Girl accused of SECRET eating diagnosed with BRAIN TUMOUR after shocking weight gain

Lizzie went from a size six to a sixteen in a matter of months

A GIRL who stacked on over six stone in weight - and was branded a secret eater - has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

 

Lizzie Denison-Ward started gaining weight in November 2013 - shockingly, she was told by doctors it was metabolism slowing down and that she should adopt a 'healthier diet'.

Former nine-stone student Lizzie hit 15-and-a-half stone just two years later, going up a whopping ten dress sizes. 

 

Returning to the doctors, the medics took her condition more seriously and then discovered a hidden brain tumour - which in turn was responsible for her rapid weight gain. 

Speaking about her condition, Lizzie said: "I believed the doctors after I first saw then but I thought there was something else wrong because I've always been thin.

"When I put on the first stone my friends said 'you look really healthy'. At first I wasn't worried about it. I wasn't eating that much.

 



Lizzie Denison-Ward doubled her body weight in just under two years



"But my mum was worried, because I had always been thin growing up and had a slight frame and I was just kept putting on weight."

She added: "I kept going back to my GP and they took blood but they couldn't get to the bottom of it and find out what it was.

"It was a real low at the time and I was feeling depressed."

Upsettingly, the youngster was accused by some of being a secret eater, despite insisting she was eating only 1,000 calories a day and exercising four times a week.

Fearing the worst she Googled her symptoms, and became convinced she had Cushing's syndrome, where a brain tumour causes the body to change and gain weight.

 

The young student was accused of secret eating by her friends

The Lincolnshire lass said: "The turning point came when I Googled the symptoms and I started to find different conditions.

"When I found Cushing's syndrome everything fell into place and it all clicked."

She told her doctor she believed she had the condition and was out on a waiting list for an MRI on the NHS.

Instead she went with her gut instinct and spent £1,700 of her savings for a private MRI scan to skip the three-month NHS waiting list to find the truth about her belly-bursting

The scan revealed 4mm tumour on her pituitary gland which was causing hormone imbalance and weight-gain.

She was told the tumour was benign, but Cushing's syndrome has a five-year mortality rate and would have been fatal if left undetected for two more years.

 

Finally last month the tumour was removed following a two hour surgery at Leeds General Infirmary.

She said: "After I found out it was a tumour I was relieved more than anything. I was just glad I was right and I wasn't just making it up.

"My friends thought I was mad because I kept saying I was getting fat because of a tumour in my head.

"But when I found out I was really upset I had to wait for the surgery, because I didn't want to put any more weight on."

The condition is caused by a benign tumour growing on her pituitary gland, and if left untreated can cause high blood pressure, and lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Talking about how she felt after her surgery, Lizzie, said: "I'm just glad it all over now and I can move forward and concentrate on my university studies."