{"id":226,"date":"2019-02-13T08:53:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T08:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/case-study\/ibs-ellie-waugh\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T11:49:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:49:45","slug":"ibs-ellie-waugh","status":"publish","type":"reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/case-study\/ibs-ellie-waugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Ellie Waugh"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>\u201cI feel amazing, free and wise\u201d<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>34-year-old Stage Manager Ellie Waugh suffered from regular digestive issues, bloating, and, at times, uncontrollable IBS<\/li>\n<li>Ellie also complained of headaches, bad skin and persistent thrush<\/li>\n<li>Through research and online searches, she came across YorkTest and decided to see if there was something in her diet which could be causing a host of unexplained symptoms<\/li>\n<li>Within 12 weeks, Ellie began to reap the benefits of her elimination diet, after finding out that she was intolerant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/dairy-intolerance\/\">cow\u2019s milk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/yeast-intolerance\/\">yeast<\/a><\/li>\n<li>She has now introduced her trigger foods in moderation, has lost weight and her digestive issues are now under control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/York-pic-837x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"489\" \/>Stage Manager, Ellie Waugh, suffered from a host of unexplained symptoms, including IBS, bloating, headaches, cramps, mood swings, bad skin and, at times, persistent thrush.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/symptoms\/irritable-bowel-syndrome\/\">IBS<\/a> since I was 21 and I had never managed to control it successfully,\u201d Ellie explains.<\/p>\n<p>The 34-year-old often tried to adapt her social events and situations around her flare-ups which caused a <strong>great deal of stress at the time<\/strong>. \u201cGoing out or planning events would be a worry. I would always make sure there was a toilet nearby. I would also have different clothing options in case I was too bloated to fit into my chosen outfit. Feeling incredibly low for no reason would worry and upset me too. It was all a vicious cycle\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie was part of this statistic and visited her doctor, as we would normally advise at YorkTest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had been through a series of tests with the doctors and nothing had flagged apart from IBS. Their advice wasn&#8217;t particularly helpful, apart from changing my diet or having <strong>a pill prescribed<\/strong>\u201d Ellie explains.<\/p>\n<p>The stage manager decided to take a closer look at her diet herself and see if there were any foods that were disagreeing with her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had tried tablets the doctors had prescribed, peppermint oil, probiotics, kefir, ginger, Buscopan and a (self-initiated) food elimination.<strong> I thought I had found my triggers<\/strong>. However, my tummy started to become uncontrollable and anything I ate caused pain, bloating and wind. I realised I needed help and to know more about my triggers,\u201d Ellie expands.<\/p>\n<p>It was at this point where Ellie began to research her symptoms online and see if there was a correlation between what she was eating and her flare-ups. Through online searches alone, Ellie discovered YorkTest.<\/p>\n<p>Did you know over a quarter of our customers in 2018 came across YorkTest through their <strong>online research<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/products\/food-drink-scan-test\/\">Premium Food Intolerance Test<\/a> analyses your IgG reactions to over <strong>200 food and drinks<\/strong> \u2013 from common ingredients like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/dairy-intolerance\/\">cow\u2019s milk<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/gluten-intolerance\/\">gluten<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/egg-intolerance\/\">egg<\/a>, to health superfoods like kale and quinoa.<\/p>\n<p>The process, which involves sending a finger-prick\u00a0blood\u00a0sample to the company\u2019s laboratories revealed that Ellie was intolerant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/dairy-intolerance\/\">cow\u2019s milk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/yeast-intolerance\/\">yeast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie explains: \u201cI was so surprised by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/problem-foods\/yeast-intolerance\/\">yeast<\/a>, but it made sense as it is in so much (food). This also explained why I suddenly couldn&#8217;t pinpoint the problem. Milk protein was a little surprising as I thought I was intolerant to the sugar, Lactose\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The programme comes with one 30-minute call with one of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/our-experts\/\">qualified nutritional therapists<\/a>. This nutritional support is an <strong>integral part of our aftercare<\/strong> at YorkTest, as it helps our customers to put their results into action whilst ensuring their diet is <strong>nutritionally balanced<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was a bit panicked when I received my results. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/our-experts\/jackie-lynch\/\">Jackie, the nutritional therapist,<\/a> helped put my mind at rest and gave me so much knowledge. I wouldn&#8217;t have known where to start without her guidance.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/IMG_7072.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"545\" \/>\u201cI was initially worried it wasn&#8217;t working but I kept with it. I followed the 12-week plan and wrote down everything I ate, mood swings, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/symptoms\/bloating\/\">bloat<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/food-intolerance-advice\/symptoms\/acne\/\">skin<\/a>, sleeping pattern etc. I had some side effects to begin with due to the <strong>yeast dying and leaving my system<\/strong>. However, by week 8 I started to feel the benefits, and by week 12 I felt like<strong> a new woman<\/strong>\u201d the 34-year-old describes.<\/p>\n<p>In the weeks leading up to the end of her elimination diet, Ellie\u2019s <strong>digestive complaints subsided<\/strong>, and she noticed a difference in her weight. \u201cThe weight dropped off me. I didn&#8217;t realise how much havoc my digestive system was causing, and <strong>how much water I was retaining<\/strong>\u201d she states.<\/p>\n<p>Looking back almost a year later, <strong>Ellie has reflected on her experience<\/strong> with YorkTest and her new-found freedom of being able to be in control of her diet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven a year on, I still feel supported. I can now happily eat my trigger foods with no reaction. However only in small doses. If I go crazy on bread and cheese, I know I will regret it, but <strong>knowing my triggers has made all the difference<\/strong>. I now know how to cope with flare-ups and I worry less.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot believe the difference I feel now; I have so much energy. I had no idea how much my intolerances were affecting me and my body. I recommend this to anyone who is unsure but please stick with it. It took time to start working for me, but it was <strong>well worth the wait<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel amazing, free and wise\u201d Ellie concludes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Ellie followed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/products\/food-drink-scan-test\/\">Premium Food Intolerance* Test <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/our-experts\/jackie-lynch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jackie<\/a> helped Ellie to optimise her diet safely and effectively<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was so surprised by yeast, but it made sense as it is in so much (food). This also explained why I suddenly couldn&#8217;t pinpoint the problem. Milk protein was a little surprising as I thought I was intolerant to the sugar, Lactose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":227,"template":"","review_category":[25],"class_list":["post-226","reviews","type-reviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","review_category-ibs-verdauungsprobleme"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reviews"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"review_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorktest.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_category?post=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}