Struggling with endo and adeno pain? Put yourself in the driver's seat and consider incorporating some scientifically-backed tips and tricks into your daily routine. With a little added effort you just might find these to be more effective at providing relief than your favorite heating pad—discover how you can take ownership of easing those ailments right at home! Enough beating around the bush let's get right to it.
*Important note, you need verified bioactive compounds, your typical grocery store supplements may not be enough. Enteric capsules work far better, enteric capsules are specifically designed to make it all the way to the small intestines where they can be more readily absorbed. The label needs to show the active components. Check the label on the right, and check the label on the left. The one on the right can just be a piece of bark inside the capsule (probably is), the one on the left ACTUALLY states the active compound that was extracted FROM the BARK.
Having A Hard Time Going To The Bathroom or Problems With Bloating?
The majority of women with endometriosis have messed up intestinal chemistry, which is why you see a lot of digestive issues in the groups that you may frequently visit. This same messed up chemistry is nearly identical with what can be seen in your uterus, so if you solve this one you solve the painful cramps. (3-5) Overall, our goal is to get proper peristalsis, meaning proper movement of your GI tract. (3)
Valerian Root
Specifically 0.8% Valerenic Acid is an anti-spasmodic agent. Meaning it can regulate overactive contractions like those seen in hyperperistalsis. (7) All the hyperactive waves (as seen in endo) can be slowed, so they can act normally allowing the food you are eating to fully digest, this will also allow the proper mechanism to happen so you can have a normal bowel movement. It is also extremely effective at reducing bloating. Hyperstalsis has been seen to be involved in the majority of bloating problems due to improper digestion, ESPECIALLY in women with endometriosis. So not only will your constipation problem be relieved, so will your bloating. That's it!
Rhodiola Rosea
This one works like magic. You see the reason why this is so effective is that it does and can interact with estrogen receptors, anybody that knows anything about endometriosis and adenomyosis understands that estrogen receptors are highly involved. Since your body is so intricate, having more or less of these specific estrogen receptors can lead to the very effects you've come to know. Since lesions create their own estrogen, Rhodiola Rosea is able to attach itself to the receptor that signals for more estrogen while also simultaneously telling it to stop creating estrogen. What's more is that it can also create messengers (exosomes) that tell the endometriotic cells to die. (8) For this to be effective you need a 3% Rosavins to 1% Salidroside extract.
The result? Reduced bloating, painless bowel movements and an overall boost of energy. This combo is not short lived either, you should notice lasting benefit especially the longer you continue to take this combination.
Fatigue and Endo Fog?
If you haven't picked up our book then I will briefly go over the brain and how endo can affect it. (If you would like an in-depth overview I recommend picking up our book.) Endo and adeno have a high affinity for estrogen. What most people don't know is that our brain also uses estrogen to maintain homeostasis, that is, to balance our overall metabolism and energy use in the body. The hypothalamus is the one generally involved in this mechanism and a bunch of estrogen receptors can be found there. Specifically, the Ventromedial Nucleus, this is the part of the Hypothalamus that is involved in energy, hunger, fear and the feeling of fullness. Estradiol has a high affinity to all estrogen receptors, so estrogen fluctuations can definetly mess with the brain. (9)
Estradiol also interacts with the prefrontal cortex, this area is involved in memory processing. The estrogen levels within this area dictates what type of memory you will use. Place memory, located in the hippocampus, or response memory, located in the dorsal striata. So if you're estrogen levels are all over the place, you can end up with unorganized memory patterns making learning or memory recollection a mess. If you modulate the levels to a more normal baseline, you can increase your overall cognition. (14-16)
Endo can also mess with Cholecystokinin's (CCK) which is directly implicated with the feeling of fullness, by increasing the potency of CCK activation resulting in the feeling of fullness (satiety). (9-11) This means that you are eating far less than you should be, resulting in low caloric intake for proper brain function.
Rhodiola Rosea
Want to beat fatigue? This is how you do it! This is the reason why most treatments can't really target endo fog, their goal is beat endo at the superficial level. Think of it this way, you can cut all the weeds in your yard as much as you want, but if you don't pull out the root, you are going to have a destroyed yard for no reason.
So why Rhodiola Rosea?
Rhodiola rosea can interact with overall food consumption, being able to increase overall caloric intake can increase your energy stores. It does this through direct interaction with CCK receptors. (16)
It is also able to promote increased cognitive function since it is a mild MAOI, the result is increased dopamine, this will make you feel better and increase your energy levels. This is a great option for those that suffer with energy problems. If you are on antidepressants such as MAOIs or some SSRIs, Rhodiola rosea may not be a suitable option. (12,13)
Again you want verifiable compounds to get this overall benefit. 3% Rosavins to 1% Salidroside ratios can provide a fairly powerful mental boost.
Painful Intercourse?
Rhodiola Rosea and White Willow Bark Extract! You will see Rhodiola Rosea repeating fairly often, primarily because it is able to tackle endo through various means at the biochemical level, this results in a way that beats painful sex.
How?
If you stop Endometriosis at the foundation, it is not able to create more and more painful symptoms.
Allow me to explain.... The reason Endometriosis is able to destroy your intimacy and bring you to your knees at the same time, is because of the amount of Estradiol it produces. Again, without going deeper into the details the result of estrogen activation is the creation of VEGF and ANG-2 which ultimately results in the creation of a hormone known as IGF-1. VEGF is able to signal for the creation of sensory nerves in clusters. IGF-1 increases the sensitivity of these sensory nerves. Now, if you add in inflammation and over-crowding of sensory nerves, especially near intimate areas, you will find the pain is unbearable.
Salidroside along with Rosavin (both are found in Rhodiola Rosea), can stop VEGF and ANG-2. Stopping excessive blood flow. (8) It is also able to 'plug' the estrogen receptors and signal for relief allowing you to see a pretty dramatic reduction in pain, this includes reducing the other symptoms that come along with overproduced Estradiol in the body. (13)
So why White Willow Bark?
Because while we stopped one set of messengers, we need to stop the others. Remember we need to be able to stop the foundation needed for excessive estrogen creation. Rhodiola Rosea broke one part, to have painless intimacy we need to be sure we break it all. Salicyluric Acid (Found in White Willow) can stop the initial stages needed for inflammation, very successfully at that. (10-12) White willow also has the ability to stop PrPc prions. If this is unknown to you, that's alright, most doctors are not aware of what this is either.
PrPc are glycoproteins on the cells’ surface that are used to communicate with the environment around it, kind of like antennas. Endometriotic derived Estradiol has been shown to affect these proteins and make them into prions. (17) Prions are altered proteins that can be considered infectious. So, all in all, your endometriotic cells have altered their cell surface via glycoprotein alterations, making them highly invasive and resilient. These prion PrPC‘s also promote cholesterol accumulation, for those that are not aware, endometriotic cells can create estradiol straight from cholesterol. I hope you can see how this can become troublesome. (17)
This overall mechanism is orchestrated from the PPARα receptor which white willow is able to positively modulate.
The results? Painless intimacy! Why? Because this IS a multifaceted approach that tackles endometriosis at the biochemical root.
Hope this article helped. If you would like to see more content like this, please share and like so we know that we need to push more content out. If you would like to learn about endometriosis and adneomyosis at the biochemical level and more in-depth than what's in this article, please purchase the Burning Path Ahead. There you will learn everything you need to know to take control of your life again. You can purchase the book here on our site or Amazon.
1.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4535676/
2.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30902761
3.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5925869/
4.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/127517755.
5.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15731324
6.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18000302
7.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16002246
8.) https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0042-107254
9) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3660717/
10.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23460719
11.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8346313
12.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24323403
13.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6208354/
14.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8782878
15.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8346313
16.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4637400/
17.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466123/