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Original poster

12 yr old with some kind of gynae pain

31 replies

DebbieFiderer · 05/08/2020 07:56

DD has been kept awake the last two nights by some kind of pain in or around her vagina. It's happened before, but not for a few months, we went to the GP but they didn't really have much idea what it could be and as it hadn't happened again we didn't pursue it. But it has come back now and I'm not sure what to do. When it happened before her periods hadn't started but they have now, she is on her period at the moment which could be related or just a coincidence as it didn't happen with her previous periods. She can't really describe very clearly exactly where the pain is (except that it seems to be inside rather than outside) or what kind of pain it is, but it is bad enough to keep her awake until the early hours, and she was also feeling sick with it last night as well. It doesn't help that she refuses to take painkillers as the only one she likes the taste of is calprofen and I haven't been able to buy any for months (very fussy child, VERY sensitive to flavours). Has anyone had experience with anything similar?

OP posts:
mosquitofeast · 05/08/2020 07:58

If it was bad enough, she would take the painkillers on offer

Jargo · 05/08/2020 08:00

Book a nurse appointment for a urine dip. Could be a number of things so worth getting checked out.

Original poster
DebbieFiderer · 05/08/2020 08:01

You'd think so, but you don't know DD. It's a real issue for her, new or different flavours really upset her and the thought of taking something she doesn't like is really distressing for her. I've tried her on tablets, got her to try one once after a LOT of persuasion and she found it really difficult, refuses to try again.

OP posts:

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Original poster
DebbieFiderer · 05/08/2020 08:03

I'll try the GP again, I'll dip her urine too (due to work I have the kit in my car!) but I'm just really stumped, especially that it only seems to be an issue at night.

OP posts:
Bitchinkitchen · 05/08/2020 08:04

@mosquitofeast

If it was bad enough, she would take the painkillers on offer
I agree with this - if she's refusing all pain meds that aren't super sweet and tasty, i reckon it can't be that bad!

Obviously still worth looking into, I would go back to the GP and put your foot down. Make sure she's involved in all stages of the consultation - it is crucial that young women learn to advocate for themselves in a system that tends to shrug and roll it's eyes and make noises about hysterical women in the face of gynae issues. This is an excellent learning opportunity for the importance of patient input into care.

BaseDrops · 05/08/2020 08:07

What about a heat pack and ibuprofen gel on her lower back?

www.chemist-4-u.com/calprofen-100mg-5ml-oral-susp-ibuprofen-100ml

pinkyboots1 · 05/08/2020 08:08

Is there a chance she could have threadworms? My daughter had extreme pain but no itching etc and that's what it turned out to be.

BaseDrops · 05/08/2020 08:09

It’s probably not only there at night, it’s more there’s nothing going on to distract her from it at night.

SummerHouse · 05/08/2020 08:10

I have a "stubborn" child who feels pain I believe more intensely than the average child. Trust me, he would rather cut his ear off than take a painkiller he didn't want. It's not logical but it is what it is.

Original poster
DebbieFiderer · 05/08/2020 08:12

Agreed Summerhouse, it doesn't make sense to us but it does to them. She also has a very low pain threshold which doesn't help.

OP posts:
IamChipmunk · 05/08/2020 08:13

I was going to suggest worms too. My dd is only little but when she had worms she had more pain than itching.

You can buy worm stuff in boots but do the whole family and hot wash her bedding.
I also washed any bears on the bed. Damp dusted the room and disinfected the entire room either with wiping or the spray dettol.

brastrapbroken · 05/08/2020 08:14

@mosquitofeast

If it was bad enough, she would take the painkillers on offer

Really helpful response there Hmm

Lots of people don't or won't take painkillers. It's absolutely no reflection on the degree of pain. You seem to be suggestion that despite OP asking for help, her DD doesn't have a problem.

OP I would definitely call the GP again.

GoshHashana · 05/08/2020 08:15

If you're in that much pain you bloody well take painkillers. Anything else is snowflakery.

mosscarpet · 05/08/2020 08:16

a tip re painkillers. I break a paracetamol tablet in half then sort of submerge it in a spoon of yogurt(pick her favourite one), then dc eats the spoon of yogurt followed by a drink. DC can manage to swallow it like this but at 12, still struggled to swallow just the tablet.

needaMNnamegenerator · 05/08/2020 08:19

@GoshHashana

If you're in that much pain you bloody well take painkillers. Anything else is snowflakery.
Displaying your ignorance and narrow-world-view like a badge of pride Hmm
needaMNnamegenerator · 05/08/2020 08:22

It being at night fits with threadworms, as they're more active at night (they come out of your bum to lay eggs!)

DwellInPossibility · 05/08/2020 08:27

Break the capsule type painkillers into ham if she'll eat that, or any other strong flavoured food.

Has she had periods long enough to know if it's related? You can have a few cycles of hormones (which cause the pain from contracting uterus) before actually getting a period. It could be a lying still issue rather than a night issue, if she's not sleeping is she napping in the day? Do you have comfy armchair she could try and sleep in?

DwellInPossibility · 05/08/2020 08:30

If the pain is that bad painkillers might not touch it.
And refusing paracetamol isn't a measure of pain, women frequently give birth without pain relief and that's well known for being painful.

itsgettingweird · 05/08/2020 08:37

My period cramps are often worse at night and I also get the severe internal cramping.

I think it's the cervix contracting.

What helps me is a wheat bag and laying it between my legs and having the heat directly going onto my vulva. Just make sure that you put a pillowcase of something over the skin to avoid burning.

WaltzingBetty · 05/08/2020 08:39

It may simply be related to her periods - I had a couple of cramping episodes prior to my period starting for real and throughout my teens had period pain bad enough to leave me gasping on the bathroom floor in the night. It was generally fine during the day weirdly. As I got older it got much better.
Agree with hot water bottle

Snozzlemaid · 05/08/2020 08:42

I would also suggest you try a treatment for threadworms.
When dd has them when she was younger she always described it as pain in her vagina.
They come out at night time and will wriggle around into the vagina.
It's a simple treatment and definitely worth trying.

Original poster
DebbieFiderer · 05/08/2020 09:22

Thanks all. I've got a GP phoning me this morning, I'm going to get a urine sample from her, and I'll look for thread worms tonight, her sister has had them before so I know what I'm looking for. It could be period related, she had the pain before they started but could still have been hormonal, this is her third period and the first time the pains have happened since so it's difficult to tell. She described it again this morning and it seems to be stabbing pains just inside the perineum.

OP posts:
EvilPea · 05/08/2020 09:29

I get the ‘javelin arse’ around my period. Never realised it was common and normal until I saw a mumsnet thread about it.

Essentially it’s like someone stabbing a javelin in your arse for 20 to 30 seconds intermittently at random intervals. Mines mostly at night and wakes me up. But only lasts one or two days around my period.

Cocolapew · 05/08/2020 09:29

I used to get that type of pain, and around the same area and into my bum. It was put down to having a very tilted womb. When it was swollen at period time it was leaning on nerves.

BigusBumus · 05/08/2020 09:31

Top tip for swallowing tablets by children. Don't use a glass of water, use a sports type bottle with a squeezy nozzle type lid bit. The sucking required to get the water out combined with a gentle squeeze of the bottle sort of whooshes it straight down the throat. Dead easy that way.

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