12 yo DN given pill by GP for periods

[Griefmonster]

DNiece - cared for by family member not her DParents - has requested and been prescribed pill for her periods. She started her period 9months ago and seems to have a fairly regular although heavy and long periods - lasting around 8-10days. I know she is finding the periods very disruptive and hard to manage (worried about leaking etc) but I also worry it is very early to be given hormone treatment.

Does this sound like a usual step for a GP to approve? It is the first time she has gone to GP with this issue. She seems to have had an idea what she wanted and GP has agreed.

Family member doesn't seem to want to question it. We are certain there is no sexual activity so it's not that aspect that is troubling - more the immediate response to just stop her period when it feels she has so much to figure out about her body. Any thoughts? (It's a delicate situation with her care - I'm not technically involved but then neither is family member who went with her to GP - although they had agreement from legal guardian)

I did the same at that age- sport related and it was always possible to have a period at the time. I can understand the hormone concern, and it would be worth having them discuss that with a GP or pharmacist. There are girls younger and younger starting this now- but they should feel they can address their concerns to the Gp

If she’s Gillick competent and not in any danger then it’s entirely between her and her GP.

Thank you for that. A penny has just dropped for me. It may be sport related for her too. It may well be discussion at her club with older girls. I'll read up a bit more on the one she's been prescribed and see if an opportunity comes up for a gently chat about how to find out more info. Thanks again!

It’s a reasonable course of action.

First line for me would be to prescribe tranexamic acid but if that doesn’t work then back to back combined oral contraceptive pills works very well.

No reason why she shouldn’t have access to effective treatment just because of her age.

It’s not usual as a first step.

Dd is a dancer and attended vocational school so basically lived in a leotard. Her periods caused her to faint to the extent she wasn’t allowed to the toilets alone at school and she flooded regularly.

The GP put her on mefanamic acid. He said the pill was an option but he preferred not to put young girls straight on it due to possible side effects until other medication had been tried first.

Thanks for that Ikea - it's not so much her age as the length of time she's had her period. Is 9months enough time for your cycle to settle down? And would pill disrupt that settling period? (If there is such a thing!)

I always work on the “if you’re old enough to bleed you’re old enough to manipulate that bleed” theory. Is she’d started late at 15/16 would you feel similarly? Heavy periods at aged 12 are utterly miserable

DD was 13 and really struggling with ten day bleeds. Her skin was bad too and the GP prescribed the pill straight away. She was only given three months worth iirc and had all her BP and everything checked before getting a repeat prescription.

She’s fifteen now and it’s made all the difference to her periods and her skin. It’s very normal at 12/13 from what I understand from talking to her friends mothers.

Good question sleepless. I think I feel particularly protective of her because she has been through a lot. But certainly a helpful way to think about it. I'll see if an opportunity comes up to chat to her about her periods. We have done before so it wouldn't be odd. Thanks everyone.

That's reassuring Yippee. Thank you

Your poor niece, having a bunch of her family - none of them her legal guardians - discussing her periods and her confidential medical information.

Even at age 12 people have a right to privacy so unless your niece has approached you directly to discuss this, I think you should mind your own business.

It's fine. I took the same from a young age for heavy/ painful periods. I haven't experienced any ill effects and quickly became pregnant (late 20s) after I'd stopped taking them so no effect on fertility either

While it may be fine for some there may be underlying issues which the pill can hide.

My sister was put on the pill at the same age as your DN, but unfortunately it hid the fact she had PCOS, endometriosis. She ended up having her gall bladder out when she was 25 and the doctors found her organs covered in the endometriosis, cysts on her ovaries and kidney's and ended up with a full hysterectomy at the age of 30.

I would ask for other tests to make sure she doesn't have any other underlying issues.

It’s always worth seeing if things settle down by themselves but 9months of misery is a long enough time to think that it’s not going to get better quickly. That’s not to say that after a few years of using the pill, if she chose to stop, that she would still have troublesome periods. They might be better by then.

In terms of other problems eg PCOS and endometriosis, those are extremely unlikely to be causing a problem now. It is far likelier that the pp’s sister went on to develop those in the intervening years rather than them being the cause of the heavy bleeding initially.

My periods got heavy from 10 or so. PCOS and endo can start that early and the only treatment to protect your fertility is the pill (I didn’t get it and now in my thirties my ovaries are ruined). I presume the GP would have assumed PCOS or endo and provided the treatment as trying to formally diagnose or fix either is too invasive to even attempt on childbearing woman