Endometriosis Treatment
Addressing what's actually driving it.
If you're searching for endometriosis treatment, you've probably already been through the standard options — the pill, Mirena, Depo-Provera, surgery. Each one manages the symptoms, temporarily.
None addresses the systemic inflammation, the immune dysregulation, or the oestrogen environment that causes endometriosis to keep returning.
Katie Kempthorne is a naturopath and TCM acupuncturist based in Sandringham, Auckland, with 20+ years of clinical experience in women's health — and this is precisely what she addresses.
Katie Kempthorne
Bachelor of Health Science in Complementary Medicine (Charles Sturt University)
Registered Acupuncturist with the Chinese Medicine Council of New Zealand
Advanced Diplomas in Naturopathy and Medical Herbalism (South Pacific College of Natural Therapies)
Post-graduate Diploma in Chinese Medicine Acupuncture (AUT) with practical component in hospitals in China (Nan Jing University)
What endometriosis treatment actually needs to address.
The research is catching up with what Traditional Chinese Medicine has known for centuries.
Endometriosis affects approximately one in ten women of reproductive age. For decades, conventional medicine has treated it as a gynaecological problem — a tissue issue to be suppressed or surgically removed. The emerging research tells a different story. Endometriosis is now understood as a systemic inflammatory and immune condition, in which oestrogen metabolism, gut microbiome health, and nervous system function all play a significant role in whether it progresses, stabilises, or improves.
A 2025 systematic review published in BMC Women's Health found that alterations in the estrobolome — the community of gut bacteria responsible for metabolising oestrogen — may directly contribute to endometriosis development and the infertility associated with it. Read the research
A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis confirmed that acupuncture provides significant benefits for both pain and quality of life in women with endometriosis. Read the research
And a 2026 network meta-analysis of 107 randomised controlled trials found that blood-invigorating Chinese herbal medicines — the TCM category that addresses the blood stagnation pattern underlying most endometriosis presentations — significantly improve outcomes when used alongside conventional therapy. Read the research
This is the framework Katie works within. Two complete diagnostic systems — naturopathic and TCM — each looking for different things, together producing a clinical picture that neither alone can achieve.
THE MECHANISMS
Five drivers. One combined approach.
Each mechanism below is addressed through Katie's combined naturopathic and TCM practice. This is why the results differ from what acupuncture or naturopathy alone can achieve — and why women who have exhausted conventional options find their way to her Sandringham clinic.
↓ Oestrogen dominance via the estrobolome
The estrobolome — the collection of gut bacteria responsible for metabolising and clearing oestrogen — is increasingly recognised as central to endometriosis development. When the gut microbiome is disrupted, oestrogen that should be excreted is instead reactivated and reabsorbed, creating the systemic oestrogen excess that feeds endometrial tissue growth. Research now directly links estrobolome dysfunction to both endometriosis pathogenesis and the infertility associated with it. Read the research Katie assesses and supports this pathway — something standard gynaecological care does not address.
↓ Pain — acupuncture and blood stagnation
In TCM, the pain pattern of endometriosis is understood as blood stagnation — fixed, stabbing, cyclical pain with dark clots, worsened by pressure. Acupuncture directly addresses this pattern, improving pelvic circulation and modulating the nervous system pathways through which pain is amplified. A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis found acupuncture provides significant benefits for both pain severity and quality of life in women with endometriosis. Read the research
↓ Cortisol and nervous system dysregulation
Chronic pain activates the HPA axis — the body's stress response system. Elevated cortisol then compounds the hormonal picture, suppressing progesterone production and amplifying inflammatory signalling. Women with endometriosis are often caught in this loop: the pain drives cortisol, the cortisol worsens the hormonal imbalance, the hormonal imbalance worsens the pain. Acupuncture is one of the most effective clinical tools for shifting the nervous system out of sympathetic dominance and breaking that cycle.
↓ Systemic inflammation
Endometriosis is, at its core, an inflammatory condition. The lesions are driven by a systemic inflammatory environment — not just local pelvic tissue. Katie's naturopathic approach targets the upstream drivers of that inflammation: gut microbiome integrity, liver detoxification capacity, and the dietary and nutritional patterns that either feed or reduce the inflammatory load. Removing the fuel changes what the fire can do.
↑ Fertility — when endo is affecting your ability to conceive
Endometriosis is one of the most common causes of fertility challenges in women. The inflammatory environment is hostile to egg quality, embryo implantation, and tubal function. Katie's combined approach — addressing the oestrogen environment, supporting egg quality in the 90-day development window, and reducing the inflammatory load — is directly relevant to fertility outcomes. This is not a separate conversation. It is the same approach, with conception as the goal.
1 in 10
WOMEN AFFECTED BY ENDO
7 years
AVG TIME FOR ENDO DIAGNOSIS
20+
YEARS FERTILITY EXPERIENCE
WHAT YOU'RE PROBABLY DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW
Month after month.
The pain isn't being taken seriously. And the answers aren't good enough.
Most women who come to Katie for endometriosis treatment in Auckland share a version of the same story. The periods have always been painful — more painful than felt normal, but normal for them. By the time a diagnosis came, it often took years, and multiple dismissals along the way. And once it arrived, the options offered felt like management rather than answers. Take the pill. Try the Mirena. Have surgery. Come back if you want children and we'll discuss what's next.
For women whose endometriosis is affecting their fertility — which is a significant proportion of those Katie sees — the frustration compounds. You're not just managing pain. You're watching a diagnosis interfere with something you want deeply, and the conventional system has limited tools to address the connection between the two.
Here's what Katie's 20 years of clinical practice has shown: the oestrogen environment, the gut microbiome, the inflammatory load, and the nervous system are all involved. Treating any one of them in isolation produces partial results. Treating them together, through the combined lens of naturopathic medicine and TCM, produces something different. Not a suppression of symptoms. An actual change in the environment those symptoms are growing in.
HOW KATIE’S APPROACH IS DIFFERENT
The clinical framework
Most practitioners working with endometriosis are working within one framework. Conventional medicine: hormonal suppression or surgery. Acupuncture: TCM pattern diagnosis and treatment. Naturopathy: nutritional and systemic support.
Katie works within two simultaneously — and the picture that emerges is richer than either alone can produce.
01
TCM pattern diagnosis: treating your pattern, not your diagnosis
No two endometriosis presentations are identical in TCM. What looks like the same condition in Western medicine can present as blood stagnation, cold in the uterus, liver qi stagnation, damp-heat accumulation, or any combination of these — each with a different treatment protocol, different acupuncture points, and a different herbal formula. Katie determines your pattern at the first consultation and builds treatment from there.
02
Gut microbiome and the estrobolome
This is where Katie's naturopathic training diverges most sharply from standard care. The gut microbiome — and specifically the estrobolome, the subset of bacteria that metabolise oestrogen — is now understood as a direct contributor to endometriosis development and progression. When this system is disrupted, oestrogen recirculates rather than clears. Katie assesses gut microbiome function and addresses it directly, using targeted nutritional support and herbal medicine.
03
Liver function and oestrogen clearance
The liver is the primary site of oestrogen detoxification. When liver function is suboptimal — whether due to nutritional depletion, high toxic load, or impaired phase I/II detoxification pathways — oestrogen accumulates. This is a naturopathic lens that conventional endometriosis treatment does not apply. Katie applies it in every case.
04
Nervous system regulation
Chronic pain is not just a physical experience. It is a nervous system state. Central sensitisation — where the nervous system becomes progressively more reactive to pain signals — is common in endometriosis, and it compounds both the pain experience and the hormonal picture. Acupuncture is one of the most effective tools available for regulating the autonomic nervous system and reducing the cortisol load that makes both worse.
"In 20 years of practice, I've never seen endometriosis as simply a gynaecological problem. It is an immune condition, a metabolic condition, and a hormonal condition — all at once. When you treat it that way, the results are different."
— Katie Kempthorne, Naturopath & TCM Acupuncturist · In practice since 2004
What women say about endometriosis treatment with Katie…
Periods manageable for the first time — without the Mirena
"I'd had severe periods since I was a teenager — four days a month where I genuinely couldn't work. I got the Mirena to manage them, but ended up with constant spotting, anxiety, depression, and gut problems I couldn't explain. Katie didn't start with the Mirena. She started with my gut — diet, a cleanse, the nutritional deficiencies I hadn't known about, and then my liver's ability to actually clear oestrogen properly. Four months in, once all of that foundation was in place, I had the Mirena removed. My moods stabilised, my energy returned, and when my period came back, it was manageable for the first time in my life. I hadn't known that was possible."
Pregnant — in three months after two years of trying
"I had laparoscopic surgery for mild endometriosis at 26. By 34, I'd been trying to conceive for two years with nothing. The connection to my endo felt obvious but nobody had given me a roadmap for what to actually do about it. Katie took gluten out of my diet — something I hadn't connected to endometriosis before — and worked on my gut integrity to settle my immune system. Regular acupuncture alongside. Three months later I was pregnant. After two years of trying, it felt surreal. I wish I'd found her sooner."
— Anna, Mt Eden · 2023
Symptoms resolved — eighteen months after surgery hadn't held
"I had laparoscopic surgery and felt better for about a year. Then the pain started creeping back and I was devastated — I thought surgery was supposed to fix it. Katie explained that surgery removes what's there but doesn't change the conditions that caused it to grow. We worked on my diet, my gut, and my oestrogen clearance — the things nobody had touched. I had regular acupuncture throughout. Within a few months the pain was significantly reduced. I'm not managing symptoms anymore. For the first time since my teens I feel like my body is actually working with me rather than against me."
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BOOK
Four steps from
uncertainty to a clear plan.
Most women who come to Katie for endometriosis treatment have been managing it — or being managed — for years. By the end of the first consultation, the picture changes. You leave knowing what Katie found, what she thinks is driving it, and exactly what she recommends addressing first.
Step 01
A 90-minute initial consultation
Not 20 minutes. Ninety. Your full health history, your cycle, your pain pattern, your gut health, your test results, your fertility picture if relevant — everything. The TCM consultation runs alongside the naturopathic assessment. By the end, Katie has two diagnostic frameworks working on the same picture.
Step 02
Advanced testing where needed
Where standard pathology hasn't answered the question, Katie uses functional naturopathic testing — comprehensive stool analysis for gut microbiome assessment, DUTCH hormone panel for cortisol and oestrogen metabolism mapping, nutritional markers, liver function indicators. Not every client needs this. Some do. If you do, Katie will tell you clearly why.
Step 03
A personalised treatment plan
Built around your specific TCM pattern and your naturopathic findings — not a template. Acupuncture frequency, herbal formula, nutritional supplements, and dietary guidance in the exact combination your case requires.
Step 04
Ongoing support every step
Follow-up consultations of 45–60 minutes. The plan adapts as your body responds. You're never left wondering what's happening or what to do next. This is a partnership for as long as you need it.
QUESTIONS ABOUT ENDOMETRIOSIS TREATMENT IN AUCKLAND
Have a question not answered here?
Email Katie directly — she'll give you a straight answer.
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Yes — and the evidence for acupuncture specifically is now substantial. A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis found that acupuncture provides significant benefits for both pain severity and quality of life in women with endometriosis. The mechanism is two-fold: acupuncture addresses the blood stagnation pattern underlying the cyclical pain, and it regulates the nervous system's amplification of that pain. Combined with naturopathic support targeting the inflammatory drivers, most women see meaningful improvement in pain within 2–3 cycles. Some see it faster.
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This is one of the most common presentations Katie sees — women who have an endometriosis diagnosis and are trying to conceive, often with limited guidance from their fertility clinic about what to do about the endo itself. Katie's approach addresses the oestrogen environment, supports egg quality through the 90-day development window, reduces the systemic inflammation that makes implantation difficult, and — if IVF is on the table — prepares the body for the demands of a stimulated cycle. The endometriosis and the fertility work are not separate. They are the same conversation. You can read more about Katie's approach to fertility acupuncture and naturopathy here.
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Katie does not advise against surgery where it is clinically appropriate — particularly for diagnostic purposes or where adhesions are significantly affecting tubal function. What she does address is the environment the surgery doesn't change. Laparoscopy removes existing lesions. It does not alter the oestrogen environment, the gut microbiome, or the inflammatory state that caused those lesions to grow in the first place — which is why endometriosis returns in the majority of women who have surgery without addressing those drivers. Katie works with women before surgery to reduce the inflammatory load going in, and after surgery to change the environment so that recurrence is less likely.
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Honestly — it depends on how long the condition has been established and what's driving it. Acupuncture for pain relief often produces results within 4–6 weeks of regular treatment. The deeper naturopathic work — restoring the gut microbiome, improving oestrogen clearance, addressing nutritional depletion — takes longer: typically 3–6 months to produce durable change. Katie will give you a realistic timeframe at the first consultation based on what she finds, not a generic answer.
YOU’VE BEEN MANAGING THIS LONG ENOUGH
Let's find out what's actually driving it — and address it.
Book a 90-minute initial consultation at Katie's Sandringham, Auckland clinic. She'll go through your full history, your pain pattern, your cycle, your gut health, and your fertility picture if relevant. By the end of the session you'll know what she's found, what she thinks is at the root of it, and exactly what she recommends. No management plan. A real plan — from Auckland's only practitioner combining naturopathy, herbal medicine, and TCM acupuncture under one roof.
