Menopause: What it's like to go through when you're under 30
- Published
"My mum took me to the doctors, they asked about my period and ran some tests - that's when I got the diagnosis."
Although it was more than two decades ago, Amanda Lewis remembers the trip to see her doctor like it was yesterday.
Amanda, who is now 31, went through the menopause at 11.
The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.
The menopause causes women to no longer have periods
It usually occurs between 45 and 55 years old. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51.
For around one in 1000 women though, the menopause is experienced before they reach 30.
On World Menopause Day two women who've experienced it early tell Newsbeat their stories.
Amanda: I was put on lots of hormones. It was quite overwhelming because my mood was all over the place.
It was kind of hard to accept the concept that I wouldn't have children when I was still a child myself.
It's a very hard diagnosis to have young, someone telling you your future is not going to go the way you pictured - even before you're actually thinking about it.
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Annabel: The way you feel, you're not sure whether this is naturally you.
You're wondering, 'Do I feel in this mood because I'm going through the menopause, or is it just the mood I'm in?'
I knew I wanted children from a very young age and I think to have that taken from you even before you've had a chance to go through puberty is just a really difficult thing to accept.
Annabel went through the menopause when she was 15
Amanda: Behind closed doors I really didn't deal with it well.
I was quite jealous of people having what I'd say is normal teenage years. It was almost embarrassing - that your body has given way so early.
Annabel: At 15, my best friends were going through puberty and I was there going through the menopause.
I know some people moan about having a period, but I was desperate to have them just to feel normal.
Amanda got pregnant in December after going through IVF
Annabel: I guess the main thing is that it takes quite a while to accept and get over.
Amanda: You feel like you've done something wrong.
Annabel: The early menopause really affected me, how I feel about myself. It really knocks your self-esteem and confidence.
Amanda: When it comes to pregnancy, if anyone is worried about using donor eggs - don't be.
I went through IVF with a donated egg and had it implanted into me last December.
We had four embryos and I had one put back and that's now my nine-week-old little boy.
He's doing really well, he's amazing.
Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases - like Amanda and Annabel's - there's no clear cause.
Sometimes it's caused by a treatment such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy), or cancer treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
It can also be brought on by an underlying medical condition, such as Down's syndrome or Addison's disease.
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- Published25 April 2018
- Published16 August 2018
