Hannah Bunes shares her journey with the aims of raising awareness, and helping other women to prioritize their health and fertility. 

Like most girls living in Dubai – single or in a relationship – I was taking the contraceptive pill. Unlike the UK, where you visit a nurse every six months for a check-up, in the UAE you can purchase this over-the-counter. In hindsight, I now realise exactly why you’re supposed to receive medical advice.
At the beginning of 2021, my other half was set to travel for work, and I decided that after four years of the pill, it was time to give my body a break. Four weeks later, as expected, my usual cycle arrived, but it was very light, and a friend told me how this could be stress-related. I had also just received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which I thought may have played a part. I also noticed that I kept getting sudden hot flushes, which had progressively been getting worse – but again, I thought the vaccine could be the reason.

Eventually my usual seven to eight hours of solid deep sleep had stopped, and I found myself constantly waking up during the night and having extreme hot flushes. Another four weeks on, my cycle had disappeared. I had also suddenly found myself being extremely anxious and low. I was struggling to concentrate, would keep forgetting things I was doing, and had begun to notice changes within my body shape and build. Normally an outgoing, social person, I found myself just wanting to be at home and nothing was exciting me or motivating me.

I finally began to think something was wrong.

After a horrendous migraine one Sunday I decided it was time to get this checked. I managed to see a lovely gynecologist, and was very open and honest about how I had been feeling. I could tell she was puzzled, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions; we would do a hormone test and scans and go from there. (I have to say I feel very lucky that this happened whilst I was in Dubai, if I was back in the UK on the NHS this could have taken months.) A few days later I received a phone call telling me to come back to see the doctor.
The doctor was very direct and honest and told me how she had doubled checked my FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone Result). Mid-cycle – aka when it’s at its peak – your FSH could be up to 16.69, my result was 86.02, which fell in the ‘post-menopausal’ range. My scans also showed that my ovaries looked much smaller, which also raised concern. The doctor prescribed me medication, which she hoped would make a cycle occur.

I just kept thinking: why is no one discussing this and educating young girls?

Five days passed and no cycle occurred, so booked in for a second hormone test. I also booked in to have my Anti-Mullerian hormone tested, which could tell me the current status of my eggs, and whether freezing them would be an option. But my FSH had gone up again, and the AMH result was 0.05, meaning very low fertility, meaning egg freezing would not be an option.

Once I got over the initial shock, my main feeling was annoyance and frustration. I knew I wasn’t the only 28-year-old in Dubai with no immediate plans to have children, but suddenly I realised that the whole option might have suddenly vanished. I found myself being so aware of all the pregnant women around me. I just kept thinking: why am I in this position and not them?

I was completely unaware about the additional health risks I was now under. Going through premature menopause means my ovaries are not producing estrogen, which puts me at an increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, depression, and dementia. I am now beginning a whole new journey as I search for doctors to help prescribe the right medication for me.

1 in a 1,000 women under 30 go through this and 1 in 10,000 under 20’s, a surprisingly scary statistic. I hope by sharing my journey it will help for other women to priorities their health and fertility and raise awareness. Just because right now you may not want to have children you don’t know what your future self may want, so do not let the option be taken away from you.