Frances Symes

“I feel confident, relaxed and happy”

For 5 years, 78-year-old retiree, Frances Symes, was dealing with a range of unpleasant symptoms. These included urgency to go to the toilet and complete loss of bowel control.

When asked about how these symptoms affected her life, Frances said: “I needed to be aware of toilet locations at all times with a constant need to wear panty liners 24/7. I had to curtail some physical activities. As a keen swimmer in the sea, getting changed discreetly on the beach was a challenge. I was used to going for regular hikes with friends but was often unable to join them. Often a 10 minute walk to the shops was problematical.”

When one of her friend’s daughter recommended YorkTest Laboratories, Frances decided to give food sensitivity testing a go and see if there was any correlation between her symptoms and her diet.

After taking the Premium Food Sensitivity Test, Frances’s results indicated that her body was reacting to cow’s milk, beetroot and a number of other ingredients.

We asked Frances how she felt after removing her trigger foods. “Relieved! Especially as I soon realised it was making a difference. I also felt cross that I didn’t know about YorkTest sooner.”

Our test analyses your IgG reactions to 200 food and drinks – from common ingredients like gluten and cow’s milk, to health superfoods like kale and quinoa.

The process involves sending a finger-prick blood sample back to YorkTest, Frances then received her results within 7-days through the Wellness Hub, in an easy-to-read traffic light-based format.

Eliminating the trigger foods and sticking to her diet plan has helped clear Frances’s symptoms within a week. “I suspected an improvement after a week but it was about three weeks before I felt confident things had changed. My overall health, apart from the inconvenience of symptoms has always been good but my mental health has definitely improved and I no longer feel frustrated and limited.”

When asked about her nutritional consultation, Frances commented: “The nutritionist was friendly, my prepared questions were fully answered, helpful advice was given as well as many useful tips.” Similarly, Frances found the customer service team “Very helpful. I have spoken to several members of the team on the phone and all have been friendly and helpful.”

When asked how life had changed since taking the test and how she would summarize her experience, Frances concluded: “I am now able to go out, confident that everything is back under control and I am not going to risk being embarrassed. I am able to join in walking for pleasure with my friends. My life is more relaxed, the anxiety of constantly needing to check my condition has gone.”