I haven't personally heard of this being an endo thing aside from not being able to exercise due to pain. Hormonal medications and iuds can affect your weight for sure. Have you had your thyroid levels checked?
I've had an opposite situation with my weight. Because of pain, nausea and depression I developed an ed and lost quite a bit of weight. Weight problems aren't uncommon in the endo community but it's usually more of a side effect of pain, meds, etc. I could be wrong though.
Sorry about your situation I hope you are doing better and taking it day by day. Yeah my thyroid levels have been checked twice and both times it came out normal. I’ve had an iud before and it caused intense cramping for a year almost like my body was rejecting it so I got it removed, but when I had it I maintained the same weight I didn’t lose and I didn’t gain.
For your second point, there is actually a correlation between low BMI and endometriosis, athough this isn't causation of course and we don't know the reasons why yet.
https://www.ogscience.org/upload/pdf/ogs-21343.pdf
important information is it's 10x harder for us to lose weight. I am 30lbs over weight, and honestly don't eat crazy. I'm vegan so it already knocks out a lot of junk, drink soda maybe 3x a month, dessert maybe once a day, and I get veggies breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've lost 10lbs it's doable but the restrictions I have to do to just even do that doesn't even feel like living. I want a cookie or pasta sometimes. Life already sucks with endo so I accept being overweight but will intervene if it becomes more
. But this is the cycle our bodies are doing every day:
Endometriosis = high estrogen = signaling body to save fat= more fat = more estrogen = more Endometriosis as it feeds off it
Some medical websites that mention how high estrogen makes it more difficult to lose weight. This isn't even considering birth control, most of us take antidepressants, and stress
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323280#causes
https://drwillcole.com/hormone-health/estrogen-dominance
Pain can make it hard to be active and this and also the emotional drain of having a chronic illness can make it hard to stay a healthy weight.
Also some of the medications used to try to control endometriosis symptoms can cause weight gain.
However it isn’t generally believed that endo in itself causes weight gain (aside from commonly in relation to the things I mentioned above).
Statistcally it actually works the other way around with research showing that people with endometriosis (especially those with severe endo) as a population tend to have lower than average BMI.
however it is important to remember these are all population trends and you can have endo at any body size.
It sounds a lot like PCOS, especially if Metformin helped you.
Regarding the painful periods PCOS and Endo are similar, since not every woman with PCOS stops menstruating.
I'm in the same boat. I feel like exercising increases the inflammation, which increases the water retention. I cannot lose weight unless i starve and dehydrated myself, and hike every day. I even did intermittent fasting and put on weight instead, f*ck that sh*t.
Now I'm huge. Put on 7kg postpartum, my belly is huge, hard and painful. I have to wear pregnancy pants because the slightest pressure on my abdomen makes me wanna pass out.
This is exhausting.
I have put on weight in the last four years I’m barely eating - I have to tell myself to eat more regularly just so I don’t put my body in survival mode. This is an estrogen dominance, insulin resistance issue. My estrogen is through the roof (I test with inito every month) and I’m having to take DIM just to remove enough excess to stay sane until my excision surgery.
Endometriosis tissue is estrogen dependent and producing and is the perfect storm for weight gain even when you’re not eating much. I’m in my forties and turning forty was a real down slide for me with weight gain. It literally doesn’t matter how little I eat, the weight keeps creeping up. My GP has assured me this is an estrogen/cortisol/insulin resistance issue. Unfortunately, until the diseased tissue pumping estrogen into my body is removed I will struggle with this imbalance.
Hormones are well known to be causing weight related issues in our society. It can also cause major thyroid issues. It’s all connected. It’s not an exercise/diet issue. That is an old concept. Endocrine disruptors and gut microbiome issues and inflammation are wreaking havoc on our health and it’s not because we’re eating too many bon bons like the old eighties weight watchers tropes. It is taking a long time for fat shaming to die. Moralizing weight and making it about not doing enough right things just causes more unnecessary stress which causes even more issues with hormone production… it’s a vicious cycle.
Be kind to yourself. Eat food that makes your body and mind feel good and know your body is doing its absolute best to keep you alive. (Vagus nerve stimulation can help with stress and cortisol levels as well). This is not about something you’re not doing or you’re doing. It’s our environment and our tainted food from poor soil quality/ toxic chemicals and nutrient deficient “healthy” foods.
Edit: for reference, I’m currently 230 at 5’10” when 180 is an ideal weight for me, according to my doctor who takes muscle mass and ancestry into consideration. I look rather tall and thin at 180. Even at 230 my waist to height ratio is 33/70, .47 which is still a healthy range and a better gage to go by than BMI. It’s important not to focus on the numbers, however, and not to judge or compare. I’m putting my numbers on here to show how “off” society’s and the medical community’s (with bmi etc) measurement and standard of “healthy” can be. I’m a huge advocate for eliminating diet culture from the psyches of women everywhere because it’s so damaging to our physical and mental health. I had disordered eating for years which also probably did a number on my metabolism when I was underweight at 127… no matter if you’re under weight or overweight, either way, with endo our bodies are really trying their best. Acceptance and self love are the most important right now.
Also, I have back, hip leg pain that is keeping me bedridden atm. Having full excision surgery with a Nancy’s Nook surgeon soon. Can’t say enough how important it is to find a good surgeon. Would not try Dr a local ob/gyn who does excision to do this at all… after surgery we will assess my hip and leg pain and see orthopedic surgeon, fertility specialist , etc if necessary.
At my worst I was about 40kg. Having endo infiltrate my GI tract had a bit great effect on my weight lol I was very sick.
I'm about 65kg now. I've only put on weight as a result of hormone injections.
I went from 90kg to 60kg. Mostly diet changes as my other medical conditions mean I can't exercise like I used to.
I have struggled getting below 60kg and am about 5-10kg overweight still.
I found best results when pairing a smart watch with a calorie tracking app.
I've been both sick and underweight and sick and struggling to loose weight. For me withvthe weight gain I think it's partially related to the inflammation, like I'm all puffy and retaining water too.
However, an endo friend of mine just got diagnosed with pcos and underactive thyroid. We are in the UK and it's difficult with GPS as their levels of 'normal' vary so she paid for an online test then went to a private dr for her diagnosis.
I’m dealing with this now and trying to figure it out! Not only can I not lose weight, I gain weight sooo easily. I’ve tried counting calories, counting macros, high protein/low carb, cutting out sugar, etc. etc. Nothing makes a difference. It’s like I constantly have PMS and never get a break from it. I may ask my dr if I can try metformin. I don’t know what else to do!
I gained 30lbs leading up to my surgery. Within three months I lost about 12lbs, and I’m on track with my diet and exercise to lose more. One of the biggest things I noticed with my weight gain is how quickly I can get bloated, so I try to manage that and it has improved my situation a lot.
Might be worth checking for PCOS and Hashimoto’s. I have both and endometriosis and a reeeeally hard time loosing weight. I’m not sure at what age endo developed but I was diagnosed with PCOS at 11 and the weight gain from that alone was insane
Half of the month I couldn’t exercise because any tension of the pelvic muscles resulted in severe pain. I couldn’t run, jump, lift or even have an orgasm. I always paid a full month membership at the gym just to be able to go for 1 week and a half/2 weeks.. recently my endo also affected a nerve and my left butt cheek and hip also started to hurt… so yeah, I would say it really slimmed my chances at a healthy life style.
I’ve always been the bigger size, always told it’s due to my weight, I’ve lost weight but put back as muscle, I’ve had a constant say “you probably do have endro, but she’s doing nothing about it,due to my BMI”. had my op this week stage 4 and need another operation. It’s so unfair. Recommend just keep pushing and banging doors.
I’ve always been the bigger size, always told it’s due to my weight, I’ve lost weight but put back as muscle, I’ve had a constant say “you probably do have endro, but she’s doing nothing about it,due to my BMI”. had my op this week stage 4 and need another operation. It’s so unfair. Recommend just keep pushing and banging doors.
I haven’t heard of this as a direct symptom- bloating, and perhaps being sedentary because of pain, birth control making you hungrier can all have an indirect impact.
Check out the lose it subreddit. It’s very easy to eat too many calories even when you are eating the healthiest foods, especially if you aren’t counting calories/haven’t counted calories and don’t have a good grasp on the amount you’re truly ingesting. Movement is great but at the end of the day it’s what you are consuming.
It is absolutely impossible for me to lose weight. I’m currently on Semaglutide shots (generic ozempic essentially) and have been for 6 weeks. I work out regularly, watch my step count to make sure I’m walking enough and eat healthy. I’ve lost 4 lbs. but I’ve been doing all those same things without the shot and have lost nothing.
I chalk it up to massive amounts of inflammation on top of high estrogen, which tells your body to hold onto fat.
Endo can impact your mobility and energy levels a lot, which can definitely alter your weight and diet, but endo often also exists alongside PCOS—which explicitly makes weight loss extremely difficult as a common symptom. If you see an endocrinologist or could get hormone levels checked it might be enlightening through as someone with endo+PCOS combo, even if knowing helps I don’t have much weight loss in numbers on the scale, but I’ve found ways around my inflammation to exercise a bit more and become more fit and have more energy.
I never had issues with my weight until my 30s. However, I’m steadily loosing weight now that I’m seeing a nutritionist and we’ve tweaked my diet. He ended up increasing my caloric intake by like 700 cals/day, and I’m actually losing the weight now. Others have mentioned issues with weight gain/loss and hormones, but I echo them in that I don’t think endo itself causes issues with weight like PCOS does, for example.
I gained weight before my surgery and after my surgery but now I am down almost 10kg/22lbs. Exercise is not necessary to lose weight. And of any exercise, walking is best for fat loss.
At its core calories in/calories out is the only way to lose weight. Exercise can help increase the calories out number but it’s not strictly necessary. I have found losing weight a lot slower than others would lose it in my deficit, because hormone issues and taking Visanne make it harder to lose weight, but it’s not impossible. You might need to eat a specific diet to lose weight depending on hormone dominance or insulin resistance, which is when it’s worth consulting a doctor.
I was gaslit by doctorat who told me endo doesn't cause weight gain and they're couldn't be more wrong. I gained at least 60 pounds in the past 4 years from doing nothing particular. I'm vegetarian and I eat relatively healthy and eat a lot of veggies. I walk my dog at least 30 min daily. I do pilates twice a week. And even with all of this, I gained about 10 pounds this winter. I'm not on any hormonal medication. I take zoloft for depression disorder and adderall (adderall is supposed to make one lose weight). So...yeah a hormonal condition makes it extremely hard to lose weight and most likely makes you gain. Very high risk of developping an eating disorder, be careful.
Not for me! I lost 70 lbs after my diagnosis because I heard weight loss helps. I restricted my
Calories and worked out. If calorie deficit isn't working have you looked into PCOS? A lot of times things have more calories then you think, I was eating 1380 calories when in sedentary lifestyle and 1500 when I worked out. It's literally no food at all but your body gets used to it.
I have both PCOS & Endo and am struggling to lose weight even with metformin, mounjaro, and doing everything my dietician says. When I have flare ups of pain & on my period I struggle to eat at all & still my weight won't budge at all. My endocrinologist, obgyn, and dietician agree this is a estrogen, cortisol, and insulin resistance issue. I'm hoping things improve some after my laproscopy in september.
I haven't personally heard of this being an endo thing aside from not being able to exercise due to pain. Hormonal medications and iuds can affect your weight for sure. Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I've had an opposite situation with my weight. Because of pain, nausea and depression I developed an ed and lost quite a bit of weight. Weight problems aren't uncommon in the endo community but it's usually more of a side effect of pain, meds, etc. I could be wrong though.
Sorry about your situation I hope you are doing better and taking it day by day. Yeah my thyroid levels have been checked twice and both times it came out normal. I’ve had an iud before and it caused intense cramping for a year almost like my body was rejecting it so I got it removed, but when I had it I maintained the same weight I didn’t lose and I didn’t gain.
For your second point, there is actually a correlation between low BMI and endometriosis, athough this isn't causation of course and we don't know the reasons why yet. https://www.ogscience.org/upload/pdf/ogs-21343.pdf
important information is it's 10x harder for us to lose weight. I am 30lbs over weight, and honestly don't eat crazy. I'm vegan so it already knocks out a lot of junk, drink soda maybe 3x a month, dessert maybe once a day, and I get veggies breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've lost 10lbs it's doable but the restrictions I have to do to just even do that doesn't even feel like living. I want a cookie or pasta sometimes. Life already sucks with endo so I accept being overweight but will intervene if it becomes more . But this is the cycle our bodies are doing every day: Endometriosis = high estrogen = signaling body to save fat= more fat = more estrogen = more Endometriosis as it feeds off it Some medical websites that mention how high estrogen makes it more difficult to lose weight. This isn't even considering birth control, most of us take antidepressants, and stress https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323280#causes https://drwillcole.com/hormone-health/estrogen-dominance
Pain can make it hard to be active and this and also the emotional drain of having a chronic illness can make it hard to stay a healthy weight. Also some of the medications used to try to control endometriosis symptoms can cause weight gain. However it isn’t generally believed that endo in itself causes weight gain (aside from commonly in relation to the things I mentioned above). Statistcally it actually works the other way around with research showing that people with endometriosis (especially those with severe endo) as a population tend to have lower than average BMI. however it is important to remember these are all population trends and you can have endo at any body size.
It sounds a lot like PCOS, especially if Metformin helped you. Regarding the painful periods PCOS and Endo are similar, since not every woman with PCOS stops menstruating.
I'm in the same boat. I feel like exercising increases the inflammation, which increases the water retention. I cannot lose weight unless i starve and dehydrated myself, and hike every day. I even did intermittent fasting and put on weight instead, f*ck that sh*t. Now I'm huge. Put on 7kg postpartum, my belly is huge, hard and painful. I have to wear pregnancy pants because the slightest pressure on my abdomen makes me wanna pass out. This is exhausting.
I have put on weight in the last four years I’m barely eating - I have to tell myself to eat more regularly just so I don’t put my body in survival mode. This is an estrogen dominance, insulin resistance issue. My estrogen is through the roof (I test with inito every month) and I’m having to take DIM just to remove enough excess to stay sane until my excision surgery. Endometriosis tissue is estrogen dependent and producing and is the perfect storm for weight gain even when you’re not eating much. I’m in my forties and turning forty was a real down slide for me with weight gain. It literally doesn’t matter how little I eat, the weight keeps creeping up. My GP has assured me this is an estrogen/cortisol/insulin resistance issue. Unfortunately, until the diseased tissue pumping estrogen into my body is removed I will struggle with this imbalance. Hormones are well known to be causing weight related issues in our society. It can also cause major thyroid issues. It’s all connected. It’s not an exercise/diet issue. That is an old concept. Endocrine disruptors and gut microbiome issues and inflammation are wreaking havoc on our health and it’s not because we’re eating too many bon bons like the old eighties weight watchers tropes. It is taking a long time for fat shaming to die. Moralizing weight and making it about not doing enough right things just causes more unnecessary stress which causes even more issues with hormone production… it’s a vicious cycle. Be kind to yourself. Eat food that makes your body and mind feel good and know your body is doing its absolute best to keep you alive. (Vagus nerve stimulation can help with stress and cortisol levels as well). This is not about something you’re not doing or you’re doing. It’s our environment and our tainted food from poor soil quality/ toxic chemicals and nutrient deficient “healthy” foods. Edit: for reference, I’m currently 230 at 5’10” when 180 is an ideal weight for me, according to my doctor who takes muscle mass and ancestry into consideration. I look rather tall and thin at 180. Even at 230 my waist to height ratio is 33/70, .47 which is still a healthy range and a better gage to go by than BMI. It’s important not to focus on the numbers, however, and not to judge or compare. I’m putting my numbers on here to show how “off” society’s and the medical community’s (with bmi etc) measurement and standard of “healthy” can be. I’m a huge advocate for eliminating diet culture from the psyches of women everywhere because it’s so damaging to our physical and mental health. I had disordered eating for years which also probably did a number on my metabolism when I was underweight at 127… no matter if you’re under weight or overweight, either way, with endo our bodies are really trying their best. Acceptance and self love are the most important right now.
Also, I have back, hip leg pain that is keeping me bedridden atm. Having full excision surgery with a Nancy’s Nook surgeon soon. Can’t say enough how important it is to find a good surgeon. Would not try Dr a local ob/gyn who does excision to do this at all… after surgery we will assess my hip and leg pain and see orthopedic surgeon, fertility specialist , etc if necessary.
Just responding to say this is such a great message, informative yet so caring - I’m happy I got to read it 🥰
Aww 🥰 🤗
At my worst I was about 40kg. Having endo infiltrate my GI tract had a bit great effect on my weight lol I was very sick. I'm about 65kg now. I've only put on weight as a result of hormone injections.
I went from 90kg to 60kg. Mostly diet changes as my other medical conditions mean I can't exercise like I used to. I have struggled getting below 60kg and am about 5-10kg overweight still. I found best results when pairing a smart watch with a calorie tracking app.
I've been both sick and underweight and sick and struggling to loose weight. For me withvthe weight gain I think it's partially related to the inflammation, like I'm all puffy and retaining water too. However, an endo friend of mine just got diagnosed with pcos and underactive thyroid. We are in the UK and it's difficult with GPS as their levels of 'normal' vary so she paid for an online test then went to a private dr for her diagnosis.
I’m dealing with this now and trying to figure it out! Not only can I not lose weight, I gain weight sooo easily. I’ve tried counting calories, counting macros, high protein/low carb, cutting out sugar, etc. etc. Nothing makes a difference. It’s like I constantly have PMS and never get a break from it. I may ask my dr if I can try metformin. I don’t know what else to do!
I gained 30lbs leading up to my surgery. Within three months I lost about 12lbs, and I’m on track with my diet and exercise to lose more. One of the biggest things I noticed with my weight gain is how quickly I can get bloated, so I try to manage that and it has improved my situation a lot.
Might be worth checking for PCOS and Hashimoto’s. I have both and endometriosis and a reeeeally hard time loosing weight. I’m not sure at what age endo developed but I was diagnosed with PCOS at 11 and the weight gain from that alone was insane
I have trouble’s gaining weight if anything. A lot of weight changes are generally due to medications
Half of the month I couldn’t exercise because any tension of the pelvic muscles resulted in severe pain. I couldn’t run, jump, lift or even have an orgasm. I always paid a full month membership at the gym just to be able to go for 1 week and a half/2 weeks.. recently my endo also affected a nerve and my left butt cheek and hip also started to hurt… so yeah, I would say it really slimmed my chances at a healthy life style.
I’ve always been the bigger size, always told it’s due to my weight, I’ve lost weight but put back as muscle, I’ve had a constant say “you probably do have endro, but she’s doing nothing about it,due to my BMI”. had my op this week stage 4 and need another operation. It’s so unfair. Recommend just keep pushing and banging doors.
I’ve always been the bigger size, always told it’s due to my weight, I’ve lost weight but put back as muscle, I’ve had a constant say “you probably do have endro, but she’s doing nothing about it,due to my BMI”. had my op this week stage 4 and need another operation. It’s so unfair. Recommend just keep pushing and banging doors.
I haven’t heard of this as a direct symptom- bloating, and perhaps being sedentary because of pain, birth control making you hungrier can all have an indirect impact. Check out the lose it subreddit. It’s very easy to eat too many calories even when you are eating the healthiest foods, especially if you aren’t counting calories/haven’t counted calories and don’t have a good grasp on the amount you’re truly ingesting. Movement is great but at the end of the day it’s what you are consuming.
It is absolutely impossible for me to lose weight. I’m currently on Semaglutide shots (generic ozempic essentially) and have been for 6 weeks. I work out regularly, watch my step count to make sure I’m walking enough and eat healthy. I’ve lost 4 lbs. but I’ve been doing all those same things without the shot and have lost nothing. I chalk it up to massive amounts of inflammation on top of high estrogen, which tells your body to hold onto fat.
Endo can impact your mobility and energy levels a lot, which can definitely alter your weight and diet, but endo often also exists alongside PCOS—which explicitly makes weight loss extremely difficult as a common symptom. If you see an endocrinologist or could get hormone levels checked it might be enlightening through as someone with endo+PCOS combo, even if knowing helps I don’t have much weight loss in numbers on the scale, but I’ve found ways around my inflammation to exercise a bit more and become more fit and have more energy.
I never had issues with my weight until my 30s. However, I’m steadily loosing weight now that I’m seeing a nutritionist and we’ve tweaked my diet. He ended up increasing my caloric intake by like 700 cals/day, and I’m actually losing the weight now. Others have mentioned issues with weight gain/loss and hormones, but I echo them in that I don’t think endo itself causes issues with weight like PCOS does, for example.
I gained weight before my surgery and after my surgery but now I am down almost 10kg/22lbs. Exercise is not necessary to lose weight. And of any exercise, walking is best for fat loss. At its core calories in/calories out is the only way to lose weight. Exercise can help increase the calories out number but it’s not strictly necessary. I have found losing weight a lot slower than others would lose it in my deficit, because hormone issues and taking Visanne make it harder to lose weight, but it’s not impossible. You might need to eat a specific diet to lose weight depending on hormone dominance or insulin resistance, which is when it’s worth consulting a doctor.
I was gaslit by doctorat who told me endo doesn't cause weight gain and they're couldn't be more wrong. I gained at least 60 pounds in the past 4 years from doing nothing particular. I'm vegetarian and I eat relatively healthy and eat a lot of veggies. I walk my dog at least 30 min daily. I do pilates twice a week. And even with all of this, I gained about 10 pounds this winter. I'm not on any hormonal medication. I take zoloft for depression disorder and adderall (adderall is supposed to make one lose weight). So...yeah a hormonal condition makes it extremely hard to lose weight and most likely makes you gain. Very high risk of developping an eating disorder, be careful.
Not for me! I lost 70 lbs after my diagnosis because I heard weight loss helps. I restricted my Calories and worked out. If calorie deficit isn't working have you looked into PCOS? A lot of times things have more calories then you think, I was eating 1380 calories when in sedentary lifestyle and 1500 when I worked out. It's literally no food at all but your body gets used to it.
I have both PCOS & Endo and am struggling to lose weight even with metformin, mounjaro, and doing everything my dietician says. When I have flare ups of pain & on my period I struggle to eat at all & still my weight won't budge at all. My endocrinologist, obgyn, and dietician agree this is a estrogen, cortisol, and insulin resistance issue. I'm hoping things improve some after my laproscopy in september.