Gina is a 37 year old lady who was desperate to find relief for severe menstrual cramps caused by endometriosis, as well as acne. The acne started when she was a teenager and varied in intensity ever since. She did manage to resolve it completely four years ago by using the prescription medication Accutane. Her skin did clear, but Gina experienced significant depression while on it. She has a family history of depression. Gina was not willing to experience that degree of depression again. She found it debilitating.

Gina had a laparoscopy, which found endometriosis growing on her fallopian tubes and both ovaries. She had it removed two years ago, and this provided symptom relief for a short period of time. It is typical for endometriosis to grow back. Gina had read about the benefits of bio-identical progesterone cream in my book Hormone Replacement: The Real Truth and was interested in trying it. She also read articles I’ve written about acne. Gina suspected she had an overgrowth of bad bugs in her gut because she suffered with irritable bowel syndrome. It’s true that gut toxicity can be a causative agent in acne.

Progesterone helps reduce endometriosis by balancing the effects of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is a growth promoting hormone and excess levels can lead to out of control growth of the endometrial lining in places it shouldn’t be. I also explained to Gina that it was vital to strengthen her immune system and reduce inflammation with nutritional medicine. Endometriosis shares several features of autoimmune disease. There is an underlying problem with the immune system. I put Gina on the eating plan in my book Healing Autoimmune Disease: A plan to help your immune system and reduce inflammation. It is important to heal leaky gut and reduce the liver’s production of inflammatory chemicals. That helps both endometriosis and acne.

Gina was prone to constipation, bloating and gas. This is typical in my endometriosis patients. If gut wastes are not excreted regularly enough, estrogen in the gut gets reabsorbed back into the bloodstream. This worsens the estrogen excess and progesterone deficiency that occurs in endometriosis.

My recommendations for my patient

I ordered a blood test and found that Gina was quite zinc deficient. This is common in acne patients. Zinc deficiency increases sebum production and makes the skin oilier. Zinc is found in red meat and seafood, but taking a zinc supplement can correct a deficiency much sooner.

I asked Gina to use my magnesium powder in a dose of ½ teaspoon twice daily to prevent and ease her menstrual cramps.

When used in the second half of the menstrual cycle, bio-identical progesterone cream helps to balance the estrogen in the body and prevents out of control growth of endometrial tissue.

Raw vegetable juices from fresh green herbs (parsley, basil, mint, etc), carrot, ginger, citrus and cabbage would reduce inflammation and improve liver function. This will help to improve the health and appearance of Gina’s skin. There are juice recipes in my book called Raw Juices Can Save Your Life.

BactoClear capsules are a powerful natural disinfectant for the gut. The berberine, as well as essential oils of clove, oregano and thyme kill bad bacteria and yeast in the gut. This should help the irritable bowel syndrome as well as acne.

In all cases of estrogen dominance it is vital to improve liver function, so that the liver can break down the excessive estrogen produced from the ovaries and fat tissue. The liver tonic Livatone Plus provides the liver with what it needs to be a more efficient detoxifier. It also increases bile production and this has a gentle laxative effect, helping to overcome constipation.

I plan to see Gina again in 5 weeks.

 

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.