For years, viewers knew Amy Allan as the composed physical medium who entered some of the most unsettling locations featured on The Dead Files. Away from the cameras, however, Allan has described a far more personal struggle—one involving chronic pain, severe fatigue, trauma symptoms, menopause and a treatment process that is still evolving.
Her recent updates do not tell a simple recovery story. Instead, they reveal an ongoing attempt to find the right combination of medication, hormone treatment, rest and a more manageable way of working.
Amy Allan first opened up about her health in 2022
The clearest starting point came in November 2022, when Allan told followers that she was seeking help for complex post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly shortened to CPTSD. She said menopause had triggered or intensified the condition and had also brought on what she described as severe fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
That disclosure provided important context for the health problems she would continue discussing over the following years.
Fibromyalgia is associated with chronic widespread pain, overwhelming fatigue and sleep problems. ME/CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, can produce disabling exhaustion that is not relieved by rest and can worsen after physical or mental exertion. CPTSD can include trauma flashbacks, heightened alertness, emotional regulation difficulties and feelings of disconnection. These conditions can overlap in ways that make everyday functioning and treatment complicated.
Allan has not published her medical records or a detailed diagnostic history. Therefore, any account of her condition must be based strictly on the terminology she has used publicly.
Why Amy Allan stepped away from The Dead Files
Allan’s departure from The Dead Files was announced in 2023, ending her long run alongside former homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi. She was replaced by medium Cindy Kaza during the show’s fifteenth season.
Later that year, Allan offered a more personal explanation. In a November 2023 video, she discussed how repeatedly working as a physical medium had contributed to her running herself into the ground. She again referenced severe CPTSD, menopause, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue while explaining why continuing at the same pace had become unsustainable.
Her comments suggested that leaving the programme was not simply a career change. It was part of a larger effort to protect her physical and psychological health after years of demanding travel, filming and emotionally intense investigations.
January 2026 brought several frightening setbacks
On January 21, 2026, Allan returned with one of her most revealing updates.
She said a woman had entered her home, creating what Allan described as a home invasion. According to Allan, she managed to talk the woman into leaving. She did not disclose whether police became involved or explain how the person entered the property.
Allan also revealed that her car had been in an accident and remained in the repair shop approximately one month later. She clarified that she had not been inside the vehicle. Her statement that “D is ok” almost certainly referred to her dog Desi, whom she has called “D” in posts, rather than an unidentified human passenger.
Those incidents formed the troubling background to her health update, although Allan did not directly state that either event caused a worsening of her chronic conditions.
At the same time, she revealed that she had begun a new medication intended to help with “mcefs,” fibromyalgia and CPTSD. Her wording appears to have been a misspelling of ME/CFS, especially because she had previously discussed severe chronic fatigue. However, she did not name the medication or explain whether it had been prescribed primarily for pain, fatigue, anxiety, trauma symptoms or several overlapping problems.
The early response was not encouraging. Allan bluntly said she felt terrible while adjusting to it. She also announced plans to begin hormone replacement therapy and said she expected to start an international school programme the following month. Despite everything happening around her, she hoped to resume working with clients and reopened her online store.
That January post captured both sides of her situation: her symptoms and circumstances remained difficult, but she was still trying to rebuild some structure around work, education and treatment.
February update: the medication switch was “not great”
In her February 2026 follow-up, Allan reported dealing with a cold and extremely severe allergies. More importantly, she said the medication switch was not going well.
Rather than abandoning the treatment immediately, she indicated that the dosage would probably be increased. She was also still waiting to begin HRT, although messages from followers who had experience with hormone treatment had reportedly given her hope.
This update showed that Allan was still in the trial-and-adjustment stage. A medication change can take time to evaluate, but her post contained no suggestion that the new treatment had yet brought dependable relief.
The February message also did not confirm whether she had started the international school programme she had mentioned in January. Her education plans may have continued privately, but no firm public confirmation appeared in the health updates reviewed here.
Latest update: HRT appears tolerable, but trauma symptoms remain active
Allan’s latest substantial health update, posted in May 2026, offered one encouraging development: she had finally started HRT.
She said she had been receiving hormone treatment for approximately a month and a half and that it appeared to be going “okay.” However, she had not noticed any clear changes yet. That timeline suggests she likely began treatment around early April.
Hormone therapy replaces hormones—most commonly oestrogen, sometimes combined with a progestogen—that decline during the menopause transition. It can help with certain menopausal symptoms, but results, risks and appropriate treatment plans vary significantly from person to person. Allan has not disclosed what hormones she is taking, her dosage or the specific symptoms her clinician is targeting.
Her update was less positive regarding her other medication. Allan said she planned to ask for another dosage increase because she was continuing to experience too many anxiety attacks, CPTSD flashbacks and episodes.
That admission is the most important part of her latest update. Although she appears to be tolerating HRT so far, she has not said that her CPTSD, fibromyalgia or fatigue have substantially improved. Her trauma-related symptoms remain active enough that she believes her medication needs further adjustment.
Is Amy Allan recovering?
It would be premature to describe Allan as recovered.
Her progression is better understood as active health management:
In 2022, she identified menopause, CPTSD, severe fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue as major problems.
In 2023, she connected those struggles to the physical and emotional toll of her work and explained why she could no longer continue The Dead Files at the same pace.
In January 2026, she started a new medication but initially felt considerably worse while also dealing with a home intrusion and the aftermath of a car accident.
In February, she said the medication switch was still not going well and that she remained waiting for HRT.
By May, she had begun HRT and appeared to be tolerating it, but she had not noticed obvious benefits. Meanwhile, anxiety attacks, flashbacks and CPTSD episodes were continuing.
There are signs of forward movement. Allan is actively seeking treatment, communicating with her prescribers, considering dosage changes, operating her store and discussing a possible return to client work. But there is no evidence yet of a complete or stable recovery.
Her updates instead show how chronic illness and trauma recovery often unfold: not through one dramatic breakthrough, but through medication trials, setbacks, cautious progress and repeated reassessment.
For fans waiting to see Amy Allan return to a full public workload, the latest message offers hope—but also a reason for patience. She is moving forward, although her own words make clear that the process remains difficult and unfinished.
