Teen with irregular periods, wants to stop them altogether

[pinkrocker]

I'm very supportive of whatever she wants to do, she is almost 19 and almost finished A Levels.
She has ADHD, and is very socially anxious so I'm going with her to the GP this week at her request. I just want her to be happy!
Her cycles are incredibly irregular, some months she'll have two periods and some months only one that's very, very heavy. Poor soul.
She's tried different contraceptive pills and wants to stop her periods altogether, especially as we're going on holiday. She just wants to be able to plan nice things without worrying she'll get her period.
Do you think the contraceptive injection might work for her?

She can go on the pill and run three packs together. So only will have 4 periods a year and much lighter.

She's tried two or three different types of pill taking them constantly, and she still got heavy periods, they just didn't seem to work for her.

Were they the combined pill and did she give them a couple of months at least to work?

When you run three packs together you don't get a period at all for three months.

The last one was Regevidon (that is probably spelled wrong!) and she took for 3 months, but her periods were till super heavy despite taking them continuously, poor lass.

My daughter (now 19) started the mini pill (continuous progesterone only) from age 14 due to vomiting, she is mostly period free with the occasional light bleed. I used to take it too pre- menopause and rarely had a period. You might have already tried it but thought I'd mention it just in case.

Does she know why she has irregular periods? That’s important.

Rigevidon is the worst. Would not recommend.

Has she tried the mini pill? That stopped my periods altogether.

I take desogestrel without any breaks so I don’t bleed at all.

Talk to her GP about more suitable alternatives than her current pill. Hopefully there is an easy solution.

No, she doesn't know. But she's always very pale when she gets her period, has big shadows under her eyes.. poor soul. They're really heavy.
Would she need blood tests for hormonal level do you think? I'll have to be prepared for this and any questions, she is already anxious but is preparing herself for the appointment.

Poor girl. In my 40’s and have spent weekend in terrible cramps (I have the coil in and started Cerazette again really random in cycle (intelligence just left me) where I’m angry with it all) then today I notice an online chemist selling Yasmin which I’d rather have been on all this time) I don’t remember any probs with cerezzette last Autumn but I didn’t have oestrogen in me by turn of foreign object. Hospital gynae just argue high street chemists are over precautious but for good reason I feel.

Is she iron deficient? The tiredness you mention prompts me to ask this
when I take iron supplements my periods are lighter, I was advised by dietician and it helps

She could consider the implant
I'm on my 5th now and love the fact I sort it every 3 years and it's done

I wonder if she is iron deficient a anemic. This can make periods much heavier.
Id be pushing to find out what is going on. If she waits until she wants to have children it could take longer to sort out. Better to find out now.

As PPs mentioned you can take combined pills (where you supposed to take 21 tablets and then have 7 days break) and take these pills without a break. Our GP called it “back to back” method I think. Did you daughter try this method or it wasn’t recommended for her?

Ask for a blood test to check her iron and b12 levels
I would try and get the periods regular first, and her not anemic. BTW if she needs iron supplements take chelated iron as it is digestible

Yes she tried it, just didn't work at all sadly! Periods came back as usual, at the normal time.

I think it's important to find out why she is having these issues before stopping her periods altogether. I was very similar in my late teens and was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.

this^
you can’t just stop them , you need to push for investigation. Has she got blood done?

No, not yet. She's panicking that the GP will take blood at the moment, and might say she doesn't want to attend the appt. Her anxiety is really bad, poor girl.

My heart goes out to her. In a similar situation, while I’d just want to make it stop, perhaps it might be wise to understand the underlying cause. I hope you have a sympathetic appointment. At 19, assuming she is healthy, her periods should not be so erratic. She is lucky to have you going with her

Did she take a high enough dose of pill? Sorry I don’t know the technical details but my dr changed me from a ‘20’ dose to a ‘30’ and that cracked it for me.

Really? I was always told (as a teenager going to the GP) irregular periods were not considered abnormal under the age of 25. I've never had an regular cycle and have been on the pill most of my life. I conceived two children almost immediately upon trying.

I still had periods on both the injection and the implant, in fact they were heavier than usual on the injection. Neither are guaranteed to stop you having a period.

The injection stopped everything for me OP, it is worth a try.