A young Fife woman struck by a mysterious vomiting condition is reaching out to other sufferers.
Jennifer Young, 24, was living a normal life until March this year, when she began being sick several times a day.
Doctors have been unable to diagnose the condition, which is believed to affect three other people in Fife.
Miss Young, of Falkland, is trying to track down the three others so she can set up a support network for those affected.
“They can’t really give a diagnosis as such. Functional vomiting is not a diagnosis, more a term they’re using at the moment,” she said.
The condition can be debilitating.
Miss Young said on a bad day it can cause her to vomit up to eight times.
She has been hospitalised three times after she was unable to keep fluids down and became dehydrated.
A feeding tube now provides her with calories, but she said she is still exhausted much of the time.
The people known to be affected in Fife are all young women.
“They’re all the same age group and they all developed it within the past year,” said Miss Young.
“It makes you think, what’s the common denominator between us?
“Why did we get this all of a sudden?
“I want to find these girls, even if it’s just to form a support group for each other.”
Miss Young started throwing up repeatedly after recovering from a virus.
Unable to work until she is feeling better, Miss Young has taken up sewing, with the help of her partner’s mum.
“At the minute, I’m trying to keep myself busy and am learning a new skill.
“I’ve got my partner’s mum’s sewing machine. Maybe I’ll start my own business and work from home until I get back into work.”
She said NHS Fife had been “brilliant” and her family had rallied round to support her.
But she would like to know what the future holds.
“Even if somebody was able to tell me there’s no cure but there’s a way to manage it in the long term.
“It’s the not knowing that’s the hard part.”
