“The impact goes way beyond what people understand – we talk about pain, urgency, sleepless nights and lack of life,” Adrianne tells her 8,000 followers in a video on TikTok.
For almost five years, Adrianne has lived with a chronic urinary tract infection (UTI), a condition for which it took her two years to get a diagnosis.
At that time, he was wrongly told it was colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, or even that his partner must have cheated on him and given him a sexually transmitted infection.
What started as a urinary tract infection in 2022 has become a debilitating cycle.
“It completely stripped me of everything: being able to work properly, my relationships, my friendships, going out, being able to have a normal social life,” says Adrianne, who works in digital marketing in London.
The 29-year-old was eventually privately diagnosed with a chronic urinary tract infection – which experts say could affect up to 1.7 million women in the UK., external. Men and children are equally affected.
Adrianne isn’t the only one sharing her story and coping mechanisms on social media to combat the stigma surrounding UTIs.
A quick search on Tiktok or Instagram shows hundreds of posts from women of all ages talking about the reality of living with recurring and chronic UTIs.
“I felt incredibly nervous about jumping in, but now there’s this community of people who can share advice with each other and understand each other,” Adrianne said, saying her posts had received a “really positive response.”
“It’s very rewarding.”
Gn Health
