The reason Margaret Daalman was admitted to the hospital after claiming to have stomach pain is obvious from one glance at her X-ray.

The Rotterdam, Netherlands, doctors were shocked to find 78 different pieces of cutlery in an X-ray of a 52-year-old woman’s stomach.

They rushed her to surgery in a desperate attempt to free the dozens of forks and spoons that were trapped inside her body.

One doctor observed that every time she sat down to eat, she would eat the utensils rather than the food, suggesting that she was experiencing some form of obsession.

Even though the incredible pictures were actually shot more than 30 years ago, a Dutch medical journal just this week published them.

Reader submissions of examples of odd medical anecdotes were requested by the publication.

A doctor from a hospital in Sittard, Netherlands, sent in Ms. Daalman’s account.

Before her surgery, Ms. Daalman, a local estate agent’s secretary, admitted to the doctors: “I don’t know why, but I felt an instinct to eat the silverware – I could not help myself.”

She had previously been treated for using the utensils, according to medical officials.

They said that she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which contributed to her urge to eat forks and a spoons.

But she was unable to explain why she never ate knives.

Ms. Daalman underwent successful therapy for her condition and achieved a full recovery.

Psychiatry Online article claims that the absorption of foreign objects is a problem that isn’t frequently discussed.

Pica is a condition in which people seek out and consume excessive amounts of food or non-food substances.

The phenomenon, which is seen as a sort of self-harm, is difficult for clinicians to identify because the damage is not always obvious, in contrast to people who burn or mutilate themselves.

According to the study, it is nearly impossible to prevent access to all potentially ingestible materials, making it difficult to stop the behavior without seeking psychiatric treatment.

Rotterdam medical professionals said that they had never before heard of a person consuming this many bizarre items.