105 – Mathilde Barker: endometriosis at 19, menopause at 23

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast · Sep 29, 2026 · 33m

Mathilde Barker was 23 when she finally understood why, since the age of 14, doctors had told her it was "just" muscle strain, put her on antidepressants, and once removed her appendix by mistake. It took five years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, and two surgeries later, adenomyosis too.

She joins Dr Louise Newson to talk through her whole journey: the misdiagnoses, a scan result that was reversed by a phone call, being told by a doctor at 19 that having a baby would cure her symptoms, and the reality of being put into a medically induced menopause in her twenties just to manage the…