'Betrayed by my body': The taboo health issue women are talking about on social media
Women are increasingly using social media platforms like TikTok to discuss the debilitating reality of chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs). The movement aims to break the stigma and share experiences regarding a condition that often faces medical dismissal.
Why it matters
The rise of patient-led advocacy on social media highlights gaps in traditional healthcare diagnostic processes and the importance of community support for chronic conditions.
Image caption, Adrianne says her chronic UTI has impacted her physically and mentally
"The impact goes far beyond what people understand - we're talking about pain, urgency, sleepless nights and missing out on your life," Adrianne tells her roughly 8,000 followers in a video on TikTok.
For nearly five years, Adrianne has lived with a chronic urinary tract infection (UTI) - a condition it took her two years to get a diagnosis for.
In that time she was wrongly told it was colon cancer, Crohn's disease or even that her partner must have been cheating and had given her a sexually transmitted infection.
What started as one UTI in 2022 became a debilitating cycle.
"It has 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.
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