A woman who faces daily debilitating symptoms due to a chronic illness has shared how it has affected her everyday life.
Shelby Edge, 26, from North Carolina, began experiencing symptoms in middle school, which was the first sign of her eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE. Shelby described the condition to Inside Edition as something she “wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.”
“I was sitting at lunch eating spaghetti when it suddenly felt like something was stuck in my throat,” she recounted to the outlet. “I thought I was choking and I was freaking out, and there was nothing there.”
The experience was so distressing that Shelby became ‘terrified’ of eating, leading her to stop altogether for about a month. School staff thought she might have an eating disorder, but the symptoms vanished after a month.
Nevertheless, the symptoms reappeared a few years later, and by her early twenties, they had become overwhelming for Shelby.
“It felt like something was stuck in my throat 24/7,” she recalled. “It didn’t stop for eight months.” Unable to eat solid food, she rapidly lost weight. “Everyone noticed. I looked really sick.”
“It’s like your body attacks itself,” Shelby explained. “Bread, potatoes, meat — all the normal things people eat — feel like they get stuck.”
Mayo Clinic describes eosinophilic esophagitis as “a chronic immune system disease.” “With this disease, a type of white blood cell, called an eosinophil, builds up in the lining of the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach,” the health site notes.
This accumulation is triggered by reactions to foods, allergens, or acid reflux, which can inflame the oesophagus and cause symptoms like those Shelby has described.
For adults, symptoms include difficulty swallowing and centrally located chest pain, according to Mayo Clinic. Meanwhile, children with the condition may experience vomiting, abdominal pain, and trouble eating.
The condition has severely affected Shelby’s life, as she explained to Inside Edition: “People don’t understand what it’s like. Imagine being terrified three times a day, every day. The world revolves around food. When you take that away from someone, it’s devastating.”
Consequently, Shelby often avoids eating publicly out of embarrassment and tends to eat soft foods while steering clear of dairy and bread, which tend to provoke her symptoms.