I first turned to nutritional therapy in 2014... It had been a tough year; I was battling anxiety, mild depression, no end of gut issues, sleepless nights, severe PMS, polycystic ovaries, regular headaches and exhaustion. Quite frankly I was miserable.
I visited the Doctors several times during late 2013 and early 2014 and was given 2 different types of anti-anxiety medication....neither of which made things better, quite in the opposite in fact; I started having night sweats, my pre-existing gut problems were worsening, I kept getting headaches, insomnia and my anxiety levels were actually increasing?!
So back to the Doctors I went; this time they diagnosed me with IBS and I was given yet another tablet to try and resolve things. Needless to say, it didn't... Now I was just permanently bloated and in pain after every meal.
The PMS I was experiencing became unbearable and the pain during periods was enough to make me pass out (which almost happened whilst I was at work; it got so bad that I needed to lie down in the office.... highly embarrassing!) Yet another trip to the Doctors and this time they agreed to investigate... several invasive examinations later and it was confirmed I had polycystic ovaries. No-one could confirm the cause, or provide any form of treatment... the only solution was recommending that I take a contraceptive pill (I wasn't prepared to do this though... I’ll save my reasons for another time).
I was beyond fed up at this point. I had been prescribed pill after pill by the professionals and nothing was working. I wanted a solution; I didn't want to spend the next few years feeling like I was rattling, I wanted something that would address the cause and not just an attempt at treating every symptom I was experiencing.
I started investigating natural remedies and stumbled across nutritional therapy. I read countless success stories from people with differing illnesses and it got me thinking… maybe this could work for me too. After doing some research and experimenting with different foods I started to notice a difference; my energy levels were better, I no longer felt in pain after every meal and I didn’t need to unbutton my trousers every night because of severe bloating. Don’t get me wrong, I was far from feeling like “me” again, and I was still a long way from feeling “recovered” but the clouds were beginning to lift.
As I had finally found something that seemed to be working I wanted to do all I could to continue restoring my health. At the time I wasn't particularly happy in my job and decided to completely change my career... I had already embarked on all these changes diet wise and maybe a new path career wise would help too...I could continue learning what I could do to recover and then I could help others.
I looked into all the different types of courses offered by local Colleges and Universities and discovered The College of Naturopathic Medicine. It was by no means local, in fact just under 70 miles away in Brighton but the course had everything I was looking for so it was worth travelling the extra distance and I started studying in October 2014. The next 3 years were some of the hardest, most challenging years ever (Or so I thought until I became a mum) but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. The knowledge I have gained I will forever be proud of and I met some truly amazing people that I will call friends forever.
One of my biggest fears when I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries is that I wouldn't be able to have children and I genuinely believe that Nutritional Therapy helped me become a mum. I actually went to my graduation ceremony 8 months pregnant.
I can hand on heart say that, aside from the tiredness associated with sleepless nights as a new mother, I feel the best I’ve ever felt health wise. What I have learnt has made such a difference to my life and it could potentially make a difference to yours.
