While she was in hospital, eagle-eyed doctors spotted that she was also suffering from an immune disorder which placed her at risk of developing blood clots."My immune system [went] out the f****ng window, my adrenal glands clotted and bled," she shuddered during an interview with the Observer.To help her body to produce adrenaline, medical staff recommended that she start a course of steroids, which she continued to be reliant on for 17 years.However, she was warned not to mix medications, meaning that she was unable to go onto HRT (hormone replacement therapy).Without treatment for the dramatic symptoms of menopause, Kathy's mental health began to crumble, with devastating consequences for her personal life."I didn’t want to go anywhere because I hated being a woman during my menopause," she confided to the Observer."I was like, ‘Why am I a woman?’ I couldn’t bear it."The star admitted the hormonal upheaval left her prone to "dark suicidal thoughts", adding that, to her, the menopause had been "the biggest b*****d" amongst the female anatomy".She felt "isolated" and went as far as making plans to kill herself, before thankfully having a change of heart.The star had concocted elaborate plans about how she would take her own life, before recovering from her depression."Once I’d made that decision, I could relax … then the depression started to lift a wee bit," she tragically recalled.Kathy had a troubled early life, with her mother dying when she was a baby.She was forced to temporarily enter the foster care system due to her father's dependency on alcohol, but has excelled in her career in adult life, and, as her website suggests, is now "one of the most loved British actresses of her generation"."I’m so glad I didn’t.
Read more on express.co.uk