The Problem and The Plan.

I figured a description of what’s actually happening inside my body and the treatment plan to address these problems were both important and dense enough topics to warrant a separate post. :)

One of the doctors I saw during the past two months told me that there are as many theories about what causes endometriosis as there are about who killed Kennedy. And he wasn’t kidding. It’s very hard to find any conclusive information out there about endometriosis other than what it technically is: uterine tissue growing outside of the uterus. Every doctor is in agreement about that. But when you ask the majority of doctors why the uterine lining that develops throughout every single one of my menstrual cycles is suddenly also building up outside of my uterus, they’ll say they don’t yet know what causes that to happen. Awesome.

Well, the Integrative doctor I’m seeing is on the pulse of fairly recent research and findings that seem to answer that very question. The actual medical explanation is almost too technical and complex for me to fully grasp…let alone re-convey here. But here’s the nutshell: there is an incredibly strong correlation between endometriosis (and the other hormone-responsive issues I’m having) and unhealthy guts, food allergies/sensitivities, impaired estrogen metabolism and inflammation in the body. Oh, and throw in exposure to multiple hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals on a daily basis, and you’ve got a pretty complete picture! By addressing these underlying issues, women can become symptom-free of endometriosis and measurably shrink their cysts and fibroids. Not to mention experience a myriad of other health benefits. And my doctor has many patients (past and present) who can attest to that.

I had some diagnostic tests done this past month and the results were quite interesting. An allergy panel blood test showed that I have delayed allergies (as opposed to immediate anaphylactic shock) to some foods; eggs, soy, yeast, peanuts, cashews, safflower, sesame and tomatoes being the primary ones. However, my “reaction score” was fairly low on all of them. My doctor feels the reason for this (and why I didn’t score on more foods) is because my immune system could be damaged in such a way that it’s not producing the antibodies the screening tests for. That makes sense to me, since I’ve dealt with chronic Lyme disease and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities for years, and they both can do big time immune damage. Basically, my impression of her hunch is that the odds of me actually having extensive food sensitivities are better than putting your money on the sun rising tomorrow. And that could certainly explain all of the IBS symptoms I have constantly.

The diagnostic stool analysis I took (which was so gross, I might add) showed that I have inflammation in the lining of my gut, zero healthy bacteria, and bacteria in my colon that cause a lot of unpleasant symptoms. The one exciting thing was I don’t have any yeast growing in my gut – a bloody miracle, considering I’ve taken antibiotics every day for the last four years to treat my Lyme!

However, the test I found the most interesting was my hormone panel – a urine test to determine how well I’m metabolizing and excreting hormones, and what my production levels are. The test showed that I’m not really metabolizing my reproductive hormones, which is caused by a genetic defect. That means I’m not eliminating estrogen from my body and it all just sticks around in there, being reused over and over. This is a pretty big problem, since all of the “band members” in my pelvis grow and multiply in the presence of estrogen. So does breast cancer. But I’m not even going to go there right now… Interestingly, I seem to have no problem metabolizing cortisol, because a crap ton of that stress hormone showed up on the test. Good news about that: my adrenals are VERY healthy. Bad news: excessive cortisol causes weight gain in the mid-section, impairs the immune system, and is an indicator of serious inflammation in the body. The last big thing the test showed was that my estrogen levels were on the low side of normal. Since all of my reproductive system problems are caused by too much estrogen, this was very, very interesting. Only hormones made in the body show up on the test…so to find the source of all this excess estrogen, we have to look outside the body. My test results and symptoms strongly indicate that my endometriosis, fibroids and cysts could very well be caused by years of exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals that accumulate in the body. Researchers have found over 50 different ubiquitous chemicals that either mimic the hormones in our body, or block our own hormones’ ability to carry out their functions. The list includes pesticides, plastics, phthalates…to name a few. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m what you might call an expert on this subject and have fastidiously avoided as many synthetic chemicals as possible for over ten years…so I still have not quite gotten over the shock that this problem got as bad as it did.

I will now turn the focus to what can be done. The treatment plan is pretty straightforward: 1.) Take a bunch of supplements and a little medication to heal my gut, cool the inflammation in my body, improve my detoxification system, and help me metabolize and excrete those estrogens!, 2.) Change my diet dramatically (I’ll talk more about this in a sec), and 3.) Become even crazier about avoiding hormone disrupting chemicals. Sounds easy enough, right? Sure. But that easy plan becomes increasingly more difficult when you’re talking about someone who LOVES food, loves to eat out, enjoys drinking socially, and who is incredibly busy. But since this could be one of the most important things I ever do, I need to get serious about it and really give it my all. And in order to do that, I need to get excited and challenged by the project. That’s where this blog comes in.

Now, let’s talk about the food…since that’s what you’re all probably the most interested in. Because this piece of the plan will be the most challenging for me (by far) and because posts about taking supplements are not all that thrilling, this Blog will focus primarily on the process of dramatically changing my diet, finding creative and delicious ways to prepare the foods on “my list,” monitoring any changes with my symptoms, posting my favorite recipes and tips, and all of the ups, downs, struggles, and triumphs in between! I’ll even try to throw some humor in there. :) Now for the dramatic changes to my diet I’m referring to…they’re as follows: 1.) Eat organic to minimize exposures to pesticides (which are hormone-disrupting) and other chemicals, 2.) Eliminate the five most common allergens from my diet (gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, and corn), 3.) Avoid all foods from the allergy panel that I tested positive on, 4.) Chicken, turkey, lamb and fish are the only animal proteins I can have…and those animals have to be free of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics, 5.) Eliminate all refined sugar and alcohol, and 5.) Lots of water and veggies!

After doing some research, I’ve decided to pull my recipes from a variety of sources, rather than follow one strict way of eating. My food plan will combine the philosophies of: the macrobiotic diet,the raw foods diet, Ultraprevention and Ultrametabolism (books by Mark Hyman, MD) and brilliant wellness chef Jeff Woodward. Oh, and my boyfriend promised to throw in his knowledge from culinary school and help me come up with creative meals I can eat. It’s going to be challenging for sure, but I just need to really believe I can do this. After all, it’s only six months of my life. But six months that could profoundly change all the months that follow. As my doctor told me, this is something that I just need to jump into with both feet. Which is exactly what I’m going to do…on January 9^th. Starting on that date will allow me to get through all of the holidays and my birthday…and still start 2012 off on the right foot! It will also give me time to prepare (literally and mentally), gather recipes, plan weekly menus, and get my supplement schedule all figured out. If interesting things arise between now and then, I’ll post about them. Otherwise, look for a post right before the 9^th to kick off this six-month journey! Oh, and if any of you want to try making any or all of the five dietary changes above, I would LOVE the company and moral support!