Teenager DD - v bad period cramps, pill?

[TheRedShoes75]

My DD (13) started her periods in July 2018. They are still not terribly reliable in terms of how frequent they are. The problem we are having is that she is suffering very badly with period cramps.

The cramps are bad enough to wake her from sleep and really the only combination of painkillers which is making her comfortable is ibuprofen, paracetamol and codeine. She is looking washed and grey this month (which isn’t always the case) and is just plain fed up. Her blood flow is sort of middling and no clotting.

My question is how has everyone else dealt with this? GP for the pill? Just put up with it and hefty pain relief? Something else? Any help much appreciated

Does she have a high dairy diet?

Just been through this with DD. GP phoned back the same day with a prescription for Mefenamic acid - we were offered tranexamic acid as well. No mucking about - "of course she shouldn't have to feel like that. " Lots of advice about when to take painkillers, which DD listened to, having ignored my advice and following her father's approach of I took half a paracetamol two days ago. After 3 months of no miraculous change and still heavy flow and needing to take iron tablets she's chosen the pill because she'll only have to go through it every 3 or 6 months that way. I couldn't be happier with the GPs for listening to her and accepting it wasn't acceptable to be missing school or being in pain.

My dd is slightly older but taking the pill worked wonders and she has pain free periods now.

Too much dairy and sugar makes mine and DDs cramps much worse.
Is her diet good?

My cramps were so bad as a teenager I missed school and lay in bed vomiting until my mum called the GP out to give me an injection to stop me throwing up. Awful!

Yeah ask for mefenamic acid.

Totally agree with fanny (apt name for this thread ) that we should teach young girls from day 1 they don't have to accept periods ruling their lives.

I had mefenamic acid as a teenager and it worked well. Definitely worth trying first.

Naproxen does the job.

I think her diet is fine, will keep an eye on sugar though. I was expecting the GP to eye roll and tell us we had to wait a few years to see if it settled. It’s making her miserable though so I think we might just bite the bullet.

My DD tried a combination of the two acids in the first place, but didn't really help as one of them have her bad stomach ache ( ordinary paracetamol does the same), on top of the period pain.
The GP then suggested the pill. This has been brilliant for her. The GP told her to take it back to back, with only a few days break if she had a bleed. She's been on it nearly a year now and has only had one bad 'period' and one small bleed. She's 16 now.

The pill worked wonders for my DD who was literally crawling on the floor in pain some days. There’s no need for us/them to suffer when there are perfectly safe drugs to take that can help.