Carlisle woman raises awareness of rare and painful bladder condition

• Video report by Matthew Taylor.

A woman from Carlisle is working to raise awareness of a rare condition which causes her extreme levels of pain.

Fowler's Syndrome affects the bladder - Georgina McCormick, 24, has been living with it for nearly five years and had surgery last year.

She told ITV Border: "We're only designed to hold 300 mil in our bladder before you get the sensation of wanting to go for a wee and I was having a thousand mil in my bladder.

"I was getting really uncomfortable in a lot of pain. I couldn't pass it and was having to wait in hospital for them to drain.

"I've been put on a lot of medication to control the spasms and control the pain and it's been difficult. I think the pain is the hardest thing to cope with."

What is Fowler's Syndrome?

Fowler’s Syndrome is when the bladder muscles are unable to relax.

It comes as a result of urinary retention, which means that it is hard to urinate and empty the bladder normally.

The rare health condition affects young women in their 20-30s, and is caused by a muscle spasm by the exit of the bladder, although the reason behind it is not known.

The syndrome may appear following childbirth, an operation or even come without any cause. The most common symptoms include being unable to pee, to feel that the bladder is full, and stomach pain. 

Doctors think that nerves near Georgina's bladder aren't working properly. Last year they tried a to insert a device in her body that would artificially stimulate her muscles to release urine, but it didn't work.

She had an operation in November which means her urine is now released through a tube in her stomach - it's given her a new lease of life.

"I'm a lot more positive now", she explained. "When I was having feeding tubes in and catheters in I couldn't really see past any of it but having this operation's given me a new look on life that I've been really lucky.

"There's been a lot of people that's had the problems with the stomach that haven't survived it. They've past away; I look at that and think I am really lucky that that hasn't happened to me."

The condition is rare but for those it affects, life can be very uncomfortable and worse, suffers are vulnerable to infections.

Bladder Health UK, who support people with all forms of cystitis, overactive bladder and continence issues, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of Fowler's Syndrome.

Georgina hopes to return to work in the near future and is looking forward to the day when, perhaps, a cure for this awful condition is discovered.