Why this Preston student with endometriosis was put into artificial menopause at age 19

But that is exactly what happened to Preston student nurse Kia Morne, who suffers from endometriosis. This long-term illness caused her so much pain, she was put into artificial menopause at age 19.

In endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow, thicken and bleed in other places, such as the ovaries, bladder, bowel, and along the pelvis and fallopian tubes. But when this lining breaks down, it has nowhere to go. The result can be extreme pelvic pain, inflammation and fatigue. Symptoms also include feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea, severe bleeding and difficulty getting pregnant.

The 21-year-old, who was forced to take time off work and university, said: "It's isolating, as there is a lot of stigma attached to the condition. People think it's just your periods and make jokes about the menopause without realising how serious it is."

Kia began developing abdominal pain, nausea and bowel problems at age 14 and had low blood pressure. Her health took a more serious turn when she began fainting a year later, due to heavy bleeding during her period. Doctors put it down to food poisoning, allergies and irritable bowel syndrome.

But her periods were all over the place - in fact, she went from missing one for seven months to ending up in A&E because of heavy blood loss. Doctors even tested her for Crohn's Disease, which provided no answers.

"I felt really embarrassed. I didn't think periods could cause this much ill health," said Kia, who remembers being told many times that she does not look unwell.

That's when she decided to switch to a female GP, who referred her to a gynaecologist. Following an abdomen operation called an exploratory laparoscopy, she was finally diagnosed with moderate to severe endometriosis at age 19.

"There are many misdiagnoses, so I felt a sigh of relief that my illness finally had a name," she said.

"But there is no cure."

And, commenting on the treatment process, she added: "You're told to gamble this, gamble that. It's all trial and error."

Doctors told her that surgery to cut out the tissue was pointless, as it would grow back, and she was instead put on hormone contraceptive pills - a combination of oestrogen and progestogen - to stop ovulation and help to ease the pain. But for the first three months after her diagnosis, the medication did not work.

For six months, Kia was then injected with Zoladex, a man-made hormone that induces the menopause, thereby helping to reduce the growth of endometriosis. The injections shut down her ovaries to stop the production of oestrogen, the female sex hormone that causes the thickening of the uterus and worsens endometriosis symptoms.

It is a risky treatment, as Kia's ovaries could struggle to re-stimulate if she is in chemical menopause for too long.

She said: "Coming to terms with my reproductive organs and fertility being compromised has been overwhelming and devastating."

She felt the treatment's full force of side effects - hot sweats, dizziness, headaches, mood changes, hair loss, bone and joint pain, skin reactions, sleep issues, fatigue, nausea, memory issues, blurred vision, bloating and swelling.

And if that was not bad enough, her endometriosis symptoms "returned with a vengeance" after the six months were up, and she suffered so much blood loss that she ended up in hospital for a week.

Left with limited treatment options, Kia was forced to decide between going back on Zoladex or waiting at least a year for an operation to cut away the endometriosis tissue, which could grow back. The former creates a hormone imbalance that can lead to heart disease and osteoporosis while the latter carries risks of infection and organ damage.

At first, the third-year student, who is single, decided to go back into menopause to manage her pain. She also has hormone replacement therapy to help alleviate some of the side effects.

But now, fearing the menopause could cause lasting damage to her ovaries, she has decided to have both surgery and a hormone-releasing coil fitted, so that she can freeze her eggs, giving her a better shot of having children in the future. This fertility backup is a costly procedure that is not available on the NHS to those with endometriosis, unless they are undergoing treatment for cancer.

"I’m anxious and worried every day. I would go as far as saying I feel isolated, a bit lost, and heartbroken really," she said.

"Now I feel as though I am battling society to understand my health. It can be very easy to feel bitter and that this illness is unfair. I would like to say that I am relatively resilient. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, but I want people to understand and support me. There was even a stage when I was close to asking for a hysterectomy, thinking it would resolve the endometriosis."

Kia believes that better access to egg freezing, as well as mental health and workplace support, could help ease sufferers' anxieties.

"There isn't really any mental health support for women with endometriosis. I dread to think how it impacts others. There have been a lot of suicides linked to it," she said.

"It is one of the most physically painful and emotionally intense conditions, and is very difficult to talk about, sometimes even with our own friends, family and doctors. Women are misdiagnosed, women are misunderstood, and women are made to feel undignified and not believed. Nothing about this condition is a win-win situation."

For more information, please visit https://endometriosis-uk.org/