X Factor Celebrity: Megan McKenna is crowned the winner

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Diagnosed in 2018, Megan Mckenna revealed that she has irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The former X Factor: Celebrity contestant has stated how living with IBS and also being coeliac has affected every aspect of her life from modelling photoshoots and going out with friends. Her fluctuating weight, which is common for someone with IBS, has also caught the attention of cruel online trolls.

The TV personality told MailOnline: “When I get really bloated my belly can swell up to the point where I literally look two months pregnant.

“I can go from that extreme, to having a really bad belly and losing weight – because if you can’t keep [food] down, how are you going to keep it on?

“People were really criticising me, saying you look anorexic, you look skeletal, it’s disgusting.”

As the name suggests IBS is a condition that affects the digestive system and can last a lifetime.

Although there is no exact cure, diet changes and medicines can help with painful and uncontrollable symptoms.

Common symptoms include the following:

• Abdominal pain
• Cramping
• Bloating
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation
• More frequent bowel movements

As most of the symptoms involve bowel movements and can come on suddenly and unexpectedly, living with IBS can be tricky.

McKenna has first hand experience of this. She said: “I’m constantly working with new people every day of the week, and if I’m turning up to a new job and I have [bowel] issues, the last thing you want to be doing is running to the toilet, it’s horrible.

“When I get a really bad bout of painful bloating and that urgency that I need to go to the toilet, and I’m out on a night out with my friends, there’s been times when I’ve had to leave and go back.

“Because there’s no way I want to be in that situation where I’m in a club and really unwell. It can be really awful.”
The severity of symptoms and the duration differs in each individual.

This is crucial when getting formally diagnosed with IBS as the GP will usually ask what symptoms you are experiencing, how often you get them, and how long they last.

According to Healthline, for the majority of people symptoms can last for three months for at least three days per month.

General tips from the NHS on how to relieve IBS symptoms range from using fresh ingredients when you cook to avoiding lots of alcohol and fizzy drinks.

Plenty of regular exercise particularly yoga is also a recommendation, as the flow of exercises and stretches minimises stress and helps to reduce bloating.

Individuals also have the option of taking probiotics for a month, which do not seem to cause any unpleasant side effects to those with a healthy gut.

Probiotics are used to help restore the natural balance of bacteria in your gut when it has been disturbed by illness.

Evidence has been found that suggests that taking probiotics on a daily basis can help ease diarrhoea.

When getting diagnosed GPs will take blood in order to check for other problems like coeliac disease, another condition that Mckenna deals with.

This is where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you consume gluten.

Abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea are all signs of coeliac disease too and can be easily mistaken for IBS.

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