Keahnee with her boyfriend Tamaikoha. Photo / Caters News Agency
A woman claims doctors insisted her "nine months pregnant" bloated tummy was a gluten allergy - before she "gave birth" to a 5kg ovarian cyst.
Keahnee Tioke, 23, had a laparoscopy operation to remove the huge 30cm mass from her left ovary earlier this year and was given just a 50 per cent chance of survival.
The kiwifruit harvester, from Opotiki, claims she first visited doctors in October 2016 after suffering severe back pain, vomiting and rapid weight loss but was denied a referral to see a gynaecologist.
And after earlier surgery in 2015 to remove a smaller 17cm cyst from her left ovary she went under the knife again this January after the second larger cyst exploded into her stomach - leaving her with just one ovary and fearing she may never be able to have children.
Keahnee said: "Before the second operation I was really scared, it felt like I was giving birth because of the way it happened.
"I didn't know what I was going to look like, I woke up and my stomach was gone.
"The first time I saw the cyst, it was like I died and came back to life. It was crazy and I cried. I'm happy to be alive.
"From October, I had haemorrhoids and a bump on my stomach. A lot of people said it looked like I was nine months pregnant or was trying to hide a football, it was crazy.
"I was vomiting acid and couldn't eat due to the cyst taking up so much space.
"I was in pain - I was told it wasn't serious, but I knew my body and knew something wasn't right.
"Instead I was diagnosed with lupus and coeliac disease or a gluten allergy.
"I couldn't afford to go to a private hospital and I feel like I wasn't given the best treatment. I wanted to believe in my doctor and the healthcare system but I feel like it took me almost dying to be taken seriously.
"If doctors had just referred me to a specialist in 2016 I would never have been in this position."
Keahnee, who lived in Perth, Australia until age 15, claims her symptoms, which included swollen veins, chest pain and severe cramps, developed suddenly in October 2016.
She said this meant she was forced to regularly pop painkillers for relief from the pain and said within one month, by November 2016, her stomach was the size of a football.
But when she felt pain in her stomach and still looked '"nine months pregnant", boyfriend Tamaikoha Tepapa, 22, called an ambulance and she was rushed to hospital in January 2017 where she underwent a two-hour operation to remove the 30cm cyst from her left ovary.
There she had an ultrasound scan which revealed a huge 30cm mass on her left ovary had been growing into her stomach and had exploded.
Keahnee had a laparoscopy, which doctors told her she had just a 50 per cent chance of surviving, where an incision was made down her stomach to find and remove the cyst.
She spent three days recovering in hospital and the surgery left her with only one ovary - meaning she now fears she may never be able to have children of her own.
Keahnee said: "When I had the second operation I was annoyed it had got to that point - I just wanted it out.
"I didn't want to keep living the life I had been living. I was in pain for a very long time and felt like the girl who cried wolf.
"After I got the cyst removed, I had maybe 24 hours of pain because of trying to move and the stitches but afterwards I was back to my old self.
"My boyfriend took me to the hospital and was very helpful - we're still together.
"He's been by my side even when I had a huge thing growing in me, he and his mum were my biggest support system through it all."
Keahnee is now urging women to listen to their bodies and said they should find a doctor who is right for them.
She and Tamaikoha are not planning to have children anytime soon as she said they want to live in the moment and take things one step at a time.
Keahnee said: "Being a woman you don't want to be told you can't have kids or you have to adopt.
"I can have kids of my own but I've only got five to seven years to do so.
"I told myself to trust my doctors but I was very annoyed they couldn't find something so obvious. I was an emotional wreck.
"You don't realise that you take things for granted like going to the toilet or enjoying a meal. If you know your body isn't in a good state you have to push through it.
"It took my brain a while to comprehend what had happened and at first I was very scared of getting another cyst, but you can't live in fear.
"All I can do is find a new doctor and keep up with my pap smears. We know our bodies better than anybody else. If you think something's wrong, then something's definitely wrong."
Keahnee's GP surgery declined to comment on her allegations but said they had provided her with copies of her medical records and correspondence between her and the practice such as text messages and letters recalling her for appointments.
These records show the 23-year-old was contacted in October, November and December 2016 and February 2017 about returning to the practice for further check-ups and to discuss abnormal blood tests.
But Keahnee claims she was told these blood test results were in relation to vitamin deficiencies not her ovarian cysts and said she did not return for the appointments because she had already found a new GP by this point.
The medical records also appear to show Keahnee was denied a referral in October 2016.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Quality and Patient Safety Manager Debbie Brown said: "The review of this case is ongoing."
- Caters