Absolute best tips for period pain for a 13yr old

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DD is 13 and started her periods 3 years ago. They're quite painful and she is prone to fainting on day one. She's fainted at school, at home and - memorably - at Disneyland during her very first period.

Today is day 1 and instead of fainting, she's been quite sick, writhing in pain and very unhappy. I phoned 111 who were actually brilliant. A very lovely female GP went through lots of things and DD is calmer and has finally kept down ibuprofen and paracetamol. The two together seem to have taken the edge off. The GP says that we might want to explore mefanemic acid but I know this has its downsides. She also agreed that birth control at 13 when it's only very bad for 1 day out of 33ish, is probably not advisable just yet but can be revisited down the line.

I'm fortunate in that some painkillers, exercise, and a hot water bottle manages any pain I experience. DD is a stoic, capable young woman and it's clear that she's really suffering so all and any advice would be happily received.

I don't have personal experience but didn't want to read and run. I know endometriosis and other conditions can cause this level of period pain. It's certainly not 'normal' and DD doesn't have to stoically put up with it. Emma Barnett wrote a book last year called Period which educated me about this issue, maybe worth a read b
Hopefully someone will be along soon with first hand experience.

Take the ibuprofen at the first twinge of pain. Once the period pains and muscle spasms ncrease, the bowel tissue does not absorb it as effectively so it takes a lot longer to kick in. Set a timer and take another dose 4 hours later, again before the pain increases. Stick to the maximum dose per day however.

This is the only thing that has made my periods bearable. I have been sick, fainted etc in the past but this makes the pains minimal.

A kind doctor gave me this tip. I was already in my 40s after 25 years of awful periods.

I think I would pursue more investigations. It doesn't sound like normal pain.

I tend to have one bad day and pmt. But an overhaul of my diet has had more effect than anything else. But I doubt that's the answer for your daughter.

Magnesium every day, heat patches can be used when you can't use a hot water bottle, Buscopan for cramps.

Early periods are often anovulatory and therefore more painful. It absolutely does not mean there is something wrong and they will likely settle with age. I agree with the regular ibuprofen suggestion.

It's not normally this bad and she manages it with ibuprofen but I'm wondering if low mood and sleeping poorly (lots going on for her right now) have just made for a bad day today. She's feeling much better right now as the drugs are not being brought up. I think we just need to carefully manage it so she doesn't get to that point of pain. It's also been harder today because she's at school and can't get up, walk round, go to the loo, lie down - school know she faints, she's done it before and she needs 20 minutes complete rest until the feeling passes. She's in the library with one other child on a laptop for 6hrs and not able to excuse herself.

She has EDS so is more prone to painful periods apparently. And it is only day 1, it then eases off. It's thankfully not heavy either.

I am very careful to make sure she knows that we can see the GP again, take other steps etc but she assesses it as manageable and has asked to stick with things as is.

I'd just like some more advice as I'm lucky not to suffer.

The GP did say that at her age, pain can be quite bad while she's maturing and that today might just be a perfect storm. She is a bit worried that this is some new normal.

Good idea about starting the ibuprofen slightly earlier. She does tend to wait until it's really uncomfortable.

I think we have buscopan too. DH has IBS and I'm pretty sure it's in his arsenal.

My periods were extremely painful like this and I did vomit and faint from the pain too. It was also always just on the first day. I had days off school, had to miss things etc as I couldn't cope. Taking painkillers at the soonest inkling of pain will help as well as a hot water bottle. Unfortunately the only thing that really stopped it was going on the pill for a few years. When I reached my twenties and came off the pill the pain had become more manageable and paracetamol was enough. I am now in my thirties and weirdly since giving birth I experience no pain whatsoever.

I'm sorry your daughter is suffering like this.

I too started my periods at 10 and they were painful and heavy from the beginning. The embarrassment of leaking through pads in school etc all haunt me. Heat pads stuck to the insides of my knickers, paracetamol and ibuprofen and hot water bottle at home all helped to some degree.

I was put on the pill at 13 and it did work. The cramps were less painful and my periods were less heavy, although I understand it needs a lot of thought and looking into due to side effects.

Now I'm 28 and have had 3 surgeries for Endometriosis. If it carries on through her teen years I definitely recommend her seeing a specialist.

How old were you when you went on the pill @butterflycatcher?

Thank you @dreams1990 that does sound awful. I won't let it just be her normal to experience pain affecting her normal life. If she can find a way to manage that one day then that would be brilliant but I'm open to pursuing other avenues. She has managed before. The fainting is not pain related BTW. She usually not in pain when it happens. They think it's to do with her blood pressure.

I had exactly this issue at her age, severe pain every month and fainting.

I'm sorry but the only thing that stopped it for me was going on the pill, and then later on having the contraceptive implant.

Pain killers just didn't help at all, nor did any of the others suggestions. I used to have to miss school and go to sleep with a hot water bottle on my tummy.

Please don't let the GP fob you off. I was utterly miserable with it all for years.

for your daughter.

Agree with the ibuprofen at the first twinge, don’t wait for it to hurt. And take the paracetamol too. I have found ibuprofen lysine seems to work a bit quicker for me.

I find the microwave wheat bags more effective than a hot water bottle - I think an element of pressure helps the heat feel more effective, and I can’t do that with a squishy hot water bottle. I find it applied between the legs/ sort of sat on it more useful than on my abdomen it is not delicate, but it works.

I used to get terrible periods as a teenager (though I started late, at 14). I used to get a prescription anti inflammatory called Ponstan that I found brilliant. Not sure if it's still available or guidelines re age etc now though

Naproxen works for me but she would need it on prescription as it is OTC for 15+

https://lloydspharmacy.com/products/feminax-ultra-maximum-strength-9-tablets

I'm sorry she's suffering.

GPs are unfortunately not knowledgeable about this. Girls who have 'pain that can be quite bad', if by that the GP means vomiting and fainting, have a really high chance of its being caused by endometriosis, unfortunately.
Recent studies have shown an incidence rate of between 75% and 95% in girls whose pain is resistant to treatment, as your daughter's is. It's by far the most common cause of severe period pain in teenagers. There is also some evidence of an increased risk of endometriosis in girls/women with EDS.

So I'm sorry to say I would push for referral to a specialist centre. Unfortunately, there are risks to just letting it run on undiagnosed.
Please don't underestimate the mental toll of 'just one day'.

@Playdoughcaterpillar, I wouldn't push that opinion. People told me that, and my periods did indeed 'settle with age', yes, because the disease had moved on to its next stage and I have been left with significant and lifelong damage to my bowel and rectal function, including continence problems, as a result, which could have been avoided had I received timely treatment. Future complications of that early neglect are developing for me right now, 20 years after my period pain 'settled with age'. Even these days there are still cases of women getting diagnosed in their late 30s, 25 years after they started getting this type of pain as a 13-year-old. The damage and the complications it can cause later are considerable. I realise all this isn't inevitable for every affected 13-year old, but the statistics speak for themselves and I do feel that taking this line amounts to playing Russian Roulette with a child's future health.

Op I feel your pain for your dd. I had a hysterectomy last year at 39 for endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids after decades of periods that had me fainting, vomiting, unable to speak with pain and now my 13 year old dd is having trouble. We ended up in A&E last month as she was still in agony 9 days after her period started and after she had finished bleeding. At first they thought appendicitis but it wasn't and as she's been having trouble monthly it's being treated as a gynae issue and we're being referred for her to be checked for cysts or even a twisted ovary 😬. I think I'd push for a gynae referral now no matter how good your Gp is they're usually not experts in this area and if I learnt anything from my own situation I wish I had gone a lot sooner. Poor kid, it's awful.

Another vote for ibuprofen straight away. I always found Feminax helped a lot for my daughter as well. She suffered a lot and we got (fobbed off?) told it was normal which I wasn't very happy about but she has steadily got better and now has very little trouble with her periods at all (just turned 15 and has been much better for a year now)

I can't take ibuprofen as it makes me get acid reflux. It's very harsh on the stomach so if she is feeling sick too cocodamol might be better. I have andemyosis so get a lot of pain and clots. I use a heat pad that plugs in. Think it was 25 pounds in amazon.

I'd also say that it doesn't sound normal for her periods to be this bad. So keep on with the gp. For now I'd say she should track her cycle on clue or similar. As for me I really just need to do less on the few day before and at the start of my period. Some of it doesn't apply but I make sure the house is clean and I have shopped for food. So I suppose for her creating a break form school work or whatever. As unfortunately just accepting its awful is going to be part of it for a while.

We don't manage womens health well sometimes do we?

Our usual GP is very good so I will take DD to see her or talk on the phone if they're still not doing face to face. You've actually made a decision for me with these replies. It might be fine and normal but I'd rather check and then it's appropriate to manage it if there's no underlying cause.

DD has a history with painkillers and anesthesia, likely EDS related. She woke up during a general once. It was awful. Pain relief just doesn't seem to have the desired effect.

Yoga.

And painkillers. But daily yoga stretches will really help. Google yoga for pms.

Her cycle is like clockwork so maybe I need to build in some rest in the days before. I know I find things intolerable for a couple of days beforehand and some rest and self care really helps.

Oh poor thing. About waking up under anaesthetic, I mean. I hope you can get a specialist anaesthetist for her next time.

Would you think about getting her referred to a specialist pain clinic?