Teen who vomits 30 times a day 'misdiagnosed with eating disorder'
A teen claims she was left starving for three years after doctors allegedly misdiagnosed her rare condition – which saw her vomit 30 times a day – for an eating disorder.
Caitlin White, 19, from Perth, Scotland, has a rare gut condition called cyclical vomiting syndrome and severe gastroparesis – which means her stomach can’t empty itself – which has left her weighing just 38 kilograms.
But her constant vomiting since age 14 allegedly caused doctors to diagnose Caitlin with an eating disorder and subject her to nine psychological assessments despite her pleading with the medics to believe her weight loss wasn’t intentional.
Now, with her condition fast becoming critical, her family are calling for doctors to find a way to help Caitlin as she currently has no care plan and is bedridden in hospital.
“I went to my local GP in January 2014 with acid reflux and I was put on anti-sickness tablets but didn’t work,” Caitlin said.
“I’d always had problems digesting but it seemed to just sort itself out each time.
“I was a sickly child, but we thought that was just the way I was – a stomach bug that wouldn’t go away.
“Yet my weight was dropping rapidly, and I started vomiting black.”
Caitlin had to undergo nine psychiatric reviews and she claimed she was told her pain was all in her head.
“I physically couldn’t eat – nothing was staying down, and I was in agony,” she said.
“A consultant used the words phantom pain – but I knew it was very real.”
The teen’s body has rejected attempts at putting in feeding lines, leaving Caitlin constantly fighting to receive the nutrients she desperately needs.
Yet Caitlin claims staff at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, referred her multiple times for psychiatric evaluation, allegedly writing on her notes that she was refusing feeds.
Caitlin claims she was discharged from Ninewells with no care plan in place and feels doctors are leaving her to deteriorate.
She has also had a number of battles with sepsis, Caitlin’s hair fell out and due to her vomiting, she has critically low potassium levels and has since been told she may end up with no teeth.
Caitlin’s mum, Pamela Gillespie, 44, said: “We were devastated when Caitlin’s hair fell out.”
“But doctors didn’t even believe that.
“A family member had been through chemotherapy, and a doctor went as far as to say that Caitlin has pulled her own hair out, in an attempt to mimic her.
“The constant vomiting, and literally watching my daughter starve – it’s been horrendous.
“She’s has to fight to be believed, before she even has a chance at recovering.
“The longer this goes on, the sicker she is going to get.”
Caitlin is currently hospitalised at Perth Royal Infirmary where she states her care has been fantastic.
But the family are still unsure of what the future holds for her.
“I can go through over 300 sick bowls a week,” she said.
“I can’t go out with family, with friends.
“Life is impossible. The condition feels embarrassing, humiliating.
“My entire life has been left in limbo.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside Trust – which oversees Ninewells Hospital – said: “Due to patient confidentiality we cannot comment on individual cases but we continue to be in direct contact with Ms White.”
