Strange illness makes a young woman like a pregnant woman for 15 years

A mysterious disease that caused a girl's abdomen to bulge like a pregnant woman's belly during the past 15 years.

Joanne Turton, 33, said the strange syndrome made her look like she was eight months pregnant since she was 18. For the past 15 years, doctors have been unable to identify what disorder Turton has.

The mother of a 5-year-old girl revealed: 'The disease caused me pain. I was always tormented by pains in the ribs. It affects me all my life, making me unable to go out and get along with friends like a normal person '.

Searching on the Internet, Ms. Turton found only one case of patients in the United States who had the same disease.

Turton's stomach has been mysteriously enlarged since she was 18 years old. (Photo: Carters News)

After thinking that Turton's disease was incurable, doctors tried attaching a speed guide to her abdomen to coordinate movement, helping to relieve the symptoms of immediate discomfort immediately. This procedure is called gastric irritation with electrical impulses (GES).

Turton said: ' When testing, they put the device outside my body with a tube down through the throat. It immediately made me feel better and for the first time I felt normal . '

After a successful initial trial, Ms. Turton was informed that surgery could be performed to permanently attach the device to her body to end her pain.

However, last week, a few days before the expected surgery at Castle Hill Hospital, Turton was told it was canceled.

The CCG clinical trial consortium claims to pay for Turton's surgery but has not said where and when it will take place.

For the past 15 years, Ms. Turton must live with
Looks like a pregnant woman 8 months. (Photo: Carters News)

According to a spokesman for CCG, surgery like Turton's is only allowed in very few places in the United Kingdom. Therefore, it will have to take place outside Castle Hill Hospital.

The GES procedure is often recommended for patients with gastroparesis - a syndrome that prevents food in the stomach from escaping into the small intestine . There are many causes of mild gastric paralysis, but this disorder usually occurs in diabetics. Still, experts still do not know and control the condition in some special cases like Ms. Turton.

Statistics show that mild stomach paralysis currently affects nearly 5 million Americans, including children. In some cases, the manifestations appear only briefly and then disappear on their own.