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Original poster

Woman is her own twin

64 replies

GeorginaA · 20/11/2003 19:58

I haven't got much to add to this, but just read it and thought "wow!" - it's such an amazing story. Still trying to get my head around it.

When two became one in the womb

OP posts:

tamum · 21/11/2003 17:49

Oh, that's right, fair play to them then, at least two important genes

2nds · 26/05/2016 17:30

Teratomas aren't most commonly found in the testicle and they do not have the capacity to move by themselves.

TormundGiantsbabe · 26/05/2016 17:34

2nds it's been 13 years. Nobody cares.

ScarletForYa · 26/05/2016 17:53

Fascinating, chimeras were featured on CSI once.

There are also 'mosaics' where two different sets of DNA exist in one body. I know of a child who is part Downs syndrome and part not. Some of her cells have the extra chromosome and some dont!!!

This is interesting

ScarletForYa · 26/05/2016 17:55

Teratomas are nothing to do with Chimeras.

2nds · 26/05/2016 18:23

Tormund I care.

2nds · 26/05/2016 18:32

And thankyou Scarletforya. BTW do you have personal experience of teratomas Scarlet?

lljkk · 26/05/2016 18:36

I don't understand how the body's cells don't reject a non-identical twin, why isn't there major rejection incompatible with life?

My cousin had a large growth removed from her esophagus... it had been choking her for years (she was very underweight by then). The docs said it was basically not a tumour but an undeveloped twin... presumably ID twin.

BankWadger · 26/05/2016 18:43

GM crops can have genes from other plant species and even life forms (animals) spliced in and be compatible with life. How is it such a leap to believe weird genetic shit can happen in utero at the very early stages of gestation?

OnlyHereForTheCamping · 26/05/2016 18:46

Loving to utter nonsense on this thread

2nds · 26/05/2016 21:03

lljk as that's a secondhand story would it be possible to find out what your cousin's condition was called before presuming that it was a twin?

lljkk · 26/05/2016 21:05

She won't remember the technical medical terms.

OnlyHereForTheCamping · 26/05/2016 21:53

I have a growth on my foot. It might be a verruca but it might be my long lost twin!! I better throw the bezuccca in the bin

2nds · 26/05/2016 23:26

It was presumably an identical twin but she won't remember what the condition was called, OK.....

AugustaFinkNottle · 27/05/2016 00:15

Others report problems with the reproductive systems, and been found to have parts of both the male and female organs because they had cells from both sexes in their bodies

*In 1998, doctors at the University of Edinburgh highlighted a case in which two embryos, one male and one female, fused in development to form a single child.
...

His condition was discovered when he was treated because his left testicle had not descended normally and surgeons discovered an ovary and a fallopian tube on the left side.

That'll blow the minds of some of the trans obsessives round here.

2nds · 27/05/2016 07:37

I don't see how it would because it's not a trans issue?

MewlingQuim · 27/05/2016 07:51

I read about chimerism while studying genetics at university, it is fascinating.

My grandmother told me she had a "twin" removed from her after a lump was discovered in her abdomen. I'm not sure if it was really an absorbed twin or a teratoma, but she said it had hair and teeth

MewlingQuim · 27/05/2016 07:53

camping do you really think it is all lies?

You should browse a few medical textbooks, they are horrifying enlightening

2nds · 27/05/2016 07:56

Mewling if your grandmother is still alive she can apply to the hospital for her records regarding the removal of it. Hair and teeth are common in teratomas.

2nds · 27/05/2016 08:09

I don't think camping thinks it's all lies, I think they are getting at how common absorbed twins seem to be on this thread when in fact it's not a common condition, and neither are teratomas.

Ever since I had my daughter I've had all sorts of people tell me "My friend's cousin's husband was growing his own twin", right through to "I've been pregnant with triplets for 5 years one of which has a Teratoma" I'm not joking, we've heard it all, a load of blown up codswallop and it's infuriating to say the least.

It's like people want to believe teratomas are more weird than what they actually are.

Regarding absorbed twins, I've no idea about this, I've not read up on it all I know is a Teratoma is a Teratoma and if you or someone you know has had a Teratoma please don't make it into something that it isn't.

I read all sorts of crap about them, some people advising that they are a death warrant to some people saying everything will be fine, from they are all cancerous through to none of them are cancerous. Most teratomas in fetuses are not cancerous but some can be, thankfully my daughters wasn't cancer.

prh47bridge · 27/05/2016 08:10

It was presumably an identical twin but she won't remember what the condition was called

It is called chimerism. Blood group chimerism, where someone has two different blood types due to a twin's cells living in their body, is not rare. Chimerism of the type described in the original article (from 13 years ago!) is believed to be less common but it does happen.

In the USA in 2002/03 Lydia Fairchild faced fraud charges and demands from the prosecution that her children be taken into care after DNA tests indicated that she was not their mother. Hospital records of the births were ignored. She was pregnant so the judge ordered the presence of an independent witness at the birth to ensure that blood samples were taken immediately. These showed she was not the mother of that child either.

The case was resolved when a lawyer heard about another human chimera. This led to testing of Fairchild's extended family that showed her mother was the grandmother of her children. Further testing showed that the children did not match the DNA in Fairchild's hair or skin but did match the DNA in a cervical smear.

By the way, the "Jane" referred to in the original article is Karen Keegan. It was her case that alerted Fairchild's lawyers to the possibility of chimerism.

lljkk · 27/05/2016 08:47

Not very nice, 2nds. :(

I only know what my cousin told me. She spent yrs not able to swallow properly, often accused of anorexia, and in her 30s ended up very underweight. Before this massive (not cancerous) growth was removed from around her esophagus. Perhaps her doctor gave her bad info? Who knows! It's not important, just a curiousity (sadly no delete button on MN but I'll remember not to post about it again on MN).

2nds · 27/05/2016 09:49

Not very nice about what? Your cousin had a growth and you've no idea what it was called or what it definitely was but you went on to tell us it was an identical twin. I'm not disputing your cousin had a growth, nor am I saying she wasn't in pain or under a lot of distress. What I'm disputing is your seeming to know it was a twin, yet you can't even say what it was called.

Two years ago I was pregnant with my daughter, I had been reading this thread and other threads on other message boards, I was panicking, I was under a lot of distress and it was very scary. Reading posts where the posters knew nothing about what they were on about filled me with terror, I sucked it all in and by the time I gave birth I was an emotional wreck.

People who have been diagnosed with teratomas will tell you that none of what you say about your cousin's growth definitely being an ID twin helps in any way. You are the one who is being rude, giving that you are not experienced in what YOUR COUSIN went through. You don't know what your cousin's condition actually was therefore I'd suggest not giving your personal diagnosis of her condition is best.

prh47bridge · 27/05/2016 10:11

If lljkk is describing her cousin's condition correctly it sounds like foetus in foetu (or fetus in fetu). This is an abnormality in which a mass of tissue resembling a foetus forms inside the body. There are a couple of theories about this. One is that it is a highly developed teratoma, the other is that it is a normal foetus that was enveloped by its twin.

Gileswithachainsaw · 27/05/2016 10:17

dies anyone remember the case of the poor woman who nearly lost her children as DNA tests showed they weren't hers even though they had seen the third child born to the mother..

very scary

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