A CAFFEINE addict was given just years to live after mistaking her headaches and brain fog for coffee withdrawal. Abi Feltham, 36, found herself drinking up to 12 cups of coffee a day after kicking her alcohol addiction Having grappled with drug and alcohol dependency since she was 14 years old, Abi had been sober for four years when she realised that her coffee drinking was reaching extreme levels . She decided to reduce her intake in November 2023 and started having headaches , nausea and brain fog .
Having previously gone through alcohol withdrawal, she put her symptoms down to her body craving caffeine. But when they persisted and she struggled with double vision, Abi went to see her doctor and an optician. Following a CT scan and MRI, the 36-year-old was told they had spotted something that could be malignant and she was taken for brain surgery the following day.
Doctors found and drained a cyst in her brain, which was pushing on a tumour. Following a second surgery to remove 90 per cent of the growth, Abi was diagnosed with a grade three oligodendroglioma - a rare type of brain tumour - and told she had roughly 15 years left to live. She is now undergoing radiotherapy which will be followed by a round of chemotherapy, but says her previous addiction recovery has helped her deal with cancer diagnosis.
Most read in Health Abi, a content creator, from Richmond, London, said: "Last year I quit caffeine. "I got all these symptoms but because I have been through alcohol withd.