Teenager who went through menopause at FIFTEEN says she'll never come to terms with not being able to have kids | The Sun

A BRITISH teenager has revealed the shock of going through menopause at 15, and says she’ll probably never come to terms with her condition.

Annabelle revealed that medical professionals have no idea why her ovaries have “shut down” so that she can never have children.

British teen Annabelle revealed the trauma of going through menopause at the age of 15Credit: BBC Breakfast

The brave teen, who is currently sitting her GCSEs, is one of 100,000 women who experience menopause symptoms before they are 20.

Annabelle says she now has to take a hormone replacement pill every day to control her hot flushes, which leave her feeling “red and sweating” and “trapped".

The young woman spoke to BBC Breakfast this week, as part of their campaign to break down the stigma surrounding menopause.

She said that due to no longer producing eggs or oestrogen, she was told she can never have children, and the news “shocked her hard”.

She said she has to take daily medication to cope with her hot flushesCredit: BBC Breakfast

Annabelle said her parents have had to come to terms with the fact they won't be grandparentsCredit: BBC Breakfast

Annabelle said: “It's unbelievable. I don't know what's inside of me right now, it's just a blank space.”

She first realised she might be going through the condition when she experienced a hot flush during a science lesson at school.

Her teacher told her she has experienced a similar feeling as she was going through menopause, and Annabelle said it was a lightbulb moment.

The young girl said: “Automatically it struck me that I could be going through that.”

After being diagnosed, Annabelle said there was a point where she felt like she might “cry about something that I knew I had.”

She added: “I didn't expect my friends to understand. I felt like I didn't want to drop something on them or weigh them down with a problem that wasn't theirs.”

What are the signs and symptoms of menopause?

Menopause occurs when the body’s sex hormones change, and this occurs naturally as you age.

Your ovaries reduce the amount of oestrogen produced and will stop releasing an egg each month.

In the UK, the average age for a woman to go through menopause is 51.

Around one in 100 women experience menopause before the age of 40, and this is known as premature ovarian insufficiency or premature menopause.

There is no clear cause as to why early menopause happens before the age of 45.

Sometimes it can be triggered by surgeries such as some breast cancer treatments or when the ovaries are removed, or even from medical conditions such as Down’s syndrome.

The severity of menopausal symptoms can vary depending on the individual. They can range from mild to significantly interrupting your daily routine.

Menopausal symptoms can start months or years before your periods stop, and can last until four years or longer after your last period.

Symptoms include:

Hot flushes
Difficulty in sleeping
Anxiety
Low mood
Night sweats
Vaginal dryness or discomfort during sex
Reduced libido (sex drive)
Problems with concentration or memory

If your menopausal symptoms are causing you discomfort or occur before the age of 45, your GP may be able to help.

Not only has going through menopause impacted her life dramatically, but it has also been “monumental” on her parents.

She said: “Obviously they wanted grandchildren. My mum was especially disappointed.”

Her mum Amanda said: “It was a dreadful shock, and obviously we both had a cry, and we won't be grandparents either, which is a shame, but it's more about Annabelle really.”

Annabelle said she feels “so alone” at going through menopause so young, and added: “You have no one to talk to, no one else has it, so it's really hard at my age.

“It really frustrates me... inside you're thinking, ‘Why, why me?’ and really just want to know why, why it's happened.”

Annabelle said that the fact she can never have children 'shocked her hard'Credit: BBC Breakfast

The family have been trying to discover why it took place so early but doctors have no answersCredit: BBC Breakfast

In the BBC segment, Annabelle and her parents visit University College Hospital to see if they can shed some light on why she went through early menopause.

Her hopes are dashed when the blood tests and bone density scans reveal there is “no real reason”.

She said: “It was really disappointing because it's frustrating that there's no real answer to what's happening, it's just this whole big mystery, what's going on inside my body.

“I don't think I'll ever come to terms with it completely.

“There's always someone going through so much worse. So to think that there's someone going through something worse than me makes you feel lucky more than anything.”