It’s almost time for your period. You feel dread. You’ve had very painful periods for as long as you can remember. Why?

Endometriosis may be to blame.

Endometriosis happens when tissue that’s usually found in your uterus is found in other parts of your body instead. This tissue reacts exactly like the tissue found in your uterus. As your period begins, it starts to bleed.

The problem? There’s no place for the blood to go, since this tissue is outside of your uterus!

So you get internal bleeding and a whole host of other problems. The most noticeable one is PAIN.

Endometriosis is a CRAZY issue. No one’s really sure how it even happens and yet the tissue is there, outside of your uterus!

Just like no one has a clue where it comes from, no one really has a clue how to cure it either. Maybe you’ve been to your doctor and they told you to take birth control pills. Maybe you do that and it helps. Or maybe you’re trying to get pregnant and that’s just not an option.

So is there no hope? Will you suffer from severe pain your entire life?

Well, today we’ll talk about an alternative option that might work for you.

How’s your diet?

It can be really depressing hearing that there is no cure for endometriosis, but don’t let yourself fall into negativity. First, take a look at your diet.

If you’re like most people today, it’s probably not great. Food is easier than ever to get, but healthy food options are not so easy. If you’re not taking purposeful steps to eating healthy food, chances are you aren’t.

This can really have an affect on the severity of your endometriosis. Again, no one knows quite why, although it likely has to do with inflammation. Thousands of women have reported very positive results through altering their diet, much less painful periods, and the near extinction of any endometriosis symptoms.

Not to mention that improving your diet will improve your life across the board. It’s certainly an idea worth trying.

The main key is to steer away from processed foods and fast foods. I know it’s hard. It won’t happen by chance. You need to make the decision that you are going to make a positive change to your diet.

Start by avoiding the foods that are obviously processed. Junk foods in particular. I’m not saying you have to give up junk food forever but in the beginning it will help you establish a baseline.

You already know what your life is like now. So if you cut out junk food entirely for a week, you’ll be able to quickly tell if the diet change is working or not.

How are your stress levels?

Stress greatly exasperates the symptoms of endometriosis, as well as just about every other problem in your life.

If you find yourself stressed out more than usual, it’s something you need to look into. I’m not writing this to say you should just relax and not stress out anymore. I know that’s pretty much impossible.

But remember… it’s the quality of your life. Too often we feel too “comfortable” with the way things are. Instead of actually trying to have a better life, we actually LIKE what we have.

Not because we like how we feel, but because it’s so familiar to us.

If you’re overly stressed out, realise that this is contributing to your endometriosis. It’s something you need to look at seriously. Consider some ways to bring your stress levels down.

Yes, it’s a pain. Yes it’s out of what you’d normally do in your day-to-day life. But what you have been doing hasn’t worked.

Remember, you can live mostly pain free even with endometriosis. Is that worth some small effort to you? If you still have questions or concerns, please call our office to arrange an appointment with Dr Bailey on 02 4959 3883. Or fill in the form on contact us page.