I endured the agony of endometriosis for three decades… until running and acupuncture ‘cured’ it

IMAGINE feeling like you've been run over by a truck for one week a month... every month.

That's what Cécile's period felt like during the worst episodes of her endometriosis.

Up until a year ago, the agonising gynaecological condition left the 42-year-old in so much pain she could barely drag herself out of bed to make a cup of tea.

Fast forward 12 months and incredibly, she's managed to run two marathons and a series of half marathons.

How? Well, Cécile claims that exercise has given her back her life by significantly reducing her symptoms - that and acupuncture.

'Untreatable, unbearable pain'

"My symptoms started shortly after my periods began, aged 12," she tells The Sun.

She ran her first half-marathon the following year.

"By that stage, I was feeling much better but I still had very bad bouts of endometriosis, during which I felt hopelessly ill," the 42-year-old says.

"I realised that endometriosis had probably grown back since the last surgery so I decided to have a 'last' laparoscopy - a clean start if you will.

"I figured that it would be easier to maintain my health without any remnants of already-affected cells. In 2015, I trained really hard for almost six months for the Royal Parks half marathon.

"During this period, I experienced next to no symptoms. Life was great until I stopped running (in order to give myself a break) and endometriosis came back with a vengeance.

Cardio became her 'saviour'

Many women have grown up with associating periods and gynaecological issues with getting out of exercise - not starting it.

"I totally understand why they would feel that way. I did too,"  Cécile says.

"At my worst, I was bed-ridden and at times, I couldn’t even walk to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea so exercise was the last thing on my mind."

When I think about my journey with running and what I achieved in last year alone, all I can do is laugh

Cécile Douillard

But she also wishes that she'd known enough to use exercise as the first port of call, and not as the last resort.

"I am scarred physically and mentally due to too much surgery, horrific hormonal treatments and repeated failed attempts at getting better," she admits.

"Some of my organs are stuck together because of scar tissues and they’re probably somewhat damaged as a result of too much laser."

Since that point, she's run all kinds of races - something she'd never imagined doing.

In fact, she says that when she looks back at all she's achieved in the last year alone, all she "can do is laugh".

"I was repulsed by exercise most of my life and I had no interest or desire to get into sports - ever; with or without endometriosis.

"My health was bad for as long as I remember and I learnt to accept my 'physical limitations'. I would spend days, sometimes weeks, stuck in bed, curled into a ball. So no, I never pictured myself running, not in a million years."

'Exercise is my therapy'

Cécile doesn't just run.

Like any good athlete, she cross-trains - doing a variety of activities every week from yoga to spin, swimming to pilates.

That cocktail has stopped her from getting injured, putting too much strain on any one particular group of muscles or joints, and kept her in shape.

But it's not just exercise that's helped to improve things.

'Changing my diet helped too'

Cécile says that changing what she eats also played a huge role in pain management.

Born and raised in France, she says that half of life has been a "wheat fest".

"My diet consisted of gluten, lactose, sugar, caffeine and cigarettes.

"I first heard the words endometriosis and IBS at the age of 30 and although I already knew that I couldn’t digest certain foods, I never really made the link between diet, illness and quality of life."

While she's not on a "diet" per se, she now avoids eating any sugar, gluten, lactose, processed foods, fried foods and caffeine "80 per cent of the time"

My diet consisted of gluten, lactose, sugar, caffeine and cigarettes.

Cécile Douillard

"The rest of the time, I eat whatever I like, knowing that I will most probably end up bloated after my meals - I accept that.

"I can’t digest alcohol (endometriosis can occur on the liver) so I try to drink as little as I can.

"Sugar is pretty bad but the worst is probably gluten. Everyone is different."

The science backs it up

And there does seem to be some evidence out there to support Cécile's experience.

A 2012 followed 156 patients for a year and found that 75 per cent reported a "statistically significant change in painful symptoms" after 12 months on a gluten-free diet.

"A considerable increase of scores for all domains of physical functioning, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, and mental health was observed in all patients."

Meanwhile, the Saint Louis University School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health Center for Endometriosis recommends people living with endometriosis follow an anti-inflammatory eating plan which experiments with eating and eliminating added sugars, gluten and dairy to see what effect they genuinely have on each person.

If you have endometriosis, keeping a food diary and experimenting with how different foods make you feel is also recommended, experts say.

It's also worth talking to your GP about having to have a food intolerance test rather than cutting out whole foods groups, just in case.

What's Cécile's advice to other endometriosis sufferers?

So, what's the one thing that Cécile wants other women who may be struggling with the condition to know?

"Cardio does not cure endometriosis and there are symptoms that exercise can't help with: fatigue, bowel and bladder issues" - but it's worth a try," she says.

"I know that sometimes getting out of bed can seem like a huge task, let alone leaving the house to exercise but it’s worth a try.

"In seven years of running, exercise has not once made me feel worse.

"I still have bad days and bouts of endometriosis that are so intense that they literally floor me but my quality of life has improved dramatically.

"I now feel like I’m leading a normal life and I no longer consider myself unhealthy or even disabled (I did at some point in my life).

"Every mile run, every gym session, every effort is a VICTORY.

"It’s not about how much you do, it’s about trying your best.

"Exercise does help with physical pain and it is great for mental health."

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