Beverley Watt: ‘Hitting the menopause at 17 turned me into an alcoholic’

When Beverley began experiencing mood swings and suffering from infrequent periods at 15, her doctors told her it was just her hormones.

beverley-watt-early-menopause

by Harriet Bulloush |
Published on

But two years later, Beverley Watt received the devastating news that she had already gone through the menopause.

This meant she would never conceive a child naturally, she would age quicker due to the drop in the hormone oestrogen, and she would be likely to suffer with conditions like osteoporosis, which causes bones to deteriorate, at an early age.

As a teenager, it was life-changing and cruel blow for Beverley.

She was so rocked by the revelation she became depressed and started drinking heavily to cope - sometimes downing up to 75 units a day, the recommended daily amount is just 2 units.

She gradually spiralled into alcoholism and at her worst would down two bottles of vodka a day.

"Finding out I'd never have children when I was still just a child was absolutely horrific – I felt cheated and kept thinking, why me?" says Beverley, a carer from Montrose, Scotland.

"I became depressed and started drinking heavily which helped me forget but it soon got out of control.

"But I've been sober now for three years and I've even started thinking about other ways to start a family - IVF or adopting. I'm determined to put the past behind me and finally live my life to the full."

Read the rest of this story in Closer mag, out today.

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