Lots of people experience bloating, and it can be unpleasant, uncomfortable, and inconvenient.
However, people who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) experience symptoms on another level and one influencer is on a mission to help them.
27-year-old Lottie Drynan, who is based in Kent, UK, runs the Instagram accounts The Tummy Diaries and You've Gut This.
She spoke to Insider about how IBS affects her life and what she wants the world to know about the condition.
IBS is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, according to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.
It's a chronic condition which affects 10-20% of the global population, but is most prevalent among women in their 20s, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states.
Drynan says it was worst for her in her early 20s, when IBS affected her life "quite heavily."
Lottie Drynan's IBS was worst in her early 20s. Lottie Drynan
"I suffered from extreme and uncomfortable bloating, anxiety, fatigue, and nausea for a long time until I started understanding my triggers," she told Insider.
"I regularly left work or events early due to needing to be reunited with my hot water bottle or toilet and it made me really miserable.
"I felt constantly confused and frustrated and had no idea what it was that was causing my discomfort.
"I remember looking at my friends who seemed to be able to eat anything or wear anything without worrying about how their tummy would react, and feeling quite jealous."
When you have IBS, a flare-up can cause your stomach to look drastically different within the space of a few hours, as Drynan has experienced many times.
Other symptoms of IBS include constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, according to NICE.
Because IBS symptoms can also be signs of other gastrointestinal issues, it can take a long time for a person to be diagnosed. For Drynan, the process took eight years.
"My symptoms at the beginning were fairly severe so I was passed to a number of specialists for different tests and scopes to rule out any more serious conditions," she said.
She didn't receive much support or information, though, which was ultimately what led her to do her own research.
"When I did finally receive the diagnosis I was given very little help on the next steps or how to manage my illness, therefore decided to start taking more responsibility of my own health," she said.
"I committed to learning through books, podcasts, and anything I could get my hands on from experts in the field."
She then wanted to share what she'd learned to help others.
Drynan says it's a huge misconception that IBS flare-ups are all down to diet.
"This is definitely something I thought for many years," she said.
"It's very easy to see someone on Instagram who has cut out a food group due to IBS and think, 'Oh, I need to do the same then,' but actually we're all very different.
"For some, cutting out a food group may work, but for others we need to be looking at our lifestyle with a more 360 degree, holistic approach; looking at the combined areas of diet, stress, movement, and sleep."
Drynan finds it infuriating when she sees people with IBS being criticized for eating carbs or enjoying a drink.
"It's all about understanding what our body responds well to, and doesn't respond well to, and then making the choices we feel are right for us," she said.
There's no one-size-fits-all solution, she added.
Drynan has been on her own journey to understand what causes her IBS to flare up, and now knows it's mainly stress, although cutting out gluten and fructose has helped her too.
She learned this by trying the low FODMAP plan, which is an elimination diet designed to help people find out what foods may be causing problems for them.
You cut out foods which contain high levels of FODMAPs (which stands for fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, all types of carbohydrates) for four to six weeks, then gradually reintroduce them one at a time to see which triggers gastrointestinal issues. This led to Drynan discovering her fructose and glucose sensitivities.
Having reached this level of understanding means her IBS is "fairly manageable" at this point in her life.
"I now know stress to be by far my biggest trigger and I find if I'm having a hard time mentally, this is where I suffer with flare-ups," she said.
yup, bloated but still fabulous #littlemisssunshine I found this old photo from our holiday in Dominican Republic where Ross proposed two years ago. It was a two week holiday and even after eating, drinking and having a bloody amazing time I was only bloated for the last day or two, probably when the home time and back to normality blues hit. I spent a good few years thinking bloating and my IBS symptoms were all down to food and was cutting things out sometimes unnecessarily and was constantly scared to eat in case it triggered my tummy. But as much as diet does play an important part in the happiness of our gut, so does stress, sleep, movement and a whole bunch of other important stuff. Discovering this has had the biggest positive impact on my IBS and has made me more mindful of everything accriss my lifestyle. It doesnt mean I always get it right or follow it down to a T but it does mean I have a much better understanding of the cause when I am bloated. And for me, stress is by far my biggest trigger. This is what made me want to create My Tummy Diary - to try and help others who are struggling look at their gut health with a more 360 holistic lifestyle approach. Im so so excited for it to launch tomorrow morning and if youre struggling with an unhappy tum I really hope it helps you understand your body, and mind better
A post shared by lottie drynan (@thetummydiaries) on May 30, 2020 at 1:29am PDTMay 30, 2020 at 1:29am PDT
Maintaining her mental health plays a huge role in Drynan managing her IBS, so the coronavirus lockdown has been challenging.
"During lockdown my flare-ups have been a lot more regular and I've had to work especially hard to look after my mental health to in turn look after my gut," she said.
"I know that if I keep stress levels low, get a good night's sleep, exercise, and eat food that makes my gut happy then I am usually symptom-free."
On The Tummy Diaries, Drynan breaks down the IBS taboo, showing her bloated stomach and talking about her anxiety.
The reason she started it was that no one else was talking about the issues she was facing.
"I started by mainly just sharing low FODMAP recipes whilst I was in the early stages of following the diet, but as I grew more comfortable with being online I started sharing the more personal sides of IBS, such as the bloating and anxiety," Drynan said.
"I remember being so nervous about posting my first ever swollen tummy picture I'd spent so long feeling ashamed even in front of family and friends and now I was going to share it with strangers?
"But I couldn't believe the reaction I got. So many women and men reached out saying that they never knew others struggled with the same, and how nice it was to know they weren't alone."
Drynan's 44,300 followers regularly thank her for being so open, honest, and real.
"I also get a lot of messages from people saying before my account they didn't realize that factors such as stress, sleep, and movement could impact their gut as well as just diet, so it makes me very happy to be able to educate and help others through my own learnings," she said.
As well as her Instagram accounts, Drynan has recently published "You've Gut This: My Tummy Diary": a journal to help people better understand their bodies, minds, and how their lifestyles could be affecting their gut health.
Through the book and her Instagram accounts, Drynan wants people to feel empowered to work towards feeling better.
Drynan with her new gut health journal. Lottie Drynan
"I talk a lot about the gut-brain connection and am passionate about opening up the conversation and sharing ways we can better understand our bodies," she said.
"I love spreading positivity and one of my favourite things to share is my bloat-friends' outfit finds clothes that make make us feel confident and comfortable even during a flare-up.
"Thousands of women are already using #mybloatedwardrobe and it's amazing to see such a positive community come together."
Whether you have IBS, other gastrointestinal issues, or just want to keep yourself healthy, looking after your gut is important.
"I am a big advocate of putting the effort in to understanding our body and what makes our gut happy," Drynan said.
"I believe that we should all be looking after our gut health, but for those of us who struggle with IBS or other gut conditions, we should be making it a priority."
Although those with IBS may never be able to control their symptoms, Drynan believes you can help reduce them if you understand them better.
And when you do have those inevitable flare-ups, you shouldn't feel ashamed.
"IBS is an illness and has been part of the gut health and poo taboo for so long and I want to help break down that stigma," she said.
"Having IBS can feel very isolating but if we keep talking and keep sharing we can help others feel less alone and empower more people to work towards feeling better."
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