Expert: Holly Bellebuono - 1/18/2012

Question
I am an otherwise healthy 23 year old female. In the past 6 months, I've had 3 surgeries. The first for a painful egg-sized lipoma. I was still having a lot of pain (a 5-6 on pain meds). The second was for a supposed lipoma that turned out to be fat necrosis and scar tissue. They removed a 3 inch by 5 inch chunk 3 in. right and 1 in. lower than my belly button. My abdomen just wasn't getting any better. I tried going to a chiropractor and he successfully fixed the intercostal fasciitis, but there was still a lot of pain. I ended up having a pelvic and abdominal ct scan that showed a distended appendix. I had it removed 12 days ago (it was 1 1/2 in. by 1 in. by 4 in.) and was diagnosed with chronic appendicitis. Why was this so hard for the doctors to figure out? I'm still in a lot of pain recovering from all these surgeries and this appendix. What can I take to make this recovery quicker and be pain free? Are there any exercises you could tell me? Any advice? Also, are there things I can do besides exercise and loose weight to prevent further lipoma's? :) Thank you for your time!

Answer
Dear Chely,

It sounds like you've been enduring a lot of pain lately! I'm going to try to answer some of your questions, but I am not an expert in appendicitis nor lipoma. Instead, I'm an expert in herbal medicine, part of which includes anti-inflammatory herbs as well as tonic (nurturing) herbs. I recommend you talk to other health care providers about exercise and diet ideas, but I'd also like to share some thoughts about the inflammation in the abdomen.

I'm not providing this information because I think it will cure anything; rather, these herbs can be used to help ease the symptoms associated with the issues you described. If I were experiencing pain in the abdominal region, I would consider using the following herbs:

1) Wild Yam. This is a wonderful anti-inflammatory for the pelvic region. It can be taken as a tincture or a capsule. It also has estrogenic effects, so do not use this herb if you are taking estrogen pills or are on estrogen replacement therapy.

2) Raspberry leaf. This is a common herb that is a tonic for the uterus and the entire pelvic region. It's mildly astringent and can be helpful in cases of diarrhea and particularly swollen abdominal tissues. This herb is also high in calcium and other nutrients. Most people drink this herb as a tea.

3) Spearmint. This is a lovely digestive aid; if your symptoms include gas or bloating, this herb can help ease those. Most people drink this herb as a tea but it can also be taken as a capsule.

Hopefully this is a start for you and will be a good place for you to begin researching herbs and other natural methods that will help ease your symptoms while you and your doctors research how to deal with the underlying causes.

Take care, and if you have any other questions feel free to check out my website www.vineyardherbs.com, or my upcoming book The Essential Herbal for Natural Health.

Best wishes!
Holly Bellebuono