'Massive foodie' loses half her body weight due to rare condition stopping her eating

Shannon Dunbar-Dawe, 30, was diagnosed with tummy paralysis aft spending months 'hunched implicit the toilet' successful symptom with sickness - and present has a feeding tube

A pistillate who utilized to described herself arsenic a "massive foodie" has revealed she lost fractional of her assemblage weight owed to a uncommon information which prevents her from eating.

Shannon Dunbar-Dawe, 30, abruptly developed bloating and nausea successful May 2022 and initially thought it was caused by drinking excessively overmuch coffee. However, she aboriginal discovered she had stomach paralysis - a information that occurs erstwhile the muscles successful the tummy don't determination nutrient arsenic they should for it to beryllium digested.

The erstwhile accounting student, from Glasgow, said she spent months "hunched implicit the toilet" successful symptom with sickness and was incapable to devour much than a mates of digestive biscuits regular without looking "six months pregnant" owed to tummy swelling. She claimed doctors dismissed her symptoms arsenic "anxiety" oregon an "eating disorder" and enactment her successful infirmary successful July 2023 wherever she was force-fed during the "worst 2 weeks of her life."

She past consulted a backstage doctor who diagnosed her with gastroparesis. Now has had a feeding conduit fitted arsenic that is the lone mode she tin devour food. The pistillate said she is simply a "shell" of who she utilized to beryllium weighing lone 5.6st. Her sister Charelle Dunbar-Dawe, 31, acceptable up a GoFundMe to alteration Shannon to get a gastric pacemaker to amended her prime of beingness and let her to 1 time person her feeding conduit removed.

Shannon said: "It was truly scary. I conscionable woke up 1 time and ne'er felt good again. It started disconnected with a batch of nausea and feeling really, truly afloat aft having adjacent a mates of bites of food. I had symptom and this horrible burning successful my stomach. I had a batch of bloating arsenic well. I wasn't truly definite what was going on. I've had issues with acerb reflux earlier truthful I thought it mightiness beryllium thing to bash with that.

"It was straight successful my stomach, benignant of my sternum area. Whenever I tried to devour thing the nausea would conscionable beryllium atrocious my tummy would swell up. I'd look six months pregnant. The swelling was that bad. I could devour virtually 1 wound of nutrient and it would consciousness similar I'd eaten an full buffet.

"My fare was beauteous accordant astatine the time. I thought possibly I'd had excessively overmuch coffee. That I'd upset my tummy with excess caffeine oregon something. But it was a wholly caller sensation to maine truthful I didn't truly person immoderate thought what was going on.

"Before it each started I weighed 64kg. I was a steadfast size 10 to 12. I loved my food, I was a monolithic foodie. I was ever stuffing my face. Within six months I had dropped to 40kg." The food-lover spent 10 days successful infirmary aft her symptom became "unbearable" but was sent distant with nary answers, Glasgow Live reported.

She was forced to discontinue her accountancy studies and endure months "hunched implicit the toilet" arsenic she was perpetually nauseous which led to terrible value loss. Shannon said: "It got to a constituent wherever the symptom was unbearable and I went to mishap and emergency. They gave maine morphine for the symptom which didn't assistance astatine each and acerb reducers which besides didn't help. They admitted maine to the hospital.

"They initially said they thought I had gastritis, inflammation of the stomach. But they didn't bash immoderate tests to person a look down determination truthful they were conscionable going disconnected what accusation they had. I spent 10 days successful the infirmary successful a abbreviated abstraction of time. I didn't devour thing the full clip I was successful the hospital. It was horrendous.

"They told maine they'd put an endoscopy successful the coming months and that was it. I was conscionable sent home. I spent from greeting until nighttime successful the bath hunched implicit the toilet due to the fact that I conscionable felt truthful sick. I would instrumentality my laptop to the bath and conscionable ticker worldly and beryllium there. That was my beingness for months.

"I had to discontinue my studies due to the fact that I had nary encephalon powerfulness from having nary nutrient and precise constricted nutrient intake." When her symptoms continued to worsen, she was referred to a gastroenterologist successful May 2023, but claims she was misdiagnosed with an eating disorder. Two months later, successful July 2023, Shannon said she was "relieved" to yet beryllium diagnosed with tummy paralysis.

Shannon besides wants to dispersed consciousness of her uncommon information to guarantee radical get diagnosed quicker. She said: "Raising consciousness is thing that is truly important to me. There volition beryllium truthful galore radical retired determination with my symptoms who mightiness ne'er get an reply due to the fact that gastroparesis is rather a uncommon thing.

"The magnitude of times that I've travel crossed cases of young women being told 'it's each successful your head, it's anorexia' and being diagnosed with eating disorders oregon IBS due to the fact that they garbage to bash due investigating and really get to the basal of wherefore these women are having tummy issues. It's horrendous. My proposal to anyone who is suffering from ongoing nausea and vomiting and tummy pains is to propulsion for a gastric emptying trial due to the fact that if it comes backmost negative, large that's thing to regularisation out. If it comes backmost affirmative past the earlier you drawback symptoms and tin intervene the better."

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "This diligent has raised her concerns done our complaints process. Though we are incapable to remark connected idiosyncratic diligent cases owed to confidentiality, we are atrocious we were incapable to conscionable her expectations. At each times the patient's concerns were taken earnestly by the clinicians involved, and attempts were made to resoluteness them."

You tin donate to Shannon's fundraiser, which has a people of £50,000, here.