Woman forced to live off digestive biscuits due to rare condition
A young woman from Wolverhampton has been forced to live on a diet of digestive biscuits after being diagnosed with a rare condition.
Talia Sinnott, 25, lives with gastroparesis, a condition that makes it difficult for her stomach to process food.
Every time Talia tries to digest food or drink, she either suffers from extreme nausea or vomiting, leaving her to rely on a feeding tube for her nutritional needs.
Talia first started experiencing unusual symptoms back in 2018, suffering from pain and nausea after every meal. But doctors were so unfamiliar with her rare condition that they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
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Speaking to BBC Radio WM about the strange symptoms, she recalled: "I would eat a meal and it would almost feel like it was sat in my chest for ages after I had eaten, I almost felt I needed to be sick to relieve the pain."
Before she started suffering from the condition, Talia's father Peter described her as 'a healthy and happy 24-year-old who was enjoying the first year of her Doctorate course at Hull University as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist'.
After putting her through some clinical tests, specialists eventually diagnosed Talia with gastroparesis - a 'poorly understood illness' that it often misdiagnosed as an eating disorder.'
Although there isn't a known cure for the condition, there are treatment options - though they're not readily available through the NHS and would set Talia's family back by about £80,000.
Talia's dad told Birmingham Live earlier this year that, until she gets the life-saving treatment she needs, 'a digestive biscuit is her main diet'.
"She can barely drink, she takes little sips of water throughout the day," he said.
The top option for Talia is to be fitted with a gastric pacemaker, which would send impulses to her stomach muscles and allow her to digest the food she eats.
However, the fitting will cost at least £45,000 so until then, she's stuck on a diet of a few digestive biscuits 'here and there'.
Talia's family are now hoping to raise money for her pacemaker implant through a GoFundMe page.
To date, they have raised £31,500, which has covered all of the family's medical costs to date.
But they're still short of about £40,000 for Talia's pacemaker implant.
Until the Wolverhampton family can put the funds together, Talia will be relying on her feeding tube for the nutrients her body needs.
Ali Condon