Endometriosis

Alternative medicine for Endometriosis

Complementary treatment options may include:

Menastil: This new all-natural product is considered by its users around the world to be the most effective (non-drug) relief for Endometriosis pain. It is FDA registered as a topical analgesic. It has gone through two exhaustive years of clinic trials, and has been tested on thousands of women around the world. Best of all, Menastil is applied topically, directly to where the pain is, with no need to ingest any pills. Menastil comes in a lipstick-size bottle with a non-spill roll-on applicator. It is the most revolutionary women’s healthcare product in decades for the relief of both menstrual and Endometriosis pain.

Menastil

Nutritional approaches: You will likely be told to avoid smoking and alcohol, as well as red meat and tea. Foods rich in vitamin E may be suggested, to protect fatty tissues. Also seeds, legumes and oily fish are also recommended, as well as evening primrose oil, starflower oil, linseed oil, borage seed oil, and blackcurrent oil. Folic acid and B12 supplements are suggested, since anemia can be associated with infertility.

• Homeopathy: Homeopathy has a lot to offer a woman with endo. With very minute doses of natural substances, it can stimulate the body’s healing. It is necessary to find and work closely with an experienced homeopath. Due to the complex knowledge required, it is difficult to self-prescribe homeopathic remedies for a chronic illness. Fortunately, Mother Nature can provide some pain relief in the form of herbs that have little or no side effects!

Homeopathy Treatment

It is necessary to find and work closely with an experienced homeopath.

The following is a list of some of the herbs most widely used for pain, especially the pain associated with endometriosis:

Cramp Bark (Black Haw) is one of the best remedies for menstrual pain. It is an anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory, sedative, and uterine & muscle relaxant.

Viburnam prunifolium

Morinda (Noni) reduces pain and swelling, is an anti-inflammatory, can help with minor depression, is believed to be cleansing for the body.

Noni fruit and noni in the basket with noni juice and noni powder on wooden table

Ginger is an aromatic stimulant that improves digestion, appetite, circulation, while reducing nausea and vomiting. It is an anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory.

Ginger and lemon drink

Chamomile is a relaxing and cleansing herb that helps to relax smooth muscle contractions. Can help ease GI irritations, stomach and menstrual cramps. Is anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic gentle sedative. Warning: Do not use if you are allergic to ragweed or daisies.

Valerian Root is a strong natural tranquilizer and sedative. It helps with nervous headaches and insomnia. It can be used internally for cramps, although some prefer to make a poultice of Valerian and lay that right on the area of pain. Most effective when used for 2-3 weeks, with a week or two off.

Valerian Root for endometriosis

False Unicorn is a stimulating tonic herb for the reproductive and urinary organs. It helps to balance and regulate hormones. Especially good for a “heavy, dragging” feeling in the lower abdomen, and easing menstrual cramps.

Blue Cohosh is a tonic for female organs that helps to regulate menstruation. It can relieve many kinds of muscle cramps and spasms. It is especially good for feelings of “coldness” or a sense of “congestion and fullness” in the pelvic area, and leg pains.

Giant Blue Cohosh Flower

Red Raspberry is one of the best female nutritive tonics. It can relieve excess menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia). This herb helps to strengthen and normalize female organs and tones the uterus. Great for pregnancy!

Ripe branch of raspberry on bush in the garden

Burdock has anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties. It is good for removing acids and waste, and helpful for water retention and Endo inflammation. It is a very good cleansing herb.

White Willow is what aspirin is synthesized from as it contains salicylates (aspirin is salicylic acid). It contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium which can be extremely helpful in controlling pain. White willow also reduces inflammation, heat and is analgesic. Although most people with aspirin sensitivities can effectively use this natural form without side effects, caution is advised.

Bark of White Willow for lower back pain

Thyme was traditionally known as “Mother Thyme” and used for centuries for uterine problems, it is an anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic.

Thyme for endometriosis

Horsetail (Shavegrass) is also high in calcium and magnesium. It helps to heal damaged tissues and helps to stop excessive menstrual flow. It is an anti-inflammatory.

Fresh and dried field horsetail

Wood Betony is a nervine herb that acts as a general relaxant for the nervous system. It helps to relax muscles, blood vessels, bowels, and organs. Animals in the wild have been known to seek out this herb when wounded.

Wood betony for endometriosis

Feverfew inhibits the release of histamine (which can irritate pain receptors) and can also help allergies. It is an anti-inflammatory and relaxant, and is especially good for migraines and other headaches. It helps to promote menstruation which could be helpful to those suffering from amenorrhea. Not recommended for anyone taking blood thinning drugs.

Feverfew for endometriosis

Passion Flower is an anti-spasmodic, mild sedative nervine herb that acts as a muscle relaxant and helps to relax digestive and uterine spasms. It can help to turn off “mental chatter”, thus promoting sleep.

Passion flower for endometriosis

Black Cohosh is another female tonic herb that can also help menopausal symptoms. It acts as a sedative for the central nervous system. This herb is especially good for dull, aching and tense ovarian pain and also for a sense of “soreness and dragging” in the womb, also good for menstrual pain. It can be a gastric irritant, causing nausea or headaches if used in large quantities.

Black cohosh root for endo

Dong Quai (Angelica) is “The Queen of Female Herbs”, used for over 20 centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is also called “Female Ginseng”. It helps with feelings of “coldness”, regulating monthly periods. This herb is also good for anemia, as it helps to “build” the blood. Not recommended for anyone taking blood-thinning agents.

Dong Quai for endometriosis

Traditional Chinese medicine: In China, where both Western-style and traditional Chinese medicine are practiced, gynecologists usually recommend traditional Chinese alternatives (like acupuncture and herbs) first. It is less invasive, and there is less risk.

Natural Remedies : Includes vitamin supplements, herbs, diet alterations, vitamin supplements and extra B or E vitamin supplements, calcium, and iron pills.

Natural Remedies

Includes vitamin supplements, herbs, diet alterations, vitamin supplements and extra B or E vitamin supplements, calcium, and iron pills.

Effect:

• If you have Hormonal difficulties, may have a problem absorbing certain vitamins or may need more of a certain nutrient to help balance your systems.

• Alternative treatments can involve untested herbal or “natural remedies”. Some may be helpful, but recognize they exist and investigate stated claims for quick cures.

https://www.consumerlab.com/ is building a database of natural remedy brands that it tests and rates.

Use the FDA’S MEDWATCH to report adverse reactions to untested substances, such as herbal remedies and vitamins at (800-332-1088).

Evening Primrose Oil is a natural remedy which contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid known as gamma linolenic acid, that seems to block the release of cytokines and prostaglandins, substances that are produced by the endometrium and involved in uterine muscle contraction and cramping. Foods containing gamma linolenic acid are black currant oil and cold-water fish. EPO oil is an essential fatty acid used to make prostaglandins in our bodies. A theory exists that women with endometriosis may have an imbalance of prostaglandins, which are responsible for the stimulation and inhibition of smooth muscle tissue same as found in the uterus, the intestines and the bladder.

B Complex Vitamins have reportedly improved emotional symptoms of endometriosis and have been scientifically linked to the breakdown of estrogen in the body.

Chinese Herbal Teas have proclaimed to provide relief from tea made from Chinese plants and minerals. Traditional Chinese Medicine identifies endometriosis as an imbalance of yin and yang, the male and female parts of the self, which can be treated by herbal remedies prescribed by a TCM practitioner.

Vitamin E & Selenium are two vitamins reported to decrease endometriosis-related inflammation, however, medical specialists are divided as to the use of Vitamin E by women with endometriosis because it boosts the production of estrogen.

Acupuncture/Acupressure is a traditional Chinese medicine treatment for endometriosis involving the insertion of thin needles (or pressure) at various “energy points” on the body.

acupuncture for endometriosis

Stress-Reduction Techniques such as yoga, biofeedback, meditation, and regular exercise have all been reported to increase general well-being.

Immune therapy: A variety of immune-regulating medications are being considered or investigated for use in women with endometriosis. Few have yet reached the stage of clinical trials in humans; however, this will likely occur within the next few years.

Immune Therapy

A variety of immune-regulating medications are being considered or investigated for use in women with endometriosis. Few have yet reached the stage of clinical trials in humans; however, this will likely occur within the next few years.

One example of such a medication is pentoxifylline. Pentoxifylline is a medication most commonly used to treat patients who have problems with blood circulation. Pentoxifylline is also known to alter immune cell function. This medication has been shown to reduce the severity of endometriosis in rats and to improve egg fertilization rates in hamsters with endometriosis.

pentoxifylline for endometriosis

The use of pentoxifylline in women with endometriosis has been addressed in only a single study. In this study, 30 women with endometriosis and infertility were treated with pentoxifylline and another 30 were treated with placebo. After 12 months of therapy, pregnancy rates were compared between the two groups. Although there did appear to be an improvement in pregnancy rates among those women receiving pentoxifylline, the study could not prove that this was a real effect of treatment.

There are a few possible reasons why these authors could not show pentoxifylline to be effective in the treatment of infertility associated with endometriosis. First, the medication may truly be ineffective. Second, the two groups of study subjects may have differed in some undetected way which made comparison of the groups unknowingly inappropriate. Third, the study may have required a greater number of patients to demonstrate treatment effectiveness.

The trend toward improved pregnancy rates among the women in this study who were treated with pentoxifylline suggests a larger study should be undertaken. The use of immune therapies in the treatment of endometriosis is intriguing and may offer a more specific and tolerable alternative to the existing hormonal and surgical treatment options.

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