I went through menopause at 14 – doctors told me I was ‘too young’ but I had to live in shame for years

A WOMAN who went done menopause erstwhile she was conscionable 14 years aged is urging others to ne'er presume they're excessively young.

Hayley Brookes, present 43, received the devastating diagnosis she was going done aboriginal menopause erstwhile she was hardly a teenager.

It meant she knew from a young property she would ne'er beryllium capable to person children naturally.

As a menopause advocate, she's present campaigning to rise consciousness of premature ovarian nonaccomplishment - erstwhile a woman's ovaries halt moving usually earlier she is 40 - and believes doctors request much acquisition to halt different women facing it alone.

Hayley, from London said excessively galore women of each ages are having their menopausal symptoms dismissed.

She said: "Menopause has nary acceptable property and yet immoderate doctors are inactive saying you’re excessively young for menopause alternatively of taking it earnestly and offering the enactment and attraction women deserve.

"It tin hap successful your teens, successful your twenties, thirties and older."

Hayley's period started erstwhile she was 12, but aft a year, they stopped.

She said she suffered from terrible nighttime sweats, blistery flushes and insomnia, and recovered concentrating astatine schoolhouse astir impossible.

Hayley shared: "I kept telling my mum I felt weird, but I couldn’t explicate why. 

"I kept saying, I conscionable don’t consciousness similar myself."

Hayley’s doc requested humor tests and weeks aboriginal an ultrasound revealed not lone did she person 1 ovary, but that ovary was eggless.

At a precise young age, Hayley was told she would ne'er beryllium capable to conceive naturally.

She was enactment connected HRT, but contempt her speedy diagnosis, she wasn’t fixed semipermanent care.

Due to her dose being excessively low, she suffered for much than 20 years.

She said: “I suffered with each menopause grounds and lived for years with the shame and embarrassment of my diagnosis.

“I conscionable wanted to acceptable successful and beryllium similar different girls my age."

Now married, Hayley said her teenage diagnosis near her feeling inadequate and her mental health was severely affected.

A fewer years ago, she decided to talk retired astir her acquisition and assistance different women battling aboriginal menopause.

Hayley said: “I privation to assistance rise consciousness to women, but besides to pass mothers that it whitethorn beryllium happening to their teenage girl alternatively of them and to look retired for the signs arsenic it’s a beingness changing diagnosis astatine an aboriginal age.

“When my friends were having their children, I realised conscionable however antithetic my beingness was.

“I knew I wanted a family, but I’d felt similar a nonaccomplishment a batch of my life, I didn’t privation IVF to fail and my assemblage had been done enough.”

Hayley is present a stay-at-home mum to a four-year-old boy, aft adopting her lad erstwhile she turned 40.

Her diagnosis has since been renamed to premature ovarian insufficiency, but she believes that gives mendacious anticipation to women and much probe needs to beryllium done by wellness professionals.

She said: “Sadly, galore women are not being taken seriously.

“Educating and advocating for yourself is highly important and it makes maine bittersweet that determination are teenage girls sitting astatine schoolhouse close present going done what I did.

“Doctors person specified small grooming connected menopause and teachers request to recognize it too.

“Menopause is present successful the nationalist curriculum, it’s being taught successful secondary schools and that’s a large measurement due to the fact that normalising these conversations volition assistance younger girls truthful overmuch by realising they are not alone.”

Hayley added: “We indispensable beryllium the procreation to marque these indispensable changes to probe and acquisition due to the fact that this is costing women their wellness and wellbeing, their careers and their relationships but it is besides costing the NHS.

“Better acquisition would effect successful quicker diagnosis, less GP appointments and onward referrals and immense clip and money savings for the NHS.

“Women besides request to beryllium amended supported successful the workplace.

“Studies amusement that women person precise small enactment - immoderate are forced to springiness up enactment altogether arsenic a effect of their symptoms.

“Supporting women to stay astatine enactment by implementing a fewer elemental adjustments is communal sense.

“Government and business request to recognise that menopause guidance successful each workplace is simply a win-win situation.”

Through campaigning for #MakeMenopauseMatter, Hayley has made galore friends successful the menopause community.

She said: “I person recovered the astir supportive assemblage of ladies and for erstwhile successful my beingness I nary longer consciousness unsocial anymore.

“I don’t privation different women to consciousness unsocial and volition bash everything I tin to marque menopause matter.”