A woman's life was "completely changed" when she woke up one day in October 2020, unable to urinate. Elle Adams, a 30-year-old content creator from Bow, east London, visited St Thomas' Hospital where doctors discovered she had one litre of urine in her bladder. After fitting her with an emergency catheter, Elle was taught how to self-catheter and sent home from the urology centre a week later.
However, Elle had to rely on a catheter for the next 14 months until she was finally diagnosed with Fowler's syndrome in December 2021. Fowler's syndrome is a rare condition that causes an inability to pass urine normally. Elle was told that she would need to catheterize herself for the rest of her life.
Elle underwent a urodynamics test at Guy's Hospital, London, and was given the option to undergo sacral nerve stimulation to treat her condition. The treatment, which acts as a pacemaker for the bladder, delivers gentle electrical impulses through a thin wire placed near the sacral nerve. Elle underwent the operation in January 2023 and has cut down on self-catheterization by 50%.
Elle described the diagnosis as "life-changing" and said that it had made her life easier after "two years of hell." She added that she was feeling better than before and could now urinate on her own, although it was still difficult.