The Doctor gave me 3 options… (For Women)

1. “Hormone therapy” via Birth control

   (Me: No thank you, sir.)

2. Surgery

   (Me: No thank you, again.)

   OR-

3. Stronger pain meds since Ibuprofen 800mg was no longer providing any relief at all…

   (Me: Absolutely not. I don’t take meds.)

He said, “There are no other treatment options.”

The diagnosis I had received was endometriosis. (Later on, I discovered that this runs in our family.)

Me: Endometriosis? Excuse me? I had difficulty comprehending the news.

I was a healthy person; or so I thought. Covid had hit me moderately hard, but other than that, I had no other health issues. Or, so I thought….

Since puberty, I had always experienced regular menstrual cycles with moderate, very manageable cramping; always fully relieved by Ibuprofen 400mg-600mg.

Until one seemingly normal day at age 31…

When I passed out at the top of the stairs in the middle of the night, on the way back from the bathroom.

I was living by myself in my newly purchased dream historic home in Detroit. I suspected that the black out was caused by the sudden, sharp, stabbing pain that I had felt in my pelvic region, out of the blue. I had never really fainted or passed out before, so it completely caught me off guard. I was simply glad that I had not fallen down the stairs.

After my vision returned from blacking out, I managed to crawl to my bed and pull myself up into it, with great pain and difficulty. I can’t remember how I found or got to any ibuprofen, or a glass of water…

I do remember being curled up in a ball, shaking in severe pain and full-body weakness, plus lightheadedness. I also remember struggling to text my supervisor at work to report to her that it was very unlikely that I would be able to make it to my morning work appointment, since I could hardly move.

She found coverage for it and being a nurse herself, urged me to see my OBGYN. She explained that her daughters had a history of very severe menstrual cramping that rendered them curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor a lot. …

I believe I waited a couple of months to schedule an appointment with my doctor.

It took a couple of more knock-out menstrual cycles and more urging from my supervisor, and my friend, Jamie, in order for me to decide to see a doctor.

The next month came around, and while menstrual cramping had previously always started gradually, with gentle warning signs and mild discomfort -allowing a significant time window for me to take ibuprofen and prevent any severe cramping- this month I found myself suddenly on the ground, again. There I was, doubled-over in the most indescribable pain, on the floor, struggling to crawl around -before I could even think about where the ibuprofen bottle was in the house -let alone obtain a glass of water. (My new home was two stories; 2400 sqft.)

Never before in my life, had I required Ibuprofen 800mg and the fact that it did not even touch the severe pain one bit, became a problem for me.

The next month, it happened again. The severe pain in the pelvis region had me on the ground, curled up in a ball, weak and unable to move. But this time, the pain and cramping had continued down to my toes and my legs were actually unable to function. I had a boyfriend by this time (now husband). When the completely-unhelpful ibupofen was not in reach of wherever I landed, I would have to call him to come over and bring it to me, while I trembled in pain, from pelvis to toes (and continued to be stuck completely immobilized with zero pain relief for, what seemed like over 24 hours each month).

When the OBGYN provided the endometriosis diagnosis, along with “the only” 3 treatment options available, he had also explained that it was possible that an endometrial polyp had bursted, in the circumstances of the sharp and sudden pain that I had been experiencing. He said that such severe pain will sometimes send women to the ER. He found another problematic polyp present, which I had removed, basically because he indicated that it was unquestionably necessary to do so. After more prayer and research, I opted out of the larger surgery which had been offered to address the endometriosis diagnosis, as a whole. He said that the endometriosis surgery, typically only helps for about a year, and then the regular symptoms of pain and infertility challenges, can return once again.

A full year went by before I revisited the OBGYN again.

During that time, I was busy working on uncovering the root cause of other health issues. Many were coming to a head, all at once. In response, I had changed my diet to better support my adrenals, after receiving a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Protein was increased, sugar cut out, and carbs were greatly reduced, as I worked hard to end the cycle of severe hypoglycemic crashes that had begun occurring after every meal. (I had started falling asleep in public,at work appointments, and while driving, within 5 minutes of getting behind the wheel.). Pre-diabetes was another diagnosis that I had recieved, despite my normal body weight, active lifestyle, and “eating healthy,” my entire life.

From there, my nutrition plan eventually evolved into Keto, and then advanced to a full GAPS diet, (for the layman, I refer to this as Keto diet on steroids). A POTS diagnosis began to connect the dots to each of the various bodily system issues that were popping up out of seemingly-no-where. The traditional health system with its fragmented specialities, had no clue how it all tied together. They kept prescribing me medication, which would have caused more harm than good, had I taken any of it. Thankfully, I am a 100% noncompliant patient (nurse by trade), as it pertains to the traditional health system in the USA.

From there, my health journey, (fully guided by God via the Holy Spirit) led me to an intensive program for POTS/dysautomonia, developed by my personal angel and hero; Mary Ruddick. *Mary, an ancestral nutritionist, had once been bedridden for 7 years, while she and her scientist dad experimented on her with various diets and treatment plans until they cracked the code and obliterated all of her illness, with zero help or support from conventional medicine. I had began to become unable to walk and move on other days, not related to my menstrual cycle. POTS was eventually discovered as the culprit. (More information on POTS may be addressed in a another post.)

Each month that I improved my nutrition plan, the debilitating menstrual pain which had once rendered me unable to walk during my period, steadily reduced on its own. Within a handful of months, I was suddenly 100% menstrual cramp free, which had never been a thing -not in my entire life. (Talk about a dramatic turnaround from one extreme to the other…)

Once I was consistently 100% menstrual pain free with zero symptoms of endometriosis, for a few more consecutive months, I scheduled an appointment with my OBGYN, simply with the goal of educating him in his area of ignorance.

I requested my uterus to be scanned again. (Financially, I paid a few hundred dollars in copays for this “re-education session” which I decided was my duty to provide to the OBGYN). I believed it to be pertinent information to share with my provider for the potential benefit of future patients: the incredible discovery that cutting out sugar, reducing carbs, and reversing pre-diabetes, had cured the endometriosis. All of the research that I found on my own, had blatantly tied underlying blood sugar and insulin issues together with PCOS and Endometriosis. Many functional and holistic medicine practitioners had supported diet changes as first-line treatment for effectively resolving both, even citing proof of uterine cysts shrinking after cutting out sugar and making other changes.

Both PCOS and endometriosis are chronic diseases which are on the rise in the United States. Both are HUGE culprits of fertility issues for women in our society. Our traditional health system’s “treatment plan” for both?: birth control, surgery, pain meds, metformin. Cutting out sugar ever mentioned by anyone? Nah… it’s in everything now. (We can be certain that the dental industry will continue to grow along with pharmacy, and every other specialty symptom-managing chronic illnesses).

As one might be able to imagine, I felt quite disturbed by the 3 treatment options that I had been offered, without any sort of diet or lifestyle counseling being included. Had I chosen to go along with any of them, I would have suffered more dire consequences (from both medication classes offered to me) and potentially huge irreversible regrets, negative consequences, or at minimum: unnecessary financial loss (from surgery).

I became even more upset at the thought of all of the compliant patients out there, who trust a modern medicine doctor at their word; who may not do their own research; who may not implement diet or lifestyle modifications, prior to choosing from a list of potentially harmful treatment options, under the misguided notion that they truly are “the only options.”

How many women have suffered negative holistic health consequences here?

The OBGYN follow up appointment didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped for…

My OBGYN doctor listened to me and was respectful, but said that there was no real progress in my diagnosis, even though I went from unable to walk, to zero pain, within a matter of months, all due to diet change. I doubt that he added nutrition counseling to the list of 3 treatment options that he offers to patients for this diagnosis.

I chalked it up as “I did my best” to educate this specific doctor on how to better educate future patients by presenting diet as an effective treatment option for symptom relief, and I moved on with my life. MENSTRUAL PAIN FREE!!! Glory to God in the Highest!!! I am certain that if there are any underlying fertility issues present, that those also continue to improve, as my holistic health steadily advances beyond what I could ever imagine.

I pray for every reader to be blessed by what I have shared here. May we NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS! God’s will and design is for our bodies to enjoy PERFECT health! We go through various trials in order to learn important lessons. Often times, God is looking for us to implement necessary life changes along the way. (Faith without works is dead. )

May every reader here never forget that we are VICTORS; not victims!!!

God designed our bodies to be SELF-healing!

It is OUR responsibility to not feed and bathe our bodies in garbage, toxins, and poisons every day for years and then expect it to continue to operate as God had planned for it to…

Every individual is different. Only YOU can learn how to best support YOUR body’s unique set of needs. This is your duty!

Functional medicine can be a great place to find help on where to start. The Holy Spirit plus functional nutrition were my first guides which catapulted me out of debilitating illness, into normal function again.

It feels exhilarating to be able to share from my own personal experience that NOTHING feels quite like being back to “normal” and functional again, after months (and in some cases years) of depending on others for food, rides, and help with other activities of daily living!

I am praying for divine wisdom and healing to meet you in your health needs and goals, in Jesus mighty name.

Go forth today and be blessed! :) <3. Nothing is impossible with our God! If it’s not good, He isn’t done yet!

Please feel free to share this very personal testimony with any women in your life who may be able to pull inspiration, hope, wisdom, or practical advice from this blog post.

Love,

Christina Mariani Engle <3

DISCLAIMER:

***** I am clearly not a doctor and this blog post is not medical advice. *There is some rule on paper somewhere in this country that says that we should consult with a physician before implementing any common-sense healthy lifestyle choices. As mentioned before, consulting with a functional medicine doctor is a great place to start, if true healing is what you desire.

Another DISCLAIMER:

True healing HURTS and requires HARD WORK & consistency! The good news? We can be certain that it is ALWAYS worth every bit of this kind of pain and growth. :)

-Me, a Detroiter, in Texas, during Winter :)