Megan McKenna has spoken out on the ‘awful’ rare health condition she was diagnosed with whilst going through fertility treatement.The former TOWIE star, 33, and her footballer husband Oliver Burke, 29, endured a difficult journey to conceive their son Landon, who turned two this week. During a conversation with Fearne Cotton for Happy Place podcast, Megan explained one of the hardest points in the process came when she was hospitalised with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).The condition is caused by an overreaction to fertility drugs, which Megan had been taking as part of the IVF process.Megan explained how after trying to conceive naturally and following a polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis as a teenager, she decided to seek medical advice about freezing her embryos. ‘I always wanted to freeze my eggs. I suppose being in the industry and I hadn’t found the right person and I turned 30 – I just felt a little bit unsettled,’ she explained to Fearne. Megan McKenna,33, has spoken out on her difficult IVF journey she went through before welcoming her son Landon, two, with her footballer husband Oliver Burke, 29’My mum was like, “Have you ever thought about freezing your eggs?” And then I all of a sudden I met Ollie and it all kind of happened all at once.’She explained how after trying to conceive ‘something just felt off, you know, you have like a feeling. So I thought I’d go and get checked.’Doctors told Megan that her womb lining was too thin for an embryo to implant and she embarked on months of medication and injections, during which she developed OHSS. ‘It was crazy. And then I basically just didn’t move for two weeks,’ Megan said, ‘I was so nervous because I’d had this horrendous four months of having this condition called OHSS.’ ‘I’m not sure if many people know about it, but oh, it’s awful. Basically, it’s like you’re pregnant, but there’s nothing in there,’ she explained, adding that the condition ‘delayed everything.’ ‘I was hospitalised. My ovaries were like so overgrown. Obviously, they can rupture and I had fluid in my tummy and it was just an extra thing that I didn’t need to fall pregnant. It was stressful.’Thankfully after having two high graded embryos survive the thawing process, Megan was implanted with one, calling it ‘the best experience’ as she watched the process. She fell pregnant with Landon and gave birth to her son in October 2024. Megan previously revealed she was hospitalised with OHSS just days after her UK home was robbed, admitting: ‘The stress was really on top of me.’ During a conversation with Fearne Cotton for Happy Place podcast, Megan explained one of the hardest points came when she was hospitalised with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)’I was going through therapy, and I was also going through a lot of pregnancy acupuncture to calm my body, and to get my body ready to have all these injections because I didn’t want it to stop what I was doing.’ ‘I wanted to still go through with the process even though this had happened to me. But maybe me getting ill with the OHSS happened for a reason because it kind of delayed me falling pregnant.”Things happen in a funny way. When it did happen, I felt like I was in a bit of a better place.’Megan splits her time between the UK and Germany after she started dating her footballer husband Olivier Burke in 2023. Oliver previously played for German team Werder Bremen before signing with Union Berlin last year. WHAT IS OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME? Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) can affect women undergoing IVF or other fertility procedures.It occurs when they take injectable hormones to stimulate the development of eggs in the ovaries.Too much hormone medication can cause the ovaries to become swollen and painful. In severe cases it can lead to rapid weight gain, abdominal pain, vomiting and shortness of breath.In rare cases, OHSS occurs after taking oral fertility treatments or even just spontaneously. Symptoms typically begin within ten days of taking injectable medications. In mild cases they can include:Moderate abdominal painBloating or an increased waist sizeNausea and vomitingDiarrhoeaSudden weight gain of more than 6.6lbs (3kg)These symptoms often ease within a week without treatment.In severe cases, symptoms include:Rapid weight gain of 33-44lbs (15-20kg) within five-ten daysSevere abdominal pain, nausea and vomitingBlood clots in the legsReduced urinationShortness of breathTight or enlarged abdomenIn around 1-2 per cent of cases, OHSS can be life-threatening and lead to:Fluid in the abdomen or chestBlood clotsKidney failureOvary twistingRupture of an ovarian cyst, leading to bleedingBreathing problemsMiscarriageDeath Severe sufferers may require IV fluids in hospital and drugs to suppress their ovarian activity.Surgery may be necessary if an ovarian cyst bursts, as well as anticoagulants if clots have occurred.OHSS’ exact cause is unknown but is thought to be due a hormone called HCG, which triggers the release of an egg.Ovarian blood vessels react abnormally to HCG and begin to leak fluid, which causes swelling that can move into the abdomen. Source: Mayo Clinic