Endometriosis is a benign disease defined by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus, associated with both pelvic pain and infertility. There are features similar to cancer: in many cases of endometriosis, the endometrium spreads and grows in various places in the body, but it is not a cancer. Patients with endometriosis have damaged reproductive organs because the endometrial lining in the pelvic area sheds and causes bleeding when a normal period comes. The bleeding induces pelvic inflammation, adhesion and scar tissue.

When Cindy visited me for the first time, her eyes were wide open but empty, and the muscles in her face were tense. Her facial skin was very wrinkled. She did not look as young as most people her age. She spoke very fast and wanted to tell me all about her difficult life in a short period of time. She gave me the impression that she had a hard life with severe depression and anxiety.

I looked at the chart she filled out. She had written down about 6 medications she was taking at that time. She had suffered from headaches for more than 10 years and was taking pain medicine every day. She had been diagnosed with stage IV endome-triosis and also had a history of allergies, Fibromyalgia, anxiety, and depression. She was taking different kinds of medications from different doctors. She had taken birth control pills for almost 18 years before she tried to have a baby. And in the past ten years, she had had 3 laparoscopic procedures and surgery to clear the endometriosis. The last surgery had been two years ago and one of her ovaries was removed.

She had been trying to conceive for 2 years. She went through IUI and IVF treat-ment but all failed. Her doctor suggested that she use donor eggs because her AMH was only 0.16 ng/ml. She was worried about her reproductive ability, and she told me that if she couldn’t become pregnant in the future, her husband would divorce her.

“Can you help me” she asked with a doubtful look in her eyes. I told her that I would do my best to help her. What she needed to do was to change her lifestyle because she was extremely unhealthy, which meant her body was completely out of balance. Her menstrual cycle can significantly less frequently than the average 28 day cycle. During her period, her blood was dark red with clotting, and she experienced severe cramping. There was no cervical mucus at all during ovulation. She also suffered from anxiety and depression. She had difficulty falling asleep and often woke up in middle of the night. She had a high stress job. Her tongue was dark red with deep cracks in the middle.

After a long conversation, Cindy decided she wanted to try Chinese medicine and acupuncture. I outlined a treatment plan for her:

First, I suggested that she change her diet and consume more alkaline food to bal-ance her acidic body. She discontinued soda and coffee, which were acidic foods. She also increased her water intake. She ate all natural products and avoided dairy prod-ucts including cheese and milk.

Second, I suggested she ask her doctor to start slowly cutting down her medication. After two months of Chinese medicine and acupuncture treatment, she was able to live without medication. Her menstrual cycle went back to 28 days. Her menstrual cramp-ing was less severe—while she once rated the pain as a 10, it was now down to a 2. Her headache was 90 percent better, and she generally felt much better.

Finally, I recommended that she change her life style. She allowed herself to spend more spare time between tasks to decrease her stress and anxiety level. In addi-tion, she practiced meditation and breathing exercises to deal with stress.

With the help of Chinese medicine and a change in her lifestyle, four months later, she became pregnant! She had a level II sonogram on the 11th week of her pregnancy that showed the fetus was normal, and her blood work was perfect. Seven months later, she delivered a healthy baby boy.

Endometriosis is considered a disease of the hormone and immune systems, in which tissue similar to that of the uterus is also found elsewhere. We have found large degrees of relief through acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Cindy’s story told us that the modification of lifestyle and diet also helps patients significantly reduce symptoms of endometriosis.