A woman whose mum went missing and was found dead after suffering with a hormone disorder has spoken of the "frightening" similarities to Nicola Bulley - and said more needs to be done to help women who are "written off". Joanne Walker, 54, was found in a quarry after her family reported her missing, when she was last seen going for a late night walk.
Her daughter Kelly Walker, 38, said her mum battled brain fog and unexplained sadness for years before her death. Kelly herself has since been diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder - a hereditary very extreme PMS which she thinks her mum was battling for 11 years.
She said her mum's symptoms were dismissed or not taken seriously. Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing on a walk by the River Wyre in Lancashire, and her family said she suffered a "crisis" after she stopped taking menopause drugs. Her family said due to the perimenopause, Nicola suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help.
Nicola's body was found after 23 days and Kelly said the search - and the similarities to her mum - made "all my grief and sadness came flooding back". Kelly, a nail technician, said: "I just feel that so many women are written off as bat-shit crazy.
"We're being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder or fibromyalgia or whatever, and the hormonal side is not taken seriously enough fast enough. I mean half of us are women, and we know our own bodies and minds, but we're just not heard.
"I just keep wondering how many women are going through this and have no one to turn to. It's scary. Women have been around for ever - how is this still happening? We need a specialist system to help women with what is normal for them to go through; women need it and so do doctors.
"When I heard about Nicola Bulley it just reinforced all of my feelings about this. The similarities are frightening; a mum was doing something routine, who just disappeared. I truly believe she'd be here today, still doting on her grandson, if she'd got the treatment she needed.
"All my grief and sadness came flooding back when I heard that Nicola Bulley was struggling with perimenopause."
Joanne, a shop manager, was last seen around 10pm on July 10, 2020, after she finished work, leaving her home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire. She was found two days later at Tillicoultry Quarry. An inquest later returned a death-by-misadventure conclusion, saying she fell and died, Kelly said.
Kelly believes her mum would never have walked somewhere dangerous in the dark and on her own if she'd been receiving hormone treatment. Joanne was suffering brain fog, pain, and unexplained sadness for 11 years before her death Kelly said, and Kelly started having the same symptoms six years ago. Kelly was wrongly diagnosed with post-natal depression, fibromyalgia, PTSD, and grief, before medics hit on her final diagnosis of pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder in August 2021.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a very severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms every month and is a heritable mood disorder. Changes in hormone levels can trigger symptoms. HRT is working for Kelly, but wasn't given to her mum.
Nicola Bulley is reported to have suffered brain fog and restless nights but stopped taking HRT because of headaches. Kelly, single mum to Joey, six, said: "I remember mum just begging doctors to listen to her. She knew she wasn't depressed but antidepressants is all they offered her.
"She was such a vibrant person, then would suddenly become so sad, and her death is a tragedy that was absolutely avoidable. Someone's hormonal cycle can really change any time, and especially after pregnancy, I just don't think we're willing to think or talk about it enough in this country, so we're letting people down."
Kelly added: "If she'd had the help she needed she'd never have gone out there alone in the dark and the accident would never have happened."
Menopause, when hormone levels drop, usually begins between age 45 and 55, but symptoms can start much earlier. The NHS website says the potential brain fog, anxiety, hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, headaches and migraines, can have a big impact on life including relationships and work.
The British Menopause society report that 80 to 90 per cent of women say they have symptoms and 25% of those say they are severe.
