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The One Major Thing that Causes BAD Pain with Endometriosis

The last few days my body has felt like it has been through a massive detox or something —actually more like being ridden over by a large truck! I had a big weekend—my birthday, a wedding and just started a new job… so perhaps it was all a little much! Thing was, it all started on Friday with a very simple thing. I drank some coconut milk, which didn’t smell quite right. I checked the tin and it said it was well within its use by date and so… though my instincts told me otherwise, I had it anyway!

Well, the first signs appeared that night. I had incredible bloating and gas. This is never comfortable and I was in the middle of a lovely dinner, so I “held it in”. The next morning things got bad. I had really bad diarrhea. This was possibly the worst timing—I had a wedding to attend to and… I was a bridesmaid!

I got through the day okay and it didn’t seem to cause me too much distress. It was only later that night that endo started to rear its ugly head. It was fairly minor at first and one could easily just put it down to a little tenderness in the area.

By Monday night, I was struggling to sleep. I might like to add that my “stomach bug” or whatever we want to call it had developed into a mild fever and my whole body just felt weak. The pain was intense. I couldn’t understand why it was so bad. This was hectic pain! It was bellowing with a fairly large voice. Of course I resisted any painkillers and simply grabbed a hot water bottle and rocked myself to sleep, until I couldn’t help it anymore and had to take some high grade kratom.

It was only the next morning when I got up and went to the toilet that I finally made the connection. I had diarrhea again and the minute I went, the relief took place straight away. The pain I thought was endo was merely gas being trapped in my gut and it was creating pressure and inflammation, which of course = pain.

I have actually experienced this connection with endo before, usually, with constipation. Constipation will naturally make it worse, as all that pressure build up pushes onto the endo.

Here’s the thing. Our bowels and our endo prone areas are within a very small space together. They often touch each other—chances are fairly high that your endo sits on the outside wall of your intestinal lining. Every time our intestines go through any dramatic changes, like diarrhea or constipation, this will put pressure or create inflammation around that area. This means pain from your intestinal gut and from endo—double whammy!

Statistically, women with endometriosis also suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, which basically means we have lots of ups and downs with our digestion—one minute we have diarrhea and the next we have constipation. This is where I personally believe a huge amount of our pain comes from. There are people who suffer from bowel pain, which sends them to the ICU and they don’t have endo, probably on a similar scale of pain to what we experience!

So, what can we do to alleviate it?

Well, it does all come down to what we eat. I used to cheat the system. I used to take a pill to make me go and then a pill to slow it down! Scary stuff! Now, I simply eat more roughage to get things moving and completely avoid foods that aggravate the bowels. The key foods that will aggravate and therefore inflame your bowels are: gluten, dairy, meat and sugar. Since cutting those out, my pain with endo went away. The only indicators of pain are when I get an annoying stomach bug from drinking coconut milk that clearly was no longer good!

Have you noticed the connection with your pain levels and your digestive health? Do you feel better when things are working properly? What do you consume to keep regular and get your bowels working well?

Hugs, Melissa x
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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. NellieSocal82

    I’m believe I may be experiencing this right now and so far the only relief I’ve had is reading these comments to know I’m not alone. Today was the first day of my cycle which is typically the worst day but I have had a couple easy months, so I was not prepared for tonight. Came back from a birthday party, where I consumed all of the above; sugar, taco meat, horchata (dairy), beer, you name it. Around bedtime the cramps started like shooting pains, ib profuen hasn’t helped and I’ve been tossing and turning taking frequent runs to the restroom. But really in the worst pain I ever remember feeling. Just about to go to the ER when I start researching. So I take some Mylanta, next thing I know the diarrhea comes, and the pain is finally subsiding. I have yet to be diagnosed with Endometriosis but I’m about 95% certain I have it. I had no idea bad food could aid it. Thank God for this article. Just curious what other women are going to treat the Endo? My husband had a vasectomy so I have been reluctant to do birth control etc. Thanks in advance for any responses!

  2. Melissa

    That is certainly an interesting pose – can kinda see how it would offer relief 🙂
    Thanks for sharing. I found probiotics and making my own fermented foods really helped me.

  3. Tina

    Yes! Gas is evil! I have found that doing the yoga ‘cat’ pose mixed with childs pose with your head closer to the floor and your butt in the air helps tremendously (don’t do this if you are menstruating as you do not want any back-flow). See:

    http://www.google.com/imgres?q=yoga+cat+pose+to+fart&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1279&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=z7b2g-WTCIbVIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.eatthedamncake.com/2012/04/12/nightmare-in-yoga-class/&docid=-FL6kCcub-JLDM&imgurl=http://www.eatthedamncake.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Sun-Salutation-Sequence-Knees-Chest-Chin-mdn.jpg&w=300&h=400&ei=eCtJUKSPCYX29gTYsIGgBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=309&vpy=114&dur=99&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=112&ty=130&sig=115302415122177686599&page=3&tbnh=127&tbnw=121&start=44&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:44,i:217

    You will need to do it in a sacluded place, but it will help you pass the gas and feel sooooo much better. Gas is what gives me the most pain aside from the first day of my cycle. I have also found the fiber formulas to be helpful in my daily quest for the perfect poo 🙂

  4. SunnyD

    Hi Marie
    I just wanted to share how much acupuncture has helped me with my bowel. I was getting up at all hours and sitting with a book for ages in the loo, irregular, etc.. Quite exhausting really and dominating my life!
    The acupuncturist works with me on regulating the bowel – every time I see her it’s a relief – literally! Lol.. So just wanted to share this.
    x

  5. Sarai

    yes I have noticed that when I am constipated the endo type pain increases. Luckily, my bowels are pretty regular except when my period is getting close and things get sluggish. However, as soon as it begins again I feel fine again.

  6. fern feto spring

    This happened to me this week too! I ate some “bad” food and had gas pains and pain in the area I usually only have pain in around my cycle-was trying to puzzle it out and am grateful to read of your explanation-makes sense! Thanks for sharing this-very helpful:)

  7. Melissa

    That is fantastic Neda! Well done for doing that!

  8. Neda

    The whole raw diet thing really works. I tried it this month by avoiding meat (particularly red meat) sugar, dairy and coffee. My period was manageable & went for 2 days only (I usually get severe paralyzing pain for a week) I lost a kilo so far cause i haven’t been digging into junk food like I usually do around this time of the month and my taste buds for natural food is coming back. Yeyyy!
    I am feeling so confident I might keep this up and who knows, maybe next cycle, the pain will be even less.

  9. SunnyD

    I can relate to the above and to Marie’s comments about spending a lot of time waiting for often a little stool! My adhesions include the sigmoid colon so there is definitely a link to the bowel for me. It was persistent bowel trouble (upset stomach) and flu-like symptoms that first drove me to the doctor and led to my diagnosis. I too believed I had IBS spending a lot of time Googling but also suspected endo thanks to Melissa’s articles which I started reading before I was diagnosed! 🙂 These days (and following a recent laparoscopy), trapped wind and constipation can be a source of pain and discomfort. Ensuring that I move about, exercise, drink lots of water throughout the day and regularly eat meals with enough fruit and fiber, definitely do help to keep the bowel happy! The perfect poo – this is my ongoing challenge!

  10. Marie

    This is my main symptom – it happens when I am bleeding the heaviest usually for 2 days, and is worse in the morning a short while after I get up. The smallest amount of pressure in my bowel – a little gas or the tiniest amount of solid matter – causes incredibly painful spasms and sends me running to the loo to pass whatever it is. It is exhausting as I am to and fro for a couple of hours, sometimes it’s a lot of effort with the tiniest amount of stool being passed, or none at all. My endometriosis and bowel symptoms are inextricably linked, and before I got the diagnosis I couldn’t figure out why it was happening. I think the best thing you can do for endometriosis is anything that will encourage good digestion and elimination. Not only will it help prevent constipation and IBS, it will also regulate oestrogen levels, as it keeps any oestrogen (and other toxins) that have been processed by the liver from being reabsorbed from the bowel. Like Hippocrates said “All disease begins in the gut.”

  11. Turiya

    Wow…we must be in sinc. Since getting endo its always been hard for me to tell where the pain was coming from and how to treat. Recently i discovered the connection with my intestines I am working on increasing my fiber intake. Tried the psyllium husks…didnt drink enough water and made it worse. Oh well, like everthing else since getting endo, its a work in progress. .

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