SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WSBT) — March is Endometriosis Awareness Month.
Endometriosis is a painful chronic condition women are too often told to just ‘deal with it.’
Two local doctors are changing how women with endometriosis are treated.
They say a change in lifestyle factors can help long-term management.
Doctors at Physicians HolisticHealth Alliance (PHA) aren’t just diagnosing women but addressing factors like nutrition and stress that play a major part in lasting treatment.
Endometriosis is where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus, causing pain and inflammation.
Most women are told their symptoms aren’t significant.
That was the story for Caitlin Ferguson, who wasn’t diagnosed until her mid-20s.
“I had no idea what I was dealing with. I felt like it was, I was told it was all in my head. I was told that it was normal to miss weeks on end of school. I was told that the heavy bleeding was normal, that basically just deal with it,” said Ferguson.
But it was like night and day when she met Dr. Uthman Cavallo and Dr. Susan Hart-Cavallo at Physicians HolisticHealth Alliance.
They focused on changing her lifestyle.
Ferguson says she has her life back because of it.
“If I had listened to the doctors back then, I would still be 300 pounds. I was on 10 different psychiatric medications. I had no relationship with God or any spiritual faith whatsoever. And I was honestly just at the point of wanting to end my life because of how miserable I was on a daily basis,” said Ferguson.
Dr. Cavallo says one in ten women are diagnosed with endometriosis, a diagnosis that takes 8 to 10 years.
Even after surgical intervention, the recurrence rate is about 10-20% if lifestyle factors aren’t addressed.
“When I see them and I make a diagnosis, it’s amazing how validated they feel. They feel like they’ve been just gas-lit by the medical system. And a lot of women will have to grapple with anger,” said Dr. Cavallo, Physician HolisticHealth Alliance Co-Founder.
Dr. Hart-Cavallo says there’s a connection between mind and body.
Nutrition, stress, and sleep are factors that help keep the condition from returning.
“Food can serve as medicine and there’s a whole realm field of lifestyle medicine where you harness your body’s ability to heal itself and you can teach and empower people with different aspects and principles of lifestyle medicine which can essentially turn on good genes which stop inflammation and turn off bad genes which fuel inflammation,” said Dr. Hart-Cavallo, Physician HolisticHealth Alliance Co-Founder.
Ferguson says women must advocate for themselves.
“This is not something that you will just be struggling with forever with no sort of end in sight. That you’re not alone. What I found is community is the best way to deal with this,” said Ferguson.
If you or someone you know is struggling with endometriosis, the clinic will be hosting a FREE endometriosis Q and A session next Tuesday.
You can find the link to register here.
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