A woman has lost half her body weight in just one year after being struck down by a rare condition causing her to vomit up to 60 times a day.
Sophie Moss, 23, used to weigh 152kg before she began to suffer the effects of cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS) in July last year. The horrific episodes occur on a steady cycle for three weeks, every three months.
Her weight has now plummeted to 69kg.
Ms Moss has also given up her job due to the frequent hospital admissions. and is now dependent on her partner Damian Parkin, 31, to care for her.
She has no idea what triggered her CVS, which is mostly diagnosed in children.
‘At first, I would wake up in the morning and I would be starving and that made me sick every day,’ she said.
‘I didn’t think any more of it for some reason until I got really bad acid reflux and by July last year I started vomiting properly.
‘I have lost a lot weight and I am happy that I have done it because I was massive before.
‘But that has left me with loose skin absolutely everywhere and I hate it but there is nothing they can do.
‘With the loose skin, not being able to leave the house and being tired all the time, I feel like an old woman in every sense of the word.’
The condition affects 1 in 300,000 children and is very rare in adults. It causes violent episodes of vomiting that can last anything from an hour to days and severe abdominal migraines and is not explained by an infection or other illness.
Though the episodes occur in a regular cycle, they can be triggered by anxiety, stress or over-excitement. In Moss’ case, the strain of dealing with it has left her even more susceptible to attacks. She recounted one particularly bad episode where she lost 6kg in just 2 weeks.
‘It is so frustrating as I can’t do anything and I was absolutely devastated to give up my job in January because I love to work.
‘It does affect me having to stay in because I am quite a bubbly person and I loved to go out but I can’t do it any more.
‘I’ve had to start eating gluten free and dairy free, I can’t drink alcohol and now I spend my time dreading the cycle starting.
‘I look at the calendar and I have to prepare myself by taking as much medicine as I can in the lead up to it and sometimes even that is not enough. It’s horrible.’
Additional reporting by Daily Mail
Source: Nairobi Wire
