4st Kent woman’s vomiting phobia caused weight loss

A size 14 woman with an extreme fear of vomiting saw her weight plunge to just 4st as she stopped herself from eating. 

Cheryl Longman, 30, of Rochester, Kent, had to battle with doctors to receive any life-saving treatment because they thought she was just anorexic. 

The former support worker, who was desperate to get help for her deteriorating body, was even threatened with being sectioned by bungling specialists. 

Having been plagued with the bizarre phobia, called emetophobia, ever since she was a child, it took a turn for the worse three years ago.

It caused her to restrict herself to just two mouthfuls of each meal she had for 15 months to stop herself from throwing up.

As a result, her weight plunged from 10st 7lbs to just 4st 11bs – when she was at immediate risk of death with her organs on the brink of shutting down.

Miss Longman, who was even once told that she just longed for her ‘curvy’ figure back, is now out of hospital and well on the way to recovery, weighing 8st 6lbs.

Cheryl Longman, 30, who was once a size 14, has been scared of being sick ever since she was a child. Three years ago it worsened, causing her to plunge to just 4st 11b (pictured when she was admitted to the Medway Maritime Hospital in February)

She said: ‘It was horrible watching the weight just drop off me. I was so used to being healthy and being curvy and then all of a sudden I was wasting away. 

‘But I was trapped in this vicious cycle of restricting my food because I was absolutely terrified of being too full and being sick and then as I got smaller and smaller my stomach was shrinking.  

‘I was hungry but the sheer terror of being sick was so overwhelming. It’s like being in a horror film running away from some crazed killer.

‘I lost so much weight that I was just skin and bone and my skin went grey and so dry from being malnourished – I looked so much older.

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‘Seeing myself in the mirror was heartbreaking. It destroyed my self-confidence.’

Miss Longman added: ‘I tried to get help but it just felt like I was being bounced back and forth between the mental health team and the eating disorder services.

‘I faced this constant battle of having to convince everyone that I wasn’t anorexic.

‘People would treat me like I had body image issues but I didn’t, I wanted to put the weight back on but I was just too scared.

Restricting herself to just two mouthfuls of each meal for 15 months, her weight plunged from 10st 7lbs when she was 21 (right). The former support worker, of Rochester, Kent, is now out of hospital and well on the way to recovery, weighing 8st 6lbs (left)

Despite trying to get help, Miss Longman feels she was ‘bounced back and forth’ between specialists who she claims struggled to accept she wasn’t anorexic and even threatened to section her (pictured when she was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital in February)

‘Looking back now, I know I am very lucky to have recovered like I have. It’s such an amazing feeling to be gaining weight and I look my age again.’ 

Miss Longman developed emetophobia when she was 12, but it didn’t affect what how much food she would eat until 2014.

Instead, this was triggered when she became full after a takeaway and felt nauseous, causing an added terror of over-eating.

Over three years, she was repeatedly referred to the Medway Community Mental Health Team and Eating Disorder Service in a bid to combat her ‘accidental’ eating disorder.

But during this time she lost more than half of her body weight and reached the point where even tiny size 6 clothes were hanging off her frame.

By the time her weight plummeted below 5st, she had been housebound for two years as her body was so weak that just walking a few steps would leave her exhausted and breathless. 

Miss Longman said: ‘It was horrible watching the weight just drop off me. I was so used to being healthy and being curvy and then all of a sudden I was wasting away’ (pictured with her feeding tube when she was in hospital)

Miss Longman added: ‘Looking back now, I know I am very lucky to have recovered like I have. It’s such an amazing feeling to be gaining weight and I look my age again’

EMETOPHOBIA: THE FACTS

Emetophobia, a fear of vomiting, is a condition that is not widely diagnosed even though it is a fairly prevalent anxiety disorder.

More women have a fear of vomiting, or seeing others throw up, than men. Figures estimate that 1 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women are sufferers. 

Emetophobia varies in how it effects people; most worry excessively about being sick even though they are less likely than the general population to be sick because of all the steps they take to avoid being ill.

Sufferers may be unable to leave home if there are any tummy bugs going around and they will avoid family and friends who have an illness.

Many will also have a strict diet which is free from anything that might cause a stomach upset and some will avoid medications which list nausea as a side-effect.

Many women will also dread the thought of being pregnant because of concerns about coping with ‘morning sickness’.

Source: Anxiety UK

Although she could feel her body ‘dying off’, Miss Longman said her fear of dying was nothing compared to her fear of vomiting.

Her rapidly deteriorating state led to her mother, Bernadette Hanson, 58, begging a therapist to stage an intervention.

Miss Longman alleges that she was told if she didn’t go to hospital she would be sectioned, which forced her to seek help.

Doctors at the Medway Maritime Hospital welcomed her for a three-week stay in February 2017. But she said they also made the same judgements about her being anorexic. 

During her stay, her body had to be retrained as it had started to reject solid food. She was fitted with a feeding tube until her weight had increased.

Miss Longman added: ‘When I was taken to hospital I was told that my weight and blood sugar levels were so low that my body had started to die off and I was at risk of all my organs shutting down.

‘It was so scary but up until that point, my fear of being sick had been way stronger than my fear of dying. I felt completely helpless.’ 

Since leaving hospital, Miss Longman has continued to go to therapy in a bid to find the root cause of her fear and is now determined to raise awareness for other emetophobia sufferers.

Miss Longman developed emetophobia when she was 12, but it didn’t affect what how much food she would eat until 2014 (pictured when she was 21)

Miss Longman believes there needs to be a greater awareness of the condition across the NHS so sufferers get the help they need as early as possible (pictured in December 2016)

She said: ‘I’ve still got a way to go but I can’t believe the progress I’ve made. It’s such a relief each time I check my BMI to see myself getting into the safe category.

‘But even with that joy, eating is an everyday battle. The fear of being sick is still very much there but I’ve learnt to fight it.

‘It’s just sad that my weight had to get so low that I could have died to get the care I needed.’

Miss Longman believes there needs to be a greater awareness of the condition across the NHS so sufferers get the help they need as early as possible and has since set-up a group.

Kent Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, the trust responsible, said it could not comment on individual cases but that they work to provide ‘person-centred care’.

A spokesperson said: ‘Due to data protection we are unable to comment on individual cases. Patients are assessed individually and referred to the most appropriate service.

‘The trust works in partnership with individuals, their families and those who support them to provide person-centred care.

‘However, we would urge anyone with feedback about our services to contact our patient experienced team.’