Many young people struggle with body image and weight issues but not like what Abi Chadwick experienced.
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The 19-year-old went from a size 12 to a size 18 within a short period of time.
People started commenting about her weight gain and so Abi decided to shed it.
She tried dieting and managed to lose a stone, but her belly still looked like that of a nine months pregnant woman’s.
Abi, a care assistant from Cannock, Staffordshire, began to fall ill regularly and didn’t seem to have space in her stomach for much food.
The diagnosis
She eventually decided to seek medical attention when she started having sharp pains in her stomach.
After a series of tests in March, she was told she had a 13-inch cyst in her abdomen. Abi said:
My stomach was rock hard and when I used to go out to the shops people used to tell me I looked nine months pregnant. It made me feel bad because I couldn't lose the weight even though I wanted to. I was relieved when I was told it was a cyst the size of a football. I just wanted it gone.
She had it removed two weeks later at Walsall Manor Hospital, West Midlands.
How it started
According to Abi, she first noticed something wasn’t right when she gained two stones even though around the same time, she was unable to eat more than two bites of toast.
Every time I had two mouthfuls of toast I would be absolutely stuffed—I couldn't figure out why. I couldn't eat anymore so that really took its toll. People kept telling me I was pregnant, and I thought it was just because I was fat and there was nothing I could do so I brushed it off.
Things started to get worse and she was experiencing 'agonizing' pains in her stomach making it difficult for her to walk.
Abi says she feels relieved learning the cause of her protruding stomach. She added:
I was so relieved when I finally got it removed and I feel like myself again. I'm yet to see anyone that's had one that big. I'm glad I don't look pregnant anymore, but I can't believe I was walking around like that for so long.
