Skipping school for period pain…?

[ChocolateTruffleAssortment]

I have always been fortunate & never experienced much period pain. I know some women do suffer.

DD after about a year of periods started finding them really painful & missing school for them. She then went on the pill which I thought would improve them but seems to mean they are just as painful but she has fewer of them - just having her first one this term.

trying to disentangle how genuine this is too - yesterday she missed college for the second day but her boyfriend came round & she went riding in the afternoon… so today when she wanted to miss a third day we were unsympathetic & made her go in…

anyway I guess my question is, a) surely at some point she has to suck it up & b) is there another option to make it easier for her - DH has suggested a mirena….

If she went riding then I think she’s ok for college but just in the habit of missing it.

If you’re well enough to go riding then you’re well enough to go to school.

But, if she’s crippled with pain, obviously unwell and in bed etc, of course I’d let her stay at home.

Could it be worth another Dr appointment if she’s still in that much pain?

Yep and have missed work as an adult too

she needs to speak to her gp as they can try other pills which can help too

eta mine will be crippling and intense for a few hours then I’ll be fine. So I don’t think just because she felt better later in the day negates how she felt in the morning

Also, if on the pill, can she not mainly take breaks in half terms and holidays?

No not really, she left secondary in the summer so I can’t look up the data but attendance in the low 90s I would guess? Never ill for anything else really & went on the pill at the end of Y10 so periods reduced then obviously.

If she is missing school she is not well enough to see boyfriend or go riding.

I think a lot of teenage girls make a fuss about painful periods and use that as an excuse to go on the pill. All my friends dds say this too.

If she takes the pill continuously she can avoid having a period.

It’s not necessarily all or nothing. She may have lied or exaggerated on the occasions when she was feeling okay to do other things but still have a problem with very painful periods.
Of course in general it is sometimes necessary to miss school/ college/ work because of heavy/ painful periods.
She needs to go to the GP.
Why is your husband suggesting the Mirena? Is he a doctor or something?

She’s 16, in Y12. Periods started in lockdown so she must have been 11-12. Went on the pill when she was 15.

@QuickOpalOrca not sure I’m following tbh, not a good sign of what?

I think she may be pulling a bit of a fast one with this but it’s the first sick note she’s pulled all term, and college is a 1.5 hour commute so not an appealing prospect, to be fair to her.

What on earth am I reading!!!

It is no wonder women aren’t diagnosed properly with gyna problems when on this thread alone it’s being put down to them being excuses to avoid stuff!!

I was off school/work literally rolling in agony every month, shoved on the pill and told to get on with it!!!

finally at 28 diagnosed with severe endo that presented as a burst appendix first! When they opened me up I was covered in the stuff!!

now had a pre 40 hysterectomy horrific insides and still struggle daily!

DO NOT ACCEPT from any GP that period pains are normal and accept the pill, it masks everything!!!

Also, fwiw you can often tell when someone is suffering badly with a period. They can look pale, shaky, cry with pain or be unable to move around normally/ stand straight etc. If she’s anything like that, definitely go back to the doctor.

She's skiving

Lifelong sufferer of severe period pain here. Went on the pill at 17 to help with period pains.

It's OK to miss school if you're in severe pain. That's being ill, not 'skipping school'.

The pain doesn't necessarily last all day. If it's been very severe, I might then feel quite wiped out. Being in a lot of pain for several hours can be tiring. If I'm feeling well I would go back to work. (I can work from home so this is easily done. It may not be so easy to go back to school, of course.)

How's her progress/ attainment?

While I agree that if she went riding yesterday, she needs to go to college today, please also take her to a GP and push for a scan.

I had horrific periods as a teenager and into my twenties, but didn’t realise they were ‘worse’ than other people’s. It was only when I was rushed to hospital in my late twenties and scanned that I discovered I was riddled with ovarian cysts and endometriosis.

Or would be very easy for her to log on and get the work or catch up on the missed work or any thing else out standing

‘Make’ her go by having reasonable boundaries and expectations?

Not ‘just go to her boyfriend’s’ because she’s committed to a college course?

Sheesh.

I had awful period pain as a teenager, sometimes so bad I vomited. It was horrible, usually just one day a month. Once on the pill, it was so much better and just had a slight ache so didn't stop me doing anything.
Others I know, also found the pain reduced once on the pill.
I would also be unsympathetic if she was able to go out the previous day.