Girl, 5, Who Started Her Period a Year Ago Faces The Menopause

FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO STARTED HER PERIOD AGE FOUR NOW FACES THE MENOPAUSE AFTER SUFFERING FROM ADDISON'S DISEASE



'She hasn't even had a chance to be a little girl'


A child from New South Wales, Australia will soon exhibit signs of the menopause after she started her period at the age of four as a result of Addison’s disease.

Emily Dover has grown pubic hair, breasts and suffers from acne and body odour, her mother told the Mirror Online.

At five-years-old, young Dover weighs seven stone and is reportedly bullied at her school for being overweight.



“She hasn't even had a chance to be a little girl," Dover’s mother, Tam, 41, said.

The Australian toddler is also extremely body conscious due to her difference in size to her classmates, who cannot understand the severity of Dover’s condition.


Though she was born a healthy baby, she began growing rapidly within a week of her birth and struggled to sleep.

At four months old, she had grown to the size of a one-year-old and by the age of two she began growing breasts and developing acne.

After years of inconclusive tests and analysis, Dover was diagnosed with Addison’s disease at the age of four.

A rare disorder of the adrenal glands, Dover’s condition means that she is deficient in two key hormones: cortisol and aldosterone.



Though it typically only affects adults over the age of 30, in the few cases when it affects children it can trigger early puberty and the necessary hormone treatment will stimulate symptoms of menopause.

Dover is also on the autism spectrum and suffers from anxiety disorder, a common symptom of Addison’s sufferers.

Tam, who has two other children, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the expensive hormone replacement therapy that her daughter is due to begin.

“Here we are, hoping that you can help make a difference in our little girl’s life, so she can just feel like a normal five year old,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“Not the five year old that is battling puberty amongst other conditions.”

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