A teenager has spoken of her ‘total shock’ at being told at the age of 17 she had no vagina.
Jacqui Beck, 19, has MRKH, an rare syndrome which affects the reproductive system – meaning she has no womb, cervix or vaginal opening.
She was only diagnosed after she went to her GP about back pain – and mentioned in passing that she hadn’t started her periods.
Shock: Jacqui Beck was told at the age of 17 she had no vagina. She was diagnosed with MRKH, an unusual syndrome which affects the reproductive system – meaning she has no womb, cervix or vaginal opening
Tests revealed her condition and that where her vagina should be, there is simply an ident, or ‘dimple’ – meaning she is unable to have sex or carry her own child.
Women with the condition appear completely normal externally - which means it is usually not discovered until a woman tries to have sex, or has not had her first period.
Miss Beck, from the Isle of Wight, admits when she was first diagnosed, she felt ‘like a freak’.
‘I’d never considered myself different from other women and the news was so shocking, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘I was sure the doctor had got it wrong, but when she explained that was why I wasn’t having periods, it all started to make sense.
‘She then explained that I would never be able to carry a child and might have to have surgery before I could have sex.
‘I left the doctors in tears – I would never know what it was like to give birth, be pregnant, have a period. All the things I had imagined doing suddenly got erased from my future.
‘I was really angry and felt like I wasn’t a real woman any more.’
Because she had never attempted to have a physical relationship, Miss Beck had never noticed the problem herself. Had she tried, she would have discovered it was impossible for her to have sex.
She said: ‘It wasn’t really a conscious decision not to have a boyfriend, I just didn’t really fancy any of the boys in my area, which is lucky, considering what I know now’.
MRKH affects one in 5,000 women in the UK. Most discover they have the condition because they haven’t started their periods, but some find out when they struggle to have intercourse.
Miss Beck explained she has a ‘dimple’ where her vagina should be so from the outside it looks normal – which explains why the condition wasn’t detected earlier.
Despite the shocking news, she is trying to see her condition in a positive light – and even as a way of making sure she meets the right man.
She said: ‘If he has a problem with it, then he’s not the kind of guy I want to go out with.
‘I’m a hopeless romantic and I see it as a great test of someone’s character. Instead of focusing on it putting off men, I actually think it will help me find, “the one”.
‘I want to be upfront with any men I meet and tell them straight away about my condition. I don’t want them to feel tricked into being with me.
‘I will feel more comfortable if they know the truth and besides, if they run at the mention of MRKH then I don’t want to be intimate with them.’
She says that as a teenager, she was blissfully unaware of her condition – with no idea that the development she was waiting for would never happen.
‘When I was 14, my friends started talking to me about their periods. They started carrying tampons around, complaining about cramps and sharing notes on what it was like.
‘For a year I waited to go through the same, until at 15, everyone I knew had started their period apart from me.
Despite the shocking news, she is trying to see her condition in
a positive light – and even as a way of making sure she meets the right
man. She said: ‘If he has a problem with it, then he’s not the kind of
guy I want to see’
‘I didn’t panic though, I’m tall and skinny and thought that might be something to do with me being a late developer.’
Instead, she focused on her future and when she was 17, applied to attend a music college in Guildford.
But after suffering from pain in her neck in summer 2012, she went to see her GP.
‘While I was there, I mentioned I hadn’t started my period yet. I still wasn’t overly worried but I thought it was worth saying something
‘My doctor was very surprised but didn’t seem to think it was serious. He just suggested that he would do some scans to see what the problem was.’
Jacqui Beck, 19, has MRKH, an rare syndrome which affects the reproductive system – meaning she has no womb, cervix or vaginal opening.
She was only diagnosed after she went to her GP about back pain – and mentioned in passing that she hadn’t started her periods.
Shock: Jacqui Beck was told at the age of 17 she had no vagina. She was diagnosed with MRKH, an unusual syndrome which affects the reproductive system – meaning she has no womb, cervix or vaginal opening
Tests revealed her condition and that where her vagina should be, there is simply an ident, or ‘dimple’ – meaning she is unable to have sex or carry her own child.
Women with the condition appear completely normal externally - which means it is usually not discovered until a woman tries to have sex, or has not had her first period.
Miss Beck, from the Isle of Wight, admits when she was first diagnosed, she felt ‘like a freak’.
‘I’d never considered myself different from other women and the news was so shocking, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘I was sure the doctor had got it wrong, but when she explained that was why I wasn’t having periods, it all started to make sense.
‘She then explained that I would never be able to carry a child and might have to have surgery before I could have sex.
‘I left the doctors in tears – I would never know what it was like to give birth, be pregnant, have a period. All the things I had imagined doing suddenly got erased from my future.
‘I was really angry and felt like I wasn’t a real woman any more.’
Unaware: Miss Beck explained she has a ‘dimple’ where her vagina
should be so from the outside it looks normal – hence why the condition
wasn’t detected in her younger years
Unexpected: Miss Beck was only diagnosed after she went to her GP
about back pain – and mentioned in passing that she hadn’t started her
periods. Tests revealed her condition, which means she is unable to have
sex or carry her own child
Because she had never attempted to have a physical relationship, Miss Beck had never noticed the problem herself. Had she tried, she would have discovered it was impossible for her to have sex.
WHAT IS MRKH SYNDROME?
MRKH (Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser) is a congenital abnormality which affects one in 5,000 women in the UK.
It is characterised by the absence of the vagina, womb and cervix.
Women suffering from the condition will have normally functioning ovaries and so will experience the normal signs of puberty but will not have periods or be able to conceive.
The external genatalia are completely normal which is why MRKH isn’t usually discovered until women are in their teenage years.
It’s usually discovered when the woman tries to has sex or fails to get her period.
Many women are able to create a vaginal canal using dilation treatment, which uses cylinder shaped dilators of different sizes to stretch the muscles.
However, if this is unsuccessful then surgery will be used to stretch the vaginal canal.
Following treatment women are able to have intercourse and can have their eggs removed and fertilised to be used in surrogacy.
It is characterised by the absence of the vagina, womb and cervix.
Women suffering from the condition will have normally functioning ovaries and so will experience the normal signs of puberty but will not have periods or be able to conceive.
The external genatalia are completely normal which is why MRKH isn’t usually discovered until women are in their teenage years.
It’s usually discovered when the woman tries to has sex or fails to get her period.
Many women are able to create a vaginal canal using dilation treatment, which uses cylinder shaped dilators of different sizes to stretch the muscles.
However, if this is unsuccessful then surgery will be used to stretch the vaginal canal.
Following treatment women are able to have intercourse and can have their eggs removed and fertilised to be used in surrogacy.
She said: ‘It wasn’t really a conscious decision not to have a boyfriend, I just didn’t really fancy any of the boys in my area, which is lucky, considering what I know now’.
MRKH affects one in 5,000 women in the UK. Most discover they have the condition because they haven’t started their periods, but some find out when they struggle to have intercourse.
Miss Beck explained she has a ‘dimple’ where her vagina should be so from the outside it looks normal – which explains why the condition wasn’t detected earlier.
Despite the shocking news, she is trying to see her condition in a positive light – and even as a way of making sure she meets the right man.
She said: ‘If he has a problem with it, then he’s not the kind of guy I want to go out with.
‘I’m a hopeless romantic and I see it as a great test of someone’s character. Instead of focusing on it putting off men, I actually think it will help me find, “the one”.
‘I want to be upfront with any men I meet and tell them straight away about my condition. I don’t want them to feel tricked into being with me.
‘I will feel more comfortable if they know the truth and besides, if they run at the mention of MRKH then I don’t want to be intimate with them.’
She says that as a teenager, she was blissfully unaware of her condition – with no idea that the development she was waiting for would never happen.
‘When I was 14, my friends started talking to me about their periods. They started carrying tampons around, complaining about cramps and sharing notes on what it was like.
‘For a year I waited to go through the same, until at 15, everyone I knew had started their period apart from me.
‘I didn’t panic though, I’m tall and skinny and thought that might be something to do with me being a late developer.’
Instead, she focused on her future and when she was 17, applied to attend a music college in Guildford.
But after suffering from pain in her neck in summer 2012, she went to see her GP.
‘While I was there, I mentioned I hadn’t started my period yet. I still wasn’t overly worried but I thought it was worth saying something
‘My doctor was very surprised but didn’t seem to think it was serious. He just suggested that he would do some scans to see what the problem was.’
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