A 21-YEAR-OLD woman has revealed how she “grew a uterus” despite never hitting puberty.
Ashley Reilly, from Western Australia, said that when she was finishing primary school, many of her friends started menstruating and were going through puberty.
“For me, it never happened. I didn't talk about it because I wasn't sure if it was normal or if I was a late developer,” she told news.com.au.
It wasn’t until she was 16 that she told her mother and aunt about her ordeal, and they took her to a doctor.
After telling the doctor that she had never menstruated nor developed breasts, she was sent for an ultrasound.
Examination revealed that she had no uterus or cervix, and that her vaginal tube was also shortened.
This resulted in her being diagnosed with MRKH syndrome, a condition in which the vagina and uterus are underdeveloped or absent — while the external genitalia appear normal.
This has meant Ashley has had to visit specialists countless times, undergo scans, blood tests and MRIs over the past five years.
She was also given medication for estrogen hormone.
“The last scan I had was an internal ultrasound and they said, 'This is your uterus'. I said, 'Sorry'. I was shocked,” she said.
“I didn't know what to say, especially after all these years thinking there was nothing there. I still haven't gotten over it.”
Ashley said a specialist told her that what happened to her was “rare,” and said most people can't “grow” a uterus by taking estrogen alone.
She was told there was a chance she could get pregnant if her uterus continued to grow, but IVF would help because her ovaries weren’t very active.
Once she changes her medication based on the doctors advice, she can expect to get her period soon.
However, not all the news has been positive.
Ashley said full body X-rays revealed she had scoliosis caused by the hormones, and because of her condition, she has the same bone density and size as a 14-year-old girl.
“There's hope to a certain extent, but at the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up,” Ashley said.
The young woman said she wanted to become a mother all her life and when she found out about her condition five years ago, it was difficult for her to accept the news.
“My original plan was to go ahead through surrogacy,” she said.
“I’m changing my mindset, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
However, it turned out that his initial diagnosis of MRKH was not correct.
She has since been re-diagnosed with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism – also known as hypo hypo.
Hypo hypo is a condition in which the ovaries make little or no sex hormones due to a problem with the pituitary gland. Ashley said she is still learning about the condition.
Ashley is sharing her story on her blog. TikTok She knows there isn’t a lot of information out there about MRKH or hypo hypo, and she wants to be someone people can look to as an example.
As someone who has experienced this and felt she couldn’t speak up, she wants to give others the confidence to do so.
