Teen contraception

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My young teen 13 has been put on contraception for extreme periods. This has been working well. However, at a recent appointment this was noticed by a different nurse and she made it very clear she didn't think DD was old enough.
She was pretty judgemental and wouldn't accept the reasons.

The surgery have now said we can't renew the prescription as we have been told it isn't suitable.
I have asked for medial reasons and they just say she is too young despite a different Dr there prescribing it previously. She has had no negative side effects and they can't give a medical reason. Only that she is too young and they won't prescribe. They can refer to gynecology but they say the wait will be over a year and in this time they won't prescribe.

My DD is autistic and before we were prescribed the pill she wasn't leaving the house as she couldn't manage the sensory differences during the period or the unknown unpredictable nature of when it could happen. It was also very heavy

Does anyone have any advice? We are really unsure what we can do.

I believe there is a pill that you can buy over the counter, or you could try buying it from an online pharmacy (Lloyd’s, Superdrug etc). It does mean paying for it but it gets her sorted in the meantime until she can be seen by gynecology.

Take her to boots… they can issue contraceptives straight from the pharmacy.

Can you afford a private gynae consultation?

Can they to people that young? I thought it would be from 16 in a pharmacy

You can get private gp appointments and do it by video call. They may prescribe

We could just about if we have to but would rather not have to spend if we can avoid. I have found an appointment but it's cutting it fine before we run out

Yes it's older in pharmacy I think. But a GP can prescribe from age 12 without parents knowledge.

Complain to practice manager. Quote NICE guidelines or ask them to show you where does it say in NICE guidelines that contraception is contraindicated for 13 year olds. Try a walk-in sexual health clinic but, honestly, a well worded complaint with reference to evidence should suffice.

Which part of the uk are you in?

Wales

Thank you. I have started a email to manager - I just wasn't sure if I'd get anywhere.

Family planning clinic? (If they are still called that).

But also complain - it's shocking!

Ah ok nowhere near here then!
I hope you get her sorted out.

The NICE guidelines do mention options may be limited for those with learning disability. Do you think they will say it's because she autistic? Although the guidelines say limited not contraindicated so surely this means type not all?

That’s terrible! My DD friend is autistic and really immature compared to my DD she got her period at 9. Her mum took her to the doctor and she’s on medication to stop it because even at 12 she’s definitely not ready for it. I got the pill at 15 I had undiagnosed endo. Xxx

My now 16yo has been on the pill since the age of 13 for very heavy periods. I’m not sure what is going on at your surgery, or if there is more to this than you have said so far, but there is no reason for them not to prescribe.

I have the number for family planning clinic near us so will contact them in Monday and send the complaint ready for Monday too.

I think what's really wound me up is the lack of impartial medical advise.
If she had been will to explain the medical concerns clearly and discussed the positives and negatives.
We could have sat down together with DD and had a conversation from the basis of informed choice. But that just wasn't an option.

I honestly think she saw her age and the pill on nites and had a reaction. She initially told me DD was too young for sex, when I explained it was for heavy periods she still said she was too young and just had to learn to manage.

It's the complete lack of any medical reason which is so frustrating. If she had concerns over higher blood pressure, or some new research I could understand that but it really is just based on age and personal opinion

It’s outrageous that a child should be denied a medically necessary medication because a HCP has made some nonsense, moral judgement. I would not accept this, OP.

Can’t you go back to your original GP who prescribed it for you and ask for it again ? Or explore alternative pills with the the GP and come up with a plan of treatment together, and/or referral to paediatrics if needed.
a pharmacist won’t be able to issue contraceptives to a 13 year old you need a Doctor.

It’s an individual assessment for the pill at this age really, with a few different factors.

Medically speaking there are risk of side effects like blood clots I know are a side effect of my pill, I think that is the case for all combined pills, doctors tend to be more cautious about that and so don’t like to prescribe for younger patients. It wasn’t an issue when I was 13 and started mine but I do know that since then more research has been done and so they are now more cautious. They also consider whether your periods have properly established yet, they don’t like to prescribe a pill that basically changes and sets your “cycle” until they are established because if nothing else the pill masks the symptoms of bigger problems like PCOS.

The one I suspect your GP will argue under though is safeguarding. At 13 the GP has to consider ethically and legally whether the patient is being pressured or even whether they fully understand the treatment, it may be that at 13 and with autism the GP does not feel confident of that and if that is the case they are within their rights to refuse really.

If there was any medical reason they would have told the OP.

According to the OP, the only reason they have given is that she is too young.

Please complain
Judgey nurse needs to get back in her lane
I say this as a nurse of 25 plus years
(The conscience clause in nmc code of conduct only applies to abortion and ivf afaia)
Also I was late diagnosed as autistic in my 40s and had an ED in my teens / early twenties
The trigger?
The sensory hell that was periods
The mess
The smell
The worry of being caught out
Of having to carry pads
I had done in science class that periods can stop if you become underweight
So that's what I did

The nurse should have been clear for her reasoning and explained it clearly, ideally showing you evidence to support her decision:

Is she taking other medications and its contraindicated?
Does she have other health issues such as migraines/headaches/high BP/strong family history of stroke/heart issues/DVT?
Is that particular contraceptive only licensed for say over 16yrs and prescribing to a 13yr old would be off licence?

I too was going to suggest a family planning clinic, often connected to sexual health clinic. I worked in one (in England) many years ago and they used to run specific under 18yrs clinics. You'd often see a gynaecologist or a nurse specialist. I always found they have far more knowledge of current guidance and options to try. Ours was a walk in service but you could ring beforehand to see if yours does offer appointments or depending on your DD needs, a quieter time to visit.

You haven't said if she is taking a daily pill or using a different contraceptive device. IF she is on a daily pill and has trouble remembering it, there is a contraceptive patch, which stays on for a week. It may not be the same as whatever she is on, but these are things a family planning team could discuss.

Agree with pp, ridiculous attitude, spiteful woman. I'd ask for an appointment with a GP rather than the nurse to discuss it properly and if that didn't work, complain. DD was on the pill at 13 for periods and acne; she got a pcos diagnosis a year later.