My Story

Looking back, I can recall experiencing digestive issues from as young as 10 years old. Over the years I continued to suffer frequent bouts of extreme pain, bloating, cramping and diarrhoea, all of which were unpredictable and impacted both my work and social life. Outside of that I appeared to be in good health, and learnt to just get on with it (don’t we all?!). 

At 32 I became pregnant with my daughter and had Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) which left me unable to consume anything, so I ended up being fed via a tube in my vein in my arm (parenteral nutrition) for 2 months. Once I could eat again it seemed my symptoms were much improved, and bouts of illness far less frequent and less intense than before. I had not heard of leaky gut syndrome before, but the illness and the parenteral nutrition had given me the chance to heal. At this point, my interest in dietary changes began - at least in so much as it could whilst parenting a newborn and returning to work.  

It was not long, unfortunately, before a crippling fatigue started to creep in. Again, I tried to ‘just get on with it’ but eventually I became bedridden with what was later diagnosed as ME/CFS, and was unable to work or care for my young daughter. With my previous dietary experience in mind I turned to a naturopath for advice and, with her support, I started to make some serious life changes when it came to my diet and nutrition.  Over the course of a few months I managed to cut gluten, dairy and refined sugars from my diet and I gradually began to notice some improvements. This was just the very beginning of a long and difficult recovery journey, during which I also learnt to improve my sleep, manage stress, calm my autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the very real importance of incorporating whatever movement you can, even if it is just a gentle stretch. 

Once I was well enough (and now passionate about a natural approach to health and wellness) I enrolled on the College of Naturopathic Medicine’s Health Coach course. I expanded on what I had learnt on my own journey by learning more about anatomy & physiology, diet & nutrition, fitness, and of course, coaching. Eager to make a difference I started working with my own mother who was an insulin-dependant diabetic with severe arthritis. By implementing what I had learnt we managed over time to reverse her diabetes (she had been insulin and medication-dependant for over 10-years), reduce the symptoms of her rheumatoid arthritis to almost nothing (not a painkiller in sight!) and drastically increased her previously poor energy levels. Seeing was believing, and my future in health coaching began.