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Teenagers

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

13 year old dd falling asleep in lessons

128 replies

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:44

Unsure if I should post in health. Dd2 is in year 8. Her teacher has spoken to her today very kindly about her falling asleep in lessons and encouraged her to talk to me about getting her checked for anemia.

We already have bloods booked end of the month. Gp booked then after prescribing her the contraceptive pill got awful heavy and painful periods. we are 3 weeks in to that. We have had a paediatrician for about 3 years as she has diagnosed IBS and she is medicated for that. We have an appointment coming up so I will be reporting this and asking for help.

She goes to bed around 10 and gets up at 6. She leaves the house for the school bus at 7.15 so not much I can do about that.

This started about a year ago and her teacher is right it’s got much worse. I feel a bit scared now. She is very active, does 4 hours of dance a week which she loves. She is lean and muscly. She snacks like all teens but she eats meat and 2 veg type meals most days. She has a packed lunch because I don’t want her eating friend beige food at school.
When she goes to bed she usually goes straight to sleep. She rarely wakes in the night.
i am panicking as she loves school and gets on with most teachers but she is clearly struggling.
Im worried she doesn’t eat v much at school so we have agreed to much more snacks - friend fruit and nuts etc and some flapjack to try and keep her energy up.

only iced coffee at weekends never on a school day and no pop as a rule just occasionally.

dd1 has never fallen asleep at school and has normal periods and none of these challenges and I feel a bit lost. Dd1 looked a bit tired during her exams but she’s radiant again now.

I don’t even know if the tiredness is linked to the heavy periods and the IBS I feel clueless

OP posts:
paleyellowbrick · 03/07/2026 22:46

Would she go to bed an hour earlier and see if that helps ?

Tel12 · 03/07/2026 22:48

I'd say in the interim she should be getting more sleep. Going to bed at 9 say on a school night. Does she have a phone in her room? If so I would remove it for the time being.

PurpleLovecats · 03/07/2026 22:48

I agree with bed at 9 in the week.

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:52

Thanks I have told her we need to really work on squeezing more sleep in. I’m already strict that she eats dinner around 6 because of digestive issues.

she seems so exhausted by the end of the week something has really shifted since Easter and got worse.

phone is in her room but she’s not on it she’s flat out soon as I say goodnight

OP posts:
Thawtfulpanda · 03/07/2026 22:54

Ibs and tiredness. I'd want a celiac test I think.

TinselAngel · 03/07/2026 22:54

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:52

Thanks I have told her we need to really work on squeezing more sleep in. I’m already strict that she eats dinner around 6 because of digestive issues.

she seems so exhausted by the end of the week something has really shifted since Easter and got worse.

phone is in her room but she’s not on it she’s flat out soon as I say goodnight

Are you really sure she’s not on her phone?

Generallychill · 03/07/2026 22:55

I agree with going to bed earlier, my ds 13 goes to bed at half 9 sometimes earlier as hes tired after all his practices in the week. And is it possible to cut dance down even an hour to see if that makes a difference till you get the blood results back.

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:56

@TinselAngelyes I can go in her room and put stuff away she’s fast asleep. At this point I will try anything but I don’t think she would fuss if I took it at bedtime

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anothernewname6789998212 · 03/07/2026 22:57

I’m no dr but my ferritin became very low as a result of heavy periods and I’ve never felt tiredness like it.

ChaosDreamV2 · 03/07/2026 22:59

My DD14 has terribly heavy periods. She’s been using the pill for around a year. She was struggling to stay awake and falling asleep after school which then impacted on her nights sleep.
Bloods showed her iron was low. Since she’s been prescribed iron and tranexamic acid she’s like a different kid. She feels she has much more energy and her sleep is back on track 🤩

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:59

@Generallychillit’s her show in Aug then she will have a big break over the summer. I can see Friday class falling away but not the rest. She is up on her points and it took a lot of work to get there!

Shes had the coeliac test already and a few more and an ultra sound and all sorts for her digestive stuff. The way she can react to non gluten free oats really worries me though and I won’t give them to her but other floury things seem much less reactive.

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TinselAngel · 03/07/2026 22:59

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 22:56

@TinselAngelyes I can go in her room and put stuff away she’s fast asleep. At this point I will try anything but I don’t think she would fuss if I took it at bedtime

Try taking it away just to eliminate the possibility.

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:01

@ChaosDreamV2thank you this helps a lot. Gp can’t prescribe the trans acid as dd uses naproxen but your post makes me feel like I’m not going mad!

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ReluctantSwimMum · 03/07/2026 23:01

She has a double whammy of low iron absorption from the IBS (is it coeliac or crohns?) and the heavy periods. It does sound like low iron is causing the tiredness. Can't the blood test be sooner than the end of the month?

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:02

@anothernewname6789998212would this be in the standard blood panel? It’s not until end of the month so I can speak to gp before that

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ReluctantSwimMum · 03/07/2026 23:04

@ReflectiveGilet @ChaosDreamV2 How did your daughter's react to the pill as a solution for heavy periods? We are considering it for the same reasons but I am worried about rubbish hormonal side effects for young teen.

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:04

@ReluctantSwimMumits not coeliac or crowns that was the other tweet she had I forgot the name of it.
im calling gp on Monday im even more worried now

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ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:05

@ReluctantSwimMumshrs only been taking the pill 3 weeks so I’m not sure. She’s worried about weight gain though. I should have asked for it a year ago but gp thought naproxen would help with the ibs and period pain and wanted to try that first. He’s right it helped loads but she was still bleeding through everything and exhausted.

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Hayley1256 · 03/07/2026 23:07

Why is she using naproxen (tiredness and
fatigue are a very common side effect)? What are her iron levels like? Is she taking any multi vitamins?

Edited as I saw the update about naproxen, how often is she using this? I would try and stock to ibuprofen and paracetamol for pain relief and save the naproxen for when really needed (if you aren't already). I only say this as every time I've taken it I've really struggled with my energy levels

ChaosDreamV2 · 03/07/2026 23:11

@ReluctantSwimMumfor my DD it has been a godsend. She started her period around 10y so v young. She bled through clothing regularly, was dizzy, disoriented, sleepy, had awful cramps. Her skin wasn’t great which upset her and her mood was swinging between rage and tears. We agreed she could try it for a while to see how she got on and just over a year later she’s still using it but has switched to a different brand which seems to suit her better.

I have to say I was a bit reluctant initially, but it works well for her for now

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:15

@Hayley1256she takes it for period pain so usually the first 3/4 days of her period which can be god awful. It flares her ibs too. Period stuff got so bad she was having days off school which was back to square one just like the ibs.

Year 5 was the worst for ibs. She was sent home from school loads and when I picked her up I could tell from a distance she was struggling because her face was grey and she would cry as soon as she saw me. I think we are heading back there and it’s really scary.

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merrymelody · 03/07/2026 23:17

It could be narcolepsy.

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:17

No vitamins at the moment but I’ve told her she’s straight back on them and I’ve bought her some Berocca too

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Hayley1256 · 03/07/2026 23:23

That sounds really hard for her! I don't know if this will help but on my twenties I had a phase where I was really struggling with energy levels, I got a multivitamin that included iron (I think it was a well woman one) and it really helped within a few weeks.

My DP is vitamin obsessed and it won't let me but berroca, one of his fave ones is applied nutrition hydration powder - it doesn't have any rubbish in it

ReflectiveGilet · 03/07/2026 23:27

@Hayley1256thanks I’ve just saved that on Amazon. Dd2 will take electrolytes so we will consider that

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