Christine, Hawkes Bay

After being diagnosed with Coeliac disease five years ago I immediately took on a gluten free diet, noticing significant improvements after a few days.

It was only a couple of years ago that I noticed the same symptoms I had when I wasn’t gluten free coming back – bloated, sore, tired and of course inconsistent bowel motions that would either be constipation or diarrhoea. Turns out I was lactose intolerant too.

After just a few days of being off dairy, my symptoms faded. My health then began to deteriorate with continued troubles with my bowel motions and sharp pains in my abdomen. After several admissions to hospital, being put on various medications and finally six months later I was diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Initially it was a great relief to know what was going on and to have an answer, but with not being given much information or advice on how to live with it other than what I was already doing with my diet I felt somewhat lost. Once again, my health deteriorated, this time it was my energy levels – feeling very tired and low, being bloated most of the time and having inconsistent bowel motions.

Another trip to the doctor and I was referred to see Diane Stride. Diane talked through my weekly diet and then explained in a very easy-to-understand-way of how certain foods can cause problems with those of us that suffer from IBS and/or Coeliacs. Diane really enlightened me; everything she was saying made perfect sense. There were a lot of foods I was eating that someone who suffers from both IBS and Coeliacs should avoid. After being given advice on how to make changes to my diet over a four week period, my new diet began.

After the first few days I really started to notice changes – my tummy was flat, I had a routine to my bowel motions and I was beginning to feel ‘normal’. At first I thought it was too good to be true, that the next day I would become bloated or I would have diarrhoea or constipation, but that didn’t happen. For four weeks I felt a huge change – my symptoms had disappeared, I was feeling great, I had a normal toilet routine, my tummy remained flat and people were commenting on how healthy I was looking. Well, that has continued! I haven’t had any symptoms that I was previously experiencing and I really feel like a heavy burden has been lifted and I have a new lease on life. To not need to worry about rushing to the toilet or feeling self conscious about being constantly bloated has made such a positive difference not only to my health, but to my general wellbeing. I really feel like I am normal again! I am very grateful to Diane and her knowledge and expertise in this area.

I would happily recommend anyone that suffers from similar symptoms to go and see her and get yourself sorted and back to normal. Yes, normal is possible!