Wondering about DD (11.5) vaccine and periods

[LifeInAHamsterWheel]

I'm on the pill and don't get periods ever, for many years (am 48) I've had 3 doses now and after each I had a bleed. My sisters who are younger and not on the pill both had unusually long and heavy periods after their jabs (in fact it put one off getting the booster) Friends have had similar issues. This is all anecdotal obviously but I'm wondering about DD... She's 11.5 and not started periods yet. I'm on the fence about getting her vaccinated. Can anyone tell me, anecdotally of course(!), if your DD got the vaccine did it bring on her first period?

As you’ve said, even if someone’s daughter did get their first period soon after having the vaccine you’d never know if the vaccine ‘brought it on’ though? It could very well just be a coincidence?

But anecdotally no, it didn’t. I also had no changes to my menstrual cycle (dates or length/heaviness) when I had my first two vaccines. I had my booster while pregnant so I can’t comment on that.

Thanks, yes I know it's never going to be a certainty. I was just wondering about other peoples experiences.

Dd 13 not started her periods yet has had both jabs

I can't be certain, but dd1 had her 1st covid jab at school a few days before her 13th birthday.. her 1st period started about a month later. Don't know if its linked or just a coincidence. But after her 2nd jab, she had her period a lot earlier.

I had my period later after both my doses (AZ, dd1 had Pfizer) but early after my booster, which was Pfizer.

I do think there is probably some link somewhere!

You have to weigh up the risk and the benefits.

Personally the risk for me, of having another jab to mess up my periods even further, was greater than the risk of me (a healthy 30 year old, who had had covid pre vaccines) getting covid again.

My periods still haven't returned to normal after my 2nd jab in the summer. So I wouldn't risk your daughter having the same issue.

Fortunately I have had my children and do not need to worry about fertility myself.

@Meredusoleil

I can't be certain, but dd1 had her 1st covid jab at school a few days before her 13th birthday.. her 1st period started about a month later. Don't know if its linked or just a coincidence. But after her 2nd jab, she had her period a lot earlier.

I had my period later after both my doses (AZ, dd1 had Pfizer) but early after my booster, which was Pfizer.

I do think there is probably some link somewhere!

That's the thing though, most girls start their periods around age 12. Most girls have irregular cycles for a couple of years.

Attributing that to a vaccine is not logical - you could equally say her period started because she began having a different cereal for breakfast/she went to paris/the family started a new exercise regime.

Infections don't cause girls to have their first period, so I find it unlikely a vaccine would either. The proposed mechanism for altering established cycles does make sense though.

I have read this at least 3 times before.
You do not need to concern yourself over the vaccine and your daughters non existent period.

Thanks @cheekychaplin good to know I'm not the only person giving it some thought.

www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o142 This is an article from The British Medical Journal (BMJ articles are pretty easy to read, you don't need medical training to follow them).

The link is not purely a rumour but the disruption some women and girls experience is temporary.

Actually other vaccines have been seen in small studies previously to have had similar impact on menstruation, for a significant minority of women, but this is the first large scale vaccination campaign involving big enough numbers of women of childbearing age to have been noticed widely.

I’ve not heard of it triggering the first period but I know lots of women having longer, shorter, lighter, heavier, missed and extra periods. And lots of parents/girls not being keen on having it due to that. I think it’s a valid concern.

DD (12) had vaccine in Nov - didn't affect periods. Getting COVID 6 weeks later does seems to have affected them as now missed a couple. Could be down to a still erratic cycle but they had been fairly regular for 6 months.

Thank you everyone, it's good to get feedback.

Have had changes to my cycle post vaccines. Work in a hospital with lots of other women who report the same issues (anecdotal, I know) . It has put me off having my 11 year old dd vaccinated untill there's some long term data. I've weighed up pros and cons and happy to wait. Seen this the other day which is interesting

www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/02/11/eu-investigates-reports-of-menstrual-disorders-after-mrna-covid-shots.html

I let off getting the vaccine for this reason.

Got first one a week ago and now i am now a couple of days late but experiencing nausea and cramps and bloating far worse than any period I've had . I feel its imminent but I feel pretty rubbish which is unusual. Regretting it tbh.

I won't be giving it to dd2 who's 11 just in case . She's not started yet but I'm reluctant fir this reason. Dd1 (15) was equally concerned about messing with hers.

I’m recovering from covid. My period started 2 weeks early the day after I tested positive and lasted double the length of time it has ever lasted. I am peri menopausal and something about the covid virus made this happen. It was also a month I was due to skip a period based on recent patterns. If either covid itself or the vaccine can temporarily mess up your cycle, then what’s the difference? Has there been any long term effects? Have anyone’s cycles stayed messed up? Is anyone struggling to conceive long term as a result of having one weird period during covid or after a vaccine? I’m not aware of any and personally know 2 women who are now pregnant after having covid just before Christmas.

My DD 13 has had both vaccines plus her booster and still hasn't started her periods so no effect on her. Hope that reassures you.

It's thought that many vaccines will temporarily affect the female cycle. Because most of these vaccines are given in childhood and pre-puberty, there's not much to go on though.

As does stress. And low bmi. And exhaustion. And Flu.

The menstrual cycle is finely tuned and has evolved to only operate when conditions are optimal for pregnancy - otherwise it was a huge waste of scant resources in cavewoman days. It makes sense that it would start early (so pregnancy off the table that month) or be delayed when the body that operates it is busy mounting an immune response to an invader - virus or vaccine. It's a short term evolutionary protection mechanism, and by it's very nature is meant to be short term.

I don't really understand what's wrong with having a late/early (different) period at all.

@cheekychaplin

Women trying to conceive
Women using the rhythm method
Women going on holiday
Women recovering from miscarriage
Flooding through at work (this has NEVER EVER happened to me before and happened after each of my 3 vaccines...)
Masking of other health conditions
Masking of pregnancy
Anaemia
Inconvenience

The list goes on!

@cheekychaplin

I don't really understand what's wrong with having a late/early (different) period at all.

There's a long standing conspiracy narrative of vaccines actually being used as a method of population control (i.e., making people infertile), due to disinformation campaigns by various anti-vaccine groups, pretty much ever since vaccines were used in the general population to help reduce mortality & disability due to infectious disease.

Against this backgroup, any kind of side effect involving the menstrual cycle is going to generate a lot of fear, even though we know this is a usual and temporary response to infection.

It has been seized upon by various disinformation groups - which why you see so many links to false claims about "spike protein in the ovaries"/ fake "biodistribution studies"/miscarriage rates increasing on social media and on forums like MN.