Water intolerant woman from California lost her housing. She’s about to lose access to her IV fluids: ‘I have been officially left to die in the US’

Terry Bunn (@sugarbunn10), who has gastroparesis, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), hyperacusis, and insomnia, told TikTok about her struggle with the healthcare system. After losing her housing, Bunn claimed that she was about to lose access to life-saving IV fluids.

“I have officially been left to die in the US,” Bunn tearfully told TikTok. She explained that she has a paralyzed stomach because of her gastroparesis. Since 2022, she said her body hasn’t been able to tolerate solid food or water.

“I’ve been completely reliant on IV fluids since early 2022 because my body does not tolerate water. I can do up to two Ensure shakes a day, or one shake and some ice cream,” she explained. Bunn added that despite being water intolerant, she needed more hydration than the average person because of her POTS.

“Because of the severity of my sound sensitivity and my insomnia this year, I was left,” Bunn said. She said she had to leave her Southern California apartment and move to Northern California, where she is originally from. However, Bunn alleged that no medically covered IV fluids were available up north.

“There’s no medically covered IV fluids here, anywhere, covered by my insurance,” she alleged. As a result, Bunn said she has been dehydrated. She claimed she has been living off mobile IV clinics, but said they aren’t sustainable for her budget.

“My veins can’t handle that—every other day. And tomorrow, they’re not even available. I need stable, ongoing IV care, and apparently, that only exists in Southern California,” Bunn said. Even with an economic advantage, one mother-to-be also criticized the US health insurance system and rising healthcare costs. But Bunn isn’t as privileged, and she claimed that she was about to run out of money to access IV fluids in Northern California.

Struggling with gastroparesis

“I don’t know what is happening, because I’ve had gastroparesis and POTS for almost five years now. And now, everyone is thinking it’s psychiatric and mental. I’m left with people who think it’s not real,” Bunn alleged. She is trying to go back to Southern California but can’t afford to. She regrets moving back up and said she would’ve stayed in Southern California if she knew she would eventually be back in a hospital.

“I don’t know what the answer is. I think my story ends here; I don’t want it to—I’m fighting so, so hard,” she said. She claimed that she wasn’t dehydrating herself on purpose. Bunn also emphasized that it is “life-threatening” to dismiss gastroparesis as a mental or psychiatric disorder. Having had the condition for five years, Bunn said it’s nerve damage.

“You would think I did something really bad to somebody, the way I’m being treated. I haven’t done anything to anybody. I was left,” she alleged. Bunn isn’t the only patient struggling to navigate the healthcare system with her gastroparesis. Another woman with mild gastroparesis alleged she left the hospital untreated after nurses ignored her plight.

Bunn started a GoFundMe for medical expenses, but she isn’t optimistic she’ll even have enough to pay rent in Orange County. She hopes to go down to Southern California and be brought to a hospital there, alleging that the doctors she went to in Northern California seem to be less knowledgeable about her condition.

“All I know is that I was left at my most vulnerable, and I don’t have support. I don’t have the support I need for survival, but I wanna live more than anything,” she added.

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