Help for DD - heavy, painful periods.

[TravellingSpoon]

DD is 13 and started her periods just after Christmas. They are long (around 8-9 days) and they are very heavy. They are also irregular so she has only had 5 in that time. She is wearing pads and period underwear and is bleeding so much she has to change the pads every hour or so in the first couple of days. And they dont seem to slow, she is still having to change her pads reguarly on day 6.

My periods are heavy but mine have increased since I had children. Mine were not that heavy when I was younger, and lasted less time.

Has anyone had any experience of teens using tranexamic acid or something else to manage heavy periods?

Added to this, she also suffers from brutal nosebleeds which cauterising didnt stop (tried twice), so is already taking iron tablets because she loses so much blood.

I had heavy periods at that age (diagnosed with endometriosis as an adult) and tranexamic acid really helped. Sadly I react to NSAIDs now so I can’t take them any more. Definitely worth discussing with your GP.

Yes, my daughter is on tranexamic acid and it works really well for her.

Yes 11 now 13yr old used tranexamic acid for a while. It did ebb the flow a bit. Unfortunately until she has a regular pattern you can only use on day 1 not a day or 2 ahead so doesn't always help quick enough. Dd now has v heavy day 1/2 but then drops quickly. (Doesn't have enough the same nose bleed issues though).

Speak to school - they need to give her pass to be able to sort herself out in school outside of break times which will help with that part.

Have any doctors suggested a clotting disorder such as Von Willebrands Disease? The nosebleeds along with heavy periods would suggest further investigations are needed

If she already has low iron then she needs to sort out her periods. I had low iron and exhaustion until I started taking tranexamic acid.

It might also be worth her trying the contraceptive pill.

Good luck. Heavy periods are awful and she shouldn’t need to suffer. I didn’t talk to my mum or any doctors about mine when I was a teenager and I should have as they were shocking.

Watching this thread with interest.. my DD started her periods 18 months ago at age 12. They are very heavy, last anything from 7-10 days & she has painful cramps through out. The flow is heavy usually right up to the last 1-2 days when it starts to tail off a bit then just stops. She uses pads but bleeds through them so quickly, we switched to ''heavy flow'' night pads which are lasting a bit longer but she still spills. It's miserable for her. GP (female) said it was 'normal'... offered nothing.

I had very painful cramps and heavy ish period but my flow was not to this extent. I really feel for her..

It's miserable for her. GP (female) said it was 'normal'... offered nothing.

That was my experience with multiple GP make and female over many years - I also had issues with the pill which was the usual solution offered - break though bleeding and anxiety which were dismissed.

Still it's worth OP try GP a few times - as may get one who will help and with nose bleeds as well may be sign of something else.

Otherwise in meantime maybe look at other vitamins and do some research round - Bs and Folic acid more for effect of heavy bleeding I think , vit c magnesium and D I believe for other common period problems.

She needs to see a GP and have tests to see whether this is a blood disorder or linked to her menstrual cycle.

Don't let them fob you off and insist on your doctor doing everything to get to the cause of this.

I had really heavy periods from the age of 14 and I had anaemia as a result. It had a really negative impact on my overall health.

As an adult I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

It is really important to get the right diagnosis and not to accept the line that so many doctors will feed you that periods are just meant to be painful and disruptive...It is absolutely not ''normal'' to bleed to that extent and have to change pads so often or to be in constant pain.

Conditions like endometriosis can also make it harder to conceive so it is important to get a proper early diagnosis for her future as a woman.

There are ways to make periods easier including Tranexamic acid and the pill but you need to know what's causing these issues first.

I was like that, then things got worse (projectile vomiting) I eventually went on the pill and then onto depo injections.

My mother was not happy about the pill but it worked.

I know it seems an odd thing for a young teen and you both might want to try other things first but please do not dismiss it.

It would also regularize her periods.

Go back to GP. Be polite but firm. Don't be fobbed off. Insist on a referral.

This was me too. I went on the pill the moment I turned 16 (to my mums horror) and it changed my life in that regard. Was on it consistently until I wanted to have babies when I hit 30. Since babies they are much lighter, more ‘normal’ and with few symptoms at all.

Please be aware if she goes on the pill it isn't fixing her period. Her regular period would be fake. Not saying it won't work for her, but it isn't going to fix it1 just mask it.
I'd speak to a GP about different options.
I'm 22 and had horrendous irregular periods from 11- diagnosed with PCOS after years of pushing at 19.

Try acupuncture

My daughter had this -9 days of heavy bleeding. I thought it would settle down.

our GP did some blood tests and it transpires she has something called Von Willebrand Disease. It is lack of a clotting factor and apparently can be the cause for heavy periods. She has been put on the pill as that is one way to manage them- she was losing lots of iron and it has helped enormously.

Definitely sounds like it's worth investigating clotting disorders.

I was on the pill from 13 for exactly this reason and it was life changing. Tried tranexamic acid before that but it didn't get them sorted.

I had terrible, long, painful, heavy periods when I was a kid and of course, had a mum who didn’t give a monkey’s. I was adamant that my DD’s wouldn’t have to suffer like I did. My DD1 has had no problems at all (lucky duck!), but my My DD2 has had the same issues as I did from day one as well. There is a general misconception that they will “settle down” with time, and they very rarely do. Tranexamic Acid helps a bit. The next step is to try a contraceptive pill to help regulate and decrease bleeding time. This helped my DD exponentially, but she developed migraines and had to cease. At 15 she had a Mirena inserted under a very light general anaesthetic. It was a rough couple of months while that settled in (very common and predicted by doctor prior to insertion. It irritates the cervix until the body stops recognizing it as a foreign object and causes some cramping.) She says now that it was life-changing. When she does get a period it’s only for a few days and is so very light, she only uses period undies.

I started my periods at 10 and was so heavy I used to regularly faint at school! Put up with it for years until starting the pill at 17 and now in tranexamic acid as not much better in my 40s. Also developed anaemia recently, so take iron supplements for that.

Dd1 is 13 and started her period in Novemeber. She has been very unwell on 2 occasions and nearly fainted/vomited. The GP has agreed to give her tranexamic acid, but she may need a blood test to check her iron levels.

It's at times like these where I hate being a woman 😬

Try and do anything to avoid going on the pill as a means to treat the symptoms rather than the cause. The problem is that anything under 2 years after starting periods is likely to be brushed off - keep very accurate info, it sounds like DD might need it further down the line. 10% of females suffer with PCOS, 10% with endometriosis- all those people eventually diagnosed have issues which are often ignored by GP's. Sorry, can't help with your actual question it's just DD was lucky to have a fabulous GP who listened to her 2 years of massively irregular periods, acne and a whole host of other symptoms and she was diagnosed with PCOS at 15. If she had gone on the pill lots of symptoms would have been masked and it might have taken years to be diagnosed - likely having put on loads of weight and possibly struggling to conceive but then being told if you lose weight you'll magically get pregnant.

Tranexamic acid has worked brilliantly for my daughter, aged 12.

I have had very heavy and long periods since the age of eleven. The contraceptive pill helps me a lot. It makes them much lighter, but they are still long. The pill will also make them more predictable. However, I think that on the pill she would have a bleed every month instead of skipping some moths as she does now. I hope she can find something that helps. Having to manage very heavy periods at school is horrible.

Thanks everyone. I will speak to our GP on Monday and be firm that I am not happy for it to be shrugged off as something that she needs to get used to.

If they are affecting her attendance or concentration at school then do mention that.

I was the same when I started my periods at 11. The doctor prescribed me Dionette which was actually for acne, which I had, but it was the same hormones as the pill. Maybe ask for the contraceptive pill.for her or something designed to help heavy periods. Ask to see a different doctor. When I came off the pill at 26 my periods were fine till recently, I'm 50 now so I'm guessing it's menopause but I now take the moni pill and ots calmed things down again

I am always very impressed with mums that stand up for their DD’s needs when it comes to situations that people (esp men) describe as “only natural.” I genuinely think that if men had periods, they would have cured them years ago.

I genuinely think that if men had periods, they would have cured them years ago.

What worries me is the lack of curiosity about underlying causes that seems so common.

Plus cures vary with individual.s Pill was awful in different way for me and I know many who love mirena coils and fair few who had horrific experiences often dismissed as sometimes a real fight to get them out.

My daughter was diagnosed at 14 with Adenomyosis. I am certain that I would have had the same diagnosis had I had support of my parents and better medical care. Her issue is exacerbated by the placement of her kidney which is entirely in the wrong place - between her abdominal wall and her uterine aorta. Whenever her uterus became swollen and vascular prior to her period, the poor kid would be passing out in agony due to the pressure on her kidney.