This page is for educational purposes only. To show the range of ways that endometriosis can appear and how as a team of professional individuals we approach it.
Endometriosis is a complex inflammatory disease involving the endocrine and neurological system and like many auto-immune conditions responds to a ‘whole body approach’
When integrating treatment modalities such as abdominal massage and acupuncture along with nutritional changes including herbs, diet and supplements improvements can happen!
The below is just a snap shot of some of our more extreme cases to offer hope to females who have fallen out of love with their body because of the pain they experience.
We of course see women going through far less extreme cases of period pain, also those that suspect but do not have diagnosed endometriosis, chocolate cysts, polycystic ovaries etc. We welcome all women at any stage of their menstrual journey.
Some of our clinics stories around endometriosis.
12 year old with painful periods
This young girl started her periods at 11 and within months of was vomiting and fainting during the first few days and in excruciating pain levels, causing her to miss school and withdraw from many activities that she loved. Mum has a history of endometriosis and was obviously very concerned that the only option offered by western medicine is the contraceptive pill.
The pain, nausea, vomiting indicates a strong vagal nerve reaction to hormones. Mum’s history of similar and resulting in endometriosis mean that early intervention is needed.
We felt we could make a difference using a more natural approach and provided a comprehensive treatment plan that involved :
Changes to nutrition and diet which are key in controlling pain and hormonal dysregulation,
Acupuncture and red light therapy for pain, Chinese herbs to mediate pain, reduce proliferation of tissue and regulate hormones.
After the first month of this combined treatment the vomiting and nausea stopped and there was a massive reduction in pain. Within two more months the pain was very little.
As she is just entering puberty she will need maintenance until hormones settle down. She now comes for occasional acupuncture and receives regular herbs.
When she adheres to the anti-inflammatory diet guidelines she has almost no pain or symptoms.
27 year old with endometriosis, cysts and highly inflammed
A 27-year-old with a long history of pain since her first period. She has landed in the emergency numerous times with unbearable pain, she had numerous burst cysts, surgery to remove the Endo lesions, and a merina inserted as a medical standard to help with reducing symptoms. Three weeks after surgery she had another cyst burst and was put on intravenous antibiotics to deal with the infection. This leads to an inability to eat properly for 2 weeks and long-term gut dysbiosis. Two years after the first surgery she was in great pain again, an Endo scan showed multiple cysts, swollen fallopian tubes and the return of multiple Endo lesions. At this stage she tried acupuncture, and it was helping however 6 months later the pain returned. The pain levels hit 10/10 and prevented her from walking or standing for half the month. Even sitting was painful. When the period came she would regularly pass out from the pain.
In Jan 2023 she came to our clinic for a full holistic and whole body approach. Over six weeks we used Maya style abdominal massage, acupuncture, flash cupping, gua sha, and a nutrition plan. We have educated this lovely lady with numerous resources which have helped her and her husband understand the need for integrative care. This includes changes in diet, lifestyle, movement, chemical exposure, sleep, breathing patterns, blood sugar balance and how to address chronic stress.
By rapidly addressing the inflammation which is the backbone of this horrific menstrual cycle our patient noticed changes quickly with improvements in bloating, pain, sleep and ‘felt like a new person’
34 year old woman with migraines and endometriosis
Our patient originally come to us with migraine issues at 34 years old.
During our initial consultation it became apparent that there was a strong link to her extremely painful periods.
The migraines appeared around ovulation, the night before menstrual bleed and sometimes for as much as three days of the bleed itself.
She was on very strong anti-migraine medication, Botox, B vitamins, magnesium and attending specialist migraine physiotherapy sessions. While these helped alleviate the length of the migraine nothing could prevent the migraines from occurring.
We explained the relationship between hormones, the menstrual cycle and the neurological system and additionally the role of certain foods in triggering hormone dysfunction.
Our comprehensive treatment plan built upon her existing protocols.
We maintained the vitamin and mineral supplementation and asked her to go back to her doctor and get her hormones, inflammatory markers and vitamin D status checked
We explained that we believed she had endometriosis, and our treatment strategy was to work on this aspect of her migraines. While waiting for reports we immediately started our anti-inflammatory and endometriosis protocol. Intensive acupuncture (3x a week for three weeks) and Chinese herbs.
Her vitamin D status was slightly low and her CA125 markers came back high indicating inflammation and probable endometriosis/cysts in the pelvic region and the doctor sent her to a specialist for review.
We also put her on a high dose of vitamin D for 4 weeks.
Her period came after 3 weeks and there was a strong reduction in period pain and in migraines.
The specialist gynaecologist offered laparoscopy which is both a diagnostic and treatment protocol.
She stayed on our Chinese herbs until 1 week prior to the operation. She had stage 4 endometriosis with tissue proliferation through to the bowel and over the ovaries.
Two weeks after the operation she resumed herbs and weekly acupuncture.
We also educated the patient that endometriosis will come back eventually given the right (the wrong!!) conditions and that diet and lifestyle were very important. We sent her for comprehensive nutrition overhaul which she has maintained.
2 months post operation she had no pelvic pain during ovulation or during the periods. Her migraines were limited to other triggers (alcohol/stress/screen use).
2 years later the patient receives occasional herbs and acupuncture if her symptoms flare but she is now very well educated as to the triggers and avoids these where possible.
The full works for endometriosis
This 38 year old woman had already had 2 laparoscopies for stage 4 endometriosis and resigned herself to living with painful periods. She was single as she found sex too painful and contemplating a full hysterectomy as she did not think she would ever be able to have children. By the time she came to us she was struggling with depression and purpose to live.
She came to us because she heard we helped women not only treatments but also using transformational meditation and she was throwing out a last lifeline before undergoing a full hysterectomy.
Our initial consultation was a painful story of agonising periods from puberty. By 17 she had dropped out of school as she couldn’t study or play sport for many days of the month. Attempts of moderating pain with the contraceptive pill caused bloating and nausea and then addiction to pain killers.
She had in her 20s tried acupuncture but no results, and over time had used so many different supplements that I cannot list them all here. She’d had some good results with Western and Chinese herbs but as the endometriosis always came back she didn’t think it was worth the money it cost her.
What did we do?
We spent the first consult (1.5 hours) going through history and building a treatment plan.
She struggled with constant bloating, painful periods, nausea, painful ovulation, depression, and some hair loss.
We explained the doors that had been missed along the way and educated her as to what the options were available to her. We discussed as always ‘what we would do if we were sitting in her shoes’ One of our biggest concerns here was the depression. Depression is a neurological and endocrine contributor to auto immune disease. In all the years our patient had struggled with her menstrual periods she felt she had not been truly heard. Pain is personal and a lonely journey.
Our plan consisted of small chunks and small goals that she could reach out to. We didn’t dissuade her from the hysterectomy but asked her to wait 6-8 months.
We started with an overhaul of diet, sleep and exercise while providing strong and high dose herbs that changed each week and integrating very gentle abdominal massage twice before the first period. We also did two transformational meditations while having acupuncture before the first period.
The first month, the pain was slightly less but the greatest improvement was her optimism and gut health. This propelled her motivation and she committed to continued change.
Within six months was no longer contemplating hysterectomy. The bloating had decreased to only on the day before period instead of all month. The pain around ovulation had disappeared. Period pain had reduced dramatically but she was having very heavy periods and still significant pain on day 1 and 2 of period.
After this intensive overhaul we reviewed and she decided to have another laparoscopy while receiving support from our clinic. We continued with herbs and monthly acupuncture and monthly abdominal massage till just prior to the surgery.
The surgery resulted in significant tissue was removed from the entire pelvic region.
We resumed herbs and monthly abdominal massage with one or two transformational medications through acupuncture.
Her diet was excellent, she managed stress, the hair got thicker and she started dating again!!! Six months after the third laparoscopy her period pain had not returned, and she was on a low dose of daily Chinese herbs to manage hormones and was contemplating the possibility of a family.
Patient moved to Gold Coast with her job and started a new life.
If you would like support with your own Endo, fertility, PCOS or menstrual journey please book in online for an initial consultation with one of our TCM doctors.