SHOCKING REAL LIFE
Abbie Few, 30, from Pembrokeshire, discovered the sinister reason why she kept missing her period…
With a cramp in my lower belly, I immediately knew what was coming next.
And rushing to the bathroom, my suspicions were correct.
My period had come. Taking my scheduled week break from my contraceptive pill, I knew it was coming.
But for me, it never used to be this way.
After all, I’d only recently started my period.
Back when I was 12, I expected to get my period, just like all my friends and my sisters Izzy, now 28, and Lydia, now 24.
Only, as the years ticked by, there was no sign of the magical change happening.
Maybe I’m just a late starter, I thought.
Only, as the years went by, my period never came.
I had bleeding once when I was 13, but it didn’t last.
Although, I got pounding headaches that would leave me bedbound.
Skipping classes, I was popping paracetamol.
I was back and forth to the doctor, but they couldn’t really explain it either.
Only, between going to the gym, swimming and working as a waitress in a hotel restaurant, at least I didn’t have to worry about my period getting in the way.
Plus, my body hair still grew, and so did my boobs.
Not being particularly interested in boys at the time, I never had any awkward conversations either.
Only, I still had to contend with the persistent migraines.
Going back and forth to the doctors for years, they tried me on different contraceptive pills to see if the hormones would trigger my period.
When that didn’t work, I had a cervical examination to check if I had a womb. The whole process felt so dehumanising. What if I don’t have one? I panicked.
I’d always wanted to be a mum, and the possibility of not being able to have children terrified me.
Yet luckily, it was confirmed that everything was fine.
So instead, I was referred to Cardiff University Hospital for an MRI scan.
Being just 19, I was terrified of it.
Yet Mum held my hand every step of the way.
And going in for my MRI in April 2013, the doctors finally got to the bottom of my symptoms.
‘I’m afraid you have a brain tumour,’ the doctor said.
A hot, dizzy feeling suddenly came over me.
I felt like I was about to faint, so a nurse gave me a glass of water.
They even checked if I had a womb
Meanwhile, Mum was frowning at the doctor.
He had been so straightforward – there was no sugarcoating it.
But weirdly, I felt relieved to finally have an answer.
It’s all starting to add up, I thought. Luckily, the doctor was able to
