She woke up and could not urinate. She waited 14 months for a diagnosis. “It’s exhausting”

Elle Adams is from the East and is 30 years old. In October 2020, her 14-month nightmare began. When she got out of bed in the morning, it turned out that despite repeated attempts, she was unable to urinate. It didn’t matter how much she drank or ate. According to the portal, the woman had reached a “tipping point” at some point. Then she was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease.

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She couldn’t urinate for 14 months. In the emergency room she was taught catheterization and sent home

Elle Adams went to , where she was found to have about 1 liter of urine in her bladder. This is practically twice as much as the average bladder should hold. She had an emergency catheter put in to remove excess fluid from her body. – I was very healthy. I had no other problems. I woke up one day and I couldn’t pee. I was very anxious, at the limit of my endurance. My life has completely changed. I couldn’t do a simple thing like going to the toilet,” she said.

A week later, Elle went to a urology clinic, where a consultant taught her how to self-catheterize and sent her home. He advised her to learn to live with the problem or try to take care of her well-being, for example by practicing yoga. Despite everything, the woman was still unable to urinate on her own.

Elle’s disease was finally diagnosed 14 months later. It turned out that he was suffering from Fowler’s syndrome

Eight months later, Elle made another visit to the urology center. There, doctors tentatively informed her that she was most likely suffering from the rare Fowler syndrome. The disease mainly affects young women aged 20-30. Adams had a special examination done to determine how her urinary tract was working. The final diagnosis was made a total of 14 months after the onset of the problem – it was consistent with the initial one. This was in December 2021 – I was told I probably have Fowler’s disease. I discussed treatment options with the doctors, which were minimal. We tried drugs, but it didn’t make much difference.

Elle Adams’ illness meant that she would have to use a catheter for the rest of her life. Despite this, in January 2023, she underwent surgery to stimulate the sacral nerve, which supplies impulses to the intestines, which improved her condition to some extent. – It doesn’t change your life, but it can help. I use catheter about 50% less. It made my life easier, after two years of hell, it was all I could ask for,” she confessed. – I’m grateful, I feel better than before. I can’t imagine how I coped before. It was so exhausting and consumed my life that it’s hard to imagine it could be like this forever.