Functional Medicine for Chronic Pain and Endometriosis with Jessica Drummond

Dr. Jessica Drummond is the CEO of The Integrative Women’s Health Institute and author of Outsmart Endometriosis. She holds licenses in physical therapy and clinical nutrition and is a board certified health coach. She has 20 years of experience working with women with chronic pelvic pain, facilitates educational programs for women’s health professionals in more than 60 countries globally, and leads virtual wellness programs for people with endometriosis. Dr. Drummond lives and works with her husband and daughters between Houston, Texas, and Fairfield, Connecticut.

In this episode we talked about:

• Jessica started to incorporate a Functional Medicine approach in her work as a Physical Therapist after personal experience of adrenal fatigue related to Epstein-Barr and secondary infertility
• Working with nutrition and pelvic or chronic pain clients
• The American healthcare system is complex and costly
• The Integrative Women’s Health Institute https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/
• The power of listening and trusting that the patients knows themselves better than anyone
• Burnout for clinicians as cogs in the healthcare system is rife
• Giving people autonomy over their schedule, to enable a more personalised and cyclical life, could hugely improve productivity
• Work will forever be changed post-Covid-19
• The Industrial Revolution working day of 8am-5pm is aligned with the male hormonal health. Male testosterone peaks around 7.30am, drops off around 12pm and declines by 3.30/4pm
• Now we have more accessibility to work remotely, and for different hours
• Some kids are studying better during lockdown as the old schedules don’t have to be adhered to
• People will start to create their own schedules and their own ways of working, which can enhance productivity
• Endometriosis can be pointed to by: family history, history of GIT symptoms, pain during intercourse, painful periods, bladder pain, vulvar pain, fatigue and anxiety, infertility
• Diagnosis of endometriosis is by laparoscopy
• Surgery is advised in teens or twenties
• Functional nutrition to optimise the immune response
• If lesions are not seen on imaging, it does not rule out endometriosis
• Relating to others who have also had a chronic/ mystery illness
• Having to make complicated decisions without having all the information
• An anti-inflammatory diet, close to paleo to optimise digestive function
• The benefits of simple cooking techniques
• Daily herbs and spices such as garlic, oregano, rosemary, ginger and tumeric
• “Nutrition is a huge needle-mover”
• The power of a consistent meditation/ mindfulness/ prayer practice to calm the nervous system and as an antidote to modern life
• Committing to sleep better: turn off blue light exposure around 8.30/9pm, have exposure to daylight for setting the circadian rhythms, having a buildup of adenosine (burning the energy that builds up during the day), balancing blood sugar levels
• To determine the right intensity of exercise, ask yourself “do I feel nourished or depleted” straight after, 2 hours after and the next morning after exercise
• Walk for 30 minutes a day
• 10 minutes twice a day of bodyweight strength training
• Prior to ovulation is when testosterone and oestrogen levels are at their highest, so where you can push the workout and performance. In the luteal phase, post-ovulation, maintain those gains. Just before the period is a great recovery time e.g more sleep, stretching, walking
• Space to slow down and keep things in balance

Resources:

Outsmart Endometriosis – Jessica’s Newest Book!

Outsmart Endometriosis: Relieve Your Symptoms and Get Your Career Back on Track

Nutrition for Relieving Pelvic Pain: Fueling the Patient/Practitioner Healing Partnership

Nutrition for Relieving Pelvic Pain: Fueling the Patient/Practitioner Healing Partnership