My Gut Health Journey and the Long, Winding Road to Healing
What led me onto this path of healing, and more specifically into gut health and detox? This is my story, my real gut health journey, and how it brought me to the work I do today.
Early Years
Even as a young child I remember being bloated, I had a small frame but a big belly that stuck out. Right through my adult life I had digestive issues- bloating, constipation, skin flare-ups, and feeling fatigued after certain foods, I knew I didn’t feel great, but it never felt “bad enough” to do something about it.
The Final Straw
The straw that broke the camels back from was a suspected case of food poisoning 5 days before my brother’s wedding, I would have taken anything not to have to run to the bathroom that day. Since then, everything went downhill fast. The bloating got severe, uncomfortable and constant gas, eating most foods was painful, a H. pylori infection, which was treated with “triple therapy” antibiotics which made things even worse- hello candida overgrowth in the gut, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), dysbiosis, sluggish bile, and suddenly, completely out of nowhere crippling anxiety.
Is It Really That Simple?
These symptoms just didn’t appear one day for no reason; something had to trigger it.
For me it was… STRESS.
When I was studying Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN), one of the first things I learned was that all dis-ease begins with stress- mental or emotional stress, physical stress, chemical or biochemical stress.
Looking back, it made perfect sense, I had got a new job, I also had to do a live TV session which terrified me, and I had just embarked on a fertility journey with my husband.
So yes, stress was up close and personal.
During that time, trying to get well was a full-time mission, I saw so many people- doctors, nutritionists, a naturopath, herbalists, acupuncture, homeopathy, holistic therapists, you name them, I probably saw them.
I listened to podcasts, read books, and scrolled endlessly looking for answers, and honestly, I got little bits of help here and there, but nothing truly joined the dots.
It was a long, drawn out, and miserable process. I just wanted to feel good again, to be social, to not have to worry about what I could eat, and most of all was to get out of the anxiety hole I had somehow fallen into. I will be honest, the anxiety for me was the worst part, as bad as the gut symptoms were, I would have taken them any day over feeling the debilitating anxiety I felt.
Discovering FDN
Slowly, I began to feel better, I was healing, my gut symptoms were still there but not as bad, my anxiety was dissipating. I felt like I could function again.
During this time, I listened to a podcast- Matty Lansdown “How not to get sick and die”, his guest was Reed Davis, the founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, FDN, and when he spoke of the FDN approach and philosophy, something clicked for me, I wished I had heard of it when I was sick.
FDN uses functional lab testing to get a 30,000 ft view of the body, where you could make sense of why symptoms are happening instead of guessing or chasing them. It’s about restoring balance in the body, not slapping a label on you.
Discovering My Passion
I have wanted to work for myself for years, but I just didn’t know doing what. Meanwhile, I was already a holistic therapist specialising in cancer care doing reflexology, aromatherapy massage and manual lymphatic drainage, but after hearing Reed talk, I couldn’t get FDN out of my head, I kept listening the podcast, re-reading the website and the course curriculum. So, one day I took the plunge and signed up.
As part of the course, I ran the 5 foundational labs on myself, and wow! After feeling so much better, the tests showed I had still some dysbiosis, hormone imbalance, oxidative damage, inflammation, food sensitivities, leaky gut and signs of still being stuck in a stress response.
These tests helped me uncover hidden stressors I never would’ve known about without testing. Now, using the FDN methodology I am restoring my energy, and vitality and my health again. Properly, deeply and with information I never had before.
Is This Your Story Too?
If any part of this gut health journey sounds familiar, you’re not alone, I have been there. I understand the fear, the frustration, and the exhaustion of not knowing what is going on in your own body. If you chose to work with me, we would get clear, quickly, on what is happening, what your symptoms mean, and where your healing needs to begin.
If you’re tired of guessing, or you feel like something is “off”, but you can’t put your finger on it, I’d love to help you.
You can book a free discovery call with me, this is a chance for us to have a chat, explore what you are experiencing, and see if we are a good fit to work together.