Rare condition that causes bloating makes a woman look like she's 8 months pregnant

Emily Catterall’s slim figure went from a size 8 to a 14 in just a few months, after a condition made her develop her a bloated stomach out of the blue. After consulting with her doctors, and searching for alternatives, a test solved her problems.

The 24-year-old from Preston, Lancashire, had been suffering from stomach churning and discomfort by months, and she realized that it happened mostly in the afternoons and nights. Her belly got so swollen at one point that she looked eight months pregnant.

Desperate to find a solution she visited her doctor, who diagnosed her with acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and put her on two different types of medications to treat the conditions.

However, Catterall kept feeling the same discomfort, and she even stopped going with friends, afraid of having dinner at strange places and being embarrassed by the sounds her upset stomach made.

“One night I went out running with my friend, and she could hear my stomach churning as I was running along. She told me ‘that’s not right,’” she told Mirror UK.

Emily kept up with the mediation while trying to identify if there was some food in specific affecting her. She said:

“I was changing my lunch so often to try and find out what was causing the problem that it just became impossible. People were telling me to cut out gluten, and then to cut out dairy, but sometimes my lunch wouldn’t contain one or the other, and I was still having issues every single day.”

Four months passed until Emily decided to reach out to her 40,000 Instagram followers and see if anyone had been through a similar situation. And they didn’t fail her. One of her followers suggested she try a YorkTest food intolerance test.

The test analyses IgG reactions to 208 food and drinks - from common ingredients like cow’s milk, gluten, and egg, to foods such as kale and quinoa.

“My results came back within 10 days and showed I was intolerant to egg white, egg yolk, cows milk, goats milk, and I had a borderline intolerance to yeast and beef,” she said.

“Even though I thought I had been changing my diet I was still eating a lot of these foods because eggs and milk can be hidden in all sort of things.”

After removing the “problem” foods from her diet, Emily started to see the results almost immediately. After 12 weeks, she dropped 8.5 pounds.

She also went back to her exercise routine on Weight Watchers and started going out with friends and family. She said:

“Not being bloated has made such a big difference to my confidence. I don't take any medication and, touch wood, I don't have any discomfort. I'm so happy.”

Catterall has also started to “re-introduce” her problem foods into her diet, after consulting it with her nutritionist. She’s encouraging other people with IBS to take the food test and get to the bottom of their suffering.

“It's so much better to know what is causing problems. It ruined my life daily,” she said. “Now I want everyone else to feel as good as I do. I'm working out and feeling much healthier now. It was all worth it for me.”