FORMER EastEnders star turned body confidence advocate Melissa Suffield has opened up to The Sun about her health struggles.
Melissa, 31, was diagnosed with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) after experiencing “horrendous nausea” on December 16 last year and has been sick ever since.
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Melissa Suffield has lost weight in the last 12 months due to SIBO. Credit: Instagram
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Melissa advocates self-love and self-acceptance Credit: Instagram
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Melissa, pictured above in 2023 before her weight loss, runs an Instagram account that promotes body confidenceCredit: Instagram
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The former soap star says she’s back in the jeans she wore before welcoming her son River in 2020. Credit: Instagram
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The mother-of-one starred in EastEnders as Lucy Beale from 2004 to 2010. Credit: BBC
After about 40 appointments with her GP and spending over five figures on tests and other medical expenses, Melissa has been diagnosed with SIBO, a B12 deficiency, and has yet to discover the root cause of it all.
Melissa has nausea, reflux, constipation and other symptoms such as hair loss and dry skin.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition occurs “when there is an abnormal increase in the overall population of bacteria in the small intestine — especially types of bacteria that are not normally found in that part of the digestive tract.”
Symptoms are listed as loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, unpleasant feeling of fullness after eating, diarrhea, unintentional weight loss and malnutrition.
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The former soap star, who played Lucy Beale from 2004 to 2010, has opened up about how SIBO affects her and how she is now less healthy than she was a year ago, despite being slimmer now, and wants to raise awareness of chronic disease.
Melissa told us in our exclusive chat that her medical condition is “very frustrating”, but she noticed a silver lining of sorts.
“Obviously I’ve lost a lot of weight this year,” Melissa began, adding, “But absolutely none of it was by choice. None of it. It’s like I’m back in pre-pregnancy jeans.”
‘THERE IS NO JOY IN LOSING WEIGHT’
She added: “But there’s no joy,” noting: “I don’t enjoy at all the fact that it happened the way you know, it’s like a goal for a lot of people.
“A) It was never my goal. But B) this is the complete opposite of everything I’ve ever wanted with my body.
“So it was definitely awkward. And then also, just on top of that, it was like my skin and hair were affected.
‘It was hell’ reveals EastEnders star Melissa Suffield as she reveals a mysterious medical condition and dramatic weight loss
“I’m dealing with feelings now, you know, I don’t enjoy the way I look, which is frustrating because I’ve done so much work to get to a place where.”
Discovering a glow of sorts, Melissa revealed that her weight loss proves that being thin doesn’t mean being healthy.
“What is it [losing weight because of SIBO] helped prove to me what I’ve always, always said, which is that you can’t define how healthy someone is by how much they weigh, or how fat you think they look, or whatever you think you know,” Melissa said.
She added: “We say, ‘oh, you know fat people, they’re a burden. Blah! Blah!’
“It’s not true. It’s just not true,” she confirmed.
‘I AM A BURDEN to the NHS’
Melissa continued: “I’m more of a burden on the NHS now than I was when I was bigger last year. That’s a fact. That’s a plain fact.
“I was transferred from this department to this department.
I am the bigger version on the NHS in my smaller body, with my perfect BMI.
Melissa Suffield
“I’ve been asking for tests left, right and centre. I’ve been to almost 40 GP visits this year alone.”
She then added how she had spent “an obscene amount of money on prescriptions” and added: “I’m a bigger version of myself on the NHS in my smaller body, with my perfect BMI.”
Melissa said, “Yes, it’s not one size fits all. But I’m living proof of the fact that just because you’re thinner doesn’t mean you’re healthier.”
AN IMPORTANT LESSON
Former star Lucy Beale said at the time that she thought it was “really important” that people learn that being thinner doesn’t necessarily mean a person is healthier.
“I think it’s also very important to learn, and to physically see action like what people have seen my body in action.
“I’m not ashamed of it at all, and I’m not ashamed of the conversation either.
“So that people could see how much bigger I was this time last year than I am now.
“I can see that change, but if they watch my stories or follow me on Instagram, they’ll also see how and why it happened,” she said.
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Melissa says she wasn’t a burden on the NHS when she was bigger, but she is a burden now that she’s thinner Credit: Instagram
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Melissa left EastEnders in 2010. Credit: brochure
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Melissa’s Instagram account remains focused on body confidence and style, despite her weight loss Credit: Instagram
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