A mum who claims a rare reaction to a contraceptive has left her looking permanently pregnant is now being forced to wear maternity clothes on a daily basis.
For the past six months, Cassie Edwards, 27, has looked like she's carrying twins.
The dinner lady from High Wycombe took just five months to drop the baby weight and return to a size 10 after giving birth to her second child Tyler.
But after she decided to not have any more children and went to have a coil fitted, her stomach immediately began to balloon.
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Cassie Edwards believes the coil has caused her stomach to grow
"Doctors haven't got a clue what's going on - my belly is growing and growing and I'm stuck in maternity clothes now," said Edwards.
"I told doctors it must be down to the coil, but they aren't sure. They keep needing to run further tests, but all the time my belly is growing.
"I have a full term bump and no baby, it's crazy."
Edwards, who is also mum to five-year-old Teyana, is now bursting out of size 14 clothes, and wears stretchy maternity-wear all the time to help support her expanding stomach.
She added: "People ask me when I'm due and my eldest daughter is confused by mummy's new bump.
"All my hard gym work has gone to pot and all I can do is cover myself with baggy clothes.
"I've prided myself on my body and always being healthy and now I look like a whale. I feel embarrassed and scared of the big baby-less bump."
Doctors, who have confirmed via ultrasound that she is not pregnant, are currently waiting to perform a colonoscopy to look into it further.
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Cassie Edwards before her stomach started to swell
In the meantime, Cassie will have to put up with all the symptoms of pregnancy which include a sore back, aching joints, swollen breasts and feeling like she needs to urinate constantly.
She said: "My body thinks I'm pregnant again. It's so odd. I have a larger bump than I did when I was actually pregnant. If it gets any bigger, people will think its twins.
"It all happened after the coil was fitted, so I can only put it down to that.
"I can't go out the house without someone asking me when I'm due. I lost all my weight for nothing."
Contraception Myths Explained
Myth(01 of14)
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1 in 2 women believe that all types of contraception require you to do something regularly to be effective (credit:Alamy)
Fact(02 of14)
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"Some long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as the implant or intrauterine contraceptives do not require regular administration in order to be effective."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(03 of14)
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Almost 1 in 5 women don’t realise they can get pregnant if they miss a pill (credit:Alamy)
Fact(04 of14)
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"Missing a pill can significantly impact the risk of becoming pregnant particularly if you have unprotected sex around the time of the hormone free interval. If you do miss a pill, follow the instructions on your packet of pills."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(05 of14)
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"Around 1 in 4 women believe that long acting reversible contraception (LARCs) are permanent and irreversible contraception solutions." (credit:Alamy)
Fact(06 of14)
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"Long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are not permanent forms of contraception and are reversible. For example once an implant, intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS) is removed, there is no evidence to suggest a delay in the woman's fertility return."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(07 of14)
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Nearly 1 in 5 women believe that all contraception requires a monthly visit to their Healthcare professional (HCP) (credit:Alamy)
Fact(08 of14)
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"That's not the case - for example following the fitting of an intrauterine contraceptive, women should return to their healthcare professional for a check at about 6 weeks and then they don't need to make another appointment until it needs changing."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(09 of14)
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More than half (58%; 2,451 out of 4,199) of women think that long term contraceptives should not be used if you may suddenly decide you want to try to have a baby. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(10 of14)
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"Long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are not permanent forms of contraception and are reversible. There is no evidence of delay in return of fertility when an implant, intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS) is removed. There could be a delay of up to one year in the return of fertility after a woman stops having the contraceptive injection."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(11 of14)
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Almost a third of women (31%; 1,309 out of 4,199) think that contraceptive pills have the highest rate of efficacy when compared to other methods. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(12 of14)
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"This is not true. The most effective methods of contraception, based on 'typical-use' are the contraceptive implant, intrauterine contraceptives and male and female sterilisation with less than 1 woman in 100 becoming pregnant using these methods. "'Typical-use' refers to how effective a contraceptive method is for the average person who does not always use the method correctly or consistently. For example, women who use oral contraceptives perfectly will experience almost complete protection against pregnancy. "However, in the real world, some women may forget to take a pill every single day, and pregnancies can and do occur to women who miss one or more pills during a cycle. So, while oral contraceptives have a perfect-use effectiveness rate of over 99%, their typical-use effectiveness is closer to 91%."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(13 of14)
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Nearly 1 in 5 women think that long term methods all need surgical insertion into the uterus. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(14 of14)
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"The intrauterine system (IUS) and intrauterine device (IUD) are inserted into the uterus. Injectable contraceptives are however given by injection either into the large muscle in the bottom or in the upper arm and the contraceptive implant is fitted just under the skin on the inside of the upper arm."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)