FROM CHRONIC ILLNESS TO AWARD-WINNING PRACTITIONER

My journey from chronic fatigue, to training as a nutritionist, and running a thriving health food shop and clinic

I’m Sarah Hagen, and I want to tell you about my personal journey of illness and recovery, which started at the age of 36 when I developed chronic fatigue, and led to something I never expected: a thriving health food shop and clinic, an award, and a life with purpose.

My Chronic Fatigue: Causes, Symptoms & Impact

My husband, daughter and I moved to the Isle of Wight for a new start in October 2004, and in the following August, after a busy week at work and a usual sore throat, my body finally crashed into an exhaustion which didn’t go away. I ended up not able to work, and my day revolved around resting and completing necessary tasks for my daughter who was 6 years old at the time. I’d get her ready in the morning, drive her to school, sleep, set an alarm to eat food, then another alarm to collect her. After making her dinner, I’d lie on the sofa behind her while she watched television, and then I’d go to bed to sleep as soon as she did. This was repeated day after day for around three years, and I feared this was how I was going to feel for the rest of my life. I lost friends and felt I was missing out on my daughter’s childhood.

As I’m sure many of you know from working with your own clients, chronic illness can arise from many different reasons, and when I look back at my own life, I can identify several possible factors. My dad died when I was 3 years old, and the doctors put me on phenabarbitol for the next two years. This is a strong drug which is used as a sedative or for seizures in adults. They supposedly did this to make it easier for my mum to cope.

This photo is of me starting school just after being taken off the drug, and I actually have no memory of that time, or any memories of my father. I was brought up on a heavily processed diet of microwave meals, and experienced high levels of long-term stress in my work and in my personal life with family conflicts, and abusive relationships.

This is a picture of me in my work, my job involved running club-level, national and world championship sailing events.  I generally ran about 30 events a year with no days off at the busy part of the year which was April until beginning of October.  There were already signs of tiredness but kept working relying on caffeine, sugar and energy drinks to keep me going.

I never had a lot of energy compared to my friends, but just accepted that was my normal. But I always describe chronic fatigue as a different type of tiredness. Everything feels heavier and harder – moving around, doing simple tasks, thinking, and processing anything. It’s like wading through treacle – physically and mentally. I got to the point that I couldn’t lift the hairdryer after getting out of the shower, and it seems unbelievable to me now when I remember how ill I was. In fact, last week while on a 20-mile walk, I was thinking how far I’ve come since being unable to take my daughter for the 10-minute walk to school. My body was completely burnt out and the doctors I went to for help said I’d be ill for 20 years and there was nothing they could do. That was the last comment they made to me because I didn’t go back to discuss anything further with them. I realised I had to try to help myself and take my health into my own hands.

The Turning Point: Taking Control of My Health

I intuitively knew to get the foundations of health right first and build from there, but blood tests for vitamins etc.. didn’t reveal anything much for me. Then I began reading about other people’s journeys online, but the research was slow as I was unable to focus on a computer for long periods of time. To be honest, the amount of conflicting information was overwhelming, and I went down multiple rabbit holes. I wanted to focus on more natural and holistic ways to get well and consulted several different therapists – at one stage paying over £300 per month – but nothing seemed to be working, so I stopped all of this. 

I started to realise the way we fuel our bodies is so crucial, see food as medicine, and understand that the gut is a cornerstone of health. This led me to investigate food sensitivities, and I had tests with CNSLab to see if there were any foods upsetting my system.

This is one of my early tests, and for anyone else familiar with seeing these kinds of results, there was quite a lot I had to eliminate from my diet. On top of this I removed all stimulants – sugars, caffeine and alcohol, practiced meditation and worked on reducing my stress levels. As you may know, the aim with food sensitivity results is to take out all the foods in the red category from the diet 100% for a minimum of three months. The foods in the yellow (borderline foods) can be kept in the diet once every 3-4 days.

And so I began a long process of healing, nourishing the body, learning how to deal with stress differently, and recognizing I was stronger than I thought. Over the next three years, I slowly regained energy. I focused on set tasks in the day to avoid causing a ‘boom and bust’ scenario – stopping before the exhaustion set in, and banking energy on the good days. Everything became structured – I’d get up at the same time (however bad I was feeling), have meals at the same time, meditation at the same time, go to bed at same time. I’d found Dr Sarah Myhill’s site which led me to use an infared sauna and daylight lamp to help detox naturally. Initially, it would take me up to 2 hours in the sauna to even begin perspiring – generally someone in good health would probably take 10-15  mins. During the whole process my sleep patterns changed from extremely vivid dreams and waking up still exhausted, to a better REM cycle and feeling more refreshed and rested.

These are the results of my most recent food sensitivity test – you can see the marked improvement. I now eat a plant-based diet, and continue to support and rebalance my body.

To a certain degree, we’re always working on our gut health as life keeps throwing things at us, but I am definitely happy with how I feel and how I’m still progressing. My original journey of healing ignited a passion to learn more, so I decided to formally study nutrition, and turn the most difficult time in my life into something positive.

From Recovery to Vocation: Helping Others Heal

While studying, I was still recovering, so progress was slow. I eventually trained to become an Advanced Nutritionist, and after qualifying, my plan was to see clients from my home - but although I was regularly advertising, appointment bookings were few and far between. A lot of the supplements and foods I recommended to clients weren’t available locally, so I kept a small stock to sell, and set up my dining room as a mini shop. I launched a website as a further way to promote my services, but it didn’t receive much traffic.

I hadn’t even thought about opening a shop, but around a year in, a premises became available in Cowes High Street, close to where I live. I made a probably rash decision to take it on in Feb 2011 to run a Health Food Shop alongside nutrition consultations. I went through wholesale catalogues, deciding what to stock, and looking back, I didn’t have much idea what I was doing. It was a huge commitment, and I feared becoming ill again, so I made the decision to also take on full-time staff from the beginning so the shop could stay open if I became unable to work. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. On the day I opened Healthy Indulgence, there was a queue outside and it was such an exciting day. The photos show that the shop wasn’t very full, but it was a start.

Takings were fairly low for a while, but they’ve gradually increased year on year to where we are now 14 years later with 3 part-time staff, and a full diary of between 20 to 25 clients every week. I work full time not only seeing clients but also manage all the accounts and paperwork, cook regularly for the shop and of course cover staff holiday and illness. We’ve become a hub for customers to come and ask health questions and receive help and support, and it’s been rewarding seeing families grow and regularly shop with us over the years. 

Growing My Practice: Challenges and Successes

At the beginning, I was quite textbook with the way I approached consultations, but it’s so important to work holistically and tailor advice to clients’ own individual circumstances as their histories and journeys are unique and complex. I work locally, nationally, and internationally with a variety of clients with many different health issues, but my main focus is food sensitivity testing (in partnership with CNSLab) and healing the gut. It’s helpful to know a baseline with regards to vitamins and minerals in the body, so we recommend blood testing – either with the doctor or through our clinic.

When dealing with food sensitivities, as I mentioned earlier, the problem foods are eliminated for a minimum of three months, and then we begin the gut healing protocols. We start with L-Glutamine to help fix the permeability of the gut lining, continue with FOS as a prebiotic, and then add a high-strength, multi-strain probiotic to populate the microbiome – but of course this process has to be tailored or completely changed to suit some clients. Once the gut is stronger, it’s possible to reintroduce many of the eliminated foods, but generally at a lower level than before. I recommend a three-day rule – only eating a certain thing once every three days. This prevents the gut becoming overloading with any individual food, as generally people eat very routinely – especially at breakfast and lunch. If after this process, the client still has issues, we will recommend more in-depth analysis including gut microbiome testing. The majority of my clients these days are through word-of-mouth referrals from people I’ve helped previously – the best kind of feedback – and they often come to me after the advice and medication they’ve been given by the NHS hasn’t worked.

I want to tell you about one of my recent clients, and show you the dramatic improvements made after food testing and gut healing. Kate’s skin issues began in 2017 with sore, red cracked lips, and then progressed to areas around the mouth, face and neck. She managed this with various creams and despite several visits to the GP, was not referred for any allergy testing until late 2018. Prick testing for standard allergens was negative, and patch testing revealed a fragrance mix allergy. She went completely fragrance free/no parabens/SLS on all products she used on her skin, but it made no difference. 

Kate was referred to a dermatologist in March 2020 when her skin issues worsened. Over the course of 4 years, she was prescribed oral steroids, strong steroid creams, various immunosuppressants (methotrexate, cyclosporine), and biologic drugs which worked for a short while before her skin flared up again. She was then prescribed an antibiotic which worked well to calm her skin, so she was kept on it for a prolonged period of approximately 1 year. The constant use of antibiotics resulted in MRSA, which was undetected for several months, and she was then prescribed a stronger antibiotic for a further year. Kate had several skin biopsies taken, was tested for lupus, and reviewed by a forum of dermatology consultants from across the south coast. But none were able to offer any root cause or solutions. She later realised the prolonged use of the steroid cream had worsened her skin and she developed topical steroid withdrawal. 

She suspected her gut health was the cause, but this was always dismissed by her dermatologist. Kate visited a private consultant in London who conducted a food sensitivity and gut microbiome test. Only 40 foods were tested, but it showed 16 at an elevated level, and 4 borderline. She was advised to follow a strict elimination diet, which initially helped but soon the skin issues returned. 

She found me in January 2024, having suffered with this debilitating skin condition for over 6 years. While keeping the previously identified foods out of her diet, I put Kate on 2 courses of Allimed (which is Allicin), followed by L-Glutamine, then FoS Prebiotic and finally a probiotic. I also advised her to follow the three-day, food-rotation rule. Her skin condition began to clear up almost immediately and has remained clear to date.

Kate remains very cautious of her elevated foods and continues to eliminate most of them. She’s still on her gut healing journey but says she’ll be forever grateful to me for my ongoing advice and guidance, and how it’s changed her life!  

This case highlight that food sensitivities can materialize as a range of symptoms in the body. They don’t just cause digestive issues such as bloating, IBS and reflux, but can also present as skin conditions, migraines, anxiety, depression and so much more. 

Another of my previous clients has now been a valuable member of my team at Healthy Indulgence for the past 6 years. Fran first came to see me in 2014 after suffering from chronic fatigue, IBS symptoms, eczema, and candida. Her issues began after a course of antibiotics for an ear infection, and had been continuing for 15 years at this point. After multiple appointments, and an investigative colonoscopy and endoscopy, the doctors were only able to prescribe medication for the symptoms. I advised her to look at food sensitivities, and the initial test we performed showed a reaction to 16 foods.

Although it was a huge challenge to cut out most of the things she regularly ate, she eliminated the foods, followed an anti-candida diet of no sugar and yeasts, and added in anti-fungal supplements such as Allicin. Fran says it’s made a massive difference and she no longer experiences any of her previous symptoms. Once existing on convenience foods, she now eats a whole-food, plant-based diet and has never felt better.

From a business point of view, it’s also very beneficial to have a team member who’s made the changes and experienced the improvements. She’s able to talk to customers from the perspective of someone who’s successfully gone through the process.

What I’ve Learned: Enjoying the Journey

I’ve progressed so far with my own health and in my practice, and I can honestly say I enjoy going to work every day. An unexpected ‘pinch me’ moment was when I got a call from CNSLab telling me I’d been awarded their Practitioner of the Year. My first response was “Are you sure you have the right person – I’m the practitioner on the Isle of Wight!!” This recognition was a huge validation and confidence boost, and the response from the local community has been so positive. Many new and amazing opportunities have begun opening up as a result – and of course doing this talk is one of them! Last year, I was given another huge opportunity when A.Vogel invited me to visit their headquarters in Switzerland for four days. 

The body wants to be well, and we just need to give it the right environment – but it’s not a quick fix, and we need to be patient in our healing. We all need to value keeping good health, because when we lose it, we lose our choices and become limited. I have too many clients with high anxiety and illness who feel trapped in life and find it hard to make changes as they can’t visualise the potential of being well. Illness can start to define an individual’s life, and I try to help them learn a new way and not just give in and accept it. It’s too easy for some people to blame problems on age, but it’s about finding ways to rebalance the body at any stage of life. And we have to remember everyone is an individual – we’re not all clones – so we have to learn to listen to not only what the client is telling us, but unraveling what the symptoms are telling us too.

Even though having chronic fatigue was one of my lowest points, learning to overcome it enabled me to find inner strength and resilience, and led me towards a passion for helping others recover from their own health conditions. I almost want to thank the doctor from all those years ago who told me there was nothing they could do. In some ways they became the catalyst to me making all these positive life changes.