The woman who can ONLY eat rice and vegetables!

A 25-year-old woman has revealed how her life is blighted by an allergy to all food – except rice and vegetables.

Sophie Willis has mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) – which causes blood cells to inappropriately react with certain foods and fragrances.

The rare condition, which strikes around one in 150,000 people, means she can go into life-threatening anaphylactic shock, break out in a rash or have swollen lips if she has a reaction.

The wedding veil designer, from London, cannot consume yeast, meat, fish, diary and preservatives. She is also affected by sunlight and thunder.

One doctor refused to believe her bizarre symptoms – and sent her for counselling, while another assumed her seizures were due to Lyme disease.  

Sophie Willis has mast cell activation syndrome – a condition in which blood cells react with certain foods and fragrances (pictured on holiday in Guernsey in 2016)

Miss Willis, who now takes 60 pills a day to combat her condition, said: ‘I cannot eat anything but vegetables and rice, if I eat any other food I collapse and go into anaphylactic shock.

‘Before I knew about my condition I would end up suffering an allergic reaction up to seven times a day.’

Miss Willis used to lead an active lifestyle, running half marathons and regularly dining out with friends, before falling ill in 2014.

She said: ‘I started blacking out several times a day. My throat would close up and my face would swell up. It was terrifying.’

Her condition baffled doctors and, over the next two years, she visited more than 30 hospitals across the country desperate for a diagnosis.

Miss Willis said: ‘I endured countless tests. Doctors thought I had Lyme disease because I kept having seizures.

‘They discovered I had two underlying conditions, a connective tissue disorder called EDS and a heart condition called POTTS, which are common in people who suffer from MCAS.

‘One doctor told me that it was all in my head and even sent me to counselling. It was frustrating.’ 

The wedding veil designer, from London, cannot consume yeast, meat, fish, diary and preservatives (pictured this year)

She is also affected by sunlight and thunder (pictured in 2017)

The wedding veil designer, from London, cannot consume yeast, meat, fish, diary and preservatives. She is also affected by sunlight and thunder

The condition, which strikes around one in 150,000 people, means she can go into life-threatening anaphylactic shock if she has a reaction (pictured having an allergic reaction)

The condition, which strikes around one in 150,000 people, means she can go into life-threatening anaphylactic shock if she has a reaction (pictured having an allergic reaction)

One doctor refused to believe her symptoms - and sent her for counselling, while another assumed her seizures were due to Lyme disease (pictured in 2014 before her diagnosis)

One doctor refused to believe her symptoms – and sent her for counselling, while another assumed her seizures were due to Lyme disease (pictured in 2014 before her diagnosis)

Finally, in August 2016, doctors diagnosed her with MCAS.

Mast cells, a type of blood cell, react to foreign bodies and injury by releasing a variety of chemical mediators, such as histamine, in order to fight infections.

In a person with MCAS, the same chemicals are inappropriately triggered causing allergy-like symptoms.

Miss Willis said: ‘When I eat certain foods, the mast cells in my body react badly- this combined with my other two conditions causes me to pass out.

‘I am now essentially allergic to every food, other than vegetables and rice.

‘If I eat any other food my throat, eyes and lips swell up, and I can be in excruciating pain all over my body.

Miss Willis, who now takes 60 pills a day to combat her condition, said: 'I cannot eat anything but vegetables and rice' (pictured in 2017)

Miss Willis, who now takes 60 pills a day to combat her condition, said: ‘I cannot eat anything but vegetables and rice’ (pictured in 2017)

Miss Willis used to lead an active lifestyle, running half marathons and regularly dining out with friends, before falling ill in 2014 (pictured in 2017)

Miss Willis used to lead an active lifestyle, running half marathons and regularly dining out with friends, before falling ill in 2014 (pictured in 2017)

Her condition baffled doctors and, over the next two years, she visited more than 30 hospitals across the country desperate for a diagnosis (pictured having an allergic reaction)

Her condition baffled doctors and, over the next two years, she visited more than 30 hospitals across the country desperate for a diagnosis (pictured having an allergic reaction)

Miss Willis said: 'When I eat certain foods, the mast cells in my body react badly- this combined with my other two conditions causes me to pass out (pictured with mother Susan, 54)

Miss Willis said: ‘When I eat certain foods, the mast cells in my body react badly- this combined with my other two conditions causes me to pass out (pictured with mother Susan, 54)

Miss Willis claims that sunlight and loud noises also affect her. She said: 'Sunlight can make my body break out in a rash (pictured with a heart monitor after suffering seizures)

Miss Willis claims that sunlight and loud noises also affect her. She said: ‘Sunlight can make my body break out in a rash (pictured with a heart monitor after suffering seizures)

‘Once, before my diagnosis, I was out shopping on my own when I collapsed on the floor.’

She added: ‘I couldn’t even shout out for help because one of the side affects of MCAS is brain fog, where I am unable to think or speak properly.

‘After that I avoided going out with friends in fear of having a reaction.

‘Thankfully, I quickly realised that foods were a trigger for my allergic reactions.

‘It’s boring, but allows me to live my life with some normality, so I have stopped blacking out.’

Miss Willis claims that sunlight and loud noises also affect her. She said: ‘Sunlight can make my body break out in a rash, and thunder gives me migraines.

Miss Willis is forced to take up to 60 different pills a day in order to keep her condition stable (pictured with her mother Susan, 54)

Miss Willis is forced to take up to 60 different pills a day in order to keep her condition stable (pictured with her mother Susan, 54)

Miss Willis is now currently raising money for four charities, including Mast Cell Action (pictured earlier this year)

Miss Willis is now currently raising money for four charities, including Mast Cell Action (pictured earlier this year)

WHAT IS MAST CELL ACTIVATION DISORDER?

Mast cell activation disorder (MCAD), also known as mastocytosis, is a rare condition caused by an excess number of mast cells in the body’s tissues.

Mast cells are produced in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system and help fight infection.

When mast cells detect an allergen, they release histamine and other chemicals into the bloodstream. Histamine makes the blood vessels expand and the surrounding skin itchy and swollen.

Mast cells sometimes mistake harmless substances, such as pollen, for infectious germs, and trigger the process of swelling.

This can cause the skin to become red, swollen and itchy, and it can also create a build-up of mucus in the airways, which become narrower.

People with the condition have an increased risk of having a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.

Symptoms include itchy skin or a raised, red skin rash, feeling light-headed or faint and swelling of the throat, mouth and tongue which can lead to breathing difficulties.

Source: NHS Choices 

‘I have to have cool showers as hot water can trigger my allergies.

‘I never know when I’ll have one. One day it will be okay for me to be in the sun, and other days I can’t go outside.

‘I also can’t be around aerosol cans, so my boyfriend, Prash, and my friends can’t spray perfume or deodorant around me.’

Miss Willis is forced to take up to 60 different pills a day in order to keep her condition stable.

She said: ‘Going out for meals is really hard, I am only able to order chips or a side of vegetables off the menu and people always give me funny looks.

‘They must think I’m fussy, but I can’t help it. I’d love to eat cheese, strawberries, chocolate, pastries and pies again – I miss all my favourite foods so much.

‘I cannot work every day as the exhaustion is crippling. If I make it out to do something with friends one night, I have to have the next day off to recover.’

Miss Willis is now currently raising money for four charities, including Mast Cell Action.

Gawain Paling, founding trustee at MCA, says: ‘In MCAS the mast cell has become overly sensitive reacting to all manner of normal stimuli, releasing its chemicals inappropriately with often complex multi system and debilitating symptoms.

‘Some people suffer from anaphylaxis where they are unable to breath and their blood pressure drops and they can go unconscious.

‘Itching, inflammation, stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhoea all form part of a wide spectrum of symptoms.

‘At its worst people struggle to go out of their controlled home environment for fear of reacting, they become allergic to a wide range of things and many struggle to be believed.’ 

She said: 'Going out for meals is really hard, I am only able to order chips or a side of vegetables off the menu and people always give me funny looks' (pictured in her previous job)

She said: ‘Going out for meals is really hard, I am only able to order chips or a side of vegetables off the menu and people always give me funny looks’ (pictured in her previous job)

Finally, in August 2016, doctors diagnosed her with MCAS. Mast cells, a type of blood cell, react to foreign bodies and injury by releasing a variety of chemical mediators, such as histamine, in order to fight infections (pictured with her mother Susan, 54)

Finally, in August 2016, doctors diagnosed her with MCAS. Mast cells, a type of blood cell, react to foreign bodies and injury by releasing a variety of chemical mediators, such as histamine, in order to fight infections (pictured with her mother Susan, 54)

Miss Willis added: 'I cannot work every day as the exhaustion is crippling. If I make it out to do something with friends one night, I have to have the next day off to recover'

Miss Willis added: ‘I cannot work every day as the exhaustion is crippling. If I make it out to do something with friends one night, I have to have the next day off to recover’



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