Episode Details

The Case: 

• Amanda is 37 and dealing with pelvic pain, discomfort and heavy periods
• Doctors diagnosed her with endometriosis and fibroids
• They prescribed birth control but she’d had a bad reaction in her youth

Endometriosis affects 10% of women between the ages of 15 - 49. That’s 176 million women in the world. The most common, traditional way to treat this issue is with hormone therapy in the form of birth control medication. 

The Investigation

When Amanda came to me, I understood her hesitation in using birth control to manage her endometriosis symptoms. I wanted to find out if we could find the root cause of the endometriosis and treat that instead. The hunt was on and there were many clues to consider.

Dr. Shiroko Sokitch is a functional medicine doctor, a trained acupuncturist, and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. This unconventional combination makes her very good at solving health mysteries. She shares my approach of getting to the root cause of a problem, so I thought she would be the perfect person to discuss Amanda’s case. 

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a condition where uterine tissue starts to grow beyond what is needed for the reproductive process. This can be contained in the uterus but it can also cause endometrial tissue to grow outside of the uterus. For example, a woman may have uterine tissue growing on her fallopian tubes or in her intestines. The excess endometrial tissue can really cause problems because it will continue to respond to hormones and can cause an imbalance that leads to many different symptoms. 

Symptom of Endometriosis

The location of the endometrial tissue overgrowth will dictate the symptoms experienced. However, many women who have endometriosis experience abdominal pain, heavy and/or irregular periods, inflammation, pain with sex, and/or bloating. If the endometriosis has spread, they may also experience digestive issues and related symptoms. 

There is a second level to the symptoms caused by the hormonal imbalances related to endometriosis. These imbalances can cause migraines, headaches, moodiness, irritability, and other symptoms that may seem unrelated. 

Diagnosing Endometriosis

It can take conventional doctors a while to test for endometriosis because many will dismiss it as PMS at first. This can be very frustrating. Endometriosis can be diagnosed using a pelvic scope, and sometimes it can be seen through ultrasound, CT scan or MRI. Once a definitive diagnosis is made, conventional doctors will generally recommend medication or surgery.

However, in the functional medicine world, diagnosing the condition is only the start of the process. There are many things that could have caused the endometriosis and so, we search for that cause in the hopes that reducing or eliminating it will positively impact the condition. 

Causes of Endometriosis

There are a variety of underlying causes and more research is needed. One of the possible causes that Dr. Shiroko is that many women are exposed to toxins in our environment. This includes feminine hygiene products that contain chemicals, plastics, beauty products, cleaning products, and food. Additionally, women are also exposed to xenoestrogens which mimic estrogen and disrupt the natural production of estrogen and can cause an overload of estrogen. 

Dr. Shiroko also points out that some women are genetically predisposed to endometriosis. 

There is no one singular cause of endometriosis which means that each patient has to be treated as a unique case. 

Understanding Endometriosis through the TCM Lens

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the menstrual cycle is regulated by the liver. Every organ in TCM has a different set of physical and emotional functions. So, the liver’s job is to regulate the menstrual cycle, store