Woman Who Didn't Eat Food in 7 Years Tells Her Story

Meet a 25-year-old woman who has not eaten any food or drink any liquid for seven years and will never eat again due to a rare condition which left her stomach paralysed, Bolton, England, UK.

The first time Nicola Nichols felt ill was in 2008, she could eat or drink and vomited up to 50 times every day. After undergoing several tests the young woman was diagnosed with gastroparesis – a condition in which the stomach muscles are paralysed, resulting in food remaining in the stomach for an abnormally long time. It is usually caused by diabetes, Parkinson’s or as a complication of surgery, but sometimes there is no clear cause and sufferers report they after coming down with flu, a virus, food poisoning or after taking antibiotics.

Mrs Nichols is kept alive by a food and glucose bags that feeds directly into her blood stream, and a glucose bag that provides her with energy. She has a food bag two days a week and a glucose bag five days a week, which both have to be stored between two and eight degrees. Despite the chronic illness, she has managed to give birth to son William, three, and 11-month-old daughter Felicity.
The two children were both born healthy despite their mother being unable to eat for two.

Speaking about her unusual condition the woman says, “We always say that you take eating and drinking for granted until you can’t do it. I still cook the kid’s teas and it smells and looks great but if I even had a bite then I’d be in crippling pain. It has a real impact on your life because you can’t make any last-minute decisions – everything has to be planned months in advance. You have to have the bag delivered there, the bag has to be stored in a fridge between two and eight degrees, everything has to be deep cleaned – sometimes it just really isn’t worth it.