Woman’s stomach paralysis forces her to eat through her chest

By Charlie Fenton

A young woman's stomach became paralyzed due to a rare condition - and now she has to eat through her chest for the rest of her life.

Whenever Leah Smith, 29, would eat it ended in severe bloating and swelling which made her look pregnant.

She said she would be "violently sick" and would vomit undigested food that was still in her stomach days later, leading her at her worst to lose six stone in 10 weeks.

Leah suffered for a year before being diagnosed with gastroparesis (stomach paralysis) - meaning the nerves which told her stomach to empty became paralyzed leaving her unable to move food into her intestines.

And her case is so severe that she has since had a Hickman line connected to her chest, which the feed is then connected to, which she has to wear for 12 hours a day, five days a week.

This now means she is fed Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) daily directly into her bloodstream through a tube which leads into her chest by a machine called a Micrel pump which she carries in a blackout rucksack.

Her condition is so bad it has forced her to medically retire as an NHS A&E receptionist.

Leah, from Benfleet, Essex, said: "My life now revolves around my TPN connection and disconnection times.

"I was put on the machine because doctors told me that I was starving to death.

"I would say it affected my life at the beginning as friends didn't really know what I would be comfortable with.

"But I still go out to family meals as just because I don't eat doesn't mean I can't get the socialization from it.

"To me it isn't strange not eating anymore, as I know the complications that come with it - but in fact I actually enjoy cooking.

"I don't actually miss eating my favourite foods as I've actually lost the memory of the flavour of them."

My TPN is portable so if I go out while I'm connected that's not an issue it just comes with me in my backpack.

Leah said she has had digestive problems since being a teenager, bloating, cramps, issues with bowel movements.

But they progressively got worse until around June 2023 she suddenly found herself unable to eat.

She said: "I started getting severe bloating, pain, swelling and vomiting after eating. My stomach would swell so much I looked pregnant.

"When I did try eat I could only eat a small bite before feeling full.

"I realized my stomach seemed to hold onto food for about three days before I'd be violently sick.

"My digestive system just wasn't moving food through properly."

Leah then also began losing weight rapidly so she visited her GP in early July 2023.

She had her bloods tested and underwent an endoscopy, CT scan, capsule camera, and ultrasound, but doctors struggled to identify the cause of her symptoms.

Leah said she also tried changing her diet to relieve pain.

She said: "I tried smaller meals, supplement drinks, different diets – literally anything and everything.

"Weirdly, the only thing I could tolerate for a while was ready salted Pringles. I basically lived off them for months."

Due to her deteriorating health Leah was repeatedly admitted to hospital with severe malnutrition and starvation ketosis.

She said: "I lost around six stone in about ten weeks, but because I was still technically within a healthy BMI range, I often felt like people didn't understand how seriously ill I was.

"At one point I was told my symptoms were psychological or linked to my autism.

"Even now, I sometimes struggle to trust myself and my symptoms because of how much I was made to question whether it was all in my head."

Leah underwent a series of increasingly complex nutritional interventions as doctors searched for answers.

Initially she was fed through a nasogastric (NG) tube, which passes through the nose into the stomach, before later receiving a nasojejunal (NJ) tube, which feeds directly into the small bowel.

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She required around 17 feeding tube replacements over the course of a year.

Leah said: "The consequences of delayed nutritional support were huge.

"My health deteriorated massively.

"I became severely malnourished, lost muscle strength and mobility, and eventually needed a wheelchair and walking aids."

But breakthrough finally came when Leah paid to see a private gastroenterologist in August 2023.

She said: "He immediately suspected gastroparesis linked to my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and arranged a gastric emptying study."

Gastroparesis, meaning "stomach paralysis," occurs when the nerves that control stomach emptying fail to function properly, causing food to move too slowly through the digestive tract.

It affects just 14 in every 100,000 people in the UK, according to Guts UK, the national charity for the digestive system.

A gastric-emptying study tracks how long it takes a meal (or drink) to move through your stomach and empty from it.

The test confirmed that Leah's stomach was barely emptying at all.

She said: "After three and a half hours, I still had full stomach contents sitting there undigested when it should have emptied much earlier."

Following diagnosis, Leah was referred to a specialist intestinal failure team.

Leah said: "I felt relieved because somebody finally believed me and it proved it wasn't in my head.

"But at the same time, it was terrifying because I knew it was something life-changing."

She was then admitted to hospital in November 2024 to start Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) - a method of delivering complete nutrition directly into a person's bloodstream and in her case through a Hickman line.

The treatment delivers nutrition directly into her bloodstream through a Hickman line in her chest, bypassing her digestive system entirely.

There is no cure for gastroparesis, according to Guts UK.

So patients manage symptoms through treatments such as dietary changes, anti-sickness medication, or, in severe cases, tube feeding.

Experts at Guts UK say Leah's experience of TPN feeding is extremely rare.

This is due to high risks of complications, including infection.

It is only used where there is evidence to support small bowel intestinal failure.

Leah says living with gastroparesis continues to affect every aspect of her life.

The condition forced her to medically retire from her role as an NHS A&E receptionist, and two years on everyday activities require careful planning.

She said: "The only things I can really manage are tea, coffee with lactose-free milk and occasionally the cream from the middle of a custard cream biscuit.

"Simple things like vacuuming, walking my dog or going out with friends completely wipe me out.

"If I have a day out planned, I'll often spend days beforehand resting to save energy and then need days afterwards to recover."

"I wish people understood how serious and life-changing digestive conditions can be.

"People often think they're just stomach aches or feeling sick occasionally, but for me it affects every part of my life – my mobility, independence, energy levels, work and future."

According to a YouGov poll, commissioned by the charity Guts UK, 28% of adults who have experienced digestive symptoms have felt embarrassed by them.

She has shared her story to support Guts UK, the national charity for the digestive system, to encourage others to speak up about any digestive problems they may have.

Leah urges those who think they have gut problems to "trust your instincts and don't be afraid to speak up".

She said: "I know there are people at the beginning of this journey who might be feeling scared, dismissed or confused like I was.

"If sharing my story helps somebody feel less alone or encourages them to keep fighting for answers, then it's worth it."