I’d like to believe we’ve advanced our thinking since then, but unfortunately with the current American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) endometriosis guidelines, and the lack of clinical evidence around endometriosis and women’s health in general, myths like these can prevail in the clinical setting.  As a physician, it’s difficult to see OB-GYN’s in 2018 “prescribe” pregnancy as a cure for endometriosis when it is patently untrue.

Now, is it true that if a woman’s pain is only a few days around her period she may get relief during her pregnancy and for a period of time following delivery, especially if she is breast feeding. Some women may experience a generalized decrease in pain while pregnant. This is most likely due to hormonal changes and possibly a result of autoimmune features of pregnancy and stem cells that are produced during this time.  While unlikely, there are others who will have pregnancies that may have complications because of endometriosis (increased risk of placenta previa with deeply invasive disease), or become highly symptomatic in the post-partum period, and beyond, which of course can be very detrimental to both mother and child.

Pregnancy does not cure endometriosis. It is irresponsible and negligent for doctors to suggest pregnancy to a woman as a treatment for endometriosis, especially if she is in severe pain, as the pain will usually return after delivery. Having to take care of a newborn child while dealing with incapacitating pain only creates more problems for a woman suffering from endometriosis.  A physician recommending pregnancy as treatment for endometriosis is a red flag as it is a sign of a basic misunderstanding of this disease by the physician and makes it likely the patient hasn’t been properly treated, or sometimes even diagnosed.  As well, for a woman who does want to have children at that time, it can cause psychological trauma if she does not become pregnant after trying. All in all, it is time to take this centuries-old myth out of clinically-evidenced based medical practices.

The post The “Pregnancy Cures Endometriosis” Myth appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

Yesterday in the New York Times endometriosis patient Sindha Agha (not my patient) wrote a thought-provoking op-ed about her adventures in pharmaceutical hormone treatment for her endometriosis. What struck me the most about her accounts was the repetitive nature of hormones the care providers she saw offered. Over and over they offered her palliative treatments to her disease, with no thought to side effects or to an effective patient outcome. While Agha rightly was careful not to demonize birth control, what we are really talking about here is not birth control but treatment options for a disease than strike as many women as diabetes in their prime years, often rendering them with chronic, debilitating pain and organ dysfunction.

As a physician who treats endometriosis patients with wide excision surgical therapy, this makes me so sad. The fact that here we are more than twenty-five years after wide excision was pioneered, numerous clinical, peer-reviewed publications demonstrate it’s effectiveness, and the successes I’ve seen in my own practice of wide excision restoring women to their original vitality – yet ob-gyns are still just offering palliative care in the form of hormones, is dismaying to say the least. If hormones get the patient to the outcome she desires – functionality and return of quality of life, then they are an effective treatment. However, if they do not, we now know that delaying effective treatment to endometriosis patients in the form of palliative care can allow the disease to get more invasive and symptomatic. While there is currently no cure for endometriosis, wide excision surgery done by someone who can effectively identify the disease can be a highly effective therapy, and even curative. In addition, many women successfully manage their symptoms with alternative modalities from dietary changes to acupuncture. In short, health and wellness is not a pharmaceutical deficiency.

We now know that delaying effective treatment to endometriosis patients in the form of palliative care can allow the disease to get more invasive and symptomatic.

There are so many factors that play into the reasons for the lack of treatment options, including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) refusing to update their outdated standards of care for endometriosis, to larger structural issues our entire healthcare system now grapples with. Over and over, women who have this disease get lost in the shuffle. Fortunately there are so many amazing clinical and patient activists who fight daily for changes in standards of care from Casey Berna to Shannon Cohn.

When I see my patients, the first thing I always do is just listen. This simple but powerful tool allows me as the physician a window into a woman’s experience. I’m hoping ob-gyn’s across the country, ACOG, and the larger medical system start to listen too.

Dr. Andrew Cook

The post Thoughts on “Birth Control Your Own Adventure” appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

The radio segment called Stop Endometrioses and Pelvic Pain will air at 11:00 am ET/ 8:00 am PT. Both the live broadcast and recording of the segment can be heard on the Hayhouse Radio website.

Every Wednesday, Christiane Northrup, a well-renowned doctor and women’s wellness expert, hosts a weekly program on Hayhouse Radio called Flourish! where she interviews various specialists in different areas relating to women’s health and wellness.

For more information, contact Vital Health Endometriosis Center today.

The post Dr. Cook Joins Flourish! on Hayhouse Radio® with Dr. Christiane Northrup appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

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The Endometriosis Health & Diet Program, co-authored by Dr. Andrew Cook and Danielle Cook.

This comprehensive, integrative program for treating endometriosis, and serves as a starting point for building an individualized program. It explains the medical side of endometriosis and how lifestyle factors may impact the disease — it answers the “why” of this condition, including ways to strengthen your body to optimize your health through detoxification and stress reduction. This program includes 100 delicious inflammation reducing recipes and useful tips to manage symptoms and potentially slow or halt endometriosis disease.

Now available for order on Amazon: The Endometriosis Health & Diet Program

The post The Endometriosis Health & Diet Program: Available Now appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

Please tune into your local CBS station to see Dr Cook on Monday, 12-5-16, on The Doctors TV Program. It will air in California at various times, depending on location.  For those unable to watch the program at the airing time, there will be a post airing video available on our website, our Facebook page, and on The Doctors CBS website.  San Francisco Bay Area residents can view on KRON-TV at 2pm, Los Angeles Area can view on KCAL-TV at 11am.

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THANKS to Erin, Riverside Medical Clinic’s Endometriosis Support Group, for a great Webinar Hosting!  Here is the video of this Webinar :

The post RMC Endo Support Group Webinar with Dr Cook appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

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Announcing ~  Special 25% discount on tickets when you enter VitalHealth on the tickets page !  Special thanks to Shannon Cohn for this discount offer for all of our patients and Facebook fans ! 

Congratulations to Director and Producer Shannon Cohn, along with her production team : Patricio Cohn, Producer and Cinematographer, and Arix Zalace, Producer / Editor for this fine production.  We would like to extend a special thank you to the women in this film who so bravely and generously shared their stories and personal experiences. These testimonies have contributed greatly to the core content and are truly instrumental in depicting the impact of Endometriosis on women worldwide.  

The post Please join us for the Endo What? West Coast Premier on April 13th in San Francisco appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.

One young woman, Erika, would like to change that lack of awareness for young girls and teens experiencing chronic pelvic pain. Endometriosis Excision Ends Teen’s Years of Pelvic Pain is Erika’s video story of her four-year journey to reclaim her life without disabling pelvic pain.

“I just want other girls to realize that there is hope. You can regain your life. It’s not a life sentence of pain. If you get to the right surgeon you can regain your life and you can progress as a person without pain.”

Erika’s Endometriosis Diagnosis Mission

Erika has “gone public” with her story in the hope of helping other young girls and teens to avoid what she had to endure. Erika’s story recounts the battle she and her mother fought to overcome years of pelvic pain and misdiagnosis to finally reclaim her life.

Erika’s story – and her mother’s story – is a story of resilience and determination to find answers that would restore Erika’s life. Today, after her endometriosis surgery, she is without pelvic pain and living a normal life. Her message: “You can regain your life. It’s not a life sentence of pain.”

Erika had help – her mother, family and a streak of perseverance that finally got her a correct diagnosis of endometriosis. And she’s now just as tenacious in wanting young women and their families to insist on having their physicians consider the possibility of an endometriosis diagnosis in their diagnostic quest.

The post Teen’s Tenacity Leads to Endometriosis Diagnosis: Video Story appeared first on Vital Health Endometriosis Center.