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When Leah mysteriously experienced unexplained weight gain, despite dieting she was horrified to discover a life-threatening 26lb cyst the size of a WATERMELON inside her.
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My unexplained weight gain was a cyst
Before I started university I wasnât exactly what youâd call slim, but by the end of my first year the combination of homesickness and uni stress had seen me lose an incredible four stone.
That isnât to say I was tiny, I still weighed a healthy 14 stone, but compared to the 18 stone I was pushing pre-uni, the difference was obvious.
It wasnât exactly a healthy diet, anxiety and stress, but even I couldnât help feeling happy with getting down to a size 14.
But when I returned for my second year of studies, the weight soon started to pile back on.
My relationship with Richard was going from strength to strength, and the more time we spent together the more we ate.
âHonestly, itâs not fair.â I complained over dinner with Richard. âYou can eat five big macs and it doesnât touch the sides. Me, I just look at one and gain 12 lbs.â
Pounds started to creep on
Used to being a bigger girl, when the pounds started to slowly creep up on me I just embraced my curvier figure.
Like most of my friends I turned to food when the stress built up, and as the coursework mounted I was snacking more than ever.
But by the time Iâd started to realise just how heavy Iâd let myself get I knew something had to change.
âHow could you let this happen?â I asked myself in the mirror, pinching and pulling at the tyre of blubber around my midriff.
Still, there was hope. Richard is a bit of a gym bunny, and I made the brave decision to start joining him.
Unexplained weight gain
After months and months of being more careful with food and the gym, I was shocked to find my weight had barely changed at all.
If anything, with every weighing Iâd notice an extra pound or two!
Worried that there might be a deeper problem than my love of food, I booked a doctorâs appointment to see what was going on.
âI think what we really need to be looking at here is your diet, Leah.â The doctor told me after taking note of my stats and lifestyle.
âI⊠Well⊠I have been trying!â I quickly responded, feeling my face flush.
Maybe Iâd been kidding myself, I hadnât exactly had a diet overhaul⊠I had been cutting back though!
Determined to get back down to a weight I was more comfortable with, I completely cut down on my portion sizes.
It surprised me how easy it was lower my calorie intake with just a few small changes.
Two roast potatoes instead of six, swapping sugar for sweetener and saying no to pop all together. Before long it was June and I was ready to jet off to Greece with Richard. But to my dismay my new regime hadnât been paying off.
âI canât believe it!â I cried from behind the changing room curtains. âIt doesnât even fit properly.â
Iâd gone to buy some last minute essentials and could barely fit into a size 20 dress â what was going on?
Doctor told me to try Slimming World
âDonât let it ruin your holiday, honey.â My mum tried to reassure me. âYouâve got a fella who loves you, and you deserve a chillax after all your hard work.â
I knew she was right but I struggled to shake off the disappointment.
The week before my holiday I managed to see my doctor again, but he still refused to believe it was anything serious.
âHave you thought about joining at weight loss group, Slimming World perhaps?â He suggested.
I couldnât believe I was being told to join Slimming World by my doctor, and put the thought to the back of my head. Despite being the heaviest Iâd ever been, I still managed to make the most of my holiday, and felt well and truly rested. I decided to give myself a few weeks before the daunting task of signing up with my local Slimming World group, but in the end I never got round to it.
âAargh, my stomach. Something not right!â I called out in the middle of the night.
âWhat? What is it?â Richard asked, shooting out of bed.
âI donât know, I donât know!â I screamed, writhing in pain.
Misdiagnosis for unexplained weight gain
I was rushed to Sheffield General Hospital and after a four-and-a-half hour weight, and numerous blood and urine tests, I was told I was on the backend of a urinary tract infection.
âA UTI?â I asked, the painkillers finally kicking in. âIt canât be.â
By 10.30am all the tests had come back clear and I was being sent on my way.
But come the afternoon I was in utter agony again, and not knowing what to do, Richard called my mum in a panic.
âListen, take her to Chesterfield Royal Hospital.â She told him down the phone. âTheyâll know what to do.â
Chesterfield Hospital is my mumâs local hospital, and despite being further away she was adamant Iâd be in safe hands there.
We arrived at just gone 6pm, and by 8pm Iâd had three sets of blood, two urine tests, my own bed and an ultrasound on the way.
âWeâre ready for your ultrasound now, Leah.â The medic told me, reassuringly.
They wheeled my through and as the sonographer began tracing my belly with the ultrasound I could tell by her face something wasnât right.
Something was seriously wrong
âWhatâs wrong?â I asked her nervously.
âWell, itâs just⊠I canât see your bladder, somethingâs blocking the view.â She began to tell me. âWeâre going to need to do an internal ultrasound, Iâm afraid.â
The medic slipped a tiny probe up inside of me and identified a cyst that was blocking my entire bladder.
âThereâs a cyst the size of watermelon growing on your ovary, Leah.â The doctor finally confirmed. I was horrified, and immediately began treatment to drain the cyst. It wasnât pleasant to say the least.
The nurse attached me to a giant suction device that slowly drained the liquid from the growth. Over 16 hours – and 13 litres of fluid – later, I was finally unhooked from the machine. Despite the trauma of it all, Iâd lost two stone and dropped from a size 20 to a size 16 in less than a day. But I didnât come out unscathed.
âYou have two options here, Leah.â The doctor told me.â We can leave the remains of the cyst, or perform an operation to get rid of it completely.â
Unexplained weight gain caused by a cyst
Because of the cysts proximity to my ovary, it meant I could significantly lower my chances of conceiving. âIâm not doing it.â I told Mum and Richard anxiously. âItâs not worth not having kids for.â
âNow Leah, just think about this for a secondâŠ.â Mum began telling me. But it was Richard who convinced me.
âLeah, thereâs more than one way to start a family.â He said, taking my hand. âAnd whatâs the point of having a family if your health is compromised?â I knew he was right and agreed to the surgery.
Unfortunately, the doctorâs concerns were right, and I ended up losing an ovary. I now have 50% of the chance of falling pregnant but Richard and I remain hopeful.
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