Annabel was diagnosed with IBS after being hospitalised with crippling pain, aged 31. She experienced either constipation for several days, resulting in bleeding on passing a stool, or explosive diarrhoea which always coincided with work pressures. Her energy was low, she had very painful periods, recurrent thrush and cystitis, was low emotionally, and very stressed. She had had panic attacks since she was 17.

I suggested some dietary changes, gave her a herbal tincture, and some flower remedies to support her emotionally, together with breathing exercises and affirmations.

A month later, she said she was “much, much better”. She was stronger emotionally, more energetic and her bowel movements were improved a little. She had survived four stressful meetings without any diarrhoea at all. Her period pain had been manageable and her sugar cravings had virtually disappeared.

At our next meeting, Annabel said she was coping really well with stress, and still getting stronger emotionally. She described her last period as “fantastic, really easy”, she had not had a single panic attack and she was having a good bowel movement every day.

James, aged 2 years, 2 months had been suffering from eczema in his knee and elbow creases since he was 18 months old. It was dry, flaky and very red in colour, with deep cracks in the skin. They had tried an emollient cream from the pharmacy and then a Hydrocortisone cream, which did clear it, but it kept returning when they stopped using it.

I suspected a food intolerance and suggested removing the foods from James' diet, along with a couple of child-friendly supplements to improve his general health. We also discussed his skin-care to ensure no irritating shampoos or washes were used on his skin and I recommended a steroid-free cream to keep in case of flare-ups.

At his next appointment, a month later, James' Mum reported a steady improvement. His elbows showed only two small spots in each crease. The skin was not so flaky or red. We continued with the supplements and dietary changes for another month and saw more improvements. James' left elbow was totally clear, and the right elbow showed only a slight redness, as did both knees. He hadn't really been scratching at all and had only had one flare-up. The third month of treatment saw more improvement and the by fourth month, James had no visible eczema and had experienced no flare-ups at all.

Jane was 50 and came to me after her doctor recommended a hysterectomy for her heavy uterine bleeding and painful menstruation. Her situation was serious: she had been bleeding continuously for three months. During her periods, she bled so heavily she could not be away from her home for even one hour, and had to get up in the night to change. She also experienced severe pre-menstrual symptoms and was sleeping badly. Jane was was tired, anaemic and prone to nausea and dizziness.

After three weeks of taking the herbal medicine I prescribed, Jane's bleeding stopped, her energy had increased a little and she was sleeping better. Her period was much improved, with no flooding, and no problems leaving the house, and she was able to sleep through the night.

Amy came to see me when she was 43, with a long history of headaches and fatigue. She was also concerned wasn't eating the right things. She experienced weekly headaches, which she treated with aspirin, and migraine headaches fortnightly, sometimes vomiting throughout the night. She was exhausted and rated her energy levels 4 out of 10.

I gave Amy a herbal tincture to take three times daily, and another to help with the pain. When she returned a month later, she had had only one migraine that month. She had felt the beginnings of a headache a few times, but was fine after some water and an early night. She was delighted! Her energy levels had increased to 7 or 8, and she was sleeping better.

At our second appointment, Amy reported no headaches, and had made some positive changes to her diet, as well as begun a yoga class. Two months later, Amy was exercising every morning, sleeping “extremely well”, had plenty of energy and no headaches at all.