A 33-year-old man in China who thought he had a urinary problem was shocked to find out he was born intersex and has been menstruating for the last 20 years.
Gatekeepers News reports that Chen Li, whose name has been changed, had been suffering from blood in his urine for more than 20 years and had pain in his abdomen every month, had actually been menstruating.
He was told by doctors he was born with female sex chromosomes as well as ovaries and a uterus, despite having male genital organs.
South China Morning Post reports that Chen, from a small town in the Sichuan province, only discovered he was also female after he went to doctors for help with a recurring urinary problem.
Chen, who was horrified to find out he was intersex after 33 years living as a man, has since had his uterus and ovaries surgically removed.
Doctors at first thought that the abdominal pain was appendicitis but the symptoms continued even after treatment. But after a medical check-up last year, doctors finally found the root cause of his symptoms.
Chen was in fact intersex with female X chromosomes and female reproductive organs – and the monthly cycle of blood in his urine and abdominal pain were actually caused by menstruation.
Chen underwent a three-hour surgery on 6 June to remove his ovaries and uterus.
His surgeon, Luo Xiping, told the South China Morning Post that the patient ‘was quickly at ease and his confidence was restored’.
“From his point on, he can live his life as a man, but he cannot reproduce because his testicles cannot produce sperm,” the surgeon added.
