A farmer in India complaining of severe abdominal pain carried spare change in the most unexpected of places — his stomach. After a doctor’s visit at a local hospital in Punjab, 34-year-old Rajpal Singh from Bathinda, was told his stomach aches were due to a mass of metal objects in his gut. Over 240 endoscopies were done to remove 140 coins, 150 nails, and a handful of nuts Singh swallowed to cope with his depression.

Singh’s weird habit started when he fell into a depression where metal objects brought him comfort. “I used to gulp down coins and metals with fruit juice or milk. Due to family problems, I had slipped into depression and got hooked onto this weird habit,” he told Caters News Agency.

Although not confirmed, it's likely Singh could have suffered from pica disorder. People with pica compulsively eat items that have no nutritional value, says Medline Plus, such as coins, nails, and nuts. There is no single cause of pica, but a deficiency in iron, zinc, or another nutrient could trigger the unusual eating habit.

Previously, a 62-year-old man in France was admitted to the emergency room at Cholet General Hospital in 2002 after suffering from stomach pain and being unable to eat or move his bowels. Doctors found 350 coins — $650 worth — along with necklaces and needles inside the patient, who had a history of major psychiatric illness, according to the case report published in The New England journal of Medicine. Doctors believe the man had swallowed these coins for about a decade.

Singh can breathe a little easier now after having 150 coins removed in hundreds of endoscopies. “Doctors have told me those sharp needles would have punctured my intestine and I would have eventually died. I feel much more relaxed now. I am never going to do this again,” he said.

Dr. Gagandeep Goyal, a gastroentologist at the local hospital, first told Singh about his stomach issues after carrying out an X-ray. Although Goyal and his surgeon team carried out over 240 endoscopy procedures to remove the objects, including a nine-hour operation, there is more metal to remove.

He told Caters News Agency: “Though we have managed to remove most of them, there are still sharp injects and coins in his stomach. His body is too fragile to sustain another operation now so we plan to operate again in about seven days and remove the remaining objects.”