- Raquel Rodriguez went viral on TikTok after she made a video showing how an ovarian cyst bloated her stomach.
- She told Buzzfeed she's had the cyst for five years, and it used to be the size of a softball.
- "I'm glad that it's bringing awareness," she said in a follow-up video.
A woman went viral on TikTok after she posted a video explaining how an ovarian cyst changed the appearance of her stomach.
Raquel Rodriguez, 24, from Minnesota, showed her stomach from the side, joking that she looked nine months pregnant. She then revealed the bulge was due to an ovarian cyst.
The video has now been viewed 1.3 million times.
"I decided to post that video, honestly, because I just thought it was a funny/light use of the TikTok sound and my problems," Rodriguez told Buzzfeed.
"I think in some way I was hoping to bring awareness and kinda get over my insecurity surrounding my bloated stomach."
Rodriguez told the news site she found out she had an ovarian cyst five years ago when she had an ultrasound for a kidney infection.
"It was about the size of a softball at first, and it caused some concern but not enough to actually have a removal done back then," she said.
"I had been going in every once in a while to get it checked, and it stayed mostly the same up until, I suppose, recently. I feel it's gotten bigger pretty quickly."
Rodriguez posted a follow-up video thanking people for the messages of support she received in response to the original clip.
"It's amazing to me how many people weren't aware that this could happen so I'm glad that it's bringing awareness," she said.
An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac that develops on an ovary and commonly goes away on its own, according to the NHS.
They're don't usually cause any symptoms unless they split, and one of the symptoms of this condition is a bloated and swollen stomach.
