Homeopathy & endo

pain relief is a human right

Endometriosis disrupts delicate female hormonal balance

Endometriosis is a complex, and not fully understood disease.

Endometriosis is one of the most common illnesses affecting women during reproductive age, symptoms are broad and include;

• dysmenorrhea (pain)

• chronic pelvic pain

• dyspareunia (sexual pain)

• menstrual disorders

• infertility

Alongside surgical and medical treatment ayurveda, homeopathy, dietary interventions, and herbal therapies can be used as supplementary treatment for complaints caused by endometriosis.¹

Studies have found that 62% of surveyed women with endometriosis utilize complementary medicine,² with 28% using homeopathy for their symptoms.³

It has been reported that women suffering endometriosis have a strong interest in using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) but tend to have limited information about it⁴

this applies especially to homeopathy, a therapy seen with mistrust and prejudice by many researchers⁵

however, ‘‘ As the body of evidence for homeopathy grows, the idea that homeopathy is just a placebo effect is becoming increasingly implausible. ‘’⁶

this is where we come in, right?!

Endometriosis harms all aspects of quality of life

one in ten women suffer with endometriosis in New Zealand

the average age of onset is 15 years

the top five reported symptoms are all pain-based

- these shocking statistics are fairly consistent across the world -

Within the current range of medical treatment options which include surgery, pain medication, and hormonal interventions - only laparoscopy was reported to be an effective treatment (by 67% of surveyed sufferers).⁷

Multi-disciplinary treatment teams, including pain specialists, physiotherapists, dieticians and psychologists, have been shown in combination to be an improvement over just pain management drugs⁸ however, time and costs are often prohibitive.⁹

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In healthy endometrium, progesterone and oestrogen are balanced resulting in a normal menstrual cycles and uncomplicated conception.

In endometriosis oestrogen dominance is common.

Oestrogen dominance often leads to heightened inflammation and increased pain.¹⁰

Symptoms of oestrogen dominance can be similar to those in perimenopause, menopause, and PMS - common signs are:

Mood swings, Irritability, Low libido, Worsening PMS, Irregular periods, Heavy periods, Bloating, Weight gain, Anxiety, Hair loss, Insomnia, Fatigue, Infertility, Memory and brain fog, Hot flashes & night sweats.

medical treatments focus on suppressing or inhibiting oestrogen production

oestrogen is a key promoter for endometriotic lesion growth within the pelvic cavity¹¹

progesterone tightly controls estrogen actions

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Excess hormones are cleared from our body by the liver via eliminatory channels

and guess what?

Oestrogen and caffeine both use the same one!

caffeine can hinder the detox of oestrogen and result in oestrogen dominance¹²

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Double Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Trials (DB-RCT) and individualized homeopathy

in female hormonal disorders have shown:

• Homeopathy acting favourably in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea (pain).¹³

• Homeopathy acting favourably in primary dysmenorrhea and being associated with improved PMS, reduced sick days and less medication.¹⁴

A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the homeopathic treatment of endometriosis-associated pelvic pain found:

• Dysmenorrhea, pelvic, bowel, and body pain, vitality, mental health and depression symptoms were improved in fifty women (in the homeopathic group) with a diagnosis of deeply infiltrating endometriosis.¹⁵

a breakdown of the studies can be found in an earlier substack Homeopathy & Hormonal imbalance - benefits via a systematic treatment approach (12)

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The World Health Organisation classifies pain relief as a human right¹⁶ and states that homeopathy (alongside Traditional Chinese Medicine) is formally acknowledged by and used within 100 of its Member States, including New Zealand.¹⁷

As conventional therapies may not be sufficiently effective for the treatment of endometriosis the individual needs of a woman must be closely examined and treatment options should be discussed and initiated by clinicians, to provide the best possible comprehensive treatment options for women suffering endometriosis.¹⁸

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For sufferers

Chamomile tea might be a helpful addition to your life!¹⁹

Also,

My name is Sarah Penrose and I have spent fifteen years’ working alongside people suffering a wide range of chronic diseases.

In addition to a BSc(hons) homeopathy, two homeopathy diplomas and international affiliations

I have published a peer-reviewed example of my work in adenomyosis²⁰

and my conference paper hormonal disorders and homeopathy in elite female athletes presented in 2023 outlined examples of my work alongside two women suffering poly cystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, candida, low libido, mastalgia, Hashimoto’s disease, and menopause²¹

currently, I am working for a Master of Applied Health Science (Wellness and Rehabilitation)

my chosen elective is pain management

part of the requirement of this paper is a current case report

if you suffer diagnosed endometriosis and are open to implementing homeopathy in addition to your current treatment options I would very much like to hear from you

Sarah Penrose can be contacted via goodhealthforgreatlife.com

‘In contrast to frequent claims, the available Meta Analyses of homoeopathy in placebo-controlled randomised trials for any indication show significant positive effects beyond placebo. Compared to other medical interventions, the quality of evidence for efficacy of homoeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. Accordingly, the efficacy evidence from placebo-controlled randomised trials provides no justification for regulatory or political actions against homoeopathy in health-care systems.’²²

1. Wienhard J, Tinneberg HR. (2003). Alternative Behandlungsmöglichkeiten der endometriosebedingten Beschwerden [Alternative treatment possibilities of complaints due to endometriosis]. Zentralbl Gynakol. Jul-Aug;125(7-8):286-9. German. doi: 10.1055/s-2003-42284

2. Schwartz et al., 2019. The use of home remedies and complementary health approaches in endometriosis. Reprod Biomed Online. Feb;38(2):260-271. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.10.009

3. Adamietz et al., 2021. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in women with endometriosis. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2021 Jul;262:7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.05.002

4. Adamietz A, Boosz A, Mueller A, Hornung D, Trunk K, Beckmann MW, Dittrich R, Hack CC. (2021). Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in women with endometriosis. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. Jul;262:7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.05.002

5. Teixeira MZ, Podgaec S, Baracat EC. (2017). Reply to "Letter to the Editor" by Moran et al. "Comment on 'Potentized estrogen in homeopathic treatment of endometriosis associated pelvic pain: A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study'". Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. Jul;214:195-197. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2017.04.047

6.

7. Ellis et al., (2022). The experiences of endometriosis patients with diagnosis and treatment in New Zealand. Front Glob Womens Health. Aug 31;3:991045. doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2022.991045

8. Opoku-Anane et al., (2020). The development of a comprehensive multidisciplinary endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain center. J Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Dis. 12:3–9. doi: 10.1177/2284026519899015.

9. Ellis et al., (2022). The experiences of endometriosis patients with diagnosis and treatment in New Zealand. Front Glob Womens Health. Aug 31;3:991045. doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2022.991045

10. Marquardt et al., (2019). Progesterone and Estrogen Signaling in the Endometrium: What Goes Wrong in Endometriosis? Int J Mol Sci. Aug 5;20(15):3822. doi.org/10.3390/ijms20153822

11. MacLean & Hayashi, (2022). Progesterone Actions and Resistance in Gynecological Disorders. Cells. Feb 13;11(4):647. doi.org/10.3390/cells11040647

12. Lucero et al., (2001). Early follicular phase hormone levels in relation to patterns of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee use. Fertil Steril. Oct;76(4):723-9. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(01)02005-2

13. Ghosh et al., (2021). Efficacy of individualized homeopathic medicines in primary dysmenorrhea: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial. J Complement Integr Med. Jun 3. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2020-0512

14. Yakir et al., (2019). A Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Randomized Trial with Individualized Homeopathic Treatment Using a Symptom Cluster Approach in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome. Homeopathy. Nov;108(4):256-269. DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1691834

15. Teixeira et al., (2017). Potentized estrogen in homeopathic treatment of endometriosis-associated pelvic pain: A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. European Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. Apr;211:48-55. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2017.01.052

16. Lipman AG. (2005) Pain as a human right: the 2004 Global Day Against Pain. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 19(3):85-100. PMID: 16219619

17. World Health Organization. (2019). WHO global report on traditional and complementary medicine 2019. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/312342

18. Schwartz et al., (2019). The use of home remedies and complementary health approaches in endometriosis. Reprod Biomed Online. Feb;38(2):260-271. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.10.009

19. Niazi A, Moradi M. (2021). The Effect of Chamomile on Pain and Menstrual Bleeding in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. Jul;9(3):174-186. doi.org/10.30476/ijcbnm.2021.87219.1417

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22. Hamre HJ, Glockmann A, von Ammon K, Riley DS, Kiene H. Efficacy of homoeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homoeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Rev. 2023 Oct 7;12(1):191. doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2