Last week
I shared with you these three beliefs I have in regard to women and their menstrual symptoms whether they happen at 15 or 45 years of age:
- No woman should suffer with symptoms that can be treated.
- Small changes early on can prevent so many further issues later in life, including, but not limited to, infertility, endometriosisis and its complications, fibroids, cancers of the reproductive organs and autoimmune diseases.
- Holistically supporting women’s health from an early age impacts the health of generations to come.
I shared a list of symptoms that should serve as red flags that something is amiss. Painful periods is the red flag that I want to discuss in this particular post. This is a topic that should be of greater concern to medical practitioners than it is because pain is the body’s signal that inflammation is present. I am a firm believer that pain needs to be noticed and addressed not suppressed. Further, I urge my clients with daughters to check in on a regular basis with them about their cycles. It’s important for young women to learn that their body is signaling for attention if any of these symptoms appear and that early intervention can stave off a host of bigger issues.
So, to be clear, painful periods are not normal or okay because your mom and her mom also had the issue. Pain during menses is an indicator that inflammation is present and should be taken as a clear sign the lymphatic system is not doing its job. Take a look here at the number of lymph vessels and nodes in the abdominal region. As I wrote in a recent post on elimination, 50% are right where you or someone you know experiences intense pain during menses. If the lymphatic system is congested or sluggish in its cleaning, waste will accumulate in this area AND when estrogen levels raise right before menses, the problem is exacerbated. Due to the acidic quality of the hormone estrogen, it can shift an already imbalanced pH into overdrive, which then increases the level of pain.
While lymphatic stagnation is the main reason behind painful periods, another similar problem most often associated with excruciating pain during menses is found in the case of endometriosis. What is endometriosis? Dr. Aviva Romm, an NYC expert in holistic health care for women, explains that endometriosis occurs when tissue that normally line the uterus are found in other areas of the body, most commonly the abdominal cavity. During menses these tissues then shed dead cells and bleed, irritating the nerves in the abdominal region. Endometiosis is a condition that should not be ignored, however, conventional medicine fails in the treatment it offers. Having suffered from this myself for years, before my exposure to homeopathy and gemmotherapy, I found the solutions offered to me completely unsatisfactory. Now being equipped with answers, I want to help as many women as possible heal the underlying cause.
Because lymphatic stagnation is the root cause of both painful menses and endometriosis, I start my clients on a gemmotherapy protocol and recommend an alkalyzing diet to get things moving. These two steps will engage the lymphatic system to drain off the acidic wastes, reducing pain within the first month of treatment and eventually completely. If the problem is truly endometriosis then I use a homeopathic protocol to reduce the inflammation and shift the constitution of the individual being treated and suggest Mayan massage and/or acupuncture.
If you or someone you know suffers from painful periods or endometriosis it’s important to know you don’t need to endure symptoms month after month, there are solutions that are drug free, accessible, and work.