Endometriosis and fatigue: what can you do?

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition. It is primarily this inflammation that causes fatigue. But other factors, such as treatments and their effects, managing pain, or the stress associated with the condition, also play a role.

Inflammation
 

In any chronic inflammatory condition, fatigue is among the commonly reported symptoms. Inflammation refers to a set of reactions generated by the body in response to an aggression. Fatigue is one of these reactions. Indeed, inflammation, perceived by the body as an anomaly and above all as a priority to resolve, mobilises all the necessary resources in order to return to a state of homeostasis (the body's balance maintained regardless of external constraints) as quickly as possible. This is why the body feels fatigued when experiencing inflammation.
 

Chronic fatigue is due to the fact that the immune system of the person affected is constantly fighting the condition.
 

During flu, when the immune system fights the virus to eliminate it, the person affected experiences intense fatigue for a few days. With endometriosis, this fatigue does not pass because the body cannot suppress the lesions.
 

In the case of endometriosis, chronic inflammation is generated by the presence of endometriosis lesions (nodules, cysts, implants, made up of cells resembling those of the endometrium, the lining that covers the inside of the uterus) in areas of the body where these cells should not be present.
 

Managing pain depletes energy reserves
 

Pain drains a great deal of energy. To manage pain, the body draws on its energy reserves. And since endometriosis is a chronic condition whose symptoms are constant or recur regularly, the body has no time to recover.
 

All the more so because, very often, pain affects sleep quality and prevents women with endometriosis from recovering properly at night. Our sleep food supplement can help you fall asleep more quickly and support restorative sleep.
 

Stress and anxiety are also major contributors to fatigue
 

Stress and anxiety can also be significant sources of fatigue. As someone living with a chronic condition, women with endometriosis must manage the limitations generated by the condition (having to take time off work, not being able to move around easily, having to organise their lives around their flare-ups).

The mental load associated with the condition, which inevitably causes fatigue, is also due to the need to manage treatments, medical appointments with specialists and complementary therapists, and so on.
 

Our range of fatigue food supplement, based on magnesium in particular, helps to replenish energy levels and reduce stress.

Liver weakness can also be a source of fatigue

A liver that is not functioning optimally is one of the other causes of chronic fatigue.
The liver performs various functions:
- it helps to digest properly or synthesise vitamins
- it also helps to "eliminate" some of the body's "waste products"
- it helps to metabolise oestrogens in order to eliminate them

When it is functioning poorly, as is often the case with endometriosis, it struggles to "eliminate" what needs to be eliminated. These accumulated "waste products" then clog the body, which reduces the efficiency of its functioning and consequently causes fatigue.
 

To all of these causes, we can also add the side effects of certain medical treatments (the pill or induced menopause) and recovery from surgery.

Several studies have shown that endometriosis is a condition very frequently associated with chronic fatigue syndrome [4].

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a neurological condition characterised by prolonged fatigue that impairs the daily functioning of those affected.
 

This condition can appear suddenly in someone in good health without the exact causes being clearly identified.
 

Gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis but also ovarian cysts, polycystic ovaries, uterine fibroids and galactorrhoea, are strongly implicated in this condition [5].

Chronic fatigue caused by endometriosis is not inevitable. There are solutions to help you regain your vitality.

Adapting your lifestyle to support your immune system, taking a women's food supplement and putting new strategies in place to organise daily life are avenues worth exploring.

To replenish the essential nutrients needed to reduce fatigue, you can take a women's multivitamin supplement, such as Mama essentials. 

Finally: moving. Getting moving helps to oxygenate the body and support its natural regeneration process. Physical activity also helps to calm the mind and ease stress. Movement stimulates the release of two types of hormones: endorphins and serotonin, both of which have an anti-stress effect
 

Movement can also help you to sleep better at night and to feel more energised during the day.
 

With endometriosis, it is advisable to practise gentle forms of exercise (walking, gentle yoga, qi gong, etc.) and to avoid high-impact sports, which can increase inflammation and therefore potentially worsen fatigue.

The spoon theory: a tool for managing your energy according to your resources

Invented by Christine Miserandino[6] (who has lupus, a chronic autoimmune condition), the spoon theory is a metaphor used to illustrate the management of physical and mental energy available to people living with chronic illness.
 

Every daily activity uses one or more "spoons", which represent a unit of energy, given that people with chronic fatigue only have a limited number of spoons available each day.
 

A person living with a chronic illness must therefore choose and select their activities — sometimes considered trivial (getting up, getting dressed, travelling somewhere) — according to the number of spoons they have available, whereas a person without such a condition has an unlimited or significantly greater number of spoons.
 

This strategy allows women with endometriosis to organise their day as effectively as possible in order to minimise the risk of exhaustion.
 

Getting to know your menstrual cycle to better organise your energy throughout the month
 

For women who follow a natural cycle, it is possible to draw on the different energy levels experienced throughout the menstrual cycle in order to adapt pace and activities to the body's actual capacity.

Knowing how calculate your ovulation can help you navigate your cycle and better manage its different phases.