Endometriosis
I suffer from endometriosis and have had to have ovarian cysts removed twice through surgery. I have been advised to take Zoladex (injections) for four months to help shut down the ovaries. I am not happy with the idea of taking hormones and their subsequent side-effects. Is there any natural remedy that will alleviate this problem?
Endometriosis is the second most common gynaecological complaint. It affects one in 10 women and, at its most severe, can cause excruciating pain and even infertility. What happens, in simple terms, is that the cells that usually form the womb lining migrate to other parts of the body and start growing in the wrong place.
The usual cause is an imbalance in hormones with the body producing too much oestrogen compared with progesterone. Most sufferers keep the symptoms under control with prescription drugs but research has now shown that if you stop drug treatment, your symptoms are likely to return within 18 months. In any case, with a condition as serious as this, you should not stop any drug treatment without medical supervision.
The Zoladex you are advised to take will, as you say, shut down your oestrogen production and put your body into a kind of pseudo-menopause, which means you will also experience menopausal-type symptoms. Ovarian cysts are linked to the same hormone imbalance and the fact is, the endometrial cells that have migrated continue to produce their own supply of oestrogen anyway according to Dian Mills, a nutritional consultant who specialises in treating women with endometriosis.
She says, the good news is that both diet and lifestyle changes can help minimise the side-effects of the drug and will tackle the condition itself. Dian Mills has just published an encouraging book called Endometriosis - a key to healing through nutrition. She quotes new American research, which has shown how the B vitamins, which play an important role in how the liver breaks down oestrogen, can further help reduce the formation of cysts.
Mills suggests your first dietary step should be to cut out bovine dairy foods and chocolate. High intakes of both have been linked with the formation of ovarian cysts. She also advises you to avoid wheat and take both a digestive enzyme and a probiotic supplement to support your digestive function, as well as a good multivitamin supplement. She says zinc deficiency is also common in women with endometriosis and suggests a supplement of at least 15mg a day. A consultation, together with testing, can, of course, save you months of trial and error and with a condition like endometriosis, I would follow a tailor-made programme and avoid taking pot luck with supplements and herbs.
*Dian Mills' new book, Endometriosis - a key to healing through nutrition, is available from www.endometriosis.co.uk. It costs £12, which includes p&p.