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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

Advice on period pain relief as 15yo thinks going on the pill is the answer

38 replies

Flossiefoo · 26/08/2019 23:55

DD has just asked if she can go on the pill as she gets one really bad day of pains a month. Some months are worse than others.
She currently takes Feminax and other over the counter pain relief meds but sometimes they don't help much. She can get an upset tummy too and sometines has been sick. She's had an ultrasound on her ovaries and all OK.

I am worried about jumping into this before we have investigated fully other options as I worry about the long term effect of going on the pill at such a young age and also the side affects.
DD says she's done some research and has spoken to older cousin as I think she went on the pill at a young age but is now 26.

My concern is she wants to go on the pill for other reasons. She has a bf but they do not see each other out of school as he lives a distance away but he is 16. I don't know whether it's a 'I am grown up' type of decision but they do not have the opportunity to be intimate.

I would really like to look at other pain relief options so any suggestions or advice welcome.

OP posts:

happytoday73 · 27/08/2019 17:04

I too went on the pill at 15 to help with horrendous heavy & painful periods and associated migraines..my mum was not keen.. . It really helped and didn't affect when I slept with someone for the first time.

Now in my 40s I've had to go on the depo injection because after 2-3years of no pill or pregnancy my body reverted to form and I got horrible periods and even worse migraines. Problem resolved again.

Obviously you know your daughter better than any of us however if it was my daughter I would be pushing for her to find a pill that suits her.

squee123 · 27/08/2019 17:08

I went on the pill at 14 for horrendous acne and period pain that used to leave me curled up on the bathroom floor. It was life changing for me. Didn't have sex until I was nearly 17.

sweetkitty · 27/08/2019 17:11

I went on the pill at 16 for crippling periods pains, wasn’t sexually active until 19 though. DD1 is 15 has a boyfriend and has asked a few times as she is getting quite painful periods, I have asked if that’s all she wants it for and she’s said yes they are too scared to do anything and she would tell me. Not too sure about that one. DD2 who is 13 hates her periods too, they both keep asking about the mini-pill I’m on as I don’t get periods at all now, I think they envy me.

JuniperOakPark · 28/08/2019 15:21

I was prescribed the pill at 16 due to horrific period pains, came off it at 26 due to high blood pressure. It was fab whilst I was taking it because it was masking all my endometriosis symptoms which now that I have actually experienced labour, felt like labour. The cysts showed up the scan but the actual endo deposits didn't. So she may have endo.

I do use a TENs machine which has been a life saver, think it was £60 on Amazon, 2 channel so I can use 4 pads which means I can put 2 on the front of me and two on my back, I can do back/back together on one channel (and therefore front/front) or front/back on one channel for a different feel to the pain relief. The alternative is co-codomol which I hate taking as it makes me slurry and zombie like.

But I would definitely encourage her to try the pill and if it helps then go for the implant so she doesn't have to remember to take it. Remove the boyfriend from the equation she needs this for her period pain. If it is endometriosis then the first step is usually the combined pill.

SapatSea · 29/08/2019 16:02

Naproxen is a stronger painkiller. GP can precribe or you can buy Feminax ultra which has a low dose of it. The GP can also advise on an anti nausea medication to take alongside. I used to take buscopan along with ibuprofen as it can help with period pain

SansaSnark · 29/08/2019 18:30

I had bad periods in my teens, and going on the pill did help. It also helped that I could run packets back to back, so I didn't have to have a period e.g. during my exams!

I've never been good at taking strong pain killers- they often make me vomit.

Now I'm older, my periods are definitely not as bad as they were at 16, and I don't take the pill for this reason and use non-hormonal contraception, so starting the pill now doesn't mean she will be on it for the rest of her life forever!

Not everyone gets side effects, and you can try different brands until you find one without problematic side effects for you!

And if there's a chance of her having sex, being on contraception is a good idea!

RosaWaiting · 29/08/2019 18:32

I went on the pill as a teen because of a boyfriend but if I’d been told how much it would improve periods, Id have done it earlier. Very good plan for her.

Shockers · 29/08/2019 18:34

Magnesium helps a lot.

EskewedBeef · 29/08/2019 18:37

I went on the pill at 16 for this reason. I had to hide it from my mum because she was an awful puritan, but my GP was very kind and understanding. The fact was I didn't have sex until I was away at university, so don't convince yourself she'll feel the need to go out shagging just because she's unlikely to get pregnant.

awesmum · 29/08/2019 18:39

Long term affects - I am in my 40's I went on the pill at 15 due to horrendous period pains. It didn't make go off and have sex, I did have a boyfriend. I have had 4 children, no side affects.

Newgirls · 29/08/2019 18:40

I don’t want to freak you out but this was me at that age. In the end I went behind my parents back so I think maybe go along with her idea and be pleased she feels able to talk to you x

Lalalalalalalalaland · 29/08/2019 18:47

I was a preteen when i went on the pill. I started periods at 9 and had the most crippling period pains.

They really did help

KTD27 · 29/08/2019 19:01

Ahhh you sound like my mum.

I had crippling pains, from 13 onwards, vomited for the first two days of every period and couldn’t keep paracetamol down never mind anything else. She was ultra weird about me going on the pill. It has a lot to do with a messed up religious upbringing and total fear of ‘side effects’ even though she couldn’t verbalise what that was. (Sex I think but funnily enough that’s not a side effect of the pill) we argued and fought over it and it made me so so unhappy I was in so much pain and it could have been stopped.
Anyway. I went on the pill as soon as I could - upon starting uni - and it changed my life. I stopped it a few years later and have found my periods eased up the older I’ve become (and after having babies) oh and as for the sex that had been happening without the pill anyway so it would have been much more responsible had I had a back up form of contraception going on.

Ask yourself really deep down what it is that worries you. If it’s sex with the boyfriend ask yourself why. I sense you probably have some things to work through as the mother to a young woman and if you don’t get your issues sorted you may well fracture your relationship

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