Valerie Ann Worwood - The Endometriosis Natural Treatment Program: A Complete Self-Help Plan for Improving Health & Well-Being

Copyright 2003, 2007 by Valerie Ann Worwood and Julia Stonehouse

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Abdominal cavity illustration on page 4 by Claire Thorne

Text design and typography by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Worwood, Valerie Ann.

The endometriosis natural treatment program : a complete self-help plan for improving health and well-being / Valerie Worwood and Julia Stonehouse.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57731-569-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Endometriosis Popular works. 2. Endometriosis Alternative treatment Popular works. I. Stonehouse, Julia. II. Title.

RG483.E53W77 2007

First printing, June 2007

ISBN-10: 1-57731-569-3

ISBN-13: 978-1-57731-569-8

Printed in the United States on acid-free, partially recycled paper

New World Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative.

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The material in this book is not meant to take the place of a diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. Before making any decisions or taking any actions or choosing, as a result of the material in this book, to undertake no action consult with your physician or gynecologist. At the time of this writing, all information contained in this book is believed to be correct. Since the actual use of information contained in this book by a third party is beyond the authors and publishers control, no expressed or implied guarantee concerning its effects can be given nor liability taken, at any time, now or in the future, arising either directly or indirectly from reliance on the information, advice, or suggestions contained within this book, or in respect of any error or omission. Any application of the information set forth on the following pages is at the readers sole discretion and risk, and the authors and publisher assume no responsibility for any actions taken either now or in the future.

M illions of women suffer from endometriosis, and their symptoms range from occasional discomfort to severe pain, along with other indicators that can persist for long periods and seriously impair their overall well-being and their family, professional, and social lives. If you are one of these women, you, like many others, may have found that conventional medical treatments offer limited relief at best. The Endometriosis Natural Treatment Program will help you take control of your endometriosis. This book focuses less on the problems of the condition than on the solutions, on making a series of slow, steady improvements that you yourself control.

The treatment program presented here was designed by one of the authors, Valerie Ann Worwood, a complementary-health practitioner and clinical aromatherapist who has shown that endometriosis can be treated in the context of a professional, holistic, complementary-medicine setting. For more than twenty years, she has used the plan to treat women of various ages and diverse cultures. All have experienced positive results, to differing degrees. Some followed the program to obtain relief while waiting for surgery, only to be told when the surgery took place that their endometriosis could no longer be found. Women with irregular menstrual cycles have found that the treatment plan has brought them into a regular cycle. It is not unusual for a woman following this program to become pregnant after having been told she was unlikely to conceive. These benefits stem from using this completely natural, noninvasive, simple set of lifestyle changes and procedures that can be carried out at home.

A brief version of this program appeared in The Fragrant Pharmacy (published in 1990 in the United States as The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy), a book that has subsequently been translated into several languages. We cannot know how many women with endometriosis have used the information in these books and benefited from it, but correspondence from all over the world has shown that many women have succeeded in using the suggestions to treat their own endometriosis.

In 1991, Valerie Ann Worwood adapted her treatment methods for a research trial with practitioners registered with the International Federation of Aromatherapists and women from the U.K. National Endometriosis Society. The trial set out to test the effectiveness of the method on women with endometriosis in reducing pain and other symptoms, as well as in improving general well-being. The participants in the study were carefully selected to exclude all other medical conditions and were precluded from using any other form of professional or self-help treatment during the twenty-four weeks of the trial: they could take no medications, nutritional supplements, or herbs, and could not use essential oils or undergo acupuncture or other complementary treatments that might confuse the trial results. Even though the trial used only one of the components of the self-help program given in this book, the results were impressive.

The program outlined on the following pages can be safely used with other medical treatments and is much more comprehensive than the version used in the research trial and the information provided in previous publications. This book presents and explains the many tools available to women who want to use natural methods to reduce the debilitating symptoms of endometriosis. It offers precise essential-oil formulations, self-massage techniques, and bath routines that, when carried out at home, appear to be effective in the treatment and management of endometriosis. The book offers recommendations for diet and lifestyle that reduce exposure to food compounds and environmental toxins that have been shown to exacerbate symptoms, and it emphasizes choices that boost the bodys own defenses and healing processes. The program shows how self-massage, bodywork techniques, and exercise can help stimulate the body into self-healing. Finally, it outlines techniques for using essential oils, herbs, and homeopathic preparations that can be extremely effective in stimulating the bodys own healing mechanisms.

Keeping detailed records of your symptoms, diet, activities, and treatment will help you monitor the effectiveness of your self-care program and supply valuable information to your physician and other health-care providers. Forms to help you with this record keeping are included in .