A church pastor who kept coming home drunk was accused by his wife of being a secret alcoholic - but he actually had a rare condition that converted carbs into booze in his stomach.
Adam Stump suffers from auto-brewery syndrome, a condition that causes the body to brew alcohol automatically - so the 40-year-old would come home drunk, slurring his words, and would sometimes become aggressive before blacking out.
His bewildered wife, 37-year-old Jana, had no idea what was going on and fairly assumed her husband was concealing a drinking habit, which was easy to believe as he would often smell of alcohol.
Then one day she realised something was wrong, as Adam blew into a breathalyser and was over the legal limit to drive - even though the pair had spent the day together and he hadn't had a single drink.
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Adam, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, said: "At the start, Jana didn't believe I hadn't been drinking. She thought I was sneaking it somewhere. I had to convince her that I hadn't been drinking.
"It was terrible for her to think that I was living a double life. When I was diagnosed, she collapsed and said she couldn't take any more stress.
"I would slur my speech, blackout and walk around talking but not remember any of it. I was quite belligerent and combative. I didn't hurt anyone but once I threw the dining room table and had to get a friend round to calm me down.
"There were a few times where my wife would be looking for me and I'd be in strange places like the garden or laying on the basement floor with no recollection of how I got there.
"I wasn't a very pleasant person to be around. I felt like I was going to snap."
After several visits to baffled doctors, who believed he was a secret alcoholic and urged him to quit boozing, tests revealed Adam had the rare condition in February 2021.
The dad-of-four believes antibiotics to tackle previous illnesses may have triggered the mysterious diagnosis, and now he is able to manage his condition by avoiding carbs - meaning he'll live on a diet of eggs, chicken, beef, burgers and steak for the rest of his life.
He continued: "I started treatment in March and I was incapacitated. We got rid of all carbs and sugar and I went on a full carnivore diet of meat, eggs and cheese.
"It gets really old really quickly, I take anti-bacterial drugs and lots of vitamins. I experienced nausea, diarrhoea and stomach cramps because my body was craving alcohol.
"I've always been into fitness and I managed to keep all of the muscle mass because I was eating so much protein.
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"I have reintroduced some foods. I love vegetables so I've reintroduced Brussels sprouts and I can have one carrot but no potatoes. I can't have vinegar or ketchup or anything like that."
Meat-eater Adam has eggs for breakfast, a burger with no bun for lunch and chicken, steak or beef for dinner for the rest of his life to help keep the condition under control.
Adam said: "There are some things I can never have again in my life and that controls the condition. It's a small price to pay to be healthy. I have been really careful not to introduce the wrong type of food.
"When we prepare dinner, the biggest plate on the table is the meat plate because I have so much of it.
"I've got to the point where I've realised it's better to be healthy so it doesn't bother me to see people eating and drinking. It's worth it to be a husband and father."
Auto brewery syndrome is also known as gut fermentation syndrome and endogenous ethanol fermentation. It’s sometimes called 'drunkenness disease'. This rare condition makes you intoxicated without drinking alcohol.
This happens when your body turns sugary and starchy foods (carbohydrates) into alcohol. Auto brewery syndrome can be difficult to diagnose. It may also be mistaken for other conditions.
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