Personalized TCM herbal formulas for endometriosis support
Personalized Chinese herbal formulas supporting painful periods, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, bloating, fatigue, mood changes, and other symptoms associated with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can look very different from one person to the next. For some, the most disruptive symptom is severe pain before or during menstruation. For others, it looks like pelvic pain between periods, pain with sex, heavy bleeding, bloating, fatigue, or difficulty conceiving.
Daodi uses the details of your cycle to compose a personalized herbal formula for the pattern underlying your symptoms. Monthly follow-ups allow your formula to evolve as your cycle changes.
Understanding endometriosis through a Chinese medicine lens
In Western medicine, endometriosis is understood as a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This tissue can contribute to inflammation, scar tissue, and pain, although symptoms vary widely from person to person.
Chinese medicine looks beyond the location of the lesions to understand the pattern underlying each person's symptoms. The quality and timing of pain, menstrual bleeding, digestion, body temperature, energy, and changes throughout the cycle all provide information about how qi and blood are moving through the body.
Blood stasis
Fixed, sharp, or stabbing pelvic pain, pain that intensifies before or during menstruation, dark menstrual blood, and clots can reflect blood that is not moving freely. Blood stasis is a central pattern in many endometriosis presentations, but what causes the stasis can differ from person to person.
Qi stagnation
Distending pain or pressure that changes in intensity or location, bloating, breast tenderness, irritability, and symptoms that build before the period can reflect qi that is not moving freely. Over time, constrained qi can interfere with the movement of blood and contribute to Blood stasis.
Cold stasis
Severe cramping that improves with warmth, a cold sensation in the lower abdomen, cold hands and feet, dark menstrual blood, and clots can reflect Cold stasis. Cold constricts the vessels and slows the movement of blood, contributing to sharp, fixed pain.
Damp-heat
Pelvic heaviness or fullness, burning or distending pain, a sensation of heat, dark or thick menstrual blood, clots, and unusual discharge can reflect dampness and heat obstructing the movement of qi and blood in the lower abdomen.
Qi vacuity
Fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, poor appetite, loose stools, or exhaustion following menstruation can point to insufficient qi. Because qi helps move blood, longstanding deficiency may allow circulation to become sluggish and contribute to Blood stasis.
Liver and Kidney Yin vacuity
Longstanding pelvic pain accompanied by low back weakness, dizziness, restless sleep, night sweats, dryness, or sensations of heat can point to depletion of Liver and Kidney Yin. When the Yin and Blood that nourish the menstrual cycle become insufficient, the tissues receive less nourishment and the healthy movement of blood may become more difficult to maintain.
These patterns rarely appear in isolation. How the formula is composed depends not only on recognizing Blood stasis, but on understanding why blood has stopped moving freely in your particular case.
How Daodi approaches endometriosis
With endometriosis, the timing and character of your symptoms help guide how the formula is composed. Your TCM doctor considers your menstrual cycle as a whole: when the pain begins, when it is most intense, and how you feel once bleeding ends. The location and quality of the pain, menstrual flow and clotting, digestion, bowel symptoms, energy, and whether warmth brings relief all provide important TCM pattern information.
These details help distinguish the underlying pattern behind your symptoms. One formula may focus primarily on moving qi and blood, while another may warm Cold, clear damp-heat, support qi, or nourish Yin.
Each menstrual cycle provides new information. Your formula is adjusted as the pain, bleeding, and accompanying symptoms change from one cycle to the next.
Composed by a licensed Chinese medicine doctor
Every Daodi formula is composed by Dr. Hannah Dietz, DACM, LAc, a licensed Chinese medicine doctor and NCCAOM board-certified herbalist whose clinical work focuses on women's hormonal and menstrual health.
Endometriosis requires careful attention to more than pain alone. Dr. Hannah reviews your menstrual cycle, full health history, current medications and treatments, digestion, energy, sleep, and fertility goals before composing your formula. Each formula reflects both the symptoms affecting you now and the underlying Chinese medicine pattern contributing to them.
How It Works
Complete Your Intake
Fill out a detailed health history covering your goals, menstrual cycle, symptoms, lifestyle, and medical background. Takes 10–15 minutes.
Meet With Dr. Hannah
Meet with Dr. Hannah for a 15-minute video consultation to review your intake and discuss your health in greater detail.
Receive Your Formula
Dr. Hannah composes your personalized herbal formula based on your intake and consultation. Your granules are shipped directly to your door.
Continue With Monthly Check-Ins
Regular follow-ups allow Dr. Hannah to understand how your body is responding and adjust your formula as your symptoms change.
Why a personalized formula
An endometriosis diagnosis does not explain why each person experiences the condition differently. One person may have sharp, fixed pain that improves with warmth, while another experiences burning pain, pelvic heaviness, digestive changes, or profound fatigue.
These differences point to different Chinese medicine patterns and require different formulas. Your formula accounts for the specific qualities of your pain, bleeding, digestion, energy, and menstrual cycle, then changes as your pattern evolves.
Herbs commonly used
There is no single herb for endometriosis support. Herbs are combined according to the pattern underlying your symptoms and what your formula requires. Your TCM doctor may consider herbs like these when they fit your presentation.
Yan Hu Suo
Moves qi and blood and is often considered when pain is a prominent symptom.
E Zhu
Moves qi and breaks Blood stasis when obstruction has become more deeply established.
San Leng
Breaks Blood stasis and addresses fixed accumulations associated with sharp, localized pain.
Gui Zhi
Warms the channels and supports the movement of blood when Cold is contributing to constriction and pain.
Mu Dan Pi
Clears heat while cooling and moving blood when heat is present alongside Blood stasis.
Dang Gui
Nourishes and moves blood when stagnation occurs alongside signs of deficiency.
Bai Shao
Nourishes blood and Yin while softening tension associated with menstrual cramping.
Frequently asked questions
Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of supporting menstrual and pelvic symptoms such as painful periods, cramping, heavy bleeding, bloating, digestive changes, and fatigue. Your formula is composed around your specific presentation and adjusted as your symptoms change. Daodi does not claim to remove endometriosis lesions or cure the condition.
No. Endometriosis is a chronic medical condition that should be evaluated and managed with a qualified medical provider. Daodi is designed to complement your gynecologic care, not replace it. You should continue any treatment or monitoring your physician has recommended.
Dr. Hannah reviews all medications and supplements you are taking, including birth control, progestins, and other hormonal therapies, before composing your formula. Do not stop or change a prescribed medication without speaking with the clinician who prescribed it.
Herbal medicine may be incorporated into your broader care plan, but timing matters. Tell Dr. Hannah about any planned procedure and everything you are currently taking. Your formula may need to be paused before surgery according to the instructions of your surgeon and prescribing clinicians.
Tell Dr. Hannah if you are trying to conceive or undergoing fertility treatment so your formula can be coordinated with your broader medical care. Daodi does not provide herbs during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. If you receive a positive pregnancy test or think you may be pregnant, stop taking your formula and contact Dr. Hannah.
Yes, your formula can be composed around the symptoms and Chinese medicine patterns present in your case. However, persistent or severe pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, pain with sex, or changes in bowel or bladder function should also be evaluated by a qualified medical provider.
Endometriosis symptoms often change throughout the menstrual cycle, so progress is evaluated over a series of menstrual cycles rather than at a single point in time. Most members work with Dr. Hannah for several months, often across more than one season, with the formula refined at each monthly check-in.
Yes. You can message Dr. Hannah with questions or updates about how you are feeling between scheduled appointments.
Ready to get started?
Begin with a detailed health intake and one-on-one consultation with Dr. Hannah. Your formula will be composed around your symptoms, menstrual cycle, and underlying Chinese medicine pattern.
Formulas composed by licensed Chinese medicine doctors