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Original poster

Teenage Girl suffering terrible period pain

57 replies

Yorkshiregirlatheart · 20/04/2014 21:15

Hi
New to MN never used it before so bare with me...
My dd is 15 and has had periods for 5 years now and since she started having them she's sufferer really bad period pain. Really bad cramps till she cries and she has migraines/headaches with them+vomiting and diarrhoea.I regularly give her tablets paracetamols etc.. And hear pads or a hot water bottle. She has time off school because she feels so weak and I'll.I've taken her to the doctors and they recommend tablets etc or the mini pill.i am totally against her using the mini pill or anything alike. So I'm just wondering if there's any doctors/nurses or parents to anybody who have any hints tips on how to relieve he pain that restricts her doing so much every month. Plus she is going to boarding next week (weekly) at pocklington school and I don't want her in pain.
Hints/tips welcome

Some months she misses her periods and other months she light other months she's heavy...

OP posts:
Slipshodsibyl · 20/04/2014 21:22

Listen to your doctor.

Original poster
Yorkshiregirlatheart · 20/04/2014 21:43

Hi
The nurse has said however I'm totally in my right not to have her put on the pill. I'm catholic so don't believe in it.just looking for advice

OP posts:
Mrsfluff · 20/04/2014 21:45

What are your daughter's views on taking the pill? At 15, I would say the decision was hers, not yours.

GotMyGoat · 20/04/2014 21:45

Rather than thinking of the pill as a contraceptive, can you think of it as hormone treatment instead - which is what it is? The reason your doctor thinks it's a good idea is that too much oestrogen may be causing your daughter pain - and so a bit more progesterone in her system will help to solve this.

What does your daughter think?

BerthaBeans · 20/04/2014 21:45

What's your issue with the minipill or similar, why don't you want her to take it? Lots of teenage girls take the pill for period related issues or acne.

GotMyGoat · 20/04/2014 21:46

I went on the pill from 14, without my parents even knowing so make sure you talk to your daughter about her choices about her own body if you want to be included.

HansieLove · 20/04/2014 21:46

Listen to your doctor.

You are making her suffer needlessly.

TwistedMelon · 20/04/2014 21:47

There's not much advice you can get if you won't take medical advice tbh.

The pill will regulate her hormones and hopefully after a while as she gets older they will settle down and her periods will stabilise and get lighter/less painful.

Your pigheaded refusal to let her take the recommended medications is unfair. If you had concerns about the health implications of artificial hormones for teenagers that would be one thing and you could do research and make an informed decision with her, but to pointblank refuse the pill for religious reasons is absurd Hmm

tilbatilba · 20/04/2014 21:47

Agree with Slipshod. After 5 years of observing your dds misery I fail to see why you are not following the medical advice given to you. Paracetamol is clearly not helping her. She needs an anti inflammatory like Ponstan especially for period pain - not sure what brands you have in England but you can buy them over the counter at the pharmacy.

However it does sound like your dds problems are most likely hormone related so she should be on the oral contraceptive as she is too young for an IUD which would also help.It would be absolutely cruel to send her to boarding school without attempting to sort her out.

I can assure you though the first school nurse or doctor/gyanecologist she consults will ensure she has proper medical care and my bet is they will start her on the pill immediately. You better get your head around this and become a bit more informed.

I cannot fathom how you could observe this situation for so many years and given you've had medical advice chosen to see your daughter suffer so miserably because of your own prejudice towards "recommended tablets or the mini pill". There is no need for a young woman today growing up in UK to endure what you have chosen to let your dd endure.

stepmooster · 20/04/2014 21:47

This was me, and it was the pill that sorted me out. Refusing to let her have it is cruel. Think of it as regulating her hormones, and not as contraceptive.

Is your daughter going to thank you for the years of suffering until she is able to get it prescribed herself?

BerthaBeans · 20/04/2014 21:48

But she wouldn't be using it as contraception, which is what Catholics disagreed with, isn't it? Would you deny her a medication if the alternative use wasn't contraception? What does she think? It wouldn't be compromising your beliefs but would be getting your daughter the heath care she needs. Please realise this.

Slipshodsibyl · 20/04/2014 21:48

Yes but there are other medications which can help. In any case, taking a low dose pill for a time isn't forbidden by the Catholic Church is it? The issue is a medical one, nor sexual. They aren't the same at all! How is she going to cope at boarding school if you don't sort this out?

dementedma · 20/04/2014 21:49

Both my dds went on the mini pill as hormone treatment, not as contraceptives. Dd2 suffers horribly with period pains and it helps. We are Catholics. You are being ridiculous and cruel to deny your dd medical help

GotMyGoat · 20/04/2014 21:50

Quite Bertha I mean - do catholics refuse chemotherapy? because I hear that can fuck up your fertility.

BerthaBeans · 20/04/2014 21:51

Stepmooster, to be fair, she could probably go and get it prescribed herself without needing her mum there, or certainly could at 16 in case there were any doubts about her competency now.

IamInvisible · 20/04/2014 21:51

I would have her put on the pill personally. It's her decsion, not yours.

For now, Buscopan cramps can help with the cramping. Ibuprofen with Lysine is fast acting and good for pain! especially migraines. Asda and Wilkinsons do their own for 98p a packet.

Your GP could prescribe Mefenamic acid which can be really effective for period pain.

Theas18 · 20/04/2014 21:52

Sorry? You are catholic so you are happy for her not to have effective treatment for her severe period problems? So she can suffer.

Dare I say that is a really odd interpretation of Catholicism and contraception .

If she ain't using it as a contraceptive why should she not have the pill to actually sort out her medical issues.

You sound like you think she'll leap into sex as doing as you allow her to have the pill.... Have faith in her upbringing that she won't, and, after all at 15 she is Fraser competent to choose the pill without your agreement....( and if its seriously affecting her life at boarding school she'll see the Gp there and you will only be told if she says you can be told).

OliviaBenson · 20/04/2014 21:53

I suffered from similar symptoms- I used to dread my period, I was so poorly. I tried all the drugs from the drs and none of them helped. Then I went on the pill and it was magical- my symptoms cleared up and I could lead a normal life when I was on. Please please do not close your mind to the pill.

Mushypeasandchipstogo · 20/04/2014 21:54

Your daughter should decide if she wants to go on the pill or not. Your are being cruel not to allow her to do so. Would you really prefer her to suffer every month?

Notmadeofrib · 20/04/2014 21:55

Mefanamic acid was the answer to my prayers when I suffered terrible periods. Ask about that.

However all said and done you're missing the point with the pill.

tilbatilba · 20/04/2014 21:57

Sorry, there was a delay in my post sending. I hadn't seen yours Yorkshire girl saying you were objecting on religious grounds.

Yes of course you are "within your rights". Wonder how your dd will feel when she realises how simply her situation can be resolved by correcting her probable hormone imbalance by being on the pill.

I thought the pill was only evil if used to prevent pregnancy. If she is using it so she can enjoy the remainder her childhood fully and healthily do you think it would be acceptable?

Re read the description you gave us of the 1/3rd of your dd's life. Why don't you go and talk to your priest instead of the gynaecologist - he might knock some sense into you.

stepmooster · 20/04/2014 21:57

She's been suffering since she was 10.

She may not know she can get it herself yet.

When she does get it, she will see it works and probably not thank her mother for the suffering she's been enduring.

Shroomboom · 20/04/2014 21:58

I suffered from terrible period pains in my teens and early twenties. I couldn't escape from the pain and it would make me vomit too. My doctor was hopeless and didn't suggest anything other than paracetamol which didn't even take the edge off.
I found out a few years ago that I have endometriosis. I have no way of knowing for sure but I suspect it was behind the painful periods. The pill is used to help control the endometriosis - obviously you don't know if this is what your daughter has but it's presumably a possibility. It might be worth her trying the pill to see if it helps? My gynae has recently told me that there is a pill that's good for endo and it's called Louise. Might be worth asking your doctor for his/her opinion? I hope you manage to find something to help her, that pain is horrendous Sad
PS I'm not sure whether it's available in the UK (I'm in Belgium) but the only tablet I've found that helps the pain even now is Cataflam. It's an anti-inflammatory and helps reduce the muscle spasms. It's definitely worth enquiring about...

stepmooster · 20/04/2014 22:00

Mefenamic acid is that the one you start taking 3 days before your period? I only wished I knew when that was. The pill not only made them more bearable but I knew when they would take place.

Longtalljosie · 20/04/2014 22:00

I badly fucked up a university interview because I was in terrible pain from my period. Think about what the next few years bring for your DD and trust her not to use a medication that regulates her hormones as a contraception. If she's not having sex, what difference does it make?

I agree with the previous poster who also recommended Mefenamic Acid (Ponstan). She needs to start taking it a few days before her period is due, not just after the pain starts (it's far less effective that way)