Heavy periods- acids vs pill

[JaneR0chester]

My 15 yr old DD has been taking tranexamic and mefenamic acids for 4 months to try to lessen the volume and pain of her heavy periods.

However even taking both of these, she is still bleeding for 8 or 9 days each cycle, and in a lot of pain (GP says she could take paracetamol on top of the mefenamic acid for pain relief).

DD is resigned to being in pain before (cramping pains for 3 days usually before her period begins) and during her period, she thinks it's normal, poor thing.

How much longer should she persevere with these medications before she should try the pill?

There's no endo in the family AFAIK, but an aunt of hers does have PCOS... would that be of concern at all for my DD?

I would try the pill now, horrible to be suffering so much. There are better painkillers than mefanamic acid on prescription. I had similar when younger, I think the tablets I take aren’t licensed in children but the GP started them after my ending up in A&E on quite a few occasions after passing out from pain. Ended up needing pethidine and IM buscopan to get on top of it. The preventative tablets have been marvellous. No cause was ever found, just sensitive to prostaglandins I guess.
Might be worth asking for a gynaecologist referral, definitely do so if the pill doesn’t help ease it.

I went on the cocp at 15 for horrible periods, best thing I ever did until migraines stopped me, then had to endure a mirena fitting but that gave me 5 blissful period free and pain free years.

Seriously periods like that are not natural or good for you (naturally we would be pregnant or breastfeeding most of our reproductive lives and modern women have earlier menarche and later menopause than our ancestral or Hunter-gatherer counterparts) - she should go on the pill if she can or if there is no contraindications - it is more natural than having periods like that.

And fwiw mefanamic acid gave me a stomach ulcer on my early twenties.

Poor girl. Definitekyvtake her back to the GP, she shouldn’t have to endure periods that painful. It might also be worth asking the GP to test for Anaemia if her periods are that long too.

Go back to GP. They clearly aren't working and your DD shouldn't have to be resigned to it.

What about iburfen together with paracetamol?

No, ibuprofen and paracetamol was what she been taking before the acids - they weren't very effective, hence GP and the acids. DD is receptive to going back to the GP to discuss the pill, she's fed up of the pain.

I've never taken the pill myself and cannot advise her, how many different kinds are there?! Will she have to take something everyday? I worry that she'll forget to keep track...

There are lots of types of pill - her GP will have done this type of consultation many many times.

At 15 it is starting to be her responsibility to take the meds - they are her periods after all. Easiest way not to forget is to put the packet somewhere that jogs your memory - next to toothbrush for example.

Not to put too fine a point on it, there will be a lot of 15 year olds on it for contraception and remembering the tablets by themselves, possibly without their parents knowing.