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TikToker went viral after sharing a ‘menopausal’ diagnosis at the age of 27.
Ledley, the English singer-songwriter, posted a series of videos on Tuesday, updating followers on her health condition.
In her first video, which has since garnered more than 3.6 million views, Ledley said she was “worried” she might be pregnant because her period had “not appeared” for three months. “Turns out it’s menopause,” she writes at the end of the eight-second video.
In later videos, the 27-year-old tells her followers that she was diagnosed prematurely [primary] Ovarian insufficiency, also known as POI.
“It happens to 1 percent of women under 40 and 0.1 percent of women under 30,” she says. Adding, “My ovaries aren’t working.”
She told the camera, “I was having hot flashes, my skin and hair were so dry, it was spotty, and I was struggling to sing and I’m a singer.”
What is premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)?
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), sometimes called premature ovarian failure, occurs when the ovaries stop working before the age of 40.
With POI, the ovaries do not release an egg each month as well as they should. When this happens, a woman’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular and stops. The ovaries stop producing hormones such as estrogen and progesterone and stop releasing eggs (ovulation) regularly or at all. While the symptoms of POI mimic those of menopause, POI is not an early menopause, because a woman with POI may still have some function of the ovaries.
Menopause usually occurs around the age of 50. In the transitional period before menopause, called perimenopause, your ovaries produce smaller and smaller amounts of the hormone each month. When a woman reaches menopause, her menstrual cycle stops and her ovaries fail.
Conversely, women with POIs may still have irregular or normal menstrual cycles. You may continue to sporadically ovulate, make hormones, and have menstrual cycles for months or years before your ovaries shut down completely.
Dr. Wendy Wolfman, MD, a gynecologist and director of the Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, says, Yahoo Canada that one percent of the population has points of interest; However, she noted, “It’s probably higher than that, maybe over three percent now.”
“It’s likely to be because of the higher incidence of women who have survived cancer treatments,” she explains.
“One in 100 women is a lot of people. It’s not so rare.”
In another report, researchers put the overall risk before the age of 40 at one percent. Between 18-25, the risk is one in 10,000. For women ages 25-30, the risk is one in 1,000, and for those ages 35-40, the risk jumps to one in 100.
What causes premature ovarian insufficiency?
“About 85 percent of the time we don’t know why women have premature ovarian insufficiency,” says Wolfman. Yahoo Canada.
In some cases, researchers have linked POI to previous cancer treatments or surgeries, autoimmune diseases, eating disorders, thyroid disease, certain genetic conditions and infections that may have damaged the ovaries, such as mumps.
What are the symptoms of early ovarian insufficiency?
Many women with POIs experience normal puberty and have regular menstrual cycles before symptoms begin. According to HealthLinkBC, symptoms of POI mimic those of menopause and may include:
how is he A premature baby Ovarian insufficiency treatment?
There is no cure for premature ovarian insufficiency. However, treatments are available to help manage the symptoms.
Many women with POI will be prescribed hormone replacement therapy, sometimes via birth control pills, to replace the hormones their ovaries are no longer producing.
Hormone therapy is very important for those with POIs because it helps prevent long-term cardiovascular and orthopedic problems. It also relieves symptoms and improves the overall quality of life.
According to the Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Clinic, hormone replacement therapy does not have the same concerns as that used in older women. “It is an alternative treatment, just as insulin is replaced in diabetic patients,” the report states.
How does early ovarian insufficiency affect fertility?
Fertility struggles go hand in hand with points of interest. For women with POIs, getting pregnant is not impossible, but it can be challenging. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, approximately 10 percent of women with POIs may be able to conceive using their own eggs.
Because success rates for fertility treatment options are low, many health care practitioners recommend the use of a donor egg to increase the odds of conception.
“He was not well taken care of by the medical community.”
“There needs to be more centers to treat premature ovarian insufficiency,” says Wolfman. Yahoo Canada. “I think this is a group of women who have not been well cared for by the medical community.”
Currently, the Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto is the only clinic of its kind in Canada.
“We need to look further into the causes,” Wolfman says.
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