Woman's extremely bloated stomach was rare bowel disease

Rebecca Fargie, a 36-year-old mother from Batley, West Yorkshire, says years of severe constipation and abdominal pain were dismissed as “anxiety,” despite symptoms that made her look “six months pregnant.” After six years and up to 21 prescribed laxatives daily, she was diagnosed in 2024 with slow transit constipation, a rare bowel dysmotility condition. Two more years of unsuccessful treatments followed before she underwent ileostomy surgery earlier this year and now requires a stoma bag. Fargie, who describes the condition as affecting both her life and her family, began experiencing symptoms in 2020 during her pregnancy and says her mental health suffered from repeated misdiagnoses.