DD won’t go to school in the mornings

[Alpiner]

DD started secondary school this year and on the face of it seems to be doing well- making friends and putting effort into her classes.

On the days she has her period she says she feels sick and doesn’t want to go into school. After letting her for the first couple of days I am now insisting she goes into school and she is managing it but saying she feels too sick to eat her lunch. The mornings are horrible, she wakes up sobbing and then reluctantly gets herself ready and may have a few bites of breakfast if I insist. This doesn’t seem to happen at the weekends (although she does wake up a lot later) and she seems fine when at home. She can be quite shy so I do wonder if it is anxiety related too.

Any insight here? I’m getting her a GP appointment too but they were not much help when I called before.

Whats the toilet situation like? Is she worried about limited access for example?

Does she have pain relief? And reliable protection? What’s the toilet situation like?

I did think that might be part of the issue but she says no and I’ve bought her some period pants so there is no need for her to change pads during the school day

She has pain relief but doesn’t complain of pain- just sickness

If its anything like in my days at school she is probably anxious about access to a toilet when she needs it. Ask her if all the toilets have sanitary bins or only some, do the teachers let them out of class if they need the toilet, do they let her take her bag with her if they do?

I get sickness with period pain. Painkillers help reduce the queasiness for me. Heat also helps a lot.

Posted too soon - at a tentative guess I’d imagine that there may well be underlying physicality with some anxiety on top.

Some people can feel sick on their periods though due to the hormone changes, I know I can feel a bit off on the first day or day before I'm due on. How does she seem around her periods? She ok with it, is she one of the first of her friends to start? I guess you need to see if it's maybe anxiety or is she actually feeling rough physically xx

It may well be anxiety but it could also be cyclical sickness (or a combination of the 2), which is is horrible. I've suffered from it (along with other things), since my periods started. Don't force her to eat breakfast if she doesn't want it. Try sending her with bland foods, crackers, plain biscuits, a banana or apple, so that she has something if she does get peckish. It's worth noting mine is worse if I'm up early & have to out of the house & it generally does improve the later in the day it gets. It's not anywhere near as bad at the weekend when I can have a more relaxed start to the day.

I had to leave school a couple of times during my period due to pain and sickness, however it subsided as soon as I took ibuprofen. Can she make sure she always has some on her?

It has always helped me massively.

When I first started I felt very sick on the first couple of days of my period. Was awful. I had to sit really still. Add in pain and id be being sick pretty fast.

Can you ask pharmacist ? There is an OTC anti sickness that melts on gums that might help her out. Buscopan perhaps but take advice as it might an adult only thing.

What painkillers is she using?

A stick on heat pad on the tummy helped me so much at school and college. It's hard for them worrying about leaks etc I think.. if she can't eat solids could she manage a milkshake or something similar to help her have the energy to get through the school day