Clinics in Bedford and London
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Read on to learn more about your symptoms, me, Director Helen Olphin, who will be here to guide and support your journey and how we can help you.
Difficulty getting off to sleep, staying asleep, or general insomnia or getting up to go to the toilet frequently, feeling sleepy when having to concentrate for long periods of time
Brain fog, forgetting words and people names, unable to concentrate for any length of time and lack of focus, difficulties in making decisions
Bloating and wind, constipation and or diarrhoea, changes in appetite, difficulty eating large meals, indigestion and burping
This may mean that your immune system is working hard to deal with an acute illness eg a virus or its in overdrive because of a chronic long term infection
You may experience a drop in body temperature, feel the cold more easily, or that you can’t cope with higher temperatures, possibly due to dysfunction of the HPA axis
Difficulty eating certain food groups, such as gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar and preservatives
Unrefreshed from a nights sleep in the morning, difficulty working, needing a nap in the day, fatigue the next day after exersion, fatigue after simple tasks
Swelling and soreness in joints which may flare and then subside or become worse towards the end of the day. You may have good and bad days
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Having originally trained as a physiotherapist where she became Head of Physiotherapy for Surgery including 3 intensive care units and A&E at the world famous Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town where she looked after Nelson Mandela. She continued her surgery and cardiothoraxic work at Milpark hospital in Johannesburg and then joined the Senior Management team at Dudley Road Hospital. She has lectured worldwide on the subject of blunt and penetrating chest trauma. She also completed her Master’s in Organisation Development and Coaching successfully running her own private business for 15 years working with directors and executives in corporate business
With this experience of the body systems and the effect that infection, surgery trauma and psychology can have on it, she then set up Optimal Energy Nutrition in 2013 to focus
specifically on a Integrated Nutritional Therapy and Coaching business for people with chronic illnesses, Lyme, Auto-immune conditions, ME/CFS, Chronic Fatigue, Long Covid, Gut issues, Autism, Skin conditions and Hormonal issues with clinics in London and Bedford.
She is registered with BANT and the CNHC and also The Institute for Functional Medicine and has completed the AFMCP course in London (the application of Functional Medicine) and many other IFM courses
She continues to educate herself having completed The ART courses (beginner ART 1 and 2, intermediate, and advanced) with Dr Klinghardt at the Klinghardt Academy and numerous Chronic Illness conferences in the USA every year focusing on Lyme, Mould and Chronic ill health. She has also completed most of the Kharrazian Institute courses on the gut, diabetes, immunity and immune tolerance, neurology and neuro inflammation with traumatic brain injury, thyroid and fertility/infertility.
Download your FREE guide that explores the ROOT CAUSES of chronic health issues.
This is the primary symptom and can in some cases be extreme in nature with some people being bedridden. Typically it is not feeling any benefit from sleep overnight and being exhausted by physical or mental tasks. There maybe disruption to the endocrine system, typically a general suppression of the hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal (HPA) axis, often associated with adrenal fatigue, however disruption can also occur with the thyroid gland responsible for the metabolism of every cell ln the body and the regulation of fuel sources
This can be disrupted with an inability to get off to sleep, frequent waking, poor quality sleep and feeling unrefreshed on waking. Frequent daytime naps maybe required making it very difficult to continue normal working hours. The disruption to sleep patterns over a long period, can in itself result in CFS
The toxic load of the liver is also an important consideration in chronic fatigue with a possible increase in burden from bacteria and viruses, as well as a possible antibody responses to the presence of heavy metals, which may be endocrine disrupters. Other toxins such as pesticides fertilizers and plastics may also be challenging to the sensitive individual effecting energy systems .
Individuals may enter a state of overwhelm and a permanently “switched on state” and or anxiety from sympathetic overdrive where the adrenal glands which produce cortisol eventually become exhausted and this can be associated with low levels of cortisol and DHEA. This can be from a sudden traumatic event, long term low level stress, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or gut dysbiosis (an imbalance in beneficial and non beneficial bacteria in the large intestine)
In CFS/ME an individual may present with enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or armpits or complain of a sore throat with episodes of low grade fever and painful aching joints. This could be as a result of the immune system trying to deal with an acute infection, Lyme disease and co infections, mould or a virus such as Epstein Barr (glandular fever)
One of the causes of fatigue in individuals is anaemia. This medical condition maybe due to a deficiency of iron. Energy systems in the body rely on vitamins and minerals such as zinc magnesium, B vitamins, selenium and vitamin D therefore it is essential to establish a nutrient dense diet and correct any deficiencies that may have arisen.
It has been found that a large number of CFS/ME clients experience food intolerances, allergy or sensitivities and find some foods increase fatigue, inflammation and pain. This is very much on an individual basis and can include gluten/NCGS, (non coeliac gluten sensitivity), dairy, nightshades, processed foods, soy and aspartame. Removing identified intolerances/sensitivities can often improve energy levels and activities performed.
As 70% of the immune system is in the gut evaluating the microbiome makes good sense. It is important to look for parasites, overgrowth of bacteria (dysbiosis), SIBO, yeast overgrowth and be able to assess digestive and inflammatory markers which are key to understanding your gut and immune health.
I work with FDX, Regenerus and Cyrex labs, to test Metabolic imbalances, Mould, Food Intolerances, Stool tests, SIBO, Environmental Toxins/Allergens and Pathogens. I also use AONM and Armin labs who use sophisticated elispot and antibody testing for a range of potential bacteria and viruses including Lyme Disease (borrelia Burgdorferi) and co-infections.
Hormones are very important in our body being the chemical messengers within it, co ordinating different functions, helping to maintain homeostasis and can in some instances control the function of entire organ.
Tests include Thyroid and Thyroid antibodies, Adrenals, Blood Sugar Regulation, Sex Hormones
Cyrex Labs offers advanced clinical tests for immune function and its dysregulation, with predictive auto-antibodies, identification of intestinal permeability, and advanced testing for wheat/gluten reactivity and many food sensitivities to name but a few.
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Download your FREE guide that explores the ROOT CAUSES of chronic health issues.
Here are some frequently asked questions that we get from people wanting to know more about Fibromyalgia
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There are many potential causes food intolerances, allergies, gut issues, bacteria and virus infections, immune health, hormone levels and chronic inflammation any of which may effect the whole body so it is important to approach this condition in a holistic way not just looking at individual symptoms, to enable you to make progress
Since the arise of Long COVID the medical community has taken another look at CFS/ME and it has had more attention. Getting better depends on identifying the root cause(s)and by using a holistic Functional Medicine approach, we can look at many systems in the body that may be disrupted and contributing to the ongoing CFS/ME
This depends on what the root cause is however if it is a food intolerance or nutrient deficiency these can be identified and corrected in a relative short period of time. If it is Lyme disease then this is a longer term issue, but by taking a systems approach means you should see progress at each stage.
From the initial consultation follow up appointments can be arranged to meet your individual needs both nutritionally, from a coaching perspective and lifestyle choices. The level of support will be provided that you require whether that is every week or after 6 weeks and with additional email support.
Schedule a complimentary discovery call with Helen directly to start your journey into discovering if Functional Medicine can help you.
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*This is not a substitute for medical care and supervision, results may vary from person to person.
