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WAKE-UP CALL
I was so fat I almost went blind – it felt like I’d been hit over the head with a brick but now I’ve lost 13st
"I was astounded that my weight could do so much damage to my health to the point I could go blind," Chanice says
WHEN Chanice Higgins went to hospital with agonising headaches, doctors initially believed she might have a brain tumour.
But when the test results came back, the 31-year-old got the shock of her life; it wasn't a brain tumour at all.
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In reality, Chanice was so overweight, there was a build-up of pressure around her brain, putting her at risk of losing her sight.
"I was astounded that my weight could do so much damage to my health to the point I could go blind," she tells Sun Health.
Chanice had struggled with her size since secondary school.
As a teenager, she tipped the scales at 23 stone and wore a dress size 26 when she started to experience severe migraines.
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This continued into her 30s, when she was admitted to hospital during a particularly bad episode.
Concerned that something sinister was at play, she spent three days under observation.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with intracranial hypertension.
The condition – which occurs when there is a build-up of pressure around the brain – was causing her splitting headaches, and doctors believe her weight was to blame.
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"I was suffering with severe migraines that felt like I'd been hit with a brick, flashing lights in my eyes and blurred vision, especially in the morning," Chanice, a carer from Wolverhampton, says.
"I could feel pressure at the back of my eyes and across my forehead, dizziness and neck pain and stiffness.
I battled mystery headaches for ten years - doctors thought I'd had a stroke but it was something much rarer
"I Googled the symptoms and they were similar to meningitis.
"When I got to the hospital, a doctor said it could be a tumour, which was frightening.
"They couldn't work out what was wrong with me because they couldn't do a lumbar puncture with me being so big.
"I was eventually diagnosed via a CT scan, MRI, and eye exam.
"When I was told it was related to my weight, I was relieved that it wasn’t too sinister – but shocked that my weight could cause something so severe. It was a wake up call."
Chanice first started dieting when she was 18.
She says she tried every diet in the book, but never managed to keep the weight off.
I was looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, 'What the hell?'
Chanice Higgins
"I started putting weight on when I went to secondary school and could eat what I wanted," she says.
"I'd gone from home-cooked meals to chips, mayo, burgers and sausage sandwiches.
"I got teased a lot but would try to laugh it off. Kids would say they'd need a crane to get me out of school.
"The boys who said that stuff are the ones who like all my photos these days so it's a big turnaround.
"A lot of the old people at work would say, 'You're a big unit' because some have dementia and they say what comes to their head."
Chanice tried diets including Slimming World, WeightWatchers, SlimFast, liquid-only meals and OMAD (one meal a day), but says nothing stuck.
She was unhappy with her appearance, felt miserable looking in the mirror, and even avoided public transport out of fear of being stared at.
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Chanice says: "I was looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, 'What the hell?'.
"I used filters and would try to hide in the back of photos, but I was deluded and told myself I was OK.
"My job is really active. I had to walk up and down three flights of stairs a day and I was so out of breath and had pains in my feet.
"It affected my confidence massively and I had a lot of anxiety.
"I didn't want to go out or on public transport because I thought people were looking at me.
"At lunch, I'd sit on my own and I didn't want to make friends.
"I wouldn’t use communal showers at the swimming baths and felt uncomfortable in little clothing."
Life-changing weight loss
Following her hospitalisation in September 2017, she finally took her health seriously.
After reducing her calories and walking 10,000 steps a day, she lost three stone.
In February 2024, Chanice then had a life-changing gastric sleeve to remove part of her stomach, funded by the NHS.
Since the surgery, she has dropped to 10 stone and is a slender size 10 – and she has been able to reverse the side effects of her condition.
She says: "My life has changed massively and my health condition has completely reversed.
"I had a six-month post-op check-up and my optical nerves are no longer swollen, my headaches and all the other symptoms have gone.
"My blood pressure used to be elevated but now it's perfect."
Chanice's diet: then and after
THEN:
- Breakfast: skip
- Lunch: fruit, yoghurt, four bags of crisps, two chocolate bars, a packet of biscuits, Fanta, Lucozade, Coke
- Dinner: a sandwich, potatoes, rice, chips, Indian takeaway, Chinese takeaway, chicken, pizza, Caribbean food
NOW:
- Breakfast: protein yoghurt with fruit, protein Weetabix, eggs and cottage cheese
- Lunch: tuna salad, ham salad
- Dinner: steak, eggs, chicken, wraps, salad salmon and wraps
She adds: "I wear what I want. I couldn't get my clothes from H&M or Primark before because they didn't have my size.
"Even now I still go straight to the back of the rail looking for the bigger sizes.
"I didn't expect to get so small. I've never been a size 10 in my life.
"I went to Egypt last year and wore a bikini without thinking people were looking at me."
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Incredibly, as a result of her drastic change in appearance, Chanice says family members can barely recognise her.
"After I lost the weight, we had a family gathering and my own cousin didn't recognise me," she says.
"She said, 'Oh sorry I thought you were Chanice'. I said, 'It is Chanice', and she couldn't believe it.
"A few weeks ago, I was walking down the street and a family friend who I've known all my life walked by and blanked me.
"I shouted her over and she said, 'Is that Chanice?'. It's crazy that people don't recognise me."
The carer is sharing her story to inspire others who are struggling with their weight.
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Chanice adds: "Deep down, you think you're happy being big but I don't think many bigger people are.
"You just need to start small, get off the bus a stop early or park a bit further away. Little and often is the way."
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