DD almost 18 and no periods?

[JufusMum]

DD is almost 18, slim, athletic. Tiny boobs just appearing but no sign of periods. We had hormone tests two years ago and all appeared fine.
She’s going to university in September and I’m worried when it starts I won’t be there to help/hand hold.
Any advice gratefully received thank you x

@Oblomov20

I'm assuming she is very underweight. This is really bad. Please ask for a call with the GP ASAP. How you can think this is ok is totally beyond me.

Why don’t you rtft before making stupid comments.

Op, definitely go and see the doctor again. I had two friends, when I was at school, who started late and neither of them was very under or over weight. One of them started at 16 and another during the summer before she started uni. It does happen but it’s best to rule out a medical reason with a visit to the gp.

How tall is she op?

It sounds possible she doesn't have enough body fat to trigger periods.

Will she continue the dancing at university?.

Gruff, Thank you I did read the thread.

She should talk with her GP again, what about boyfriends & sex...she is college age & you expect that she will move away for college so likely that she needs to be prepared. Or she might think she is safe from pregnancy because she hasn't yet had a period?

OP, I wouldn't worry too much about a hand hold at 18/9 yrs... she might just be relieved when it happens. It is more the 12 yr olds need the handhold I imagine.

Was GP very comfortable that things were just delayed last time she was there....or did he say it should be looked at again?

She needs a referral to endocrinologist OP. I say that as a GP

Having been through something similar, I would say she needs to be referred to an endocrinologist.

I would leave her alone. It's up to her to seek advice if and when she feels comfortable.

I would really try and push for her to get another Gp appointment

I don't think she'll need much of a hand hold if she starts when she is 18 so you shouldn't worry about her starting at university.

However, you should definitely talk her into going back to the GP, right away. At a size 6-8 and being very athletic, it may simply be the case that she is lacking body fat and this is the most likely scenerio. However, there are a number of serious medical conditions that can cause delayed puberty and she ought to have tests to rule them out.

Sorry but you might need to consider MRKH.

Many Doctors have little knowledge of it. Its rare.

She’d need to see a consultant and have a CT or MRI scan.

Sadly my daughter has it, we didn’t find out until she was 15/6 for same reasons.

It is very unusual to not have periods at 18 and for there not to be a medical cause. Low oestrogen might contribute to poor bone health so it is crucial to clarify the cause.Bones can' t be strengthened in later life so find out now and act accordingly.
She should 'see' her GP again for a conversation, blood tests and possibly a scan. It is very important for her long term health

I have a friend who didn’t start her periods until she was 18. She was very thin. She actually lost her virginity before her periods started (at 17). Nothing was wrong, GP said it was probably due to her very athletic build. Even at knocking on 40 she’s incredibly thin.

She’s definitely not underweight. She had a very slim, tall, athletic build and eats like a beast as I have mentioned. Most of DH family have the same frame.
There is no way she is on any birth control - I would know. We live totally with no bus service so if she needs to go anywhere she has to get a lift with me. She’s never had a boyfriend (just not interested so I wonder if this is all to do with the delayed puberty?)
Thanks for all the all the comments. I will try to convince her to go back to the GP.
And yes she will be continuing dancing at university (she insisted) at a new dance school.

Op, I’m sorry but if she’s “tall” and a size six she’s very defintely under weight.

Bluntness 100 how do you know?
Height wise I’d say she is around 5ft 7/8. As I say I don’t know what she weighs but what I do know is I cannot keep up with the amount she eats! If she’s underweight now then she’d literally have to eat all day to be a “perfect” weight. She eats a lot of protein (muscle food meats etc), lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, grains, pulses etc in fact she puts me to shame her diet is very good (she also lives cooking!) she does have an interest in healthy eating but is also partial to the odd kebab or takeaway curry! Her best friend is anorexic and she has often said to me “Mum I just don’t understand it. BF says she is hungry - if I’m hungry I just eat!”.
DD has had an unusually large appetite all of her life. At the age of six she was putting away big plate specials at Hungry Horse, if we get Dominos she will eat an entire large pizza to herself.
And no she’s not bingeing and making herself sick, we have an open door policy and I’d know.
DH entire family are tall and wiry, so it’s obvious to me that she just takes after them.
But underweight? Maybe “officially “ on the BMI but honestly I don’t know how she could possibly eat anymore than she does!

It's probably genetic if she has an auntie who didn't start till 19.

However it does need to be checked out. I recall years ago reading about the Walton sextuplets; the mum knew from an early age that she would have fertility problems because her periods just never started.

From the sounds of it it sounds like she’s very slim / thin and you keep justifying it with ‘she eats like a house and she’s healthy’. Regardless of what she eats or how much exercise she’s doing - if she’s thin and underweight; she’s thin and underweight.

I would encourage her to see her GP again.

The problem is it will hugely affect her bone strength potential and she may end up being one of the older women who are osteoparotic with rather a hunchback and prone to breaks with any fall 😓. She needs scans and advice to make an informed decision.

Andi2020 I am shocked that your daughter has been waiting a year to see a gynecologist. I am in the USA and for all the bad press we get only 5% of people in our state are uninsured and we have loads of free/reduced fee clinics as well as Planned Parenthood. I can usally get into see a health professional at the gynecologist the same week, two weeks is unusual.

As we all know, periods are closely linked to weight. Only women with healthy body weights are able to have periods.

I find it incredible that you have never weighed your DD, considering she is almost 18 and still not menstruating. Buying a bathroom scale would've been the first thing I did.

You do need to find out her BMI, and you do need to go to a GP. Once she turns 18 you will have no access to her medical facts, and completely cut out of the loop. She will then be able to remain in denial without your input.

She's training a lot though, a lot of dancers/athletes stop having periods due to the stress on the body, I suspect this is the reason

Because a size six is tiny at five foot eight op.

I’d put good money on her being underweight if she was weighed and this is the cause of her having no periods.

I used to be a dancer and I can’t begin to tell you the amount of girls I danced with who would eat the bare minimal/ dance all day and work out constantly/ band down breasts and everything to try and remain stick thin and prevent them from ‘growing’. Absent periods were very common aswell because a lot of the girls were so thin and would even starve themselves to ensure they don’t grow hips or breasts and to ward off periods (because periods meant bloating)