Help my dd15 with horrendous periods

[TheoriginalLEM]

Poor thing, she has stayed home from school yet again with bloody awful period pains. Nausea and not being able to stop crying even though she didnt feel sad so was intermittently laughing at herself and basically had no clue what was happening to her.

She tried so hard to go in, but she missed the bus because she couldn't get it together from the bout of crying and her legs felt like jelly. I told her to come home.

What can i get for her to help? We have ibruprofen lysine which i believe is what is in feminax.

Is there anything else i can try. Shes a good girl and upset about not being in school.

Dont want to go down the pill route which is what i did.

If she can do it, get her to give up sugar, white bread, white pasta and white rice. Eat lots of protein, cheese, good fats etc with no limits but cut out those foods mentioned... I did this, it is very hard at first, but my periods are pain free and less, and my chest no longer swells up painfully every month.

Would buscopan work? I might give that a try.

The pill is not without side effects, that is common knowledge. As a last resort if dd would accept it (she wont) maybe, but i started this thread looking for alternatives.

Poor thing. I was the same as a teenager, and I tried everything. My periods weren't too heavy, it was just the pain of them. I literally couldn't move for hours, went white and sweaty, all that. The only thing I found that worked was OTC Solpadol- as a PP has said they are codeine based but are very effective for pain management. The dissolvable co-codamol worked fastest. The GP also prescribed me stronger codeine at one point which now makes me a bit but I was luckily a sensible one and only ever needed to take the min dosage. If you feel comfortable with her taking codeine it was honestly revolutionary for me on the worst flow day.

Personally I think women are too keen to rush off to use artificial hormones eg to delay a period for a holiday or even a running race. OP I think you are right to look at other options to the Pill first. In any event it's not a universal panacea. I'd heard stories of it cutting periods to 3 days and being really light - when I went on it in my early 20s (for contraceptive reasons) it made no difference to my periods. Still lasted 7 days and still as heavy as ever.

I had mefanamic acid as a teenager and it sorted out the pain. I tried Feminax first but it wasn't much good.

I would also recommend light exercise - she won't feel like it but it could really make all the difference. I have stupidly heavy periods now (though not as bad as some MNers) but they are not painful and I think it's partly because I do so much exercise.

Does your daughter know the pill could literally change her life here? Why is she so against it?

I had horrific pain from age 13 to 18 and it blighted my teenage years. In one year alone at 16 I had 32 days off school. Please get your DD to the doctor to discuss treatment options, likely to be the pill or something like transexamic axid which worked wonders for me when I was finally prescribed it at 18.

Don’t be fobbed off by a GP either - at 16 a GP (male) told me ‘yes well I’d hate to be a woman too,’ and stood up and opened the door and gestured for me to leave. I’m still annoyed that my DM did not fight for me. At 18 I was recommended a lovely female GP who said straight away you seem to have the classic signs of PCOS, confirmed this with tests, and then the pill which transformed how I felt during my period.

I went on the pill as pre teen due to horrendous periods from the get go, and in all honesty I wouldn’t want my daughter on the pill if possible.

I find the BeYou patches (Superdrug, Cult Beauty) work wonders, plus they do a CBD muscle balm for period pain which really helps on the worst days.

Hi op, the gp will be able to prescribe tablets that will make periods much less that isn't the pill, sorry I can't remember what they are called x

OP, some odd questions coming up and dont feel the need to answer publicly, just some stuff to consider. Background: I was exactly like your daughter from 15 until 18, eventually managed to get a diagnosis.

Odd questions:

Does your daughter gain weight very easily? If so, does she gain it at the bottom of her tummy and hips/ legs/ bum or more around her middle?

Does she have excess facial hair, im not talking a full on beard but maybe noticable whiskers/ rogue hairs on her chin?

What's her skin like? Does she get bad acne and if so, does it form on the top of her face around the forehead, or more around her cheeks and chin?

Are her periods regular or irregular, and do her cycles sometimes last longer than 35 days?

Basically, those are the questions that led to my PCOS diagnosis, the main symptom of which was insanely heavy periods and god awful cramping/ hormonal imbalance from 15 years old. The other condition in the running at the time was endo which is also something to look into for her. Be warned, getting diagnosed and therefore the help yu need for teenagers is a massive uphill battle, you have to push like mad.

Sorry - I am guilty saying go on the pill. The things my daughter tried before going on the pill (she didn't want to to either) were mefanamic acid and tranexamic acid, as a combination. This was on advice of a consultant after referral from the GP. Incidentally we went to see the GP three times, all three times it was dismissed as 'just one of those things' and suggested that it would improve once she had a baby (she was 15). I asked for a private referral. The consultant offered the two 'acids' as, if taken at the right time one reduces flow and one pain. We were also offered the coil (at 16) the pill and she was checked for endometriosis. She was also tested for Von Willebrands which is a blood clotting disorder. We looked at all of the options together for ages. Buscopan helped a bit with the cramps, but not the fainting, which used to come on out of the blue, like her period. It was taking her down for three days a month, literally down. She needed to sort it out because she was concerned about the effect on her studies as well as her life in general. Good luck OP I hope you find a solution that works for your daughter. It is a special mind of misery, severe period pain, and not everyone gets it. Don't be fobbed of - there are things available to help.

Supplement with Magnesium and Omega-3 especially the week before

I'd look at suppliments - as looking back I think I was low on quiet a few certainly had food cravings and in my 40s taking various ones for other reasons has helped me.

I'd read up around Magnesium ,Iron,Zinc,Omega 3, and B vitamins - though I've seen Vitamin C and bioflavonoids and even vitamin D mentioned as possible caused for heavy bleedding.

I had horrendous periods until pill at 18 for contrceptive - but I've since realised - having been off and on it about 4 times in my life it kills my libido and leaves my highly anxious.

Last time to point I was struggling with every day life and GP were still dimissing that as anything to do with hormonal contraceptives - started few days after starting and stopped very soon afterI stopped them - even at time that reaseach paper linking depression and anxious to the pill was hitting headlines.

I do find being active - long walks just before also seem to help.

I know for many the pill is the answer - but I understand why it may be seen as last option.

I had horrendous periods for years - which did improve a little bit with the pill (but it had other side effects). Mefenamic acid didn't touch the sides. Turns out I had a (massively) underactive thyroid - I was only 25 and nobody else in my family had it so it was quite out of the blue. Bad periods can be just that: or sometimes there may be another cause. I'm lucky I had a great GP who wisely ran some blood tests. Good luck getting it sorted.

star flower oil, magnesium oil, and vitamin B complex, vitamin D and iron, all helps, I'm trying to get my DD on tranexamic acid as her periods are crazy but she also suffers prolonged nose bleeds and I think it may be related. I am trying to get DD a referral to check everything is OK.

For my DD I think it's inherited i used to have the same, it's only settled after having DC, but the above remedies help, although she needs to be taking them before her period. Also keep hydrated drink more fluids when on your period. And rest and use hot water bottles to help cramps.

My mum was very anti-contraceptive pill. She said it was unnatural to put chemicals into your body. I struggled for years with unpleasant periods but finally ended up being prescribed Yasmin for severe PMS in my 30’s. It has been genuinely life changing, although not without risks, including blood clots. I can honestly say that I feel so much better I happily take the risk. I’m not a moody, teary, thoroughly unpleasant person to be around and my once heavy periods have improved so much I no longer need to take iron tablets for the first time in twenty years.

Saying all of that, I would have concerns for my dd health and wellbeing if she wished to go that route so I do understand where you are coming from. The pill shouldn’t be the only ‘treatment’. I think we need to start a campaign for more research into painful/heavy periods as it breaks my heart to think of other young women suffering.

Sorry OP. Only suggestion I can make is to try the pill. As others have said, its not purely for contraception. I was prescribed it due to really bad acne in my teenage years. It was a bonus that it helped with painful periods. I remember one REALLY bad day when my dad had to pick me up from school and I couldn't get my PJ bottoms on when I got home as I was in agony.
There are more than one type of pill as well (I've been on 3 since I started taking them) so you do have options.

Poor girl, I have suffered horrendously since around that age and I remember struggling through school and going home early feeling awful. I was put on mefenamic acid but it didn't help. A few years later my GP prescribed cocodamol 30/500mg and that was life changing. A friend whose husband is a Dr said that he had recommended Buscopan to her to take along with cocodamol and I now take that along with aspirin as well and that combination seems to do the trick for me. I hope you manage to find something that works for her, it's the most awful pain.

I'm really sorry to hear your DD is suffering like this. My DD had extremely heavy periods from age 11 - heavy, long and frequent. Leaking through pads, lasting a week then off maybe 10 days then another week. Seriously bad cramps and stomach pains, often vomiting - missing school every time. She wasn't keen to go onto the pill but after 3 years of trying various things including tranexamic acid and mefanamic acid she finally agreed to the pill.

She was prescribed Rigevidon and unfortunately it had a very serious impact on her psychologically leading to extremely poor mental health (verging on psychosis), some very bad decisions and her considering attempting suicide. Ironically, it didn't even stop her bleeding much even taking it back to back. I did some research (after) and found that this particular pill has lots of reported negative impacts on mental health - more so than any other from what I could find.

When we realised how bad things were for her mentally after about 4 packs she stopped it immediately but it took months for her to feel 'normal' again. (And unfortunately the way she was behaving while taking it and in those months led to her losing all of her friends with a significant long term impact due to some of the things she did).

But her periods continued as bad as before. The GP prescribed Cerezette (which is actually the pill I take) and after a few months of bad periods she started on that and has been now for about 6 months. I wouldn't say it's been perfect, but hasn't affected her mentally, and has made her periods less frequent, lighter and less painful so for her that is a (hard fought) win.

So I can see the arguments for and against the pill, but unfortunately for many people it really is the only solution - but it can take time to find the right one, and it's difficult with a teen to work out if it's the pill or just normal teen-ness that is causing issues.

Feminax and hot water bottles as soon as period is due. Keep on top of the pain. An app like flow is good. But I'd consider the pill if pain relief is not enough. A good multivit supplement containing iron too.

OP - if it helps. The pills I've taken were Microgynon, Marvelon and Brevinor. Took brevinor for quite a while until recently when DH and I started TTC.

Hope you find something that helps!

The medical options are to reduce bleeding with tranexamic acid, an intinflammatory such as ibuprofen or maybe slightly stronger ones such as naproxen or mefenamic acid , the pill or the mirena coil.
She is unlikely to want a coil fitted. Your doctor will not be unsympathetic but these are the options and she should talk them through with her GP. It is a miserable reality that teenagers often have debilitating periods that really interfere with their lives. They often grow it of this when and if their periods regularise. At 15 this is a consultation for your daughter to have with you present if she wishes. She can try the various options to see what suits best .

I used to be prescribed Ponstan for mine when I was a teenager - they took away the agony at least, but not all the mental health stuff.

I'm not going to suggest the pill. I used to have horrific periods as a teen, I had an ultrasound when I was 17 and everything looked normal... the GP put me on the pill and 9 months later I had a rare form of ovarian cancer. To this day I think it was the synthetic hormones in the pill.

I still have horrific periods and I find the best pain management is a mix of ibuprofen and paracetamol, a hot water bottle and if things are particularly painful, I will run a hot shower over the area and that seems to help. I've tried a tens pen and that didn't really seem to do anything, also find heat pads pretty useless as they don't get warm enough.

Also chocolate. I know they don't have medicinal benefit but it really does help with the emotional/mental impact of being in pain.

Good look OP!

Have you thought of putting her on the pill OP?

Another one whose pains used to make me vomit/pass out over here! Was prescribed Mefenamic Acid, didn't touch the pain, the pill helped slightly but didn't ease the pains fully. Took about 15 years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis in the end (the mini-pill is essentially the only thing that helps this) - so I completely sympathise and understand her pain! The only thing I found that helped was hot-water bottles (I use to sit with them between my legs for the leg pain) and hot baths. I hope she finds something that works for her, soon :(

Please take her to the GP and push for investigations. This is not normal and could well be due to endometriosis.

Other things to try, apart from the pill...ensure she is taking regular paracetamol and ibuprofen, ideally from the day before her period is due (if regular). Buscopan, mefanamic acid both worth a try. Hot or cold packs - many people find more relief with ice than heat interestingly. TENS machine is v cheap and portable and can make a huge difference - mine enables me to work when I have my period rather than being stuck in bed.

The coil is worth a sensible discussion but suspect she wouldn’t be keen. Avoid tampons, use pads or a menstrual cup.