Positive Health Online

A New Start

Catherine Nash had all the trappings of success – a great job as an IT consultant, a big salary and a classy company car – but she'd never been so unhappy in her life. "I was working very long hours, travelling around the country, grabbing snacks and coffees at motorway service stations," explains Catherine. "My diet was appalling, I felt very stressed – my health was plagued with bouts of irritable bowel syndrome and thrush."

But of greater concern to Catherine was her fertility. Since the age of 11 she had suffered from terrible period pains. "At 28 I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis – meaning tissue that usually lined my womb was stuck to organs in my abdomen. But the pains were getting so bad, I felt I was going to die." She was told by a consultant that her endometriosis meant she was unlikely to ever have children without the aid of hormone treatment and IVF. "I was devastated – I just had to do something about it."

Looking for an Alternative

Catherine had been to see several doctors over the years, but she found herself being prescribed more and more painkillers. Exasperated with conventional medicine, she decided to look for an alternative. "Nothing seemed to be working for me, so I went to see a Naturopath that I had seen advertised in a health magazine," says Catherine.

"The Naturopath recommended I follow a course of colonic irrigation and a strict diet – no wheat, dairy or meat and reducing my sugar intake. I had kidney and liver cleansing drinks and hormone balancing herbs."

The results were dramatic. "I immediately felt the benefits. My tummy went flat and I had no more headaches and my IBS disappeared."

Changing Lanes

Now that Catherine had her health back, she began to look at the root causes of her illness. "I found that once I had cleared up my body, the mind started to clear as well. I realized that my lifestyle was perpetuating the problem. And I knew I needed to do something else," she says. "I decided I wanted to learn more about Naturopathy and enrolled on a course with the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) in London."

"I really felt I wanted to pass on the information to other people – it was like I had been given a gift that I had to share. I had suffered so much and received so little support that I wanted to get the message across to other people that there was another way."

A New Life

With her new qualifications, Catherine set up practice in an established clinic and now offers her clients Colonic Hydrotherapy, Naturopathy, Iridology and Herbal Medicine, focusing on women with fertility and gynaecological problems. "I started off with just a couple of clients but very quickly the client base built up," says Catherine.

Case Study

A female aged 29, was taking daily Gaviscon. Her symptoms included bloating, abdominal pain, Epigastric pain, irritable bowel, fluctuating between constipation and diarrhoea, irregular periods, with some clotting and thrush (Candida).

She has been irritable since the age of about 13. Her periods had been irregular since coming off the Pill a year ago. She is a very emotional person, easily "scared" by things; she uses the word "scared" a lot. She had 2 Mercury fillings.

Her diet is fairly good. She is vegetarian but there is also quite a lot of wheat in her diet, which may irritate the gut lining especially if Leaky Gut is an issue.

Ayurvedic Diagnosis: Vata constitution. Thin and Tall. Fragile looking. Suffers from dryness of skin and hair. Very cerebral ('every thing in the head'). Some Pitta issues – lots of heat, especially the acid stomach.

Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM: 'Heat' predominates here (Yang), acidity and reflux. But, very Yin type person constitutionally (cold extremities, always feeling cold, pale tongue). But, there is also 'Damp Heat' in the intestines, diarrhoea and Candida.

Iridology: Mixed Biliary with lacunae on Liver. Larvate Tetanic (this matches her 'scared' issues, as Larvate Tetanics are often described as looking like scared rabbits). Blood sugar regulation (orange tones to iris) and liver issues predominate.

Health Plan Strategy

• Dietary change to combat the Candida, especially eliminate the wheat from her diet;
• Colon cleansing herbs Cascara and Fennel (Dr Christopher Formula No 1) and (Formula No 3) Psyllium and Charcoal;
• Aloe vera juice and Formula No 3 particularly at night before going to bed, as the Acidity always started then;
• Colonics x 3 – very prolific, with lots of fermentation noted;
• Liver and Gallbladder Morning routine (Lemon, ginger, garlic, olive etc) plus Milk Thistle & Barberry Formula;
• Suggested Mercury Filling testing. But, she did not go down this route;
• 3 day juice fast;
• Recommended coming off the Gaviscon slowly and replacing with Aloe Vera juice.

Outcomes

She completely came off of the Gaviscon, and the Acid Reflux and Epigastric pain were totally relieved. The Candida cleared up and she no longer had the symptoms of irritable bowel. Her periods regulated, with just using the Milk Thistle and Barberry formula and bowel cleansing (with no additional 'hormone' herbs needed). And, best of all she became pregnant at the first try!

Further Information

The College of Naturopathic Medicine can be contacted on Tel: 01342 410505; info@Naturopathy-uk.com; www.Naturopathy-uk.com