Beating Endo. Dr Iris Kerin Orbuch

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СКАЧАТЬ the path to diminishing symptoms is through nutritional, lifestyle, environmental actions—all the tools of genetic expression—along with proper endo treatment. The science here is complex, but the takeaway is hopeful and empowering: If exposure to a particular environmental situation or lifestyle circumstance ignites a genetic response that is deleterious or painful to you, no, you cannot change the genes, but you sure as shooting can change your environment, your dinner menu, your behavior.

      One of the very first clues to this came from the Endometriosis Association’s research registry. Alongside the finding about the allergic propensities among the families of endo patients was the statistic that 57 percent of women with endo also suffer from allergies—to pollen, plants, foods, perfumes, cleaning products, a whole palette of sensitivities. Moreover, the reactions to pollen, the incidence of asthma, and the presence of eczema were considerably higher among endo sufferers than in the population as a whole. Most significant of all, the research showed that when the allergies were addressed, the women’s endo symptoms also improved.

      Does that tell us something? You bet it does. It suggests that women with endo are women with highly responsive immune systems. So it is perhaps not surprising that in 1992, Ballweg herself brought about the research that uncovered the breakthrough connection between dioxin exposure and endometriosis. She had learned by chance about an experiment testing whether exposure to dioxins affected fertility in lab monkeys. There seemed to be a connection, but Ballweg was knocked off her feet when she discovered that two of the monkeys had died of endometriosis, a disease that until then had not been spontaneously created in a laboratory setting. Ballweg sought and procured funding for researchers to probe the connection more deeply. The study she put in motion, exposing a set of lab monkeys to varied doses of dioxins, proved the point. The monkeys developed endometriosis, and those given the highest doses of dioxin were correspondingly most seriously affected. The conclusion was inescapable that “dioxin and other toxic chemicals can cause the development of endometriosis and other health problems to which those with endometriosis are susceptible, including certain cancers, autoimmune diseases, and heart disease.”^5*

      * Adding to the sweetness of having been the prime mover of this important discovery, the icing on the cake for Ballweg was that it happened at her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, in its Primate Laboratory on the Madison campus.

      This doesn’t just mean that endo sufferers might want to refrain from using herbicides on their lawns next spring—dioxins being a by-product of herbicides. It’s a reminder that the way we live, the things we ingest, the makeup and shampoo we use, the choices we make every day can shape the way we feel and the well-being we enjoy—or debase—every day. Beating the disease process of endo also has to happen every day, day after day.

       Women with endo have a higher than normal likelihood of developing these autoimmune conditions:

      Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

      Celiac disease

      Sjogren’s syndrome

      Multiple sclerosis

      Eczema

      Rheumatoid arthritis

      Systemic lupus erythematosus

      Ballweg was a teenager when she first felt the symptoms of what she later learned was endometriosis. She would undergo a number of surgeries for her endo, including excision. But Ballweg is also, by her own definition, “a health nut,” seriously committed to firm practices of nutrition, exercise, and the like—and she believes unreservedly that her own integrated and multimodal program made the difference. Once restored to full health, she formalized the content of that program by creating a protocol that she hoped would help protect her daughter from developing endo. In 2017, Mary Lou and her husband welcomed their first grandchild—a healthy baby girl, born of a healthy mother.

      The power to beat endo really is in your hands. We’ll tell you how.

       Classic Endo Myths

      Hysterectomy is a cure for endometriosis.

      FALSE. Hysterectomy is neither a treatment nor a cure. By definition, endo consists of cells similar to those in the lining of the uterus but found outside the uterus; removing the uterus ignores the cells outside. Only surgical excision removes endometriosis cells.

      Medical menopause is a cure for endometriosis.

      FALSE. Just because your medicines give you hot flashes doesn’t mean your endometriosis is going away.

      Teenagers are too young to have endometriosis.

      FALSE. Teenage girls can have endo, and their endo can be at an advanced stage.

      Pregnancy is a cure for endometriosis.

      FALSE. Just no: Pregnancy does not cure endo.

      Birth control is a cure for endometriosis.

      FALSE. Birth control and other medical treatments treat symptoms only. They do not cure endo; in fact, the endo keeps progressing while you take birth control or other medicines.

      If you have minimal endometriosis, you should have minimal symptoms.

      FALSE. There is no correlation between the amount of endometriosis and the severity of your symptoms.

      Endometriosis is found only in your pelvis.

      FALSE. Endo may be found in many areas outside the pelvis. Listen to your body.

      Ablation surgery is equal to excision surgery.

      FALSE. Not even close. We will explore this more in chapter 11.

      All I need is an operation and all my endo symptoms will disappear.

      All I need is to become a vegan and all my endo symptoms will disappear.

      All I need is to take a few physical therapy sessions and all my endo symptoms will disappear.

      FALSE. To beat endo, you need an integrated, multimodal approach—a set of actions.

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       The Goal

       Regaining Quality of Life

      We all pretty much know what a disease is; it’s a disorder in any living thing that impairs the normal functioning of the area it affects and that may be manifested in various symptoms. But what do we mean when we talk about “a disease process”? It is probably enough to say that a disease process is a disease that keeps going. The impairing disorder with its various symptoms continues, and as it continues, it disrupts the normal functioning of other parts of the body too.

      The pain generated by the disease also expands, upregulating an ever-wider range of the central nervous system and bringing pain to more areas of the body. A colleague of ours, urogynecologist Dr. Charles Butrick, the first of the other expert practitioners we promised you would be hearing from in СКАЧАТЬ