As if those monthly cramps weren’t enough, now your period has been punctuated with new pain. Maybe your lower back aches more than an overaggressive bellboy’s or you feel pain during bowel movements or sex.
Your doctor may tell you its endometriosis, a condition that occurs when the tissue that lines the uterus becomes implanted on their pelvic organs—usually on the overaries, the fallopian tubes or the ligaments that support your uterus. It may affect the bowel, bladder, or urters as well. This misguided tissue imitates the menstrual cycle, leaving a discharge that can’t exit the body and cause inflammation and scarring. It can also cause infertility in a small percentage of women.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding can end symptoms of endometriosis, but here are some easier and faster ways to get relief.
Get into workouts. While a rigorous workout may be the last thing on your mind when pain strikes, plenty of exercise is often recommended. Research shows that women who exercise on the regular basis have less endometriosis pain and easier periods.
Exercise decreases estrogen production—and estrogen makes the disease worse. Recommendation, a vigorous workout three to six times a week for at least 30 minutes each time.
Eat for a stronger immune system. Just as a diet influences the severity of the diseases, it may have a role in causing endometriosis pain. There are data suggesting an association of autoimmune disease with both the risk of developing endometriosis and the extent or severity of endometriosis. To build a stronger immune system, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins. Vitamin C is especially important, so fill up your plate with vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, red bell peppers, oranges, strawberries and cantaloupe—all high in vitamin C.
Don’t forget fish. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish such as mackerel, herring and sardines are also helpful, because they suppress prostaglandin production. Prostaglandin is a hormone in the uterine lining that causes cramping.
Try hands-on healing. Acupuncture relieves pain in some women. When pain begins, press the area on the inside of your leg about two inches above your ankle bone. To locate that spot, press with your thumb until you locate an area that feels tender. Another spot where pressure can ease pain is the web of your hand, at the base where the bones of your thumb and index finger meet. If it doesn’t hurt when you press it, it’s not the right spot. Know that it will hurt, but you need to keep pressing, and you should feel relief in the pelvic area.
Keep a calendar of symptoms. If you know when endometriosis pain is likely to occur each month, you can plan around it. Charting helps you get control your disease, so you can plan your life better. For instance if you know that you always have severe pain on the 22nd day of your cycle, you can avoid planning important events for that day. You can also plan your pain relief medications prior to that day, so you won’t wake up on the 22nd day with severe pain.
Sources: Owen Montgomery, M.D., and OG/GYN specialist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College. Dan Martin, M.D. Clinical associate professor of OB/GYN at the University of Tennessee and a reproductive surgeon at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Gynecology and fertility specialist Camran Nezhat, M.D., director of the fertility and endoscopy center and center for Special Pelvic Surgery in Atlanta. Susan Anderson, sufferer and member of the national board of the Endometriosis Association self help group based in Milwaukee.
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