The Endo Series Earlier this month we kicked off a 3-Part series on Endometriosis and our Creative Director’s (Amber Marianne) personal struggle with the disease. This is an informative series that will help a lot of women suffering from this condition and provide you with the natural remedies that have helped Amber combat the disease. Here is Episode 02.

If you’re just tuning in, check out my last post on what is endometriosis and my personal experience with the disease. If you already did, welcome back doll!

To pick up where I left off from episode one, endometriosis often goes misdiagnosed and is left untreated for years because doctors just don’t fully understand the disease.

It’s much more difficult to explain your symptoms and find a diagnosis when doctors don’t even know what to look for. And while you’re going through dozens of inconclusive tests, you’re left to deal with the chronic pain.

I just couldn’t stand being in constant pain anymore and was desperate to get off of prescription drugs. I started looking into endometriosis home remedies that could help to alleviate the pain, naturally.

If more doctors and gynecologists took the time to listen to women and understand their symptoms, women wouldn’t have to suffer. Amber Marianne

Haven’t seen Episode 01? Click below to find out more about Endometriosis and its roots… What is Endometriosis? My Personal Battle With the Disease

A Remedy for Endometriosis

via Refinery29

The lack of understanding endometriosis in the medical world makes for some extremely shitty doctor’s visits, half-assed treatment, and a ton of unanswered questions. But us women can’t afford to wait for a miracle medicine to come out. We need our own endometriosis home remedies that work when conventional medicine fails us.

The following is one of the best endometriosis home remedies I’ve used to ease my symptoms. This remedy may work extremely well for me, but remember that all women are different and your results may vary.

The Low FODMAP Diet

What’s a FODMAP?

FODMAP is actually an acronym! It stands for, Fermentable Oligo, Di-and-Monosaccharides, and Polyols. These are complex sugars that can ferment in the stomach, but aren’t fully absorbed into the body. FODMAPS naturally occur in most of the foods we eat, but they can also be found in man-made sugar substitutes like, sorbitol.

How Does It Work?

Elimination Phase

via The Dempster Clinic

In the low fodmap diet, there are two phases to go through. The first is elimination. This phase of the low FODMAP diet focuses on cutting out those complex sugars I mentioned earlier, from your diet.

There’s really no right or wrong way to do this, btw. You just remove the foods from your diet that are high in FODMAPS for at least 21 days or until symptoms cease. And that’s pretty much it. The only bummer is that FODMAPS are in almost everything that tastes great so it makes this diet super restrictive. RIP garlic for 30 days. :'(

But, you can definitely still make DELICIOUS meals that don’t feel like anything’s missing. And, it’s very effective in finding any food sensitivities that can be adding to your “endo-pain”, making it one of the best endometriosis home remedies.

via The Dempster Clinic

Keep in mind that both of these food lists are not all-inclusive. It’s really easy to forget which foods are low in FODMAPS and which aren’t so you’ll want to do your research first and keep track. Also, I highly suggest downloading an app like this one to help you quickly check the FODMAP level of any food.

And just to prove you can still have great meals, check out these I made while on the diet! Peep my Insta though, I be cookin!

via Instagram

Reintroduction Phase

So now 30 days have passed and you might be all symptom-free and happy! But this diet is wayy too restricting, and isn’t designed to become a new lifestyle choice. Only as a means to find trigger foods.

This phase is almost more important than the latter because now you can discover which foods are causing you the most discomfort. Start by reintroducing one sugar group (in small servings) at a time, and study how your body reacts to it.

via The Dempster Clinic

If you experience no pain, then that sugar group probably isn’t an issue and can be reintroduced regularly. However if you do run into some discomfort, then you have some choices. You can decide to eliminate the food from your diet indefinitely, or take caution the next time you eat it.

Meat always gave me TERRIBLE discomfort and I decided to give it up entirely after doing this diet. While I do eat fish, my reaction to it is minor but nonetheless a reaction so I keep eating it at a minimum.

Why It Works

Because FODMAPS are only partially broken down in the stomach, they cause irritation to the intestinal tract and abdominal distress. This is why women are often misdiagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), instead of endometriosis.

As you can see from the image above, FODMAPS cause water retention and excess gas build up in the bowels. This attributes to the nauseating feeling us endo-warriors know all too well! It also leads to bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation.

via Endo News

The lesions of endometrial tissue can sometimes attach themselves anywhere on the small, or large intestine. The endometrium alone causes enough pain and bloating along the bowels.

You can just imagine how the endometrium and the FODMAPS combined can cause increased pain. Hence the reason less FODMAPS in the bowels, should alleviate your abdominal pain.

I abstained from FODMAPS for 30 days. And I kid you not, ALL my abdominal pain went away! My periods are still seven layers of hell, but I had more energy in between periods and NO MORE GNAWING INTESTINAL PAIN.

And even when I reintroduced those foods, the pain was very little to none at all! This diet really helped to reset my intestinal tract and subdue my endo symptoms, no doubt.

Quick Tips to Succeed

Remember it’s “low” fodmap, not “no” fodmap.

If the diet was called the no-FODMAP diet you’d pretty much be eating air. Remember it’s okay to have some FODMAPS, just not a lot. Don’t forget to download that app to help you remember.

It’s not forever.

Take deep breaths you’ll have apples again soon. This diet may suck a little, but it’s for the greater good and you won’t regret it!!

You don’t have to go vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free.

Some of the foods that contain FODMAPS include wheat and certain red meats. But you can have breads with other grains like sourdough. And cheese is actually more of a fat than a dairy product so don’t hold back!