Complex chronic illness rarely comes from a single cause. It arises when several systems - immune, inflammatory, endocrine, neurological, metabolic, gastrointestinal and psychological - begin to fail or compensate simultaneously. In these situations, symptoms no longer belong to one organ or one diagnosis; they are the outcome of a whole system under strain. This is also where standard mechanistic medicine often reaches its limits, because it treats each symptom and system separately. My work is to step back, see the entire pattern, and identify the true root drivers.

Through Lifecode Gx testing, I map the genetic landscape that shapes these complex interactions: methylation and one-carbon pathways (MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, SHMT1, BHMT) which regulate energy, detoxification and neurotransmitters; inflammatory and immune genes (TNF, IL6, IFNG, HLA subtypes, FUT2) which influence autoimmunity, infection susceptibility and mucosal integrity; detoxification genes (CYP450 enzymes, GSTs, SOD2, GPX, NQO1) which determine how well the body clears medications, toxins and oxidative stress; and hormonal and stress-response genes such as ESR1, NR3C1, COMT, MAOA and MAOB. Together, these pathways reveal why certain individuals become unwell under particular stresses, why medications destabilise them, and what the system needs to recover.

Medication interactions often sit at the centre of complex illness. Polypharmacy - combinations of steroids, blood-pressure medication, biologics, anticoagulants, analgesics, PPIs, hormone therapies or psychotropics - can create biochemical friction that disrupts methylation, depletes nutrients, blocks detoxification pathways, strains mitochondria, elevates inflammation or damages the gut barrier. Many people are unknowingly living with medication -driven imbalances that mimic disease. I help clients understand these interactions, reduce risk, and navigate them safely with their medical team while addressing the deeper biology beneath.

Functional testing adds another layer of clarity: gut infections, dysbiosis, malabsorption, high zonulin or calprotectin, mitochondrial dysfunction, adrenal collapse, chronic immune activation, histamine intolerance, vascular inflammation or impaired metabolic regulation. Rather than treating each finding separately, I read them as interconnected expressions of the same underlying imbalance - the body signalling how hard it has been working to cope.

The emotional and relational system is part of this picture too. Complex illness is shaped by trauma history, chronic stress, attachment wounds, fear, exhaustion, and the psychological impact of not being believed or properly understood by the medical system. The nervous system becomes hypervigilant, fatigued or shut down. My therapeutic work supports safety, coherence, meaning-making and regulation - essential conditions for biological healing.

By integrating genetics, medication mapping, functional medicine, nutritional therapy, homeopathy, trauma-informed therapeutic work, and the lived experience of each client, I build a personalised, phased plan that addresses root cause rather than symptom suppression. This holistic approach gives people - especially those who have been told their case is “too complex” - a coherent understanding of their illness and a clear path towards recovery.