There's nothing quite so un-glamorous as suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Alternating constipation and diarrhoea, stomach cramps, gas, nausea, fatigue, dizziness and lots of colonic mucus... how lovely! But almost every nutritionist has a health-related story of how they got into nutrition ? and this is mine.

I started to have digestive problems around the age of 16. Looking back on it, I was displaying classic symptoms of lactose intolerance, but I didn't even know what lactose was at that stage. Even if I had, other factors provided a more likely explanation. I mean, if you're going to eat a whole pot of Haagen Dazs at once, you're going to be sick aren't you?

However, my symptoms were few and far between until I went to work in Uganda in-between school and university. I had an amazing experience but I also contracted Giardia and amoebic dysentery ? two very nasty stomach infections. The illnesses were ongoing over the six months that I was there, during which I had more than six rounds of strong antibiotics.

Once home, although the illnesses were long gone, I continued to have terrible stomach problems and I was finally diagnosed with IBS. The label itself was crushing to my self esteem, let alone the symptoms. I had just started university and was happily socialising, yet I would disappear at the oddest moments.

"Where's Catherine?"

"Oh! In the bathroom."

"God, again? She's been ages!"

"Yeah, I know, but she has IBS, she's always in the bathroom!"

And so it would go on. Honestly the jokes were endless, and although I could see the humour in the situation, at its worst it was fairly devastating. Sorry to be graphic (especially if you are having your breakfast), but I literally had a two minute warning before I had to be in the bathroom. I never failed to make it, but the thought that I might filled me with fear. I was scared to drive my car, in case I got stuck in traffic and couldn't find a bathroom if I needed one. I wouldn't go out on a boat all day and I was never comfortable in a social situation until I had figured out the quickest route to the toilet!

Added to all that, I felt incredibly tired and dizzy for much of the time. I was also caught up in a vicious circle of stress-induced symptoms. I would panic if I knew I wasn't within easy reach of a bathroom, that would then bring on the symptoms, but the frequency of my symptoms made me panic if I wasn't close to a bathroom. Even though I knew that all the worry made me worse, I felt totally helpless and unable to break the cycle.

Although having a diagnosis gave me a name for my symptoms, it actually wasn't all that helpful. I had thought that if the doctors could help me find out what was wrong, then there must be a cure, right? Well, no! I was told that IBS was mainly "in my head" and that I should "learn to live with it". The problem with Irritable Bowel Syndrome was that the "syndrome" part referred to a set of symptoms, but there was no clear cut cause.

Now, at 19, when your social life is suffering, you're not just going to sit back and take it. Having reached a seemingly "dead end", I threw myself into research and went to see a nutritionist. The results were inspirational ? she explained exactly how irritated my digestive tract had become, what my triggers were likely to be and how we were gong to address them. Not only did I understand my illness, but I had an action plan ? and it worked. These days I am totally IBS free!

However, crucially, although I didn't find relief for my IBS through my doctor, I did continue to have frequent check ups. This is because the symptoms of IBS can also mimic more serious illnesses, such as parasitic infections, cancer, colitis and Coeliac's disease. So make sure you have any digestive symptoms thoroughly investigated. If as a result, you are diagnosed with IBS, take note of the following information and you too can take charge of your health!