My Mother's Battle with Endometriosis

by Meredith Nathan, Pulling Down the Moon Massage Director and Creator of the Fertility Enhancing Massage Protocol™

Endometriosis, the expansion of the uterine lining onto the surrounding organs and tissues, such the ovaries, vagina, or even the lungs or brain, can create extensive bleeding and scar tissue in the body. When a woman with endometriosis menstruates, the uterine tissue outside her uterus also bleeds, but has no way to exit the body and becomes trapped. This can cause a swampy condition in the abdomen, leading to stagnation, adhesion, and scarring. 


Symptoms run the gamut: one woman can be walking around completely unaware that she has endo, while another may be begging her partner to put her out of her misery every time she gets her monthly visitor. Theories on why it occurs range from estrogen dominance and hormonal imbalance to structural abnormalities and retrograde bleeding during menstruation to migrating fetal cells. 

One in ten women have endometriosis, and yet in my experience, it often goes undiagnosed. Most commonly mistaken for severe menstrual cramps, I’ve spoken with countless women who felt their doctors had undermined their complaints of extreme pain, suggesting that they must just have a low pain tolerance. The fact that for a long time the only way it could be diagnosed was through surgery probably didn't help with the rampant misdiagnoses, and so many women haven't known they have it until they find themselves unable to conceive or having recurrent miscarriage. In fact, one study showed that endometriosis increases the risk of miscarriage by 80%.

What to do? The first step to treating endometriosis is diagnosing it. Thankfully, a recent new approach to detecting endometriosis that doesn’t require surgery has become available. ReceptivaDx is able to gently detect inflammation in the uterine lining commonly associated with endometriosis.

For most women who are diagnosed with endo, surgical removal of the wayward endometrial tissue is the best approach (though pregnancy may need to happen on a speedy timeline, since endometriosis will usually grow back in time). IVF can also increase chances of success for pregnancy.

Though there is currently no cure for endometriosis (other than menopause), a proactive strategy to handle the scar tissue and pain associated with it can make a world of difference in the quality of life and fertility of the women who have it. In my mother’s case, the endo required two painful surgeries. But for others, massage may offer a gentler solution. Massage can help break up scar tissue from previous internal bleeding - Mercier Therapy, a deep, external gynovisceral manipulation, has been shown to be effective at breaking up scar tissue associated with endometriosis. One of my patients who had confirmed mild endometriosis on her ovaries used a combination of Mercier Therapy and Fertility Enhancing Massage (FEM) for several months leading up to her surgery. On the day of her surgery, the surgeon confirmed that her endometriosis was gone.

My mother’s story ends happily. Despite the pain, the drugs, and the surgeries, she ultimately had two healthy children. But back in the 1970’s she didn’t have access to the resources and information we have today. Could there have been a gentler way to handle her endometriosis? Due to it’s severity, my mother would most likely have needed surgery anyways. But massage could have provided a wonderful compliment to her treatment plan with her doctor, providing additional tools for relieving congestion and scar tissue. It could have eased her pain and created a sense of well-being. And perhaps in nurturing her belly with positive touch, it could have helped her find peace with the body she so often felt at war with.

Learn more at our upcoming Fertility Enhancing Massage Seminar on Thursday, March 7th at 6pm CST!