for not wanting my 16 yr to go on the oill?

[theminder]

My 16 my old has been having a nasty tummy before and during her period. Am I unreasonable for not wanting her to take the pill because of health reasons? My family, unfortunately are prone to cancer, when a relative has died its usually cancer related, therefore I don't want my daughter to take something that could provoke cancer. We have been to doctor and the medication he prescribed did not work. Is the pill the only answer? Surely there's something else?

[Asteria]

OP - I went on the pill against my mother's wishes at 16 because my periods were horrendous (SP tampons and huge ST's flooded in less than 2 hours on the worst 3 days, 9 days of heavy bleed with fainting and anemia). I tinkered about trying to find the right pill until eventually I was taken off it altogether - my blood pressure was through the roof and my GP warned me never to take hormones again as I would cause serious damage. I also had my legsstripped of varicous veins at 19 ). A couple of years after that, after some nasty abdominal pain I was operated on to remove what was left of my left ovary and the melon sized cyst that had ruptured and destroyed it - the surgeon said it had ben growing for about 4 years, fromwhen I was on the pill.
I always worry what we are actualy doing to our insides when we take a pill that entirely stops or suppresses our body's natural functions (however horrid they may seem).
Could you try your daughter on alternative therapy first?

[VeryStressedStudent]

I would just like to say that at the age of 16 my mum actually took me to the drs and more or less told them to sort my periods out as I was irregular and in pain, and ok the cancer risk is increased slightly, but then I have found my drs keep a closer eye on me in that respect. Also I have to get a 6 month prescription so I can have check ups as opposed to some people I know who get a year or mores worth.

[expatinscotland]

The pill is not definitively linked to cancer. Having too many periods is.

[jasminetom]

I went on the pill at 15 for bad periods. It did help with that but definitely made me more promiscuious (sp), something I now regret. I was an 80s kid as well, all that AIDS don't die of ignorance brainwashing. I am not saying this is always the case but was my experience.

[theminder]

Ps. I have not stopped her - she is 16. Does not mean I agree or that am happy about it. Just wish that, in this day and age, the pill was not the answer for her problems.

[theminder]

Linerunner - were we seperated at birth?? What you day is spot on. Why, simply because we are female, do we have to be fobbed off? You are so right, I want my childten to make educated, founded choices and not rely on simply what goes.
Once again, thank you all for responding - lots to consider xx

[brighthair]

I take the mini pill (I think there is less risks, blood clot etc with it)
I have awful periods, flooding, diarrhoea, pain from my legs, back, stomach. This pill has been a godsend, I have no periods at all on it, and no side effects. I came off it once (don't ask me why!) and was at the dr on the 2nd day of period begging to go back on it

[LineRunner]

OP, hi, trust me, I love and care about my teenage daughter to infinity and beyond! That's why I believe her autonomy is paramount.

I had also been thinking about taking her to a 'Well Woman Clinic' for information and advice, because she has to be comfortable with whatever decision she makes. Knowledge is power etc. Which is why you posted here. So we agree, don't we, because we are both trying to find out the best information. Important decisions should be based on the best available evidence, I would say.

QueenStromba is absolutely right that many GPs just do not take menstrual problems seriously enough. Half the population of the fecking planet will menstruate at some point in their lives. How about some honesty and decent clinical care when there are problems? I do not think that extreme pain, vomiting, fainting and missing school and work should be labelled as mere inconveniences. However, neither should women and girls be patronised and sidelined simply because they do menstruate.

God, sorry if I sound all serious and wanky.... I actually like a pint and a laugh in the real world.

[HappySeven]

I was given Ponstan and Ponstan forte before heading down the pill route. It's mefenamic acid which I think someone else recommended. It's not "natural" but it might be worth a try.

The only natural cure I found (well it's worked for me) is having children. I'm guessing that's not an option you want to try though!

Good luck.

[theminder]

Oh my, reading Pink link brings a whole new debate to the issue of the pill and cancer - 10 years, in some cases, til you are risk free of cancer!!!poop my pants!!! ( no I am not an overreacting hypercondreact!! And no I cannot spell, lol )
Anyone know any more natural remedies?

[TondelayoSchwarzkopf]

X-posted.

Please read Pink's link - this gives a good assessment of the risk / benefits of taking the contraceptive pill. It's not as black and white as X causes cancer - and there are benefits to taking it (in conjunction with barrier methods)

No-one has said you should stop caring or worrying - they've just pointed out that it is ultimately her choice.

[TondelayoSchwarzkopf]

Could she take progesterone only - the cancer risks (which are real if very small - though the pill is also protective against some cancers e.g. ovarian) are only associated with oestregen IIRC.

Anyway, as others have said, it's her choice to make, not yours - in conjunction with the full facts and medical advice. I have hideous periods - associated with anaemia, vomiting, fainting and times when I haven't been able to leave the house.

[theminder]

I thank you all for you replies. There were many that I found very useful and will investigate further.
I am a bit shocked at some of you and the asumption that because she is 16 I should not longer have a interest or concerns about her or her health!! As a mother I will continue to advise and guide my children into making educated and the right choices about their lives. Therefore just because she is 16 it does not mean I stop caring or worrying. Being 16 does not make you wiser or right over night. I just was asking for advise to the age old problem of the pill, and the risks it does have, especially as she is so young. You are correct in saying its her choice and its a choice she has made. Don't mean I have to like it. I respect and trust my dd, but that won't stop me being her Mum.
Believe me when I say that I do not want her to go through the debilitating pain during her cycle. My mother went on the pill at the beginning of the sexual revolution and had a full hysterectomy at 35. 2 of my aunts have had breast cancer and my grandmother died of cancer, back when cancer was just cancer and not put into different catagories. I am concerned that it appears to be the magic answer to period pain!! In this day and age I thought there would more options.
I am new to mumsnet and still learn the etiquete. I do not mean any disrespect to any of you, and thank you for your time to help me xx

[QueenStromba]

I hate the way GPs never take you seriously about menstrual problems. I had really painful, heavy and irregular periods as a teenager but doctors just used to tell me that I wasn't losing as much blood as I thought (I was having to change a super plus tampon every 2-3 hours on my heavier days) and just to take paracetamol for the pain (some months I couldn't even keep a tablet down long enough for it to do anything). When I was 18/19 I had a period every second week for a few months and when I went to the doctor she dismissed me saying that I was probably remembering it wrong - like a week on, week off, week on etc was difficult to keep track of. That eventually cleared up on its own but I still had the heavy and painful periods which were pretty much sorted out by going on the combined pill so I spent my early 20s putting myself back on the pill when my periods got bad. I had been fine for the last few years, still really heavy but having pain I could deal with until yesterday. I've been in pretty much constant pain since I woke up yesterday despite dosing myself to the eyeballs with codeine and paracetamol, although strangely I've had barely any bleeding at all. I've been on the mini pill since the start of the year with a 3 week break where I had the implant so it must be something to do with that. I'm sitting here wondering if there is any point at all in seeing the doctor about it, I'm thinking probably not.

[EldonAve]

I disagree with IWantAnotherBaby
Our local hospital has a gynae clinic specifically for menorrhagia

[Lawm01]

I had horribly painful periods, right from the very start.

Fainting, vomitting, diarroah (sp, sorry, you know what I mean!). I was put on the pill, but it didn't help, I was told to take ibuprofen, paracetamol etc, but nothing helped. I missed so much school and work. And relationships suffered because I was so miserable.

I was fobbed off for about 15 years, until I found a lovely new GP who took me seriously and referred me for investigation. It was discovered that I had endometriosis, doubtless this had been the prob all along. I had laser surgery to remove some of it, but didn't get much relief, sadly.

The only medication that I found helped was mefanamic acid which I had to take from 2 days before I expected my period.

I then had my DD but never had a period again, so I can't say whether or not childbirth relieved the symptoms (which I've been told is often the only permanent solution).

What I'm say is (getting back to the topic), don't let your daughter be fobbed off if nothing is helping her symptoms. Make sure she is taken seriously and investigations taken.

[HappySeven]

Vallhala, I am very sorry to hear about your illness. Did your oncologist suggest it had been caused by the pill? I think sadly sometimes we are just unlucky and these things happen. Not everyone who has lung cancer was a smoker. I hope you have made a full recovery and best wishes for the future.

[HappySeven]

I'm with vj32. I used to vomit and faint with period pain and it was very disruptive to my life. The pill was a really useful medication (I started on it at 15). I didn't have sex till years later. How bad is it for her? Does it stop her leading a normal life?

If you think she could be hoping to use the pill as a contraception then I think you need to talk to her about safe sex because being on the pill or not isn't what will stop her having sex.

I wouldn't worry about increased risk of cancer because the pill has been shown to reduce the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers which have a higher mortality rate than breast cancer and the evidence for the pill increasing the risk of breast cancer is when women have been on it for 5 or more years. She might find she only needs it short-term and I'm sure her GP will have considered the risks for her but maybe it's worth having a chat especially if you are concerned about a family link to cancer.

[Vallhala]

As Jemima says. I have advised both my teenaged girls against taking the pill when they come to needing contraception for similar reasons. I have had breast cancer which was hormone fuelled but which was not for any identifiable reason (ie I was under 40, a size 8 to 10, didn't eat meat, no family history of breast cancer etc etc). I've been offered genetic testing but have refused it.

The only possible link was the Pill and despite consequent surgery which launched me into instant menopause (very nastily at that) I am unable to take HRT as a result. There is no way I would encourage my girls to take the Pill.

[LineRunner]

She's 16 and it really is her decision, legally as well as ethically.

My daughter is thinking about the same choice - she misses at least a day of school a month because of extreme pain and vomiting.

Poor kids.

[LDNmummy]

I would be more worried about the hormonal effects. I took the pill for the first time at 16 and since have tried every single form of contraceptive only to find out that I am alergic to them all and they do not do my body any good. My doctor calls me a hypersensitive type of person because my body does not take kindly to hormonal contraceptives including the implant or latex even.

But on the other hand I had extremely painful and irregular periods when I was young and though the pill didn't do much for the pain, it did regulate them eventually.

You say nasty tummy so I wonder how severe it actually is. I used to be in so much pain and become so faint I would get dizzy or throw up. Can she not just take feminax or another pain killer for this problem?

[vj32]

I used to regularly faint during my periods as a teenager. I tried some other medication first, but it didn't really help. At no point was it ever suggested that this was anything other than normal. I was on different pills for about 9 years.

The long term effects of the pill are not known - but the shorter term are. And they suggest that as with all medications there are positives and negatives. For me the positives - of being much less likely to faint and put myself at risk of danger - outweighed the small additional risk of breast cancer.

I also incidentally found that putting on weight helped. My worst incidents of fainting etc were when I was at uni, exercising like mad and not eating properly.

[sparechange]

Being on the pill actually reduces your chances of getting most female cancers, and this is well-documented.
I read a really interseting article about this which explained how. Put very basically, cancers are caused by cells reproducing, and something going wrong, so an imperfect cell is created, and then subsequently reproduces itself.
With periods, the cell multiplication takes place with every cycle.
If you are on the pill and using it to skip periods, there are fewer cycles, thus fewer cell multiplications, thus less chance of getting cancer.

From a more practical point of view, I suffered with really horrible and painful periods as a teenager, and my mother forbade me from going on the pill, because she was convinced it would somehow make me go and have lots of sex.

What it actually did was make me resent her, ignore any other (sensible) advice she gave me, and sneak off to another doctor to get the pill anyway, thus lying to her. And it also made me convinced that I would never be able to cope with the pain of labour and shouldn't have children, which took me a lot longer to overcome.

[JemimaMuddleFuck]

Pink. That's all well and good; I'm sure it does reduce cancer in some cases.

The only information that I have at present is that I have a 29% increased risk of breast cancer due to (as yet) unidentified gene. There is already a 1 in 9 chance of breast cancer; so my odds are substantially reduced.

So, if; I was a Young Woman (starting menstruation and a sexual life all over again) I wouldn't take any hormone based contraception.

But then I love condoms; the pause, the excitement, the wonderful anticipation. And then ... the langerous and delightful sprawling when there is no wet patch.