How Thrive As You Dietetics Came to Life

Written by Alannah Woodrow (APD)

The Unexpected Path That Led Me Here

If you’d told me at the start of studying to become a dietitian that:

1) I’d build my own private practice and,

2) that I’d build this space for humans with pelvic pain, endometriosis, neurodivergence, and connective tissue disorders,

I would NEVER have believed you and probably screamed a little.

For a moment, in late undergrad, I thought about opening my own multidisciplinary team private practice. But then I quickly forgot about that as I went into my master's. I thought I would be a clinical or food service dietitian in hospitals. However, then I had an awful first clinical placement that did not at all sell me on becoming a clinical dietitian in metro hospitals. And it really made me contemplate not even finishing my master’s and not becoming a dietitian. If that wasn’t enough, I then soon got significantly gaslighted in the post-op consult by the gynaecologist who did my diagnostic laparoscopy for endometriosis.

And honestly? Both experiences made me a shell of a human and shook me to my core for a long time.

But being diagnosed with Endometriosis was only the beginning. A list of new labels followed as treatment options after treatment options failed to improve my pain and symptoms. Including persistent pelvic pain, hypermobility spectrum disorder, IBS, functional dyspepsia, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Like many of you, I had to learn the hard way that answers aren’t quick, care isn’t always accessible and feeling dismissed cuts deeper than the pain itself.

I'm getting real, raw and vulnerable with you, sharing my story because I know my health story would look very different today if I weren't also a health professional. I’ve been through an insurmountable number of tough times since 2022. But I knew how to speak medical jargon, and this shaped my communication with my specialists and how I advocated for myself.

When the System Fell Short, I Built My Own Path

I noticed early on, both as a dietitian and as a patient, that I kept having many of the same experiences. And as I went to support groups, read Facebook posts and attended events held by organisations in my communities, I kept hearing that I wasn’t the only one. In fact, traditional healthcare has been missing some massive pieces to the puzzle:

·       Lived experience.

·       Curiosity.

·       Space.

·       Safety.

·       Trauma-informed care.

·       Neurodiversity-affirming care.

·       Permission for health professionals to be human.

When I sat in appointments, I could always tell when lived experience wasn’t in the room, and healthcare professionals didn't know when my trauma was in the room. I could feel the gap. The assumptions. The lack of nuance in putting modern pain science into practice with pelvic pain patients, that it isn’t just physical, it’s emotional, relational, hormonal, and neurological. It comes with fatigue, sensory overload, flare unpredictability, mental load, and so much more.

And then the penny dropped with two realisations:

·       As a chronically ill dietitian, I’ve struggled to find work that gave me everything my health and body needed. The flexibility, the support, the understanding and not too mentally or physically taxing.

·       Finding a dietitian who truly gets endometriosis, pelvic pain, neurodivergence, connective tissue disorders & co? Practically impossible.

So, as the saying goes, if you want something done right, sometimes you’ve got to do it yourself. And so, Thrive As You Dietetics was born out of a lot of big emotions, not a business plan. The powerful kind of emotions, the “this system needs to change, and I’m ready to be part of that change” kind.

Your Neurospicy, Croissant-Loving, Pelvic Pain Dietitian

So, this is who I am, and why I care so damn much. I’m Alannah, a woman of many things: a dietitian, a chronically ill girlie, a croissant enthusiast, and someone who always has a bevvy in hand! I’m also the Founder of Thrive As You Dietetics.

I help humans who live with pain, are a bit neurospicy, and endure dynamic, chronic, invisible illnesses. Using a whole-body approach, we’ll find real nutrition solutions that feel right for you, that free you from your gut dramas, replenish you and reclaim your love story with food.

Using neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed care, I’ll teach you the science behind how nutrition influences pain, inflammation, fatigue, the gut and where sensory sensitivities fit into this. I’ll support your nutrition to be as dynamic as you are—today, tomorrow, and every flare-up in between. You’ll gain nutrition solutions that work with your reality and support your symptoms—helping you show up socially with confidence and less fear of food. You’ll learn how food can help regulate your nervous system, make you feel safer in your body, and give you lasting nourishment.

The Why: I wanted to create the space I always needed

Thrive As You Dietetics came to life because I wanted a space where my kind of humans could be authentically themselves and could exhale for the first time in years.

A space where:

• You don't have to mask

• You don't have to justify your pain or symptoms

• You're not told to "just do low FODMAP"

• Your nervous system is part of the plan

• Food becomes supportive, not stressful

• You could explore your symptoms curiously

• Your care is strengths-based, not symptom-blaming

• You get to rebuild trust with your body — gently, slowly, compassionately

I wanted to build a practice where clients feel seen before they feel “treated.”

Where the goal isn’t just fewer flares…but more freedom. More autonomy in your care, more connection to yourself, and a positive reframe to what we often feel like “what’s wrong with me”.

Because the answer is nothing, absolutely nothing. We just live in a system not built for humans like us.

Where Thrive As You Dietetics is now

Today, TAY’D is a practice built intentionally for humans who are exhausted of feeling dismissed, ignored and unheard.

It’s for the people who:

• have pelvic pain, endo, adeno, POTS, hEDS/HSD, gut issues, chronic fatigue, or all of the above

• are neurodivergent and exhausted by systems that weren’t designed for their brains

• want nutrition care that works with their daily life

• crave clarity, compassion, and a plan that finally makes sense

• want a clinician who sees the whole human, not just the symptoms

This practice exists because you deserve care that’s: authentic, helps you feel like you belong in this world, is cheeky because laughing helps complete your stress cycle and helps bring some joy back into your life.

Wherever you are in your journey, I’m glad you’re here. And I hope this space helps you reconnect with food, movement, your body…and yourself.

With warmth,

Alannah

Thrive As You Dietetics