DD (15.5) no periods. When to be concerned?

[Hellvelyn]

DR (15.5) hasn't started her periods. She has quite a small build (5ft 3ish) and probably about 7.5 stone. Should I be worried? She is concerned and has concluded that "it's never going to happen"

Can I ask - how related is your dds age of starting to your age of starting. (My mother was supremely crap about discussing anything ‘down there’ as she put it so I’ve no idea when she started) I started at 12 but my dd is 14 and despite showing every other sign of puberty for a good 3 years hadn’t started yet and I’m wondering whether a chat with the gp might be worth it?

ethnic origins - Far East Asian Girls (for example Japanese Girls) quite commonly don't start until 17 & some girls from other Asian Countries too (I read) Whilst girls from Afro Caribbean countries may start a lot earlier -it isn't that clear cut though. It can be weight related - normally what happens is the girl gets a growth spurt, than she get chest buds & a little bit of hair & (sorry to be graphic) whitish discharge. These can occur up to about year or so before first period - I always say - has your dd feet grown recently because that always seems to happen just before a growth spurt. My dd started much later than me one much later than your dd but she is quite healthy, you can take her to the doctor & they can do blood tests (if she is anaemic that can affect period onset too) but chances are she will start soon

@AnyFucker not that I'm aware of no.
She hasn't been to see about it for the last couple of years.
She accepts it for what it is and just gets on with her life.

I was similar build to your dd and started at 16 (after many years worrying to myself that I was not in line with my peers!). I also had quite small breasts. Just had a daughter and had no issues with conceiving her at all :-)

To a pp, my sisters started at 13 and 15 so I'm not sure genetics had much to do with starting age :-/ both are a similar build to me but we all look nothing alike even though we share dna 😂 purely anecdotal of course x

I was 16 when I had my first period and then didn't have another one until I was 17. I was also 5'3" and 7.5 stone and very active. I was so embarrassed at school as I stayed flat chest for the longest time, other wise I has in no hurry to 'grow-up'. When I hear about girls as young as 8 developing breasts etc I feel awful for them.

I had no trouble conceiving even though, until I was 45 I only had 3 to 5 periods a year. For the last nine years I was as regular as clock-work. On my 54th birthday I had my last period. I hated those nasty things.

I too was late, almost 16. I think a month or two shy of my 16th birthday. I was a track and field runner, long-distance too, as well as a dancer. I wasn't skinny though believe it or not, but lean and healthy. I was very small and then just shot up (got stretch marks from the mother of all growth spurts that year).
I remember being the same height and weight at 14 as I was at 10 years old. I weighed 60 pounds for like 5 years. Flat as a pancake. I was teased mercilessly. And then I grew to be 5'8" by the age of 15 and a half. It was one hell of a growth spurt. And then it all just kicked off.

I will add that I always had enormous feet. I wore a size 6 when I was 9-10 years old. Even after all that growing, my feet didn't go as crazy. They stopped at size 7 and I grew until around the age of 21-22 to be 5'10".

Woman in my family didn’t we start until 16.5 therefore I was very surprised (and slightly disappointed that I started at 14!)

Not sure if it’s true but I was told you start once you get to around 7.5 stone, as soon as I hit 7.5 I started - also the time I stopped doing so much sport.

It never hurts to go to the GP.

Thanks for all your thoughts and experiences. I think if she hasn't started by 16 I'll take her to the GP, unless she gets really worried and wants to go sooner.

I'm sure I've read somewhere that a girls/women's periods start when they reach approx 8 stone.

I was 16 when I started mine and then didn't have another for ages. I was tiny, just under 5ft and probably 6.5 to 7 stone.

I was 17.5 when my periods started. When I was 15 I was sent to all kind of tests because I was so short and no signs of puberty. My bone age was 13. Doctor decided to wait. I was doing gymnastics and I was very slim. My mums periods started at 17 too.

I was 16 and a half, 6 months after I lost my puppy fat.

I worked with a midwife who said your body knows what weight you need to be to be fertile & will stop periods/ovulation if your too thin or overweight.

Years later I gained about a stone in weight & my periods stopped until I lost it again.

When I breastfed amd was wondering about it taking so long to restart that your body only menstruates when you have the energy to carry a pregnancy ... so in my case broken sleep and a busy lifestyle was causing it to stay away longer, even though he wasn’t feeding that often. in other words, it was about more than just the passage of tim/frequency of feeding...the body, via our hormones, is a clever machine that reacts to many lifestyle factors. So perhaps it is just that with her small frame etc and perhaps a small appetite she just hasn’t reached that point yet? Perhaps speak to a GP, although in my experience most GPs do not understand the female reproductive system and certainly not hormones, so perhaps think of an alternative source of advice eg nutritionist?

Sorry typo ‚I Learned that the body...etc‘

I don't think the 8 stone thing is true! I started age 13 when I probably weighed about 6 stone. I'm not even 8 stone now at 40...(don't worry, BMI is normal as I'm 5'0")

I'm sure I've read somewhere that a girls/women's periods start when they reach approx 8 stone.

I only reached 8 stone when pregnant, so I don't think that can be correct.

Please get her checked for coeliac disease - just a blood test

@ShakeItUp your DD needs to still be under specialist care and should have full genetic testing amongst other tests

It isn’t safe to not know the cause when some of them can have other health implications let alone her own potential fertility issues.

It's still within normal range, so I wouldn't worry yet. I started at 15.5 - I was a late developer all round, but average build, and definitely not sporty.

Funnily enough, I went through menopause early, at 46.

I would think it's the dancing. I was nearly 16.

I danced twice a week, but we also did PE or games every day at school, plus I did lunchtime sports clubs on some days. Mine started in the summer holidays, probably because I wasn't doing as much running around.

I started when I hit 7 and a half stone. I was 14. I think its partly a weight thing. Certainly a factor anyway. I'd imagine she'd start pretty soon now.
I remember being pretty keen to start and then realising how very shit it was.