“My health journey began in 2002 after contracting gastro from my partner at the time. After being violently ill for about 10 hours it took about 5 days before I could eat again and before I felt “ok” again. I never truly felt like myself or “normal” after that.
The next 10 years was an absolute nightmare. No one seemed to be able to fix me or tell me what was wrong. I dropped about 6kg’s, I had chronic loose bowel movements resulting in a few accidents, excruciating stomach pain, nauseous all the time, no appetite, no energy, exhausted and just generally feeling unwell.
I spent 6 years and roughly $8,000 on doctors’ appointments with my private doctor, specialist appointments from referrals to different gastro specialists, hospital visits, medications for the nausea (ondansetron – prescribed for people going through chemo or for morning sickness) tramadol for the stomach pain, colonoscopy’s, endoscopy’s, Dietitians’, blood tests, stool samples, urine tests, pregnancy tests, acupuncture, essentials oils, naturopaths. I was constantly told “there’s nothing wrong with you, everything looks fine”. I accepted that this was how I was going to feel from now on and that I would have no quality of life.
Finally, a friend suggested a naturopath she had been seeing to treat her Lyme Disease. After my initial appointment and some very expensive tests, I was told I had 3 types of bugs and bacteria living in my system but was guaranteed it was treatable. After 2 years, $10,275 later and feeling no better, countless tests, a literal handful of meds (at one point up to 12 different meds, 3 times a day) that changed every 4 weeks and I still felt horrible.
I tried gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, vegan, vegetarian diets. I was told if I constantly feel sick that’s because “the meds are working and that’s the die off of the bugs – that’s a good thing”. But I never stayed on any meds long enough to notice any significant difference. I stopped leaving the house, going out for meals, my relationship was strained, I was anxious constantly, I was taking huge amounts of time off work, and mentally I had given up.
After 2 years, no more savings to burn through and a very fed-up boyfriend I gave up again. More online research then led me to Chloe who specialised in gut health. Another naturopath, I thought. More money down the drain, but I was determined to try anything and everything.
I sent Chloe as many tests results as i could from my previous naturopath, medication schedules and explained my situation and symptoms with a lot of tears and frustration.
Straight off the bat Chloe suggested she knew what would be the issue and said some tests needed to be repeated to ensure she had current results to work with. Even before getting the test results Chloe suggested 3 medications for me to start on to help improve symptoms and keep nausea and tummy issues under control.
Within 3 days I saw a huge change. I could eat again, my bowel movements were normal and daily, my nausea was under control and I felt semi ok again.
My results came back to show exactly what Chloe had suspected, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). After some trial and error with different meds, we finally found what worked for me. Within 6 months I saw a huge improvement on my symptoms and got my SIBO under control.
Along side a diagnosis with a new gastro specialist of Gastroparesis, Chloe put me on 2 different meds twice a day, suggested talking to someone about my anxiety which had taken over my life, and tailored a diet to suit me.
12 months later, I was like a new person. I had a life again. It took me 10 years, a lot of mental breakdowns, A LOT of money, and time to get to this point. Now I function like a “normal” person.
I go out for meals again, I eat good foods and lots of it, I go out on adventures because I’m no longer anxious I’ll feel sick or be sick in public, I can wear jeans again, and I’m happy.
I cannot put into words how Chloe has changed my life. Chloe said from the beginning “I know money can sometimes be an issue so let’s work out the best way to treat you that will benefit your health and your wallet”.
This was so refreshing to know she was also conscious of the cost it takes to get back to good health.
One of the biggest benefits I have seen was in my monthly cycles, and my hormones. I used to have terrible period pain which had me double over in the foetal position for days, increased nausea, it was extremely heavy and lasted over a week and my skin had a mind of its own with painful breakouts. Now, my cycle is regular and on time and only lasts about 4-5 days, my skin is clear and i have maybe 2 breakouts a week before and now only have general period pain. This has been one of the biggest improvements of all.
I am now at a point that my tailored diet and 1 type of medication 2 times a day and occasional checks ins is enough to keep me in a stable and happy place with my health.
For a long time i thought I would live a life of constantly being sick and never feel “normal” again.
Chloe has literally changed my life – from sick, down and flat to happy, bright and confident. I honestly cannot express what Chloe has done for me and my health.
I haven’t felt this good in 10 years and it is all thanks to your expertise, patience, understanding and advice. You have helped me in more ways than I can say and I am forever grateful for your help and support. Thank you!!!! “
Emma
Naturopathic Comments
What we discovered with Emma is that a bad case of gastro led to methane dominant SIBO. For Emma this caused retrograde motility which lead to long term nausea.
It wasn’t until we treated the underlying cause which was methane dominant SIBO that she was able to gain long term relief.
I hope Emma’s story helps provide insight into the underlying cause to long term nausea, and it’s connection to hormonal health and acne.
To learn more about small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and if its a possible underlying cause for you, please read this blog post.
