Balancing Hormones

How I Resolved Endometriosis

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 NIV

The following is my story of how I balanced my hormones, healed endometriosis, and got rid of several solid thyroid nodules (one being 9mm in size).

Symptoms and Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with endometriosis in January of 2016, after going to the ER with several chocolate cysts and one that had ruptured. I was having extreme pelvic pain throughout the month that was worse during my period and mid-cycle (ovulation). The pain felt like stabbing, when I had a bowel movement. I also had severe pressure in my bladder, pain in my back, and sciatica. The doctor put me on birth control and told me that was the way to manage it, or to have surgery. I was concerned about birth control, because I knew that it was a trigger of candida and had side-effects, but I had no other choice. It seemed that no doctor knew how to help me or much of anything about hormones. 

Unable to Manage Symptoms

A few months later with the help of my Integrative Medicine NP, I was able to stop birth control and managed my symptoms with diet and supplements. That lasted for about a year. In February of 2018, the pain was the worst it had ever been. I had to use a wheelchair during my period, and was unable to take care of myself. I saw my gynecologist who recommended a hysterectomy and unilateral oophorectomy (removal of one ovary due to my age). The doctor said I could only remove one ovary, in order to prevent cancer. But, by leaving one ovary there was a chance that my symptoms would persist even after surgery.

Complications

I was told that I could not take birth control, because I have a blood clotting disorder called Anti-Phosolipid Antibody Syndrome (come to find out, I can take progesterone only but my doctor didn’t know that). My doctor at the time said that there was no point to do laparoscopic surgery, if I wasn’t going to be able to manage the disease with drugs after. She was also concerned about frequent surgeries with my fibromyalgia, and didn’t want to put me through that. 

A Last Attempt to Heal Myself Before a Hysterectomy

Before I had surgery, I wanted to try one last time to heal myself or manage my symptoms. I began to read the Hormones Balance blog, and was learning so much about hormones for the first time. I purchased “Cooking for Hormone Balance” by Magdalena Wszelaki. From this book, I learned how to heal my stomach, help my liver to remove excess estrogen (which I had), and balance hormones. I also learned how important it is to remove chemicals that mimic hormones from my water, pots and pans, and beauty care products (please see my article Addressing Root Causes: Environmental Toxins). 

Steps I Took to Heal

1.) Treating Underlying Infections

My Integrative NP would look at my blood work every few months to monitor my inflammation, hormone levels, vitamin levels, organ function, Epstein-Barr viral load (test EBV, EA-D IgG or EBV Nuclear Ag Ab), Parvovirus (test Parvovirus B19 IgG) various bacterial infections (test M. Pneumoniae IgG), and a harmful fungus (test candida AB (ID) (FYI this test is no longer available in NY state). All of these were positive or reported to be high. My immunologist (MD) also tested me for candida via my blood work due to my lengthy history of stomach and intestinal candida infections as a child (test Saccharomyces cerevisiae AB (ASCA)(IgG), which came back very high. As a child, the gastroenterologists at Buffalo Children’s Hospital found the candida overgrowth in my stomach via a endoscopy.

My immunologist recommended an elimination diet, but could not help me beyond that. It was my Integrative NP that knew exactly how to treat underlying infections. I took various anti-microbial supplements and a good probiotic to reduce my viral load, destroy bacterial infections, and reduce the harmful candida overgrowth (there are beneficial and harmful bacteria and fungus in the body). I also had to then repair my gut lining.

Treating underlying infections has been one of the biggest factors in my healing from not only endometriosis, but all of my other conditions. For more on this topic, please read this article.

2.) BP-157 Injections

My Integrative Medicine NP gave me BP-157 peptide (amino acids that aid in protein synthesis)  injections. Experimentally, this compound has been found to demonstrate accelerated healing of different wounds, protect organs, and decrease pain (Chang, Tsai, Lin, Hsu, & Pang, 2011). I went to the ER prior to starting these injections and had a CT scan of my stomach and lower abdomen due to severe pain. The CT scan showed two very large cysts. One month later, after I had been using the BP-157 injections, I went to the ER again due to the same complaint. Even though I was still in a lot of abdominal pain, the CT scan showed that my ovaries were completely healed. 

3.) Manage Stress and Improve Sleep

Being in a chronic state of stress leads to higher levels of cortisol. This affects hormone balance, as it depletes the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands “are responsible for producing hormones that manage the stress response and regulate sugar levels, the immune system, water retention, and blood sugar” (Wszelaki, 2018, p.11). In order for me to balance my hormones again and improve my immune system, I needed to address chronic stress (please see Coping with Stress for more information).

Efficient sleep allows the body to recover and wake up feeling renewed. This is an important process of healing the whole body, but especially hormone imbalances (please see Managing Sleep Disorders).

4.) Hormone Testing and Targeted Dietary Changes

Despite the evidence that my cysts were gone, I knew I had to make changes to balance my hormones to truly heal. I researched ways to test my hormones. I purchased testing through ZRT labs. The test I got was the saliva profile III. Salvia testing is suggested to be more accurate method of testing hormones. I also wanted to look at my cortisol levels throughout the day, due to severe insomnia. The results of this test helped me to apply the principles that I learned in the “Cooking for Hormone Balance” book: heal the stomach, balance blood sugar, and support liver detox. 

5.) Seed Rotation

The last step that I used was a technique called seed rotation. I initially thought, could this really work? I will tell you that it is awesome, and I still do it when I notice symptoms throughout my cycle. Please read this article to learn more, and to get a guide on how to do it. Basically, you eat two types of seeds during one part of your cycle to flush out non-beneficial estrogen, and during another phase of your cycle you eat other seeds to boost progesterone. To do this, I used an app called MyFLO to track my cycle and apply the steps.

Healing is Possible!

Despite what doctors told me, I was able to heal my endometriosis and to prevent a life altering surgery. I now also have an amazing gynecologist (MD) that truly understands women’s health and is very current with the latest research. The last time I saw her she said, “I think your endometriosis will go away, when you get your candida under control. I have seen this before.” WOW!! She was right!

I have now been symptom free and medication free for a year!

Know that you can learn how to balance your hormones, and make changes (find a better doctor, avoid environmental toxins, etc). You have the power!

References:

Chang, C.H., Tsai, W.C., Lin, M.S., Hsu, Y.H., & Pang, J.H.S. (2011). The promoting  effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on tendon healing involves tendon outgrowth, cell survival, and cell migration. Journal of Applied Physiology. 

Wszelaki, M. (2018). Cooking for hormone balance: A proven, practical program with over 125 easy, delicious recipes to boost energy and mood, lower inflammation, gain strength, and restore a healthy weight. New York, NY: HaperCollins.

Wszelaki, M. Hormones Balance.

Copyright @healingfaithfully.com 2019