Talk to me about the pill for dd aged 15.

[ShouldersBackChestOutChinUp]

Ddd started her periods six months ago. She was 14 and a 1/2.

They are already quite heavy and very painful. She absolutely hates them. I know nobody likes periods (!) but she seems to be really struggling.

I had very heavy periods and pain to the extent I would throw up. I really don't want her to suffer that it can be avoided.

I was wondering if her going on the pill would help her or should we wait until her periods are more established?

I was put on the pill at 15 for painful and heavy periods. It was an absolute lifeline. The pain was very minimal and the bleeding was a lot shorter. I didn’t have any negative side effects.

My just turned 14 yr old has really crippling periods, heavy bleeding and cramps that cause her to double over. She was prescribed Transexamic acid and buscopan. (With the pill being the next option) they have worked and she is now in far less pain and bleeds a lot less. Have a chat with a dr to see your options

Could there be an underlying reason for her pain and heaviness? Such as endometriosis? Might be worth investigating that before going straight onto hormones which may mask rather than solve the problem.

I was prescribed the pill at 15 for bad skin and very irregular periods. I would never ever let one of my girls go on it. It made me almost a borderline personality while I was on it for 10 years. Now they don't let people go on that particular one for more than a year. They simply don't know enough about hormones and the brain.
I'd try everything else first.

@littlejellyfish herbal supplements? Balancing hormones via diet? Finding the underlying cause- eg PCOS, endometriosis, stress, lifestyle factors? Testing out mefenamic acid? Pain management techniques? An actual DISCUSSION with a doctor?

There's plenty of options before giving a very young girl who's periods probably haven't even regulated on hormonal contraceptives that are scientifically proven to have negative effects on the body.

It’s likely your daughter may have endometriosis or adenomyosis

Periods shouldn’t be that painful

Mine were and I wish I had gone on the pill that young

I actually can’t believe what I’m reading here.

There’s absolutely no heroism about enduring painful periods or being “natural”. We have made medical advances in so many ways that fix so many problems - taking drugs to fix hormonal issues is no different to taking drugs to fix thyroid issues, or diabetes, and women claiming it is are part of the why women don’t get decent medical treatments

my 20 y old daughter is on her second implanon. It’s made such a huge difference to her life. No more painful periods - in fact no periods at all. Implanon doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s worth trying pills, and them other pills, and/or implanon until she finds something that makes her periods not be a problem. Because they don’t have to be a problem and we should demand that they aren’t a problem.

My 14yo was prescribed microgynon for painful periods but she suffered with horrendous nausea taking it, she stopped eating and missed two days of school through vomiting, so after 3 weeks she stopped and said she'd rather have the painful period 😢

I'm waiting for another GP appointment (4 week wait for a phone call with the only female GP) to see if there's an alternative pill without the nausea side effect. She's already got tranexamic acid and mefenamic acid prescribed but they didn't help much - seemed to shorten the period but her first day was still heavy and had her doubled over in pain. I also bought her an oovi - a small tens machine - which is great for home and does seem to help (or at least the sensation distracts her) but she won't use it at school.

It's absolutely worth a chat with a GP as there are options and she shouldn't need to suffer.

The pill Jasmin was FANTASTIC for me but I developed unrelated migraines later in life so I can’t take combined anymore

Progesterone only pill doesn’t work for me

Speak to a female GP with knowledge of women’s health

Ignore what most people are posting here

Get proper medical advice

My DD started the pill when she turned 14. Best thing we ever did. Periods are now short and much lighter and she can control when she has one which is invaluable for her as she is constantly on swim camps. I did quite a bit of research before choosing a pill. I’d struggled with microgynon at her age (spots, weight gain) so didn’t want her to go through the same if she was like me. The pill she has (femodene) suits her well.

One size does not fit all with hormonal issues and taking drugs masks symptoms rather than treating root causes. DD had v problematic periods and terrible acne - she got diagnosed with pcos a year ago at 15. She knows hers has some clear triggers and is trying to go the non medication route for now, as she is already taking acne medication.

I went on the pill at 15 in 1975 for painful heavy periods. Was on it for 20 years.

I went on the pill for this exact reason at 15. 10 years later I came off it to try for a baby. I hadn't realised until that point how much of an impact it was having on my mood. I was noticeably less 'down' once it was out of my system. I have tried other contraceptives since and not found one that agrees with me so have ended up back on the pill. It's not ideal though and still impacts my mood.

@MrsMcGarry the pill doesn't 'fix' the hormone issues though. It just masks them and any issues are still there.

The pill didn't fix my period issues. It just made it a bit more liveable. Having babies sorted out the period pain but made the flow 100x worse.

If my hormone issues had been investigated more as a young woman I might have saved myself years of infertility too. I remember my GP refusing to send me for surgery for endometriosis because it was 'invasive' and my symptoms 'weren't that bad'. I still don't know if I had / have it.

If my hormone issues had been investigated more as a young woman I might have saved myself years of infertility too. I remember my GP refusing to send me for surgery for endometriosis because it was 'invasive' and my symptoms 'weren't that bad'. I still don't know if I had / have it.

It took my colleague 10 years to be investigated for endometriosis without the pill masking her symptoms. What's the point of enduring that pain when you can avoid it?

Because the pill didn't actually sort my issues. It just masked them.

I've had an operation now to sort my issues and it's a huge improvement. I couldn't have this operation any sooner.

The pill did a great job of masking the period symptoms but gave a load of other issues.

It's likely my own daughter will suffer as a teenager too. I plan to work on her hormone health first before resorting to synthetic ones.

This. You never hear of men being told to try a natural solution for any typically male issues - erectile dysfunction being a good example - far less debilitating than painful periods and there’s a specialist pill to sort it.

I’m painfully aware that the pill doesn’t treat the root cause, but having been back and forth to my doctor for many years for heavy, painful periods and severe pms, I’m also aware that the vast majority of medical professionals have no interest in getting to the bottom of these issue. If the pill improves your life there is no shame in taking it.

My DD has been on the pill since 14 to suppress menstruation due to how traumatic she finds periods - common in autistic girls. As long as your DD is having good medical supervision, hopefully there won’t be problems or at least, the pros outweigh the cons, as they have done for us.p

Do also think about iron supplements.

Would the coil be a good idea? It stops periods for most women, and no hormones? Also an effective contraceptive. Do young women ever choose it?

My dd13 has been on the pill for 6 months and its made a huge difference for her. She started her periods a week after turning 11 and they were awful from the start, she would bleed through every night and even with period underwear and pads had a few incidents in school which was mortifying. Cramps were debilitating and she would throw up with the pain regularly. She was absolutely miserable and tearful with awful headaches for 7-10 days leading up to her period, then in agony and bleeding through clothes for a week during. She had over a year of being miserable a good 50% of the time, then we tried tranxemic acid which didn't help much. So the pill it was, I wasn't keen at first but so far so good. Her mood has stabilised and she's had much lighter and less painful periods. She was awful for binge eating as well when due on and that seems to have stopped too.

Dd didn't get periods until 15 1/2 - very painful , heavy clotting and feeling faint as is very tall, slim and prone to anaemia.

Has been on pill for a year and takes for 3 packs back to back . The bleed is still horrendous but at least is only 4 times a year

Covid did mess things up and she bled for 27 day straight so it's not completely reliable

Only side effect is that she has has gone from an A cup to a D cup plus sore boobs and stretch marks from their rapid growth.