A coffee addict from Richmond mistook her brain tumour symptoms for caffeine withdrawal

By SWNS

26th Jul 2024 | Local News

Abi Feltham from Richmond is now four years sober but symptoms mistaken for a caffeine withdrawal reveal she has a brain tumour (credit: SWNS).
Abi Feltham from Richmond is now four years sober but symptoms mistaken for a caffeine withdrawal reveal she has a brain tumour (credit: SWNS).

A woman who would drink up to two bottles of vodka a day said her life was saved when she was forced to face her secret stash of empty bottles.

Abi Feltham, 35, started drinking cider as a teen in parks with her mates to cope with the death of her father when she was three.

She said she drank alcohol every single day from the age of 14, and things got worse when she began a 10-year backpacking stint.

Working in bars helped her conceal her habit - and drink from when she "woke up to when I would pass out in the evening".

At her worst, she was drinking two 700ml bottles of whiskey and beers a day. 

Covid struck - and all her friends who she drank with lost their jobs, prompting Abi to return home, moving from Canada and in with her parents in Berkshire. 

Back in her childhood room, initially, she kept drinking but she had a moment of realisation three weeks after her return.

While clearing six empty bottles of wine and beer hidden down the side of her bed into a binbag she had a flashback to doing the exact same when she was 16.

She gave up booze immediately that day in April 2020 - and hasn't touched a drop since.

Abi went completely "cold turkey" for 18 months without any professional help and then sought professional help.

Now she's got a stable job, relationship and home.

Doctors tell Abi that she has a grade three brain tumour (credit: SWNS).

Abi, a social media manager, from Richmond, London, said: "I would drink a lot. When it was at its worse I was going through a couple bottles of spirits a day.

"I would drink from the moment I woke up to when I would pass out in the evening.

"I have always struggled with mental health issues. I had a lot of trauma from a young age. I had a lot of loss and drinking was the only way to cope."

Talking of her realisation, and moving back to the UK, she added: "Everyone else had lost their jobs too so under the cover of covid I moved back to the UK.

"I moved back in with my mum and carried on drinking.

"I went on an almighty bender and when the bender came to an end I realised that I was hiding bottles next to my bed.

"This is something I did as a child to hide my drinking from my mum.

"One day I was clearing up the bottles and I sat down at the end of my bed dropping the bag.

"It all hit me at once. I had a full circle moment where I felt like a mirror had been held up to my face.

"Now, I have a stable, peaceful life that I love."

Growing up, Abi said alcohol was common within her family, and when she experienced bereavements, she would choose drinking over talking about her feelings. 

The social media manager from Richmond says she now has a 'peaceful' life (credit: SWNS).

She said: "As a kid, I was really angry and resentful, I always felt like an outsider.

"I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone unless I drank and that made me feel normal.

"To begin with it was always with friends partying.

"When I became an adult and moved to London I discovered how I could drink on my own whenever I want.

"I was partying all the time - going out with friends or strangers."

Abi left the UK to go backpacking aged 23. She was living "paycheck to paycheck".

She said: "All I was interested in was drinking alcohol. 

"I was doing it for 10 years. I was working in bars where I was encouraged to drink in some cases.

"While I was travelling, I met my ex-boyfriend in South East Asia and I thought my depression was cured - I fell in love."

Abi quit life on the road and moved to New York City.

When she broke up with him she flew to Canada and fell in with the wrong crowd and started smoking crack.

Abi used to be an alcohol addict and smoke crack (credit: SWNS).

Her excessive drinking and now drug habit resulted in her losing her waitressing job. 

In 2020, after getting sacked from her job as a waitress, covid struck and Abi flew back to the UK to be with her family.

One day Abi was clearing up the alcohol bottles and had a "moment of realisation" that her life needed to change.

In April 2020, Abi gave up the booze without any professional help and has been sober ever since.

According to the UK Addiction Treatment Centres, the sudden absence of alcohol in the body can cause detox symptoms that can range from minor to symptoms that present a significant risk to your health. 

Abi said: "Physically it was very difficult - I was really sick to begin with.

"I was very numb for a while. I was exhausted. I felt like I had run a marathon; the last 10 years of my life had been so full-on and traumatic.

"After that, I had an enormous drive to get better. Every day I felt stronger and I saw things improve.

"I now have a really stable peaceful life. I have a boyfriend and we have been together for a year.

"We have a really healthy relationship which is the most normal thing - everything in my life is so peaceful.

"I have started massively working on my mental health. I go to therapy twice a week."

     

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