The organic camomile oil I buy is £20 for 5mls and the organic mandarin oil is £5, organic grapeseed is £30 for 1 litre. If you don't want to buy these for yourself at this time I can make up a sample blend for you to try. So please contact me if you'd like me to do that at butterflybeeswellbeing@gmail.com. I just need to have a chat with you first.
Drinks that help:
Camomile, rooibos tea and peppermint tea are all really good to drink to calm things down internally too, avoid caffeine and drinking approximately 8 x 8oz glasses of water or your herbal teas a day helps too.
Foods to watch out for when you have flare ups:
When any endometriosis flares ups occur I try not to eat foods that are oestrogen dominant. Such as flax seeds, sesame seeds, soy products, peaches, strawberries, alfa sprouts, mung beans, sprouts, green beans, legumes, white beans, black beans, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, dried apricots, dates, dried prunes, red wine, garlic, multigrain bread. Also if it affects your bowels avoid any foods that can make you become gassy like fizzy drinks, cabbage, beans, brussel sprouts, lentils, cauliflower etc...until it calms down.
Be mindful of your feminine hygiene products:
Unfortunately a lot of our toilet rolls, sanitary towels and tampons have nasty chemicals in them that can really irritate our most sensitive parts, to say the least. Toilet paper is a ubiquitous personal hygiene product, and it is assumed that it contains no harmful chemicals. However most of it does. Formaldehyde for instance not only causes irritation, but it is also listed as a cancer-causing agent. The skin absorbs these chemicals and they can affect our systems. Chlorine in toilet rolls and found in sanitary products has been linked to chronic vulva irritation, bladder problems and other irritating problems like thrush. Dioxin a bio product of chlorine is an endocrine disrupter which can make endometriosis worst. Also found in toilet roll is BPA which is another endocrine disrupting chemical we need to avoid.
Eco leaf toilet rolls are recycled and bleach free. I never have any problems with these ones, whereas if I am out and have to use another one I can be irritated for days not just where I've wiped but irritated right up my urinary tract and into my bladder. So I tend to either take some of the eco leaf rolled up my bag or I always carry some coconut oil in a tin so that I can put it on the toilet roll and wipe with that, which means the chemicals don't come into contact with my skin.
Natra care sanitary towels are made from organic bleach free cotton ~ again no nasty chemicals. I believe they do tampons also but I've never used them. Another solution for ladies who don't like to use sanitary towels is using a mooncup.
Visualisation techniques:
Imagine you have a little mini hoover inside that’s sucks up any tissue attached to an area it shouldn’t be, just follow the pain and pull it out with your imaginary hoover. When you’ve done that you can imagine little fairies 🧚♀️ or angels 👼 rubbing a lovely warm balm on all the sore areas.
Deal with stress:
Stress can affect endometriosis the same as it does with all conditions. I know mine had actually gone for a whole three months then I had a situation to deal with that was stressful and not only did the pain flare back up but the duration I had it for lasted longer too. So using the stress reducing techniques I've written about in other posts can help. Below is a nice guided meditation video.
All these simple changes can make a massive difference to your wellbeing but *This is not meant to replace any medical advice. Please make sure you have the appropriate checks done with your doctor.*
