Facebook Message Prompts 20-Year-Old Woman to Undergo Diagnosis for Her Unusual Pain

Twenty-year-old Annie Marshall was diagnosed with gastroparesis in 2021, although none of her treatments alleviated her symptoms, and it wasn't until she expressed her frustrations in a Facebook group for gastroparesis patients that a woman got in touch with her and suggested she "looks into another condition.

Marshall started to experience symptoms in March 2020, following a bout of food poisoning that left her in pain each time she ate, a LAD Bible report specified.

The woman, who resides in Epping Forest, Essex, explained that while a stomach is supposed to empty itself typically in 30 minutes, for her, after four hours, "zero percent had emptied."

She also said she didn't know what to do and felt very low on herself. Marshall also said she had given up and aired her frustrations to a gastroparesis group on Facebook about everything that had happened to her.

A Surprising Facebook Message

The lady also said she received a message from a woman in the United States who told her she had been a nurse for 20 years. She should look into another condition, specifically Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome or MALS.

Marshall said the woman who messaged her had the said condition herself and had worked with MALS surgeons, and therefore, "it was sort of like luck."

After doing some research, she realized how akin the symptoms were to her own and was able to find a doctor in London who could treat the disease, a similar Mirror report said.

After an ultrasound scan, Marshall finally got the diagnosis she had looked for-she indeed had MALS.

Currently, she is waiting to be checked by a world-leading MALS specialist in Connecticut and is hoping to go through a life-changing surgery this year finally.

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome

According to Mayo Clinic, MALS occurs "when an arc-shaped band of tissue in the chest area" traps or presses on the artery supplying blood to the organs in the upper abdomen or celiac artery.

The site of the median arcuate ligament and celiac artery varies a little from one person to another.

Usually, the ligament runs across the most massive blood vessel in the body and sits on top of the celiac artery minus causing any problem.

However, the lottery or ligament may sometimes be out of place, causing the disease. More so, the ligament may also put pressure on the network of nerves surrounding the celiac artery.

Symptoms

Some MALS sufferers don't feel any symptoms at all. And when such signs occur, it's most frequently in women whose age is between 20 and 40 years old. However, men, seniors, and children can get the condition, too.

An individual with MALS's main symptom may notice pain in the upper belly. It may hurt even more after eating or exercising. Additionally, the pain might make it difficult to eat, leading to weight loss.

If a person has MALS, he might also experience diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. Furthermore, if one experiences pain in the belly, especially of weight loss is experienced, it is advised to seek help from the doctor.

Treatment

A WebMD report said that the main treatment for MALS is surgery to eliminate the pressure the median arcuate ligament puts on the artery.

The surgeon might take out some pinched nerves, as well. The pain should vanish right after the operation, although it could take up to four weeks to get relief.

For patients who do not want surgery or cannot have it, the doctor can provide a "celiac plexus block" shot to alleviate the pain.

Related information about MALS is shown on Mayo Clinic's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Rare Occurrences in Science Times.