A WOMAN who has been living off Ritz crackers for the past three years said only two other foods are “safe” for her to eat.
Talia Sinnott, 27, suffers from gastroparesis meaning her stomach struggles to process food.
Although Talia’s symptoms started in 2018, she managed them until 2022.
Doctors originally believed Talia to be suffering from an eating disorder, but as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist, she knew this was a misdiagnosis.
Talia explained: “I knew it wasn’t an eating disorder because I’d been through it and also been on the other side where I am working with people with eating disorders.
“So it was rather debilitating having someone throw that back in your face after you had worked so hard to recover from that.”
However, come January 2022, Talia was struck down by an “unknown and undiagnosed virus” which left her in “excruciating pain” every time she ate or drank.
After seeking help from a specialist clinic, she was diagnosed with Hypermobility (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and Gastroparesis and set a pathway of treatment.
But the night before she was scheduled to receive it, she was rushed to hospital for life-saving treatment.
A “PICC” line was inserted to provide access to the large central veins near her heart.
Plus another tube to drain hydrochloric acid in her stomach and another directly inserted into the small intestine to provide nourishment.
Intravenous drips that supplied calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphate and glucose were also administered.
Since being released from hospital two-weeks later, Talia has been largely reliant on a feeding tube.
And despite having an implant fitted to stimulate the digestive process, she still vomits up to 30 times a day.
She said: “Other than my first week of surgery, there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t been sick.”
Even drinking water can prove challenging.
SAFE FOODS
However, Ritz crackers are one of the few foods she manages to keep down.
Along with Pringles and Honeydew melon.
Quantities vary but on average she reckons she consumes five boxes of Ritz plain crackers a week.
Along with five melons and five tubes of Pringles.
She joked: “I’m singlehandedly keeping Ritz in business!”
Despite eating the crackers everyday since 2022, Talia hasn’t got bored of them yet.
She said: “I thought I’m never going to eat them [Ritz crackers] after this, but I’ve not got sick of them, which is bizarre, but there’s a few different similar styles of crackers I can eat.
“Just a bit of variety keeps it a bit more exciting.”
Coping with this disorder has meant pulling the brakes on her training to become a clinical psychologist.
She said: “I haven’t been able to work, everyday life has just shrunk down and everything is so much more difficult, or I have to think twice about doing things.
“So if I want to go out of the house, I’ll need to think about when I’m going to eat and for the few hours afterwards I’ll need to be near a toilet.
“Every aspect of my life has been changed because of this.
“Even things like I can’t tolerate water.
“I can’t even go to the sink and drink. I have to make sure I have squash on me or if I’m going away, I need my safer foods.
“Even things like sleeping are difficult because I’m in so much pain.
“Every aspect of life that you could possibly imagine has changed as a result.”
SOCIAL LIFE REALITY
She also revealed what it’s like meeting up with friends.
“If I meet with friends and they want to have a meal, it’s quite sad but I will go out with them but I will just sit there and watch them eat all their really lovely food, or just have a drink.
“It’s difficult but it’s almost become my normal now.”
“It does put everything into perspective once you’ve been chronically unwell for so long.”
“Just little things I took for granted before like being able to go out for a meal with friends and family, or just going out for a coffee and a piece of cake.
GLIMMER OF HOPE
But hope is on the horizon, as Talia is saving up for non-invasive treatment at the Spero Clinic in the US.
It involves spending three months away and receiving medication-free therapy to retrain the nervous system.
Talia added: “I hope my pain will decrease because I’m in so much pain, constantly, every single day, 24 hours a day.
“So it would be amazing if my autonomic dysfunction symptoms would decrease so I don’t feel like I’m going to pass out all the time and my heart rate isn’t skyrocketing.”
And of course, to take a break from Ritz crackers.
What is Gastroparesis?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Gastroparesis means paralysis of the stomach.
It’s a functional disorder affecting your stomach nerves and muscles.
It makes your stomach muscle contractions weaker and slower than required to digest your food and pass it on to your intestines.
This leads to food sitting for too long in your stomach.
Symptoms and Causes
Common symptoms include:
- Indigestion.
- Bloated stomach.
- Feeling full very quickly and/or for a long time.
- Upper abdominal pain.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Regurgitating (spitting up) whole pieces of undigested food.
- Loss of appetite.
- Acid reflux and heartburn.
- Blood sugar fluctuations.
- Constipation.