IBS Story: I was running to the toilet up to 15 times a day for 14 years. Taking Gut Wealth postbiotics changed my life.

Yahoo and The Insider shared our customer Rhiannon's story about taking Gut Wealth

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rhiannon Norris. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for as long as I can remember. I used to be lucky if I managed to sit through a meal without having to run to the toilet. It made making friends and getting into relationships hard because I would be really embarrassed about it. Things were bad.

When I was 11, I was trying new foods during a holiday when I started feeling poorly and could hardly leave the hotel.

At 14, I had intense stomach pain, which left me doubled up and blacking out. No doctor could tell me what was wrong — they just kept saying it was my IBS. I got rushed to the doctor and had an ultrasound, and it turned out that my gallbladder was about to burst. I had to go in for emergency surgery.

The gallbladder regulates the fats in the body and produces the acid that helps break them down. When I had it removed, my IBS got 10 times worse.

Throughout my teens and 20s, I struggled to go to restaurants or on trips away because I couldn't leave the house, as I'd be going to the toilet 10 to 15 times a day. I had stomach pains, cramps, and I got really bloated — it wasn't a nice way to live. 

Anything can trigger my IBS

Caffeine, dairy, and bread can cause it, but it could be anything, even something I eat every day. 

I felt ashamed. When I was in my late teens and early 20s, people used to find it disgusting or get embarrassed, so I didn't feel I could talk to anyone about it.

When I was pregnant at 19, I had a viral infection throughout my gestation, which made me pass out and throw up a lot, so the IBS was on the back burner. After I had my little boy by emergency C-section, my IBS got worse. If I ate certain things, I literally couldn't move and started throwing up. 

I especially struggled when he was a toddler because he needed constant looking after. I wouldn't eat all day until my partner came home because I was scared I would be stuck on the toilet and my son would be on his own. 

When my husband did come home, I'd eat as much as I could because I was so hungry, then I'd spend the rest of the evening on the toilet. 

I tried different things, but only Gut Wealth postbiotics helped

Doctors offered me medication but said it could affect my mental health, and I was already in quite a bad mental state. They also said it could decrease sex drive, and it was not something I wanted to go on at that age. 

Eventually, while scrolling through social media looking for people going through the same thing as me, I found a postbiotic supplement called Gut Wealth that people said really helped, so I decided to try it. It comes in a little liquid sachet and tastes pleasant, like a Capri Sun.

I just have one in the morning. It helps digestion and shields your gut from undesirable bacteria, helping your own microbiome to improve gut health and immunity.

Within two weeks, I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted — spicy noodles, coffee, white bread, and dairy. I can drink tea again without getting incredibly ill, and I'm not having diarrhoea constantly. 

I go to the toilet only two times a day now, like a regular person.

It's a massive game changer. I can leave the house and go places with my son and not have to worry whether I'm by a toilet. I'm more present in the home, my partner gets to spend more time with me, and we can actually go on date nights to restaurants. It's changed my life.

#ibs #bloating #postbiotics #bowelurgency

Rhiannon's postbiotic experience was shared in Yahoo! and The Insider