For most of her adult life, Katie Shalka, a 28-year-old actor from East London, has battled relentless, excruciating pain—pain that doctors kept brushing off as “just period cramps” or even early pregnancy symptoms.
It wasn’t until her health completely broke down that the truth finally surfaced: Katie has an extremely rare condition known as Nutcracker Syndrome.
This condition, where arteries press against veins and cut off blood flow to her kidneys, has left her in constant agony.
For nearly 10 years, Katie’s pain was not only ignored—it was misdiagnosed and misunderstood.
Collapsing at Work Became Her Wake-Up Call
Although she’d been managing discomfort for years, everything changed in 2018.
While working a shift at a bar, the pain became so unbearable she passed out.
That terrifying episode finally forced her to seek urgent medical help.
But the road from that moment to an actual diagnosis would take months—and many wrong turns.
Doctors repeatedly told her that nothing serious was wrong.
All her scans looked normal, and her blood work didn’t raise any red flags.
The consensus?
Period pain.
Or maybe she was pregnant.
The dismissals left her feeling frustrated and alone, even as her symptoms worsened.
It Took Family Pressure and a Year of Fighting for the Truth to Emerge
After nearly a year of being bounced between doctors, Katie’s family stepped in.
They demanded more tests—this time, internal scans.
The pain from the tests was overwhelming, but even then, she was told everything was “normal.”
At one point, doctors were ready to send her to a psychiatrist, convinced her pain had no physical cause.
But then a single consultant looked more closely at an early scan and spotted something unusual.
He described her left ovarian vein as “torturous”—a red flag that led to the real breakthrough.
Katie was finally diagnosed with Nutcracker Syndrome (NCS), a rare and often overlooked vascular disorder where the left renal vein gets compressed between major arteries, cutting off blood supply to the kidney—much like how a nutcracker crushes a nut.
A Rare Diagnosis and a Risky Surgery
Once doctors figured out what was wrong, Katie underwent surgery in 2020.
The procedure, called a left renal vein transposition, was so rare she became only the seventh person in the UK to receive it.
At first, it seemed like things might improve—but the pain came back.
She tried to distract herself with a holiday in Turkey, but she could barely enjoy it.
Not only was she in pain the whole time, but swelling left her so bloated that she looked pregnant.
A follow-up scan revealed that the vein had become blocked again. Another procedure followed—but still, no relief.
Living in Daily Pain and Running Out of Options
Despite multiple surgeries, medications, and doctor visits, Katie says the focus has always been on “managing the pain,” not solving the actual problem.
She began to wonder if she’d ever live a day without it.
The idea of a “normal life” felt more like a distant dream than a real possibility.
Katie describes the pain as constant.
Sometimes she gets flare-ups where it gets worse, but even on the “better” days, it’s never gone.
“I can’t remember what it feels like to not be in pain,” she says.
Hope Comes with a Hefty Price Tag
Just when she was starting to lose all hope, her partner Romy Ben-Hur—also an actor and musician—helped her find a new specialist.
This doctor believes a different procedure, one that should have been done from the start, could finally fix the problem.
But there’s a major obstacle: it would have to be done privately, and it costs £50,000.
Katie doesn’t have private health insurance, and even if she did, her history of surgeries means the procedure wouldn’t be covered.
So, Romy stepped in again, launching a GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds.
“She Deserves a Life Without Pain”
Romy describes Katie as strong, determined, and always hesitant to be a burden.
“But she’s in agony every single day,” he says.
“She deserves to live without pain. She deserves her life back.”
The fundraising goal is set at £22,000, and they’re hoping that compassionate people will donate—or even just share Katie’s story. Every little bit counts.
Raising Awareness for an Overlooked Condition
Beyond helping Katie, her story shines a light on Nutcracker Syndrome, a condition that’s often misunderstood or missed entirely.
Symptoms can include flank pain, blood in the urine, and swelling.
For some, it’s invisible.
For others, like Katie, it’s life-altering.
Katie hopes that by telling her story, more people with unexplained pain—especially women whose symptoms are often dismissed—will feel empowered to push for answers.