Endometriosis/period pain remedies, what works for you?

[Tasmanian Saint]

So it looks like I've got endometriosis, or at least very bad period pain (got worse/longer all of a sudden in the last few months, doctor did some investigations and found nothing), and I went to my local health type shop to see what they have available to help with that. Here are the options she suggested, did anyone have experience with any of these, what have you found works best, how often/when do you take them?

Vitex agnus
Black cohosh
Dong quai
Vit B6+Mg+Zn supplement (but I'm already taking a pregnancy and breastfeeding support multivitamin - when I remember - I should compare the numbers on those )

TIA

Eta they also have a natural herbal anti-inflammatory, I'm trying to decide if there's any inherent value in taking suffering like that instead of the pharmaceutical kind

[mamacat]

There is a hormonal support tea blend that may help:http://www.rootsoriginals.com/products/tea-blends.html

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:10 PM ----------

Not sue if Cohosh and DQ nursing friendly

[Tasmanian Saint]

Good point, I hadn't thought about that... I don't care if he weans, but I need to think about possible effects on him, too

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[shekinah]

I tried a few of those supplements long term and they were hit and miss, maybe a small piece of the puzzle, but getting acupuncture for a couple months completely changed my life. Have you considered trying that? They're very knowledgeable I find with treating gynecological issues!

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[Tasmanian Saint]

No, Shekina, I never would have thought if that! I'll have to see what's available locally. Thanks!

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[Aerynne]

I would try a catnip RRL tea (catnip is a muscle relaxant).

Also a low-fat vegan diet helps a ton (but it takes a few months to fully kick in).

[HadassahSukkot]

I've found this diet to be hit or miss. The supplements helped though. http://www.endo-resolved.com/diet.html

I think with my malabsorption, it's best to listen to what my body is craving vs an arbitrary diet - as I have started to research what is in the food, and generally those vitamins and minerals are what i'm driving at, and they're more bioavailable in the form of food for me.

I find warm showers/baths help, heating pad, cat/dog on lap or snuggling. The worst part for me is that I have a really bad pain that feels like a serrated knife being inserted and removed from my cervix over and over and over again when I have bad endo cramps, so there isn't much I can do for *that* pain.

My doctors (three different ones, one in the US and two here) want me on ibuprofen starting 2 days before my period and all throughout to help curb the pain and keep it from being so unbearable that I end up with cyclical vomiting, then requiring stronger pain medications and phenergan or hospitalization to manage the vomiting.

The biggest issue is that heavy periods feed into my iron deficiency anemia, so we have to monitor and play a lot by ear. They've begun suggesting that I increase my seafood intake greatly (one to two meals a week = fish high in certain minerals/vitamins) and see if that helps manage some of the symptoms. Only issue? I live in the middle of the country and the ones I need are either shellfish (which I'd been avoiding) or they're sea-fish and very expensive.

I suffered the most with a vegetarian/vegan diet. So, ymmv.

[Tasmanian Saint]

Ymmv seems to be the only reliable advice when it comes to dietary solutions

I have been looking at the endo diet, and I'll have to consider vegan, too, but I have to admit, I dint know that I have the energy/motivation to change my entire diet for the sake of a couple of days, which currently are controllable with NSAIDs (and they seem to help with the bleeding, too). I don't really like taking so much medication but not enough to try one diet after another potentially for a few months each...

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