What does endometriosis really mean?

This past Christmas season, my mom, who is post-menopause, started hemorrhaging and having abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). For those that have experience with this, you know any bleeding post-menopause as an immediate red flag but also a sign to your gynecologist to look for uterine or cervical cancer. This went on for at least a week, absolutely going through every super tampon and pad available. She lost so much blood, she found herself dizzy, lightheaded, weak, and sleeping all day. Which is already an issue since her ferritin levels were around 15. Not only has this become a huge issue since she is anemic, but her quality of life completely dropped. The other problem with low iron stores and low iron levels is a reduced clotting ability, which is why many women both young and older experience heavy periods that don’t seem to have an off button.

After visiting the gynecologist, an ultrasound was performed. She was diagnosed with Adenomyosis, Endometriosis, her endometrial line was thickening and her uterus size was equivalent to 9 weeks gestation period. On top of all that, fibroids and cysts were now present. One visit to the gynecologist turned into a messy nightmare of a diagnosis. Believe it or not, the gynecologists biggest concern was the continued heavy bleeding. They told her the only option was a full hysterectomy in order to cut the chord on the hemorrhaging so the anemia wouldn’t not progress any further. After working with several women post-hysterectomy, I knew this was not a road we wanted to go down.

So we immediately got to work.

First, we started with simply increasing blood flow to the area. This may sound counterintuitive, but that is exactly the problem with reproductive health issues. Truth is, endometriosis/adenomyosis is an issue of blood stasis, improper blood flow, severe inflammation, and mineral deficiencies. This is where we bring in Yarrow Root - known for its ability to reduce bleeding, reduce inflammation, and support proper blood flow not only to the uterus, but systemically. Within a day of consistently consuming Yarrow, the bleeding reduced significantly. Here’s the problem - when she stopped, the bleeding came back. NOT with a vengeance, I must add. Because Yarrow had already made a significant impact in supporting blood circulation. But because there is always a greater root issue that is contributing to this inflammation. What is causing blood stasis, lack of energy and circulation, inflammation? That’s exactly what we found out below.

While she started on Yarrow and Red Root tinctures (a great Chinese Medicine combo for inflammation of the reproductive organs), we completed her G.I. Stool Map testing. We jumped right into this for a number of reasons. Firstly, her ferritin levels were scary low. For someone who eats a ton local grass-fed ground beef and red meat, her ferritin should not be low. Clearly something pathogenic was stealing iron from her. This is typically seed as elevated Heliobacter Pylori on stool testing to start. Secondly, her thyroid antibody markers recently showed autoimmunity. As I have explained in depth on my social media and other blog posts, when thyroid antibody levels are high, there is typically an infection present. Lo and behold, her stool test came back with a number of red flag pathogens. And this is the where the story unfolds.

Those “bad” pathogens were gram negative bacteria that produce lipopolysaccharides (LPS) endotoxins that are highly inflammatory when releases in the body. Think about LPS bacteria as pooping and peeing inflammatory toxins inside you all day long. They are also notorius for being histamine producers, as well. And this is what I want to touch on. Endo and Aden are both conditions where estrogen is out of whack, typically in excess. But so many women, including my mom, get blood test results back and DUTCH hormone panel testing completed that both conclude total estrogen levels are low. This is where the system fails you and women like my mom fall through the cracks. See, when the gynecologist got her estrogen blood levels back, she saw VERY low estrogen. Which is not good, but typical of a post-menopausal woman. BUT, that doesn’t mean that excess estrogen still isn’t in the body and being detoxed properly at that. How do I know this was my mom’s problem? Because her DUTCH hormone panel showed her metabolized estrogen in fact wasn’t being metabolized or detoxed properly at all. Therefore, excess estrogen in the body is present and not being excreted out like it should. And what does that do, it drives histamine even higher. See this is what I wanted to get at. Her G.I. Stool Map test shows several pathogens that produce histamine creating inflammation and driving estrogen higher. In return, high estrogen in the body (not to be confused with total estrogen levels via blood testing) drives histamine levels higher. It’s a nasty cycle that is hard to break and leaves you stumped about which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Additionally, a number of digestive markers came back as insufficient. Particularly pancreatic function and fat metabolism and breakdown. These are the beginners of the digestive cycle. When these are insufficient, not only is it hard to breakdown food to absorb nutrients, but it’s hard to keep the process running smoothly to keep our foreign invaders from taking fort. Even more, her gastrointestinal inflammation was pretty high. her gut was inflamed.

We continued with Yarrow and Red Root in our protocol. We supplemented with targeted digestive enzymes specific to her low digestive markers, added in anti-inflammatory support, as well as gut defense support, and supported her drainage pathways, particularly her liver.

For all of the women dealing with reproductive health issues - Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, PCOS, cysts, fibroids, polyps, PMS, menstrual pain or irregularity. In my practice, we always address the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, and bile flow function. Because there has never been a clear liver, thin flowing bile, and stress on kidneys in a women dealing with reproductive health issues. The liver is your source. It processes everything under the sun, including the sun (so get your sun time). When the liver becomes congested, the reproductive organs take the brunt of it. So ask yourself, when you are dealing with menstrual or ovarian pain, when your cycle is off, when bleeding is abnormal, when cysts, polyps, fibroids from estrogenic tissue proliferation - where is the upstream issue? What valve is closed, that should be open? While chronic health issues like endometriosis are truly a systemic issue at hand, very simply, a couple of major organs and processes have become to overburdened to clean up the mess. They are not broken, they can be healed, but they are crying out for strategic support.

They are crying out for mineral balance, liver de-congestion, flowing bile, an uninflammed gut with no permeability issues, nervous system regulation. Without these, you likely aren’t moving the needle.

So here’s the deal. At this point in my life, most of my friends, colleagues, and a handful of family are dealing with Endometriosis or severe reproductive health issues right now. And as you may already know, Endo and PCOS are leading causes of infertility - an issue that women are facing more than any other time in history. Your doctor wants to medicate, treat the symptoms, put a band-aid on the issue just long enough for you to either get some relief or achieve a short-term goal. And what’s the long-term issue at hand. While removal of the uterus used to be a menopausal age procedure, women in their late 20’s and 30’s are now facing surgical menopause via hysterectomy in which their dreams of creating families of their own are no longer possible. What is going on where the only option for a 30 year old woman is to completely remove the very organ that makes her a woman, produces hormones she will need for the rest of her life, and plays an enormous role in her mental health?

For example, with Endometriosis, the endometrial lining is very thick and most likely thickening. When you don’t address the root cause, this tissue proliferation (growth) spreads. It can spread up to the colon, to the internal organs. In fact, I’m working with a client now who is living with endometrial tissue growth up to her liver! The only solution offered - medication for pain, full hysterectomy, D&C’s, Endometrial Ablation. Serious, and painful procedures with short-term results and increased likelihood of tissue damage. None of these offerings solve tissue growth, proliferation, and spreading to other parts of the body, low ferritin issues, gut and digestive issues that often come with reproductive symptoms, chronic fatigue and low energy. The only real solution - build back the system mineral by mineral, create a healthy gut microbiome, and support the drainage pathways that filter the good, the bad, and the ugly.