A woman says she owes her life to the adult site Only Fans after the money she raised from selling her raunchy picture helped fund life-saving treatment.

Rachael Huckle, 34 - known online as 'Ivy Tenebrae' - signed up to the website after she fell ill with a rare autoimmune disease called pemphigus.

The condition causes painful blisters to erupt throughout Rachael's digestive system including mouth, nose, throat and bowel - making it difficult for her to eat and swallow.

As a result she dropped to four stone and was initially diagnosed with anorexia as her symptoms stumped doctors for nearly 10 years.

Eventually she was unable to work and lost her job at a legal firm - so she turned to the website for financial support.

Having done some modelling in the past, Rachael couldn't believe the response - she now makes around £4,000 a month for selling her photos.

Thanks to the funds she was able to pay for private treatment which finally got the bottom of her illness.

Rachael, a content creator, from Wrexham, said: "I owe my life to Only Fans - it literally saved me - I'm so grateful to my fans and everything they've done for me.

"I honestly woke up everyday thinking I was going to die.

"The condition left me unable to eat, swallow and several times I woke up unable to breathe.

“Thanks to selling raunchy pictures, I've not only been able to get private treatment for a rare condition but I’ve been able to afford a property.

“It’s truly changed my life.”

Rachel was first admitted to hospital when she was nine years old after getting persistent kidney infections.

She also experienced pain in her throat while eating and difficulty swallowing.

Rachael spent the next nine years of her life in hospital because no one could diagnose her 'mystery' illness.

Her difficulty eating saw her weight plummet to just under four stone and she was misdiagnosed with an eating disorder.

Rachael said: “It felt there was something permanently in my throat and it was incredibly painful to swallow.

"I was there for all of my teens - I spent Christmas and birthdays in hospitals.

"The fear of eating caused a fear of food and I was diagnosed with anorexia.

“I was referred to specialists all over the country and no could work out what was wrong.”

Over the years Rachael's health continued to decline and it affected her everyday life.

She experienced severe exhaustion, joint pain and swelling in her face and tongue that would leave her unable to speak.

Rachel was rushed into hospital several times and had to carry around an epi-pen in case her condition was due to an allergy.

Eventually she lost her job as a legal executive at a law firm because of her undiagnosed condition.

Rachael said: “Some days I couldn't get out of bed.

"I constantly had painful blistering and lost so much blood in my stool I needed a transfusion.

“I lost my job because I was constantly unwell and couldn't figure out why.

“I had absolutely no quality of life and I was in so much pain I thought I was going to die.”

Rachael had done some modelling in the past and heard about the website called Only Fans.

The site is a content subscription service that allows ‘fans’ to buy creators content - including ‘raunchy’ photos and videos.

Rachel set up a page in the hopes of making some extra money and couldn’t believe the response she got.

“My niche is a cross between modelling and cosplay,” she explained.

“I hand make a lot of my own costumes of video games and characters which get a huge following.

"The website has a reputation for being extremely scandalous in nature.

"However it's more than that - it's a community and a place to meet like-minded people."

Since starting her page towards 2019, Rachel has amassed 300 followers to her Only Fans page.

She makes on average £4,000 a month selling her photos and is in the top three percent of creators on the site.

Thanks to the money she makes, Rachael was able to pay for private treatment and get to the bottom of her illness.

She was diagnosed with pemphigus - a rare immunobullous autoimmune disease - in 2014 which results in blistering and erosion of the skin.

Although she still experiences 'flare ups' she has been able to control her symptoms better with the correct treatment.

Rachael said: "I'm earning more than I could ever have dreamed of for a person in my position.

"The community on the site is vibrant, warm and loving.

"There has been huge positivity around the people who have supported me in exchange for the content.

"It's helped me recover mentally from some very dark places.

"People might say I'll regret sharing provocative pictures in later life but I say I'm grateful for living now.

"There is no way I have any regrets - the website and the fans saved my life."