Menstruation is something many women would like to skip every month. Bleeding, cramps, fatigue, headaches, backaches, and so on. For Georgina (28), her menstruation is even more intense. It turns out that she is allergic to her own period…
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Severe complaints
The London mother of one suffered from burning eyes, impaired vision, severe headaches and itchy rashes. Terrible symptoms, of course. It was only after a few weeks and several doctors that she discovered that these symptoms occurred once a month. Eventually Georgina Jelley made the unexpected discovery that she suffered from a biological intolerance to her own menstrual cycle.
Getting an IUD inserted
In April, Georgina decided to have an IUD fitted, after having used the contraceptive injection for a number of years. Her GP initially advised her to switch after she started experiencing symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric syndrome (PMDD) as a result of the injections. About three weeks later, she started to experience severe symptoms. Itchy eyes, headaches and a rash that was intermittent but covered her whole body. Georgina later told the press: “It was this weird burning feeling in my eyes. They kept watering and my cheeks were red too. I thought it was maybe a reaction to my fabric softener or something.”
MRI scan
The symptoms subsided, but three weeks later the symptoms returned, this time even more severe than the previous time. They got so bad that Georgina was referred to an ophthalmologist, where she underwent an MRI scan. “My eyes were so red, it was like I was wearing an eye mask and it was affecting my vision,” said the mother of one. “It was so painful and I was so worried that something was seriously wrong.” To Georgina’s surprise, all the tests came back positive. After further tests were carried out by specialists at St Mary’s Hospital in Orpington, Georgina noticed a strange pattern… the symptoms only occurred during her period.
Allergic to menstruation
Eventually, a cause was found for all of Georgina’s symptoms. It turned out that she had a rare condition that made her allergic to her own period. Fearing that her symptoms would return, Georgina subsequently made the decision to have her IUD removed and went back on the contraceptive injection, which has significantly reduced her periods. “I feel so much better since having my IUD removed,” she said. “It was so painful and horrible and we had no idea why it was happening. I work full time and have a daughter to look after, it was a lot to go through.” Although Georgina is “happy” to know what was happening to her, she also finds it a shock and wants to use her experience to raise awareness of the issue.
