Annabelle is 15, she's going through premature menopause

Annabelle doesn't know anyone else like her.
She's also keen to find out more about why early menopause happens

[cheeky]

I was 15 when I was first diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and can relate. It's like greaving for someone you will never meet. Even now at 36 I don't know anyone personally who has it . It's tough but I realised a few years ago it wasn't my fault and not to be embarrassed or ashamed to tell people. Good on her for talking about it, at least theres a lot more advice and support now than there used to be x

[sleepypuf]

i don’t like how the parents phrased it. She can still be a mother and they can still grandparents. There is adoption and many other options. Not being able to reproduce doesn’t make you any less a woman

[AC-]

I started going through perimenopause at 32. I'm 35 now when it is at its worst. I'm not post menopausal yet as I have a few more months to go without a period. I feel way too young to be going through this but 15? My heart really goes out to her. I've had my children. She will be able to minister to many of the ladies in her life as the years go on. She will become an expert.

[sallabdu]

So I’m not the only one, it’s a horrible thing to go through I had it at 14

[celisiaevans]

Watching this balling my eyes out bc I was diagnosed at 16 and I’m 18 and All I ever wanted was to have kids and it hurts

[fancydeer]

For whoever might see this: Just because someone has it "worse" doesn't mean what you are going through doesn't suck. You're allowed to feel the way you feel about your circumstances, just don't let that stop you from living your life to the fullest.

[Imlivinginmypurpose]

Im 34 and at 17 they told me i had POF. And that was devastating. Throughout the years and several dissapointing verfications that im not in full blown menopause. I can say that i heard something worse. A fertility specialist told me of course he was a male. He said why am i crying? I replied youre saying i will never have children. He said i wouldnt worry about having children i would starr writing a will if i were you because if you dont take hormone replacement therapy youre going to die very yourng. I ran out of that office and cried for days to come. But i never will stop trying. If there is a god i know he has a solution for women like us.

[IONov]

That's a lot for a teenager to experience.

[squaredcircle]

I went through it at 39, which is still considered early. I feel there is not enough awareness of this. As women, we all know menopause is imminent but we're all expecting perimenopause symptoms to start at least in our mid 40s but here we are. To be part of a menopause support group helps a lot because you get to meet people of all ages going through the same thing.

[valdin]

I'm going through 38 and my mom is normal at 50 and I can't have children and that's the most important to me and I'm so sorry you are going through this it's no words how much women we go through

[blessedblossom]

It is painful to go through something like this. As I am also in the same journey. Still we have many options like adoption or surrogacy. I don’t have kids and I still don’t have any regrets. Very happy God has blessed with a healthy body and mind to achieve lot of things in life. This is not a terminal disease it’s just that you’re not able to conceive. You still have a good life and you can make a lot out of it.

[wheatstonebridge]

Hey Annabelle!! I was 19 when I was diagnosed 😊 Itll be okay, just make sure you take your meds.

[teresazimmermann]

Im was 19 when i was diagnosed im now 35, it has been a very bumpy road and i wish i knew more about it when i was younger, there needs to be more information given as its becoming alot more herd of these days
My heart goes out to all the people who have gone through this

[rose]

Poor girl, I'm 51, and had my last period about two weeks before my 50th birthday. I got my first period when I was 11 and a half years old, and I've always seen it for me personally as one of the worst things in my life. I'm kind of an adult child, and never really had much of a desire to have children. For the most part the hormones that flooded my body at puberty, and have been with me for the past almost 40 years have pretty much brought me nothing but misery for almost half of my life. If it could ever have been be possible I would have gladly traded places with this young lady, I would have gladly traded my fertility for her early menopause. It's been a year, and a half since my last cycle, I now feel happier, and more like my true self again.

[margarettettehfio]

I can relate dear, because I'm going through the same thing but didn't detect it earlier and I've gone through it and give years later I got to know when I visited a private hospital, as I'm typing this, my uterus is small and I can't get pregnant and my egg count is 0.010.0 honestly, no one understands how you feel than you alone.

[blueearthquake]

You can be a mom via egg donation or adoption. I’m a mother thanks to egg donation. It’s not the end of the world. Best of luck.

[zazamikey]

My gf'a birthday was yesterday Monday and the worst gift she could ever get was early menopause... she just turned 20 and she is the love of my life... and im scared of losing her 🥺🥺

We met online May 2021 and from that day she's been so special for me and is just eveything for me... for me to hear those news from her broke me down so bad that as I'm typing this my eyes are watering and i just feel so bad for my love...

I feel depressed and don't want to lose her at a young age 😭😭😭

[jacquelinefoote]

I was 34 now at 49 I’m still going through it and it’s really hard and lonely ❤

[patriciasmith]

First you need a complete endocrine study and your pituitary gland looked at. You can be kept on birth control pills and if you have no eggs you can get donor eggs to have a baby in the future. Your life isn’t over but with your country’s socialized medicine they probably won’t pay for treatment. Maybe you will have to pay yourself. My daughter had high testosterone and no periods which leads to endometrial cancer, she was super strong, her hair was falling out and she would have increased risk of heart attack and no babies. She takes birth control pills to normalize everything and with fertility doctors she has a baby girl. Good luck, don’t give up!

[natashakhan]

I m 39 . I have started to menopause. Im so scared..