Woman watched a nurse do a TikTok trend — and it ended up saving her life

After the dramatic ban and its revival, TikTok might stay or not, but the wave of "TikTokification" it has spawned on the internet will continue to proliferate on other social media platforms, per Optimum Click. Since 2016, TikTok has become one of the most popular caches of useful information, from lifestyle hacks to wellness tips, dance challenges, and comedy clips. But for Kate Winick, a New York-based senior marketing leader, TikTok saved her very life. In a LinkedIn post, she revealed how a random TikTok video popping in her feed helped her diagnose a medical condition and seek treatment for it just in the nick of time. “TikTok saved my life. Literally,” she wrote in the post.

Sharing a story from 2020, Winick wrote that she was doomscrolling on TikTok just when a random video popped up in her feed, catching her attention. The video was posted by a “labor and delivery nurse doing a trend, ‘It's just a song/an inefficient way to move a story along,’” she recalled. Winick said this video was about some horrible pregnancy symptoms and how they’re normal. But then, “a patient comes in with itchy palms and feet, and they immediately admit her for emergency care.”

“It's just a song. An inefficient way to move the story along” is a lyric from the song “Can't Stop Singing” by Ross Lynch and Maia Mitchell, per Genius. The TikTok trend that goes by "It’s Just A Song" includes videos that use the phrase to express how music can help people connect with their feelings. However, the music part of this trend wasn’t as important to Winick as the symptoms demonstrated in that video. After watching it, she realized that she had been suffering from the same symptoms for over a year. “Itching so severe I was sleeping maybe two or three hours a night and going through a box of medical gauze a week to try and stop the constant bleeding,” she described.

“Various doctors had suggested lotion and a lower-stress job and pretty much tapped out. I scrolled through and saw nurse after nurse agreeing: ‘Yup. Liver failure.’” Winick said. Upon realizing the symptoms, the 34-year-old woman, who had about two drinks a month, felt a bit confused. She posted a comment on one such video and dozens of nurses replied to her with more information about these symptoms. After reading them, she finally approached a doctor.

“I went in for bloodwork, which showed liver enzymes so high the NP just stared at me as she delivered the news. I met the first of many hepatologists, had a biopsy, and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called PBC,” Winick mentioned. According to NHS, PBC, or Primary biliary cholangitis, is “a chronic liver disease that causes inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts in the liver. It's also known as primary biliary cirrhosis.” On the physician’s advice, she started the medication and will continue for the rest of her life.

Wrapping up the post, Winick expressed gratitude and appreciation for TikTok and other social media and how these platforms enable people to connect and learn together. “I truly believe that we all benefit from learning together, laughing together, sharing real truth and real expertise, and seeing our deep-down commonalities writ large. That's what I loved about social when I started years ago and what I still love today. So thank you, Tiktok. I'd be a lot worse off today without you,” she wrote.

Her post received reactions from over 2,000 people. Many of those, wrote about how many people, including doctors, dismiss the symptoms and do not realize the power of social media. “I remember my hepatologist asking what I do for a living and when I said ‘social media’ he laughed,” Winick commented. Veni Kunche said, “I had cholestasis with both my pregnancies. At that time, I learned what it was through Google and a Facebook group. My doctors didn't take it seriously and I had to make them give me a blood test. After multiple miscarriages, I was so scared of losing my baby because of something preventable." Others made supportive remarks about TikTok and how immensely useful it is. “TikTok helped me diagnose my PCOS and has helped me find ways to deal with it naturally when all doctors were pushing was the pill,” said Charlotte Oloton.

You can follow Kate Winick on LinkedIn to stay updated on her stories.