12yo never ending period

[MaverickSnoopy]

My dd has recently started her periods. I know in the beginning they can be irregular but she's currently experiencing a never ending period and I'm not too sure where to go from here.

Since she started, she had a 5 day period and 28 day break. 5 day period and 43 day break. 10 day period and 3 day break. 24 day period with no sign of stopping. The GP has prescribed tablets for them to stop. 3 days in and they're the same.

I'm going to wait until Wednesday and if it's still ongoing, then go back to the GP. However, what do I want to achieve here in terms of action? I've no experience of this and not sure if I'm asking for a different tablet (he said it would be the pill but I'm not thrilled about this due to bullying she's currently experiencing and i know this will exacerbate things) is the right thing to do, or if I should be asking for a referal, or something else entirely.

Hormonal intervention is probably needed and that is most likely some form of the pill. I'm no medical expert but I do know the misery of an unending period and it left unchecked it can make her incredibly miserable and unwell.
There's no reason on earth that anyone else needs to know what medicine she is taking though.

Hi! I’ve experienced this as a teen (I was 15-16 when it was exactly as you describe)

It sounds like she is experiencing “dysfunctional uterine bleeding” which is caused by the absence of ovulation. It wouldn’t be unreasonable or unusual for her to have some ovulation hiccups as things are just getting going.

The first half of the cycle (proliferation phase) is estrogen driven and the uterine lining grows thick and well supplied with blood vessels.

Ordinarily, ovulation then happens and the left over follicle in the ovary turns into the corpus luteum and that produces progesterone for around two weeks. (Secretory phase). The progesterone running out is what signals a proper period.

Without ovulation there is no progesterone, so essentially you just get endless estrogen building the lining up until parts of it start to break up or break away randomly while some parts are still growing. This is why you end up with random length bleeds that seem like a period and the gap between them could be three days or it could be 3 months 🙃

Tranexamic acid never did anything to help reduce bleeding for me.
Norethisterone was what they gave me at 15 and it didn’t really work, slowed it down maybe.
It makes sense that it might not work as expected if there is a buildup of lining to blame for the problem.

For me the answer was to go on the pill, Microgynon 30 made all of my problems go away at least while I was on them 👌

For your daughter it is a reasonable treatment to try; endless and unpredictable periods are physically draining and mentally extremely stressful. But you will definitely want to plan for her to go on them with the intention of coming off after 6-12 months to see if the problem has resolved. 👏

(I turned out to have a problem making LH so I never ovulated and always had DUB if not medicated - it took me till my 30’s to unravel all of this so I’m sharing now for anyone reading to avoid that same struggle) xx

You can ask for a referral to a gynaecologist (who specialises in peadiatrics); however, unless you can afford to go private you could be waiting up to a year.But I am not sure they would do a lot.

They could send her for an ultrasound but they can’t see much with one on the stomach and would be reluctant to do trans vaginal.

They could do blood tests to check hornone levels (and check nothing unusual).

Has she any other symptoms (bloating, pain etc which make you concerned?

Why would anyone need to know if she went on the pill - re comments on bullying?

I would take the prescription for the pill (she can take back to back to give her a break from her periods). Ask for a referral (on basis if she gets on well with pill you can always cancel appointment in few months, but you are on list).

Thanks all, that's so helpful. I'm possibly overthinking re the pill. Backstory is she's undiagnosed adhd and asd and has been on the camhs waiting list for a year for depression and severe anxiety. She's had suicidal thoughts and self harms also, as well as restricting food. GP is involved and I've had many calls with camhs in the interim. She tells her friends EVERYTHING. The trouble being that they fall out routinely (weekly if not daily) and tell all her secrets. A lot of it verges on bullying and some of it certainly is with her having been pushed over and secrets and rumours being spread and being told to kill herself. It's a vicious cycle and I'm often having to drag her to school and have meetings with her pastoral worker. There is no way she would keep it to herself, she doesn't have the capability. Even if I didn't tell her what it was, her and her friends would work it out. I also have some concerns as to how the hormones might impact her very fragile mental health.

Other symptoms are debilitating pain which leaves her bed bound (but GP has prescribed something for that which helps sometimes - she's not in awful pain all of the time either). She's suffered with cramps for about a year before starting her period.

They tried all the pills for me and not one single one worked not even the rod one it made it even worse

If she's just started her periods then this can be normal. I bled for 2 weeks every period when I was around that age. Hopefully the bleeding and pain will calm down as she gets older. Doctors probably won't intervene for now unless her periods are heavy (they'll prescribe her tranexamic acid).

Unfortunately it got worse for me and only now, in my 20s, have I finally been referred to gynae for suspected endo. My cramps are as severe as childbirth and the severe blood loss is concerning. Hopefully your daughter grows out of this!

This has happened to both my DD’s, dd1 bled for a couple months before gp gave her something to stop it, since then she’s been fine. My youngest daughter has PCOS and sometimes bleeds for a long time or has 2 periods back to back, other times she goes 3 or 4 months with no period.

Do take her back to the GP and ask for something to stop the bleeding, my dd had pills that she had to take for a month, then bleed at the end (like the pill), it seemed to sort her periods out after that.

I had a period that went on forever when I was about 13 or 14. Never told anyone because I was scared/embarrassed. Must've been ongoing for at LEAST a year, if not longer. It eventually regulated of its own accord.

Hi op I’ve just came across your thread. My dd is also 12, 13 in February and is on the contraceptive pill Desogestrel to completely stop her periods for different reasons but it has been fantastic for her ( and us! ) and I would definitely look into it.

my dd started her periods at 10 and was well informed and we talked about it etc etc for a while before it happened but when it did she completely fell apart and was hysterical ( diagnosed last month with autism and currently being assessed for ADHD which I also have ) as she couldn’t handle the change. No pain or heavy bleeding but they were long and all over the place and she refused to leave the house which impacted on school etc.

due to her age we had to get Alder Hey involved and we live 10 mins away. They were able to prescribe off licence to her as only licensed for over 12’s as she was so distraught. It has been life changing for her.
ive also had to talk to my dd about over sharing and she’s starting to learn she can’t trust people. She’s got severe anxiety and possible agoraphobia and hasn’t left the house in 9 weeks and she had to face people at school asking her why she was “on the pill” at 11 but she brushed it off thankfully and it stopped.

your dd doesn’t have to suffer. It’s a cruel world out there and especially for those who aren’t neurotypical.best of luck to your dd x