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dd period pain

30 replies

gihus · 02/08/2010 14:02

not sure if im posting this in the right place but my 13 year old dd has been lying aroud n bed for the past two days with very bad period pain. shes not throwing up or anything but she says the pain is as bad as'labour' (not that shes ever experienced that type of pain lol) shes taken lots of paracetemol and has been lying down a lot and had fruit which i hear helps?

is there anything that can take the edge off the pain every month? should i take her to the doctors or is she just being a usual over dramatic teenage girl?

sorry if message is a bit long!

OP posts:
Goober · 02/08/2010 14:06

Take her to Dr.

I took my 14 yr old last year for same thing, she was prescribed Mefanamic acid and Tranexamic acid tablets. Both are very affective.

BikeRunSki · 02/08/2010 14:11

I don't think she is being over dramatic. I had awful period pain when I was her age, and (having experienced both!) would say it was as bad as labour. Would ruin a week of my life every month. Mum used to get me some over the counter tablets called Feminax, which worked a treat. I wonder if they are still available? It got better as I got older though. Haven;t had a really bad attack since I was about 20 (and I am 39 now!).

1234ThumbWar · 02/08/2010 14:16

I'd take her to the Dr, I used to have terrible period pain so bad I'd often feint until I had dd1. Feminax is great and still available. I found a hot water bottle on my tummy and curling my knees up helped.

One of the best things that helped me over the years was acupuncture.

cocolepew · 02/08/2010 14:18

Hot water bottle or the stick on heat pads will help. Magnesium will help, it relaxs the muscles, she'd need to take it every day

FranSanDisco · 02/08/2010 14:22

I suffered with terrible period pains as a teenager. I would regularly go to the Medical Room and just sleep. I once spent all Christmas Day in bed and couldn't eat any of my turkey dinner . If dd suffers as I did I'd take her to the Doctor. My mum used to just give me a hot water bottle and no painkillers.

Buzzybb · 02/08/2010 14:23

Try nurofen or something with codeine if you have no feminex [feminex are really stong so be careful/aware] as muscle relaxant would help also second the heat pads.
I would say go to a Dr some young girls really suffer and there are solutions out there

gihus · 02/08/2010 14:33

thank you so much for your help! and quick replies i will be trying all of your tips!

OP posts:
tyler80 · 02/08/2010 17:27

I find Ibuprofen much better than Paracetamol based painkillers, start taking them as soon as I get a twinge and then take half the dose twice as often (it's normally 2 pills ever 4 hours, but 1 pill every two works much better for me). Feminax used to give me a really dry mouth for some reason!

The stick on heat pads are great too for when you can't sit with a hot water bottle, the one's designed for backs are cheaper than the ones meant for period pains but are to all intents and purposes identical (I keep meaning to write a whinging letter about it actually )

It is not helpful, to say as my mother did "I never had period pains so don't see why you should" or "you'll grow out of it soon" as the first isn't very sympathetic and the second is untrue

gihus · 03/08/2010 11:23

oh right thanks! i'll get her to take ibuprofen instead and see if that helps! might try feminax too.

haha thanks for the heat pad tip - good luck with your letter ;)

thanks for the advice

OP posts:
sickoftheholidays · 03/08/2010 22:44

feminax isnt the same as it used to be. I lived on the stuff when I was younger, as it contained hyoscine which controled muscle spasm. They have now removed that as an ingredient, and I'm afraid feminax is now just very expensive paracetamol.

Ibuprofen is excellent for period pain IME, much better than paracetamol (or in fact co-codamol or di-hydrocodeine) but the major thing is to try to get something to stop the cramping. your DD has my sympathy, I've suffered since my early teens, and now at 35 it regularly makes me sick, faint, and unable to work even with the painkillers. Its a real nightmare every single month.

LauraNorder · 03/08/2010 22:51

I had terrible period pain as a teenager too. Would have to have time off school/work it was that bad. I would take her to the Dr's.

I was also prescribed mefenamic acid (Ponstan) which took the edge off it for a while but I seemed to become immune over a period of time (no pun intended) and ended up solving the problem by going on the pill.

lucysmum · 03/08/2010 22:53

somebody told me that Bucospan (sp?) - normally for IBS works well - as it has an ingredient to stop cramping. Anyone had any experience of using it for period pain ?

Valpollicella · 03/08/2010 22:56

I had it too. Awful..... Could have seriously (and I mean, seriously) done with gas and air when I was her age. Utter, utter agony.

I found that I would have to take something like Neurofen before it got too bad, otherwise it wouldn't touch it, and I would be in agony for the rest of the day, so please remind her to take somethng at the first twinge, and not let it get bad before doing anything about it.

lucysmum · 03/08/2010 22:57

just googled 'buscopan' and it has same active ingredient that feminax used to have and there is some mention of period pain on their website so may be worth a try

LauraNorder · 03/08/2010 22:59

That's how I tackled it Val - my periods were fairly predictable so I was able to take plenty of painkillers before it started. If I missed it though - OMG agony

Valpollicella · 03/08/2010 23:08

Buscopan is good too. I had that as a script when I had hideous IBS (as well as the period problems, wasn't I just the lucky one!)

But it did help to a degree too

Get her the heat pads too, when they first came out (aabout 9/10 yrs ago)) I thought all my Christmases had come at once...Like wearing a hot water bottle all day...bliss

Laura, I was regular too so that helped that I could also take Brufen or similar from a day beforehand.

Isn't it strange how with any other pain,, painkillers make some difference, but if you're like us, then definately not, if it's already really bad? I wonder why?

AllSheepareWhite · 03/08/2010 23:09

Nice hot water bottle, Magnesium and evening primose/starflower oil supplements are good. Try ibuprofen instead of paracetamol it worked for me and I have been hospitalised several times with very, very bad period pain and dehydration (I would vomit for 6-12 hours on the first day).

Valpollicella · 03/08/2010 23:11

AllSheep, that sounds awful, you poor thing!

tyler80 · 04/08/2010 10:13

It definitely makes a difference if you take the painkillers before it gets too bad, not sure of the biology behind it. Part of my problem when I was a teenager was a reluctance to take painkillers until I was in a lot of pain.

gihus · 04/08/2010 10:36

thank you all for your help! im going to be wiritng this down!

i bought feminax yesterday - bloody expensive for 16 tablets! fingers crossed they work. She went to bed with a hot water bottle when the pain got bad, she said she felt like she was on 'one born every minute'

I'll remind her to take painkillers before it gets too bad next time and may try primrose oil if feminax doesnt work! and maybe buscopan.

good job theres all of these products otherwise i dont know what she'd do!

oh and i'll buy some heat pads too!

thanks again

OP posts:
Vigilanteawarenessraiser · 04/08/2010 11:01

Sorry she's going through this - I think it would be worth asking for a referral to a gynaecologist specialising in endometriosis.
Teenage period pain that is this severe is an important marker for the condition, so it should be investigated.
If it does turn out to have an underlying cause, there are treatments available. Also, it's better to know if she has the illness, as it can cause problems later.

There is a good site for teenagers www.me.school.nz/

deaddei · 04/08/2010 11:09

Encourage her to try and go out for a walk/do some exercise.
DD has just started her periods, and whilst not especially painful, I've told her this can help- it's very easy for them to become drama queens about it and wallow in self pity.
Not being harsh- just remember doing it myself to get time off school/out of doing PE!!! And I still have awful period pains even though I'm menopausal, so not being unsympathetic op. Definitely visit gp as vigilante suggests.

Vigilanteawarenessraiser · 04/08/2010 12:42

Deaddei, I realise you're trying to be helpful - but going for a walk is only likely to be possible if her periods are 'not especially painful' like your DD. If they are as bad as the OP's DD describes, she probably isn't going to be capable of walking.

I feel a little bit sad having read your post, as I went through this too, and it was tremendously, tremendously painful, and it did turn out to have an underlying cause. There is mounting evidence that the proportion of teenage girls with endometriosis is the same as or approaching the proportion of adult women with it - estimates vary from 4-15%, depending on which study you read, and 50-75-ish% of teenagers with severe dysmenorrhoea, also depending on which study you read. That's a lot of teenage girls. But the diagnostic delay is much, much longer in girls who start to have symptoms very young, precisely because people are very ready to put it down to them being 'drama queens' who 'wallow in self-pity', and assume they are doing it to get out of PE. So I do think you're being a little harsh, though I can see you don't mean it, but I think it's worth remember ing that mild or moderate period pains are not the same as severe ones.

I don't see any reason at present to assume that the OP's daughter is putting it on, as what she's saying is pretty standard. And if she is, it's better to assume first that she isn't and rule any possible causes out, because much more damage can be done by assuming she's exaggerating when actually she's not.

This site is useful www.endometriosis.org/teenagers.html
And the presentation on 'Current management of Endometriosis: follow up in teenagers' is useful and gives the diagnostic delay in teenagers as a median of 12.1 years, compared to just over 3 years in women who first get symptoms in their 30s.
www.endometriosiszone.org/display.asp?page=expert_teenagers# (the first link on the list)

lulabellamozerella · 04/08/2010 12:56

I have lots of sympathy for your DD as was in same position myself, made worse by the fact I am allergic to ibuprofen! Definitely go to GP and hot water bottles are very good too! I know its bad for you but if your DD isn't feeling too nauseous then chocolate used to cheer me up a bit! Hope it gets better

Zoonose · 04/08/2010 13:10

Just wanted to add sympathy too for your DD. I was just like this at her age and was not being a drama queen. It was truly awful. Also allergic to ibuprofen. I only found going on the pill helped long term (though I too took feminax and it did help but knocked me out), I had a low dose pill which was not enough to act as a contraceptive but enough to regulate things and I no longer felt that something horrendous was taking control of my body. Good luck to both of you, I remember it vividly and am 33.