I would like recommend Steven Marsland as a Doctor of Functional Medicine.   

After being diagnosed in June 2017, I was prescribed by the consultant at my local hospital, a concoction of drugs as a solution to the disease. The first line of steroids – Prednisolone- worked reasonably well as it reduced the inflammation as well as toilet visits being reduced from 7/8 per day to ¾ per day. However, the down side was that it affected my sleep badly and subsequently my concentration. After a couple of months my mood was extremely low and was prescribed anti-depressants by my GP. The course of steroids lasted 7 weeks and around week 5, I was also prescribed Octasa, then Azathioprine along with the anti-depressants I was already taking. This is when my troubles really started.

I felt absolutely exhausted and some days I could not get out of bed or have a shower. I developed gout and could only walk by shuffling my feet a few centimetres at a time. When I did manage to get out of bed, I had to be helped by my wife who also had to help me in and out of the shower. Allopurinol was meant to be the medical solution to my gout but this continued the downward spiral. The period since diagnosis was now 3 months and my health was deteriorating rapidly, both physically and emotionally, as well as losing 14kg in weight.

In desperation, I sought an alternative solution and Dr Steve was recommended by a friend.

After spending time reviewing my medical history, not only the Crohn’s disease but also previous health conditions, Dr Steve recommended certain functional tests to help better understand the route cause of my condition, and where my overall health was out of balance.  These tests included a comprehensive nutritional evaluation, and organic acid test, and a comprehensive digestive stool analysis.  In the mean time, he recommended starting a two week elemental diet to rest the bowels and gut completely. This involved having no food whatsoever and taking nutritional shakes which are absorbed straight into the body. For a few days, I found this very tough and felt the desire to eat food, so a great deal of self-discipline is required. Dr Steve was very supportive and reassuring and was in contact daily. After day 4 the hunger pangs diminished and amazingly, I started to put on a little weight.

By the second week of the Elemental diet, I started to feel much better. The sleeping had improved and I had much more energy as well as toilet visits being back to 1 a day. This improvement continued daily and at the end of the two weeks I was ready to work with Dr Steve on slowly re-introducing food to my diet.

Initially, this was only one meal a day and I continued with the nutritional shakes at the same time. Dr Steve has a preferred list of low residue foods for re-introduction and in my case it was typically fish, chicken, rice, potatoes without the skin/carrots without skin.

From the results of my functional tests, he was able to see where I was deficient and out of balance in my overall health and nutrition levels.  He put together a detailed plan in order to not only get me feeling better as quickly as possible, but also to address the underlying cause of my condition, and to really heal my body.

It is now 5 months since I have been under Dr Steve’s guidance and have not felt so well in years. I have far more energy and am able to run/swim /play squash/ go on bike rides and much more besides. Additionally, I am on no medication apart from the supplements which Dr Steve prescribes.

Dr Steve is highly recommended and has turned my life and my family’s lives round from being absolute hell to living a normal happy life.   

I contacted Dr Steve for help with some long-standing issues I have had with my hormone balance.  I was seeking out a functional medicine doctor to help with this as conventional medicine had never been able to help.  When I came across Dr Steve, i was so pleased, and to find he did online sessions too worked great for me.  Before our first consultation he sent me a detailed questionnaire to complete; this already made me feel encouraged as it asked many questions that my medical doctors never had.  I really like his approach, and he explains everything thoroughly and in a very easy to understand way.  After only a month or two I started to see improvements in my body, and how I felt.  I stuck with the plan, and had regular sessions with him so we could make any adjustments needed.  As each month went on I just continued improving.  Even to this day I am continuing with his dietary and nutritional recommendations, as well as everything else he had advised.  I am like a different person.  I am so grateful I came across Dr Steve, and for the improved quality of life and health he has given me.

Dr Steve was recommended to me by a friend.  On hearing what he did, I just had to get in touch with him.  I had been struggling for a long time with a whole host of health issues, ranging from digestive troubles, to body pains and depression.  He took the time to listen to me and understand what I was going through.  We did a few functional lab tests to help understand what was going on and how my body was out of balance.  Dr Steve then put together a plan for me, which wasn’t too daunting, but over time made the changes necessary to regain my health.  This included excluding certain foods, changing my diet and eating habits, taking a few supplements, exercising in a specific way, as well as working on my mind and thoughts through meditation and journaling.  I am so happy that Dr Steve was recommended to me, and that I started seeing him.  I am still having regular sessions with him and sticking with the plan, and just feel so much better.  My digestion is back to normal, I no longer get the chronic pains in my body, and I feel so much happier.  Thanks Dr Steve.