My Story

In June 2010 I was “requested” to go to Bangalore, India to train people to do my job.

A fascinating place and people, but unfortunately despite all the precautions I developed a stomach and then chest infection. Back in the UK the GP’s were far from interested and it wasn’t until my third visit in a month that they took various samples. Over the next seven months I kept getting relapses, which was awkward as I worked away during the week in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. I must have spent half that time on antibiotics. It was the February 2011 half term holiday and luckily my wife and daughter were with me in Ireland. Monday morning, I just felt totally exhausted with chest problems and pains everywhere. I visited the local doctor who signed me off on antibiotics and told me to come back in three days. I decided to let the girls enjoy there break and made an appointment with my GP back in the UK on our return. 

Sadly that was my last time in Ireland and also the last time I worked as a

 Chartered Quantity Surveyor.

The symptoms got worse. 

Headaches, various pains which moved around the body, stomach problems, very disturbed sleep (probably no more than two hours a night), tired all the time , restless leg syndrome, lethargic, poor concentration, brain fog, irritability, poor balance and dizziness, noise sensitive, my tinnitus became worse, intermittent chest problems, palpitations and hand tremors, loss of feeling if I walked any distance in my left arm, inability to travel/drive any distance continued stomach problems, loss of libido and probably one or two others things lost in the passing of time.

Luckily my company maintained my health insurance for the first 12 months so I was referred rapidly to a chest specialist, cardiologist, endocrinologist and gastroenterologist all of whom drew a blank.

My GP suggested counselling and asked if I was depressed and if

 I wanted to leave my wife!!!!!

The councillor was very pleasant and agreed with me that there was 

nothing wrong that way.

After nearly a year the GP decided to refer me, at my request (my father-in-law a retired vet and first port of call for all things medical insisted I should push for this), to the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool. It took three visits to the GP, each time saying he was going to sort the appointment. He then gave me an appointment 

with a nurse to get the information required. She thought I’d turned up for a flu jab. Luckily she had more about her than the GP and had all the forms sent over from

 the School of Tropical Medicine there and then so we could fill them in together. All that was left was the GP’s part of the  report. That took her a further four weeks to get him to sign the forms. She eventually had to stand over him to make sure he filled them out. Then, surprise, surprise the forms went missing in the post, if they were ever posted. And then were miraculously received immediately after a rather irate   conversation with my surgery. After further tests, including MRI scans they  diagnosed Post Viral Syndrome – also known as Fibromyalgia, ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, take your pick. Interestingly may of the symtoms are similar to those 

shown in Long Covid

I spent almost eighteen months sitting in a chair unable to read and found television exhausting and annoying, so didn’t bother with that either. I was in a constant brain fog and on four different painkillers four times a day, but was still in perpetual pain. I was averaging about two hours sleep a night.

A friend of my daughters, who also had Post Viral Syndrome, had been to visit a Bowen Therapist and suggested I book an appointment. 

Nothing else was working, so why not give it a try?

After the first session I had my first full night’s sleep in eighteen months. The symptoms stayed the same and I didn’t sleep well again after the first night, but I’d slept. I continued with weekly sessions for a month then went to fortnightly sessions. The longest I could go at the time before symptoms started recurring. After six weeks I asked my GP if I could reduce or come off the medications as I feeling relatively pain free. The response was no, and that I could double the meds if required. 

I decided to take myself off all medication, that was January 2013, and I haven’t taken them since. I eventually, gradually, cut down the Bowen sessions to one every six weeks – the maximum time before things seemed to start going backwards.

I was so impressed my therapist suggested I take a course in “The Bowen Technique”. 

I thought it would be useful to have something I could do from home at my own pace. At that time I still had very poor balance and needed walking sticks to get around on. 

I still had brain fog and was tired most of the time. Two months after starting my Bowen treatments, the College of Bowen Studies (CBS) decided to run a course from Chester. At only 13 miles away I had no excuse. 

And what a life changer that was. Sylvia Wilkinson is a brilliant teacher. She was very understanding of my condition and a great help. Half way through the course Sylvia was to show us a new move, the Pelvic Procedure. I had no choice, I was the guinea pig. It took the rest of the class about fifteen minutes to go through all my faults in posture etc. – I must admit I had a laughing fit at all the faults. 

Sylvia laid me on the table and over about 45 minutes went over the preparation moves and the procedure itself. We were then sent out for lunch to come back and practice in the afternoon. After lunch Sylvia asked if there were any questions prior to commencing practice. I said no questions but a comment. Whilst wandering around Chester at lunchtime I realised I was carrying, rather than using my sticks. Up again in front of the class and what a difference in comments. I have not needed the sticks since, which was July 2013. I qualified in December 2013.

Do I still  go to see a Bowen Therapist? Yes, about every six weeks for maintenance treatments.

But the Bowen Technique has given me back my life,

AND FROM FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE

I KNOW IT WORKS