BODY
Chance discovery for IBS sufferer Lisa Rowat’s life was ruined by IBS until a chance discovery changed her world. Original interview by Melanie Whitehouse for S Magazine
Until the age of 13, Lisa Rowat (pictured above) was a normal, healthy youngster who could eat almost anything. But around the time she began her periods, she started getting crippling abdominal pains and bloating after meals. “The cramps were so bad I even landed up in A&E one night because my mum thought I’d got an appendicitis,” Lisa says. Foods that seemed to trigger a reaction included bread, onions, mushrooms and green peppers, and by the time she was 16, almost everything Lisa ate resulted in diarrhoea or vomiting. Lisa’s doctor said her problem was Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and that flare-ups were linked to her menstrual cycle. Various treatments were recommended, from
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Fybogel to Imodium (which can cause constipation – a very bad thing for IBS sufferers). Then, in 2007, Lisa was sent for an endoscopy and colonoscopy, followed by a biopsy on both her bowel and intestine. No problems were revealed, other than an intolerance to gluten. “So I started a gluten-free diet but that tends to be very high in fat, and I began putting on weight,” she said. “It also costs a fortune. I ended up at WeightWatchers weighing in at 13st 9lbs, and I was retaining so much fluid that some days I could only wear a tracksuit. Also my nails and hair were dry and brittle and I had no energy.”