Woman who was struck down by a rare vomiting condition shed more than half her body weight… but it’s come at a cost
Sophie Moss, 23, tipped the scales at 24 stone before she began to suffer the effects of cyclical vomiting syndrome in July last year
A WOMAN has shed over half of her body weight in only a YEAR, after being struck down by a rare vomiting condition.
However, Sophie Moss, 23, from Leeds, West Yorkshire says that getting her dream body has made her feel like an “old lady”.
Sophie tipped the scales at 24 stone before she began to suffer the effects of cyclical vomiting syndrome in July last year.
The horrific vomiting episodes, which occurred as a steady cycle of attacks for three weeks every three months, saw her weight plummet a whopping 13 stone in just 12 months - leaving Sophie weighing a slim line 11 stone.
Sophie, who was forced to give up her career as a care worker due to her constant vomiting and hospital admissions, is now dependent on her boyfriend Damian Parkin, 31, after her dramatic weight loss left her with loose skin and confined to her home.
Sophie said: "At first, I would wake up in the morning and I would be starving and that made me sick every day.
"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 because I am too sick.
"With the loose skin and 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."
After suffering for a year with the constant vomiting, Sophie was eventually diagnosed with cyclical vomiting syndrome in April.
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The condition, which affects just three in 100,000 youngsters in the UK (and is even rarer in adults), causes violent episodes of vomiting that can last anything from an hour to ten days.
While the episodes occur in a regular cycle, they can also be triggered by anxiety, stress or over-excitement.
Sophie now says that the strain of dealing with the condition has left her even more susceptible to more violent episodes.
Unfortunately, the medicine prescribed to deal with the syndrome can be ineffective in stronger episodes.
What’s more, the constant vomiting saw Sophie lose another stone in weight in just two weeks last month.
Sophie added: "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.
CYCLICAL VOMITING SYNDROME FACTS
• CVS can affect a person for months, years or even decades but it is possible for younger sufferers to grow out of it.
• Retching and vomiting often starts in the night or early morning and can lead to vomiting five or six times an hour for at least one hour or for up to ten days.
• The condition affects three out of every 100,000 children in the UK.
• Severe vomiting episodes can lead to dehydration, oesophagitis (inflammation of the gullet lining), a tear in the lining of the gullet, tooth decay, gastroparesis and gastroenteritis.
"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 anymore.
"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."
Robin Dover, chair of the Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome Association UK, said: "There are many possible triggers for the syndrome, including emotional stress that can be both positive and negative.
"The cyclical nature of the condition means that it affects someone at the same time in a random cycle, for example, for three weeks every three months, and that is different for person who is affected by the syndrome."