Where to begin, well I was always that ‘poorly’ child growing up if there was something going round I got it. I was plagued with ear-aches, throat infections, tonsillitis, tummy troubles and regular visits to the doctors. Then at university I was diagnosed as having IBS after having had food poisoning. As the years progressed, I kept food diaries, trying to watch what I ate and having tried a collection of medications the symptoms persisted. In 2009 I was further diagnosed as having Rheumatoid Arthritis and preceded down a path of numerous medications and all their side effects and medications to control the side effects. I literally accepted to learn to live a life filled with pain and a lack of mobility.
In 2016 it all came to a head. I spent a summer struggling in discomfort and doubled over in pain almost calling an ambulance for myself, when my sister suggested she’d heard of someone that had helped a friend with Crohn’s disease through diet and had worked with other people with rheumatoid arthritis. So I contacted Bromsgrove Allergy & Nutrition and made an appointment with Caroline Sproule. Caroline put me completely at ease and by the end of my first appointment everything became clear all my illnesses over the years made sense. I was gluten, yeast, dairy and soya intolerant and suffering from Candida Albicans.
I left Caroline’s office with a very short list of foods I could eat, at this point I was slightly shocked about how little I could eat but completely relieved that I now had an explanation and was being taken seriously. Caroline told me that the first 3 weeks would be tough and she was right I got sore throat, earache and felt generally lousy but by the time of my next appointment, (at 3 weeks) I had come through it and I was starting to feel better. When tested I had a few more foods added to my list and my Candida levels were dropping. Again Caroline explained the next three weeks would be tough and she would see me again then, (at 6weeks). I went and stuck religiously to my list of foods and yes there were days that I wasn’t great but I was in this for the long haul.
By 6 weeks I felt amazing. I was revitalised, full of energy and had lost weight. My next appointment went well with my Candida levels dropping and gaining a few more foods to my list. We continued this process until my Candida levels were down to normal I had never felt so good. I went from having to warm my joints up just to start a day to being able to walk up a mountain on my own! When the hospital did blood tests the rheumatoid arthritis markers were not present in the blood and I am now pain free after years of suffering!!
All this time and all those medications when all I had needed was to eat the right diet for me, I will be forever indebted to Caroline.
Something that most people don’t know about me is that for 14 years I had tried to start a family and we endured three unfortunate losses.
When I first visited Caroline she told me I would need to wait a year I said, “no, I wasn’t willing to wait that long” as I was already 42, but Caroline explained that my body was currently too toxic and needed time to start to heal, and it would take at least 3 months to start to see this change. So we set off on this journey knowing it was my health that we had to fix.
Almost a year after we first met I had the pleasure of phoning Caroline to tell her I was pregnant! Caroline went on to guide me and regularly test me throughout my pregnancy to ensure I was a healthy host. My beautiful daughter Iona was born this summer, happy and healthy and I am continuing to feel amazing.
When I look back I’m so glad I made that call at the end of summer 2016 because that is where I got to meet Caroline my Fairy Godmother and I will be eternally grateful to her for helping me achieve my Happy Ever After!
Carol M November 2018
Are you suffering from symptoms of Arthritis?