My daughter was recently diagnosed with an ovarian cyst on both ovaries by her gyno and was prescribed a cocktail of painkillers and birth control pills. Since she would love to have a baby and had suffered side effects from contraceptive pills in the past, she was reluctant to start taking them again. Having heard horror stories from other women about ovarian cysts growing larger and leading to surgery and possible removal of her ovaries, she was desperate for an alternative treatment of ovarian cysts that would work naturally with her body to offer pain relief and get rid of the cysts. I would like to share with you, a lot of useful information which she obtained from a visit to a naturopathic consultant.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a complex disorder which needs to be assessed for each individual and so she decided to visit a naturopathic consultant who was able to do a full history, including personal and family medical history, medications, diet and lifestyle before advising her about possible treatment of ovarian cysts.
Ovarian cysts are small sacs on the ovaries containing fluid. They are usually benign and quite often disappear on their own accord after a couple of menstrual cycles. Some of them, however, have the ability to grow larger and they can twist or rupture causing immense pain. Women who suffer from PCOS are producing excessive amounts of androgen, which is a male hormone, which results in some unpleasant symptoms such as excessive facial hair growth, weight problems and irregular ovulation and menstruation. Other causes of ovarian cysts are obesity, poor liver function, thyroid function, insulin resistance, exposure to synthetic estrogens and nutrient deficiencies.
Natural treatment for ovarian cysts involves using a mixture of vitamin supplements and herbal remedies, coupled with changes in diet, which all work naturally with the body to help balance the hormone levels. Evening Primrose oil is an anti inflammatory and also a hormonal modulator for the female reproductive system whilst B Vitamin Complex will help as a gentle anti oxidant, regulate the menstrual cycle, reduce excessive amounts of androgen and also begin to shrink the cyst.
With regard to diet the following guidelines should be adopted:
1. Change to a low fat, whole food and mostly vegetarian diet
2. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables, oily fish, tofu products, soy milk and grains such as millet, brown rice and buckwheat.
3. Cut back on the amount of red meat, dairy, wheat and sugar that is consumed.
4. Increase live growing foods such as barleygrass, wheatgrass, sprouts and soaked grains and seeds.
5. Drink vegetable juice in place of fruit juice.
6. Increase the amount of water intake in the form of herbal teas and filtered water
7. Avoid alcohol and smoking
Finally, there are plenty of herbal remedies that are well worth trying out. False Unicorn helps to regulate ovulation and normalise follicular development in women suffering from PCOS and Chase Berry lowers excessively high estrogen levels whilst increasing progesterone levels.
A naturopathic consultant can make up a tincture containing the various mineral and herbal supplements that he thinks will be most beneficial for you and it is also worthwhile asking your doctor for a thyroid function test together with a hormone test, to give a clear picture of what is going on with your hormones. It will take anything from 3-6 months to balance the hormones using natural products and ovarian cysts will change in their size and formation each menstrual cycle due to oestrogen production.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to treating ovarian cysts by natural methods and there are numerous treatments and remedies that a woman can do herself at home that have a high success rate.
You shouldn’t have to life with the pain and worry of an ovarian cyst. Life is too short to be spent moping at home, doubled up with pain. Instead you can be living a pain free, happy existence by taking control of your own body and using natural means of treating it.