This isn’t particularly nice for me to write about, but I feel it is important.
I have a disease, or disorder more like, called endometriosis. The nuts and bolts of it are that the cells that belong to the uterine cavity grow elsewhere in the body. Meaning with every monthly cycle, those cells act like the lining of the uterus, shedding and rebuilding. When this happens monthly in places it shouldn’t, you can get a lot of pain and scarring. Plus possible infertility.
5-10% of women have it, many of which don’t even know it. The cause you ask? Definitely linked to estrogen, but only theories exist; the true cause is largely unknown. The cure you ask? None. I have had surgery, as well as take the birth control pill continuously and watch my diet, making sure I regulate those cycles that cause the tearing of my insides. What the heck does this have to do with plastics?
Since I have stopped using plastics, my pain has decreased significantly!! My intuition told me that this might happen, but I wasn’t sure. And I am apparently not alone in this discovery. A quick Google search proves that women all over the place are finding the same thing. And medical sites and blogs galore recommend that women cut plastics out of their lives, not only for endometriosis, but diseases like breast cancer too. Well plastics, plus pesticides, hormone-loaded meats, and chemical-packed personal care products, which all mess with hormone, among other, functions.
It makes me sad that no one told me this when I was diagnosed, let alone growing up, particularly in my vulnerable teenage years. I shudder to think about the pens I used to mow on obsessively, the household cleaners I used to breathe in and touch, the shampoos and creams that absorbed into my skin to make me pretty and smell nice, the outgassing of my vinyl shower curtain, the detergents that stuck to my clothes, the plastic water bottles I drank from, the wraps and containers that leached plastics into my food, the pesticides on my fruits, the flame retardants wafting from the couch and mattress…and the list goes on. Horrifying. Talk about dis-order!
Well, it may have begun even earlier than that. New studies are proving that plastic chemicals like estrogen-mimicking BPA transfer readily to the fetus. Babies are born pre-polluted. Pre-polluted babies?! OMG. And then think about all the plastic toys kids put in their mouths…and its obviously not just girls. Soft plastics leaching phtalates have been shown to disrupt normal development, including feminizing some males. Deep sigh. Please read more on this on the recent post on the Eco Baby Steps blog. I have a brand new nephew Daniel that I love so much, and want him to be “safe” as well as try to make his Momma Earth a little healthier too. I encouraged Eco Baby Steps to write about this issue of plastics, because I am sad and concerned for other children and teenagers. They will be writing about plastic-free baby products all week! Check out the first post on plastic-free feeding, and follow the links from there. Awesome.
OK. I am depressing myself. But the good news was really that I have begun to feel better by eliminating plastics out of my life and body. And with elimination of plastics, comes healthier alternatives all round, in terms of cleaning and health care products. Best decision EVER!
The people that sell us these products aren’t going to tell you any of the dangers. So if you know a woman, mom-to-be, mom, dad, dude, girl, boy…pass on the advice. Refuse plastic.
Momma Earth, are we well?
15 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 9, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Beth @ Fake Plastic Fish
OMG, Taina. Sometimes I think we are the same person.
I had endometriosis, fibroids, and adenomyosis. I had had several surgeries. It wasn’t until after my hysterectomy in 2007 that I started reducing my plastic consumption. Ironic? I wonder if I could have reduced the pain by cutting out plastic earlier. I don’t know.
I’ve been planning a BlogHer post on this topic, and if I write it I’ll link to your blog post. I wonder how many other women have had similar experiences.
June 9, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Plastic Manners
Beth…sisters from different misters. Definitely let me know when you post about the topic. I went spreading this link to a number of endo sites, so we’ll see if we get any others with stories.
I don’t know either…but I feel like I know.
June 10, 2010 at 4:27 am
iwilkerson
I too suffered from endometriosis and went through 10 years of infertility treatment in order to have my family. It is one of the reasons that I started feeding my kids organically. Of course now it seems that isn’t enough with plastic residues everywhere and why I started a natural bodycare store. But even if the contents are natural, the bottles are not.
There are people trying to advance alternatives. Here is a recent article I read on bioplastics: http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Packaging-Design/Bioplastics-revolution-underway-but-new-materials-need-different-processing
Someday we’ll need to tackle GMO corn in the new plastics, but I’ll take the progress.
June 10, 2010 at 5:01 am
Russ
I agree. I’ve always thought that a great many of the disorders and symptoms people of modern society suffer from are created and caused by modern society. I guess I never would have thought about the plastics connection, I have always thought more along food and water lines, but it all definitely adds up. I have read several statistics that say one of the most toxic things babies ingest is their own mother’s breast milk! All these chemicals from all the things you mentioned collect and transfer to babies via the milk (or so I’ve read). Depressing, for sure! But if mothers to be (and everyone for that matter) stayed away from plastics and all these other chemical laden products, it would make a huge difference. Anyway, I think what you are doing is inspiring, and for sure is making us all more aware. I am certainly more aware of plastic issues since reading.
June 10, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Attached Mama
Reading this I got a flash of Judith Helfand talking about using her “uterus money” to make Blue Vinyl. I know that she had cervical cancer not endometriosis, but I just keep thinking of the long-term effects of experimenting on humans with these toxins.
Thanks for the link—and thanks for all of your anti-plastic activism.
June 10, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Beth @ Fake Plastic Fish
Yes! Judith Helfland. I totally forgot about her and should include her story as well. Blue Vinyl is one of my favorite environmental films ever. I think I’ll make a list. It would be great to find other women who have blogged about the connection between women’s reproductive health and plastics. BlogHer is the web site for women bloggers and the whole idea is to promote women’s writing.
Taina, please do forward me any stories from women so I can highlight their blogs as well.
June 12, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Jeanne
Hi Taina!
I found your post thanks to Beth at Fake Plastic Fish.
It is AWESOME that your pain has decreased significantly since you stopped using plastics!
I have lived with endometriosis for 28 of my 41 years and I remember how horrified I was when I first started to learn about the impact that plastic can have on people (with endometriosis patients being among the more vulnerable populations). Like you, I wished I had known sooner.
As far as the other things you mentioned (i.e. pesticides, hormone-loaded meats, and chemical-packed personal care products), I am also attuned to these things because I have multiple chemical sensitivity as well as endo. It is very upsetting to me that companies can legally sell toxic chemicals (in perfumes, “air fresheners”, pesticides, etc.) The more I learn about these issues, the angrier I get. Don’t even get me started on genetically engineered crops and one evil company in particular.
I can’t even comment on the topic of “pre-polluted babies”. It makes me furious and sad. It’s just plain wrong.
Endocrine disruptors are in so many products. It’s really scary.
I checked out the Eco Baby Steps link and it was very interesting.
Focusing on the good news you mentioned, I’m really glad you feel better by eliminating plastics out of your life and body. That’s great!
You are right that the people who sell plastics aren’t going to share the above information that you’ve shared. In fact, they lobby hard to protect their interests. The BEST way to hit the plastics industry is in the pocketbook. As they start to feel the financial repercussions of more and more consumers taking their business elsewhere, they will be forced to provide more and more quantities of safer alternatives to plastic to protect their own bottom line.
Thank you for the great post and thanks to Beth for steering me over here! Keep up the great work cutting out plastics and spreading information about them!
Jeanne
P.S. As a side note regarding the blog comment above about endometriosis, I think it’s important to note that there is no cure for endometriosis. I mention this only because I have seen past tense online references to endometriosis that have been misunderstood by people to mean there is a “cure” for endometriosis. It is awesome that some endometriosis patients are able to get significant reduction in symptoms or even “remission”! I just wanted to clarify that endometriosis is considered a chronic illness. (Also, there have been decades of myths over the years regarding hysterectomy as a “cure” for endo. There is no cure for endo).
P.P.S. Yes, Blue Vinyl is a powerful movie! I saw it many years ago but I still remember how good it was.
June 14, 2010 at 5:29 am
james
thank you for helping to prove the dangers of plastic. Plastic is defiantly a powerful substance and with great power comes potential for great abuse, and consequences thus we need responsibility
June 14, 2010 at 9:00 am
Janey
Taina, thank you for your openness about sharing something pretty personal. This has been your most enlightening post to date and I hope you continue in this vein. Although you write about some pretty unsettling issues, the message is positively positive and doesn’t sound like it’s been written by an “activist”, just a “gal blogging about choosing to make her own life better” – monumental change begins with the actions of one person at a time, right?
On a personal note, I am the mother of a 4 year old and I have attempted to have a plastic/toxin-free home especially when it comes to my son’s toys. It has been such an uphill battle because well-intended gift-givers aren’t on that same boat and often buy plastic toys with built in planned obsolescence. The sad outcome is that we have shyed away from birthday parties for him for this very reason (and evil balloons!). I know my mother-in-law (and even my partner) thinks I’m a freak, uptight, and totally unreasonable, but I know that I am doing my best to raise my son in a toxin-reduced environment.
Stay positive!
June 17, 2010 at 11:51 am
Jenny
Hi Taina,
I mainly have one question, out of pure curiosity, for you.
Although I have never heard of endometriosis, it sounds like an awful thing and Im sorry that you have to go through that. You mentioned though, that is it linked to estrogen. While plastics obviously have an effect, cause they have an effect on everything, there are also other factors that probably led to this disease. Plastics are really scary to me as a mother of a three year old, we try to tell everyone not to buy plastic toys and such, but there are other toxic chemicals that come from products that are sooo scary too (mercury, PBDE, BPA, PCBs, Lead, triclosan…etc).
I have been strongly against putting chemicals on or in my body for a long time and that includes the pill. Have you ever considered not using it, or tried to see if it helped your condition, or does it make it worse? I just am scared of the effect of all that estrogen going in and out of our systems can have on our bodies and our environment. Estrogen is one of those substances that can be traced in small amounts in every bit of water, breast milk etc.. in the world. With so many hormone disruptors out there already changing the sex of frogs and other animals it seems risky to me, to be pumping more out there. Plus there is always the effect of forcing your body into an unnatural cycle, that isnt even the same thing as a normal period… seems like something you would be against.
Im not one to judge cause these are my views, and I think every female I know takes the pill, or a hormone IUD. And I do recognize the extremely large benefit of the birth control pill, in terms of population control. But I was just wondering why you have decided that this risk is not too big for your body? Especially if estrogen could have been one of the causes of your endometriosis.
June 17, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Plastic Manners
Jenny,
Trust me, I would LOVE to stop using the pill. I hate it for many, and more, reasons than you have listed. On the advice of one of the best naturopathic doctor’s on the case here locally, I have tried to stop before, and the pain gets very bad. I’ve tried many other alternative treatments too, while off the pill, but nothing has worked as well. My main concern is that the disease (and scarring) will spread and further compromise my health (long story there). So I stick with what appears to be the best combo.
I guess it is complicated with the whole estrogen balance thing…pill, plastics, good bad?. And I am not saying that stopping using plastic is the cure. I was just noting that in my case, it has helped. I can only draw the conclusion that something about plastics probably makes my condition worse. And, as an interesting side note, my boyfriend’s exzema has somehow gone away in the past 5 months. No idea if it could be plastic related, but a pretty big coincidence for sure.
June 17, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Jeanne
Taina,
Like you, I have taken continuous birth control pills to treat endometriosis. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea but I did what I had to do at the time. While this is not my current regimen, there was a time when this was the best option I had available to me. (My body has changed and this is no longer the best option for me but everyone is different).
It is extremely difficult to understand the very complex way in which hormones (the synthetic type found in birth control pills) and endocrine disruptors or pseudo-estrogenic materials (found in everything from plastics to soy) affect the body.
Treatment options are *extremely* limited for endometriosis patients.
Federal research investment in the U.S. for patients averaged just $1.33 for for 2009 for every women affected by these illnesses: endometriosis, ME/CFS, interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia, vulvodynia, and/or temporomandibular disorders (TMJ).
$1.33 per woman for 2009!!!
With endometriosis being so pitifully under-researched, patients are forced to do whatever they can to obtain pain relief and to prevent the condition from worsening. Having lived with endometriosis for so long, I understand that the options are ridiculously limited.
Jenny,
I have lived with endometriosis for 28 years. I have tried everything Traditional Western Medicine has to offer (with the exception of one medication that failed my risks vs. benefits analysis).
I have also used numerous alternative medicine modalities. I daresay no endometriosis patient would wish to take hormonal treatments if they did not feel it was necessary.
The reality at this time is that endometriosis patients have very limited options from which to choose. While alternative medicine offers more options, some patients must use hormonal treatment to be able to simply function with this illness… which can be debilitating for some.
I know many endometriosis patients and none of them takes treatment involving a form of estrogen lightly. I wouldn’t wish endometriosis on my worst enemy. I understand your curiosity about taking estrogen.
While it may seem counter-intuitive to take estrogen for endometriosis, this is one of the most common treatment options available to endometriosis patients at this time.
The bottom line, from my perspective, is that many endometriosis patients take such hormones because there are not any superior options available to them.
Endometriosis comes in many severities and causes a whole host of different symptoms.
You are not alone in not having heard of endometriosis. Despite the fact that it affects 89 million (!) women and girls, there has been little press until the last couple of years. Sadly, that press has often been riddled with errors.
Thank you for your concern. I know you were not judging Taina and were merely curious.
~~~
Jeanne
June 22, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Lynn Fang
Thanks for posting this, it’s really good to know these things. I have read about the estrogen-mimicking effects of plastics but didn’t hear of anyone reducing plastics to feel better. So thank you for proving that they have an effect! Also, birth control isn’t very good, though I wouldn’t know how to deal with endometriosis.
June 26, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Leah
Stay away from Soy products!
August 30, 2010 at 7:53 am
The Financials of a Menstruating Woman « Simple Savvy
[...] fact, I find it far ickier to put plastic that close to a part of my body that manages my hormones (women with endometriosis can tell you about the link between plastics and hormones). Or the fact that I have to pay good money, repeatedly, simply because my body is doing [...]