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Original poster

DD erratic very heavy periods (bit tmi perhaps)

38 replies

Londonmummy66 · 17/09/2020 18:32

DD is 18 and has always had erratic periods - one every 2 -3 months and they have always been quite heavy when she has them with smallish clots and a need to wear a thick pad with period pants and change very frequently - after each 1 hour lesson at school to avoid accidents.

She didn't have one for about 3 and a half months and now it has started it is here with a vengeance - 10 days and still going strong - biggish clots (per NHS website size of a 50p is big and she has those) and usually a few per pad. Today she phoned from school to say she stood up after a lesson and there was a really big gush making a mess over the chair through 2 thick pads and a pair of period pants.

I've made a GP appointment for tomorrow but I know from my own experience that they don't tend to take these things all that seriously. I was thinking of insisting that they do a blood test for anemia as she says she feels really faint, nauseous and dizzy and is tired all the time. Should I be asking for anything else as well? (She wants me to go with her as the GP isn't the most sympathetic.)

OP posts:
Original poster
Londonmummy66 · 17/09/2020 23:58

Thanks everyone - just given her a pep talk too on how she needs to put her foot down so hopefully between us we'll get somewhere. When she went to the school nurse she was told that it wasn't surprising that her period was all over the place after lockdown - I just despair sometimes..

OP posts:
BlingLoving · 18/09/2020 00:01

Have PMed you.

My mum wasn't taking any of this shit when it was me. I think it's so sad that 30 years later, we're still in this ridiculous situation where girls are told just to suck this stuff up. I had a few friends with PCOS only diagnosed well into their 20s or even 30s. And it was so much more traumatic for them because no one bothered to think that maybe their periods and other symptoms weren't just, "aaah, that's just how it is sometimes." Makes me so angry.

user1471443026 · 18/09/2020 00:02

I have periods very similar to your daughter. I am now 30 and still seeking some sort of diagnosis or treatment. As it stands I just end up in hospital/having to call an ambulance every few months because my blood pressure plummets and I faint due to heavy bleeding Hmm

In my experience all the GP will do is tell your daughter to lose weight and possibly give her a prescription for the pill. Even just a couple of years ago I was refused a gyne referral until I had been on the pill for 12 months and was still having issues. I refused as I was TTC so the doctor just sent me away.

If your daughter is sensitive about her weight (and it sounds like she is, which I totally understand having experienced similar myself) make sure she is prepared that the GP will likely bring it up and try to tell her this is what is causing the issue. It's shit but having seen probably 10 different doctors over the years every single one has told me I need to be in the healthy BMI range before they will consider there to be an issue.

Africa2go · 18/09/2020 00:18

Sorry OP don't mean to derail the thread but can anyone advise what the treatment is for possible PCOS or endo? My DD (15) started her periods at age 12 and was so heavy she was using tampons very early, plus maxi pads and still couldn't get through her 1 hr lessons without leaking. She's been prescribed the medication already mentioned (was on it for a year, didn't make much difference) and then GP prescribed the pill. 8 months in and it's made her gain weight, and her breasts are much bigger than her peers and she says she'd rather stop. She's still a healthy weight but at 15 she feels heavier than friends. Wondering if like the OP I should be pushing for a referral?

rorosemary · 18/09/2020 00:31

I was like that. Turns out that I have pcos. They refused to test me till I started TTC. I was on the pill for years and that helped with the symptoms. I didn't flood while on the pill so my life was easier. I needed fertility treatments to get pregnant, so if it's that she might want to remember not waiting to long when ttc before asking for fertility treatments. There a multiple options, it doesn't have to be invasive, expensive ivf. There is a lot to try before that.

rorosemary · 18/09/2020 00:32

@Africa2go

Sorry OP don't mean to derail the thread but can anyone advise what the treatment is for possible PCOS or endo? My DD (15) started her periods at age 12 and was so heavy she was using tampons very early, plus maxi pads and still couldn't get through her 1 hr lessons without leaking. She's been prescribed the medication already mentioned (was on it for a year, didn't make much difference) and then GP prescribed the pill. 8 months in and it's made her gain weight, and her breasts are much bigger than her peers and she says she'd rather stop. She's still a healthy weight but at 15 she feels heavier than friends. Wondering if like the OP I should be pushing for a referral?
It might be the pcos making her gain weight instead of the pill. Pcos makes women gain more easily and lose weight slower.
Original poster
Londonmummy66 · 18/09/2020 00:55

Thank you eveyone - yes I am sure her weight will come up and it will be a problem for her but she is really struggling with it at the moment and GP knows that so is likely to get both barrels from me if she tries that one. The bloodbath (flooding and clots) this evening has been awful - there is no way this is normal

OP posts:
SpaceOP · 18/09/2020 11:35

@Londonmummy66

Thank you eveyone - yes I am sure her weight will come up and it will be a problem for her but she is really struggling with it at the moment and GP knows that so is likely to get both barrels from me if she tries that one. The bloodbath (flooding and clots) this evening has been awful - there is no way this is normal
A friend who has also had issues with her period once told me that her and her sister called it "the slasher movie" period experience. I completely got that! Grin
Original poster
Londonmummy66 · 18/09/2020 17:30

Love the slasher movie - definately that.

So GP was useless saying its just 4 months of blood needing to come out....... Then said she isn't hairy so it can't be PCOS - suggested he read the bit on the NHS website that says not all symptoms are present in everyone.... have got her transexamic acid although how she is supposed to know her period is due 3 days before when they are erratic is anyone's guess. Will do bloodwork when current period is over - sounds a bit odd that you have to wait for this - anyone know if this makes sense or not?

OP posts:
Emmelina · 18/09/2020 17:57

There’s something not right, isn’t there. GP should do a blood test to check her hormone levels in the first instance, then go from there. They’re probably so heavy and causing anaemia symptoms (feeling faint etc.) because the lining is building up for so long in between sheds! It could be they just need forcing into a pattern with the pill. All things to discuss with the GP though! I have PCOS so irregular and heavy are well known to me and it sucks. She shouldn’t have to deal with it x

KatieB55 · 18/09/2020 18:00

Please get a referral to gynaecologist as this is awful to cope with when at school. Don't let GP fob you off. Sometimes it's better to get a private appointment and then ask the consultant to write to the GP to ask for NHS referral. She might get some effective treatment quicker. Good luck

Wowjustwow99 · 18/09/2020 21:02

Sorry to hear your daughter is going through this.
I have pcos this was only diagnosed when TTC, I've always had very heavy periods and never regular. I'd be bleeding for months, flooding several times a day and then not bleeding for months. At your daughters age the doctors didn't do anything other that put me on the pill which did control the bleeding there are a.few books I've read about pcos and diet which were interesting and worth the read.
I got pcos confirmed with an internal ultra sound. Please push the doctors for your daughter.
Oh I'm not hairy either

BigPlanes · 19/09/2020 09:16

Don’t let him fob you off with that, he clearly hasn’t understood if he’s given her medication she’s meant to take 3 days before Shock. I flipping hate this isn’t taken seriously.

My favourite comment was “it will sort itself out after you’ve had a baby”... to 16 year old me. Thanks GP but meanwhile my exam results one year will go down the tube whilst I struggle not to vomit in pain due to my period. I’ll spend years trying to have the flipping baby that was meant to solve the issues just to find its exactly the same after birth. Hmm

Now in my 30s and thankfully have a female GP my own age who has actually helped.

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