Woman who thought she had a UTI finds out one of her organs had died: 'My pancreas was necrotic'

According to the National Institute of Health, women tend to miss out on important and life-changing diagnoses, as they are used to feeling sore sometimes. Whether it be period pain or tummy aches, women usually go on about their lives, only taking a painkiller if they really need it. Such was the case for Phoebe Rowe, a British woman who began feeling ill while she was on holiday in Tenerife. However, after the pain did not subside, she eventually discovered her ailment was much more serious than she had thought. Here's what you should know.

Phoebe Rowe thought she had a UTI

Phoebe Rowe, a 22-year-old British woman from Leamington Spa, was on holiday in Tenerife with her boyfriend when she began to feel pain in her stomach. As many do, she first put it down to a simple urinary tract infection, a common ailment that affects women in particular, but the pain only got worse. Phoebe had been hospitalised for a UTI just four months before her supposed dream holiday. She took over-the-counter painkillers and went on with her day. However, she woke up the following day with excruciating stomach pain, and she began vomiting.

Phoebe and her boyfriend rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered the source of her symptoms, and the diagnosis left the couple in shock. Indeed, Phoebe was told she suffered from pancreatitis, a serious condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed. It can have potentially disastrous consequences.

Doctors explained about 90 per cent of her pancreas had already 'died', causing severe necrotic pancreatitis. Phoebe was sent to the intensive care unit, where doctors drained about four litres of toxic fluid, which had dispersed through her body after leaking from her mostly dead pancreas.

Phoebe's loved ones were told she may not survive, as her condition was extremely dangerous. However, after three weeks in intensive care, she began feeling better and was allowed to go home. Phoebe Rowe is slowly getting better, but she will have to take medicine for the rest of her life. She told the Mirror:

I didn't realise how poorly I was until I started coming around a bit. They told me 90 per cent of my pancreas was necrotic, so it was dead. I didn't know I might not make it until after I was out of ICU. I didn't know I was dying. I was more worried about my parents and Ryan worrying about me.

What is necrotic pancreatitis?

Necrotic pancreatitis is a potentially lethal condition, which causes part of the pancreas to die. It can be caused by an infection or an injury, but most patients who suffer from necrotic pancreatitis have suffered from a simple pancreatitis just a while earlier. The condition is usually diagnosed by the use of a CT-scan. When the dead tissue becomes infected, that is when issues become even more serious. Indeed, infected dead tissue inside your body causes an even bigger infection, also known as sepsis. Other organs can become infected and begin to fail as well. The most common symptoms of necrotic pancreatitis include vomiting and severe stomach pain.

If you feel any of the symptoms described, please visit your GP or your local A&E.

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Sources used:

Mirror: 'I thought I had a UTI on holiday - the agony was because my pancreas had died'

Cedars Sinai: Necrotizing Pancreatitis

National Institute of Health: Large-scale characterization of gender differences in diagnosis prevalence and time to diagnosis