After being diagnosed with a chronic digestive disorder, I cut out junk food and ready meals. Now, my diet is full of fruit and veg – and I’ve got my mojo back

When I got a nasty case of indigestion just before the UK-wide Covid lockdown in March 2020, I assumed it would pass in an hour. A pizza was the initial culprit, molten with cheesy goo and drenched in garlic dip. A week later, though, it hadn’t gone away and I was struggling to swallow due to a lump-like feeling in my throat.

Like any neurotic thirtysomething, I assumed I was dying, so I trotted off to the GP. After several fruitless trips to specialists and various medications and investigations, I was diagnosed with gallstones and “functional dyspepsia”, the catch-all term for acid reflux, bloating, heartburn and upper digestive tract problems with no obvious cause.