North West Nutritional Therapist needed

[TrishG67]

Hi if any body can highly recommend a good nutritional therapist could they please private message me. Located in the North preferred but not essential in current times eith zoom etc. Struggling to get improvements with constipation, diverticular disease & chronic GERD. Many thanks in advance

[xjrs]

I wanted to share my experience of nutritional therapists with you. Unfortunately it isn't a great picture. I had an awful experience under their guidance (I'd had 2 separate ones). After a number of very expensive tests (Doctor's Data stool analysis and parasitology, Precision Analytical Dutch hormone test, Genova Diagnostics Steroidogenic Pathways, Great Plains Microbial Organic Acids test, BreathTrackers SIBO breath test), a brutal several months followed trying to treat SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) and a Citrobacter freundii infection with a liquid diet, a low carbohydrate diet, antibiotics (Rifaxamin & Neomycin for SIBO and another antibiotic for Citrobacter freundii) and natural antimicrobials. I lost a stone in weight, became quite ill and lost confidence in myself from the treatment but had no improvement in symptoms. A turn in fate is that after the SIBO treatment my Calprotectin level, an inflammation marker, became sky- high which meant that I had further investigations via the NHS including a small bowel MRI scan and colonoscopies. From this it was clear that it was unlikely I’d ever had SIBO. People can have SIBO, but the tests for it, including breath tests, are not accurate. It has a distinct set of causes, which, if you don’t have any of these (such as a compromised pancreas among others), you are unlikely to have it. Every therapist I had correspondence with (and I'd been in contact with many) - all suspected that I had SIBO - it seems to be the latest health fad, but I think a lot of people are getting treatments unnecessarily. If you went with a therapist it is highly likely they will tell you that you have this. My gastroenterlogist stated that real cases of SIBO are rare. If someone does have it it is extremely difficult to treat and it can take months - in the mean time these people are picking up high fees from you and making you more ill in the process. In total I spent £4.5k on tests, therapist fees, expensive antibiotics and extortionate supplements - money I'd set aside for some work needed on my house. One therapist recommended supplements that in total would have cost me around £600 per month to start off with and she didn't seem to bat an eyelid about the cost - as you can understand I went with someone else - but they didn't really help me either.

I found all of their advice to be contradictory from one week to the next. Note that I had trawled the whole internet for therapists from every corner of the UK who would do online consultations. I check out their fees, qualifications and reviews etc. The two I ended up picking were the 'best' of the bunch without having to take out a mortgage for it (some charge hundreds of pounds for a 1 hour consultation). My research was so deep that I even found an article on one that had been a struck off doctor. Another one said that I would need to heal my past life karma as part of the treatment and as soon as I made contact kept badgering me with emails to put pressure on me to sign up with her and commit to sending off immediately for tests that would cost hundreds of pounds.

Please note some of the nutritional therapy qualifications only have a prerequisite of maths and English GCSE, but the kind of tests they do and diagnosis they make are not much different from a doctor. I'm sure that you wouldn't be happy with a doctor if they'd basic qualifications and just attended a course rather than studying for 7 years? There may be some out there who are really switched on, but they are operating in an unregulated area and some of the science they are relying on are based on small studies and haven't undergone rigorous testing.

I am sorry that you may not want to hear this, but if I can stop someone going through the hell and expense that I had then all the better.

[TrishG67 in reply to xjrs]

Hi thank you so much for your detailed response and honesty. I too have already spent thousands. Had Genova GI stool test, SIBO test, H Pylori test , numerous private bloods, intolerance food test, hair mineral test, spend an absolute fortune on endless supplements and like you ended up so poorly after some of them. I have a cupboard full of so much it's like a health shop. Then I was recently recommended one in Cheshire from a friend who is flabbergasted at how poorly I have been for so long. Someone she knows used them. So I had a 30 min chat free of charge but they want £875 for 4 session package! When I looked for reviews there are only a few on google the rest are just testimonials on their website which they could have just put on there themselves as marketing. I am so desparate for good health but cant afford this much now I am all out of funds, especially if it wont get me results. I just need to hear some positive genuine re views from this clinic before I consider lending the money? Thanks for your support, its horrendous isnt it wandering will you ever feel normal again . X

[xjrs in reply to TrishG67]

OMG - I can't believe that price! I too have a cupboard full of supplements that they told me to take which made me worse and I can't use them. One of them cost £75 a bottle - I found out that it had ingredients that I shouldn't be taking. She didn't even know what was in it.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch these people with a barge pole. The whole industry needs to be regulated - they are making a fortune out of people's ill health and not really helping them to boot.

Is there any way that you can find a good gastroenterlogist under the NHS?

I think we have had some chats before. I do feel for you.

[userotc in reply to xjrs]

The industry IS regulated - check out bodies such as BANT and CNHC.

[xjrs in reply to userotc]

theguardian.com/befit/story...

The BDA and Nutrition Society each recognise the other's qualifications. The British Association of Nutritional Therapists (Bant), has more than 1,000 members, some of them students. The Nutrition Society does not recognise Bant members unless they have degrees in nutrition, believing that they may not otherwise be sufficiently qualified. Wenlock says of some of the courses recognised by Bant: "They aren't in enough depth, don't do enough biochemistry or physiology or epidemiology."

AAFP: Functional Medicine lacks supporting evidence; includes “harmful” and “dangerous” treatments: sciencebasedmedicine.org/aa...

[userotc in reply to xjrs]

There's many reasons why one squabbling organisation would want to discredit another, some declared some not. For example NS is represented on Advisory Board of Government which has the NHS and which we all know is in the pockets of big pharma and food companies.

Meanwhile BANT is widely recognised by leading suppliers of supplements etc.

Re current events alone, most global nutritionists have been advising since the start of covid that various vitamins and minerals will protect against it. Allopathic medicine, Governments haven't - though UK Government belatedly relenting.

So do you want someone that cares about people's health (their consultation structures confirm that) or someone with (possibly) more qualifications that doesn't?

[xjrs in reply to userotc]

You are very lucky that you had a good experience. I am glad for you. All I can do is relay my own experience which mirrors many other posts that I have seen on the subject. Quite frankly from an IBS point of view nothing is 'ideal'. Far more research is needed.

[userotc]

Im staggered by the bad press of nutritional therapists in this post. My personal experience is very good and MUCH better than Ive had from the NHS! I did have an issue with a private, SIBO test (which Ive referred to on this forum before) but that was not the fault of a NT.

In summary, natural therapy gets to the root cause of your problem. Alternatively, if in UK, you can go to the NHS which, at best, just suppresses the symptoms (which are likely to resurface elsewhere down the line). Unfortunately we live in a country that takes our taxes to pay for the latter, useless treatment not the former so it seems to be free. A rope trick!

The NHS was set up to get people back to work rather than cure them. I know which I want!.

[ClareLou]

I haven’t used a nutritionist myself but I have used a dietitian

You can find a private dietitian using this website freelancedietitians.org/die...

Dietitian is a protected title so you can only call yourself that if you are qualified etc.

I’ve used an NHS dietitian where I live in the north west of England to carry out the FODMAP diet they were a great help. Depending on the rules where you live you may be able to do a self referral or you may need to see your gp who can do the referral for you .

[userotc in reply to ClareLou]

Please dont think that natural therapists such as nutritionists are not qualified. They are qualified in areas of natural treatment - a minimum of 3 years' initial training generally followed by ongoing training thereafter.

[ClareLou in reply to userotc]

Sorry but I didn’t make a comment about nutritionists in my post I was sharing my experience of using an NHS dietitian and how you can find a private resisted dietitian should you not have access to an NHS on where you live.

It is true however that the title of dietitian is a protected title just like the title of of gp etc you can brake the law if you call yourself by a protected title and you don’t met the requirements.

[Batteria]

Hi

I went to see two nutritionists and they both said that I knew more than they did. There are many books on the market that cover this subject and you will eventually become an authority yourself. My particular favourite is:

The clever guts diet

By dr Michael Mosley

ISBN no 9 781780 723044

Take your time and take notes. Buona fortuna

I’m not decrying nutritionists or dieticians. I am merely saying that although they were lovely people they were not able to help me.

[userotc in reply to Batteria]

Nice to know nutritionists have some humility. Unfortunately the experience of myself and direct family members is that GPs don't have such humility - they are always right even when wrong! I saw several GPs and an endocrinologist for my condition and kept a record of their understanding of it - on a postage stamp!

We also do lots of our own research on natural healthcare but have no hesitation in also deploying well-qualified, natural practitioners. It's health after all!

[TrishG67]

Thank you everybody for your help and advice. Please dont anybody get upset over somebody elses experience. We all have good & bad experiences of different means of support or treatment. I have managed to speak with gastro team earlier who is now going to arrange a referral to NHS dietician.🤞 I will take a look at the Michael Mosley book. Thanks for the tip👍