Period pains-Dysmenorrhoea

[Amber]

I do not want to over medicalise a natural nuisance and a natural development (a right of passage)process, despite what Dr Google may say

I do agree with that but have tended to notice doctors much keener to do it at my end of things. Every time you go to the doctors with anything at all they suggest the Mirena coil, which personally (and I know I'm unusual) I wouldn't allow anywhere near me. I've never shown any interest let alone clinical need and I did ask my GP once if he was on commission.

I do sympathise though when one is so young and hope you find a way through that you're happy with. I agree that taking hormones when you have only just hit puberty sounds unacceptable. But NSAIDs aren't a big deal are they? She will have to woman-up and learn to swallow tablets I think.

[doodles]

. This could be an issue for her for decades so worth sorting out now.

39 years and counting here so I really would go to the doctor.

I can appreciate that you don't want to over medicalise the situation and maybe something that needs to be taken every day is not appropriate but surely a treatment used as and when needed is no worse than taking a headache or toothache treatment.

[Yamin151]

I lived on a merry cocktail of free sample painkiller drugs as a teenager given to my dad in his job as a hospital doc. Painkillers are fine when taken for a few days every month. If you are concerned re NSAIDs and her tummy she could always take a Zantac at the same time, and take with meals

[scary mum]

But it is a medical condition. The nurse at DD's school contacted me when she was in year 10 & told me that something had to be done. Why make her suffer? I remember my mother collecting me from school once a month. And yes, melt in the mouth tablets - but try ibuprofen either way. Or ibuprofen plus paracetamol. Many ailments are natural but this really is an awful thing to suffer, believe me. And yes, having a baby fixed me, but it's a bit drastic
Ponstan is licensed for children I think - Tranexamic acid only for 15+ but that is more for heavy rather than painful periods, or at least that's what our GP said.

[Sally-Anne]

I agree ... skip ahead a few years and missing GCSEs is not an option, so exploring a solution now is a good idea.

My sister suffered with this and I can remember a male doctor telling her it would 'be sorted' once she had a baby ... not quite the remedy a 14 year old wants to hear.

I was told the self-same thing!

I suffered from the same murderously and utterly crippling pain for 3 days each month (off school, in bed, half-conscious, crying constantly), so I strongly suggest that you look for a recognised modern medical solution rather than pinning your hopes on herbal remedies or similar. My mum did exactly that, and although her motives were undoubtedly good, the results got me precisely nowhere.

In my day the pain-relief given was Distalgesic (now discontinued for safety reasons), and the ultimate solution was hormonal treatment in the shape of the Pill. Not ideal, but anything (anything!) was better than the pain.

[salsa]

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's pain. Has she tried yoga? As some others have suggested, exercise has helped many women. However, what type?
There are certain poses in yoga which strengthen and stretch your body. There are some that work on the pelvic region and lower back. You can use google to see what I mean. Also these poses can be done at school, are not strenuous and no equipment is necessary. (Maybe just a towel or better a yoga mat)
Maybe give it a go before you go the hormone route?

[thankgoditsover]

My youngest dd suffers on the first day of each monthly visitor she takes ibuphen (although she too had trouble with gagging at first), I buy the stick on heat pads for her to wear under her uniform as she gets bad back pain with it, she says they help the pain.

A friends dd used to suffer terribly, fainting and vomiting, she tried her doctor who put her on a low dose of the pill. It didn't work for her as she put on weight and her chest was heading the way of Katie Price. She took her off and went to a homeopath who prescribed her a 'remedy' and she hasn't looked back since.

I hope you find a solution that works for your dd.

Xx

[twinkles]

Another one here who suffered terribly when younger, just thinking about it now makes me feel quite queasy. I used to have such heavy periods together with unbearable pain, being sick and awful headaches. I used to have to go home from school/work and lie down with hot water bottles and take Nurofen that was the only thing that helped slightly back then. Going on the pill was what sorted it ultimately but can understand that you don't want that for your DD yet but definitely worth a trip to the doctors as I am sure there are much more options than there were 30 years ago. Hope you get something sorted for her as it is awful to go through.

[loobylou]

I am going to chip in with my twopenn'orth here but I have been castigated on here before for "giving a medical opinion" so just to say beforehand that you should see your GP and I am only giving a broad overview as someone with a special interest in gynae primary care.... I would concur with whoever advised seeing the female GP in your practice; I love my male colleagues to bits but they are not great at period pains or PMT!
My views: lots of girls get period pains quite badly in the first few months, mostly these are when their cycles are still anovulatory which can go on for around a year. Then they tend to settle down. However many girls continue to have severe debilitating pains, some of them because they have things like endometriosis, others because they just have horrible periods. The fact that they are likely to improve after pregnancy (which is true for most but not all) is irrelevant for most teenagers. There are only 2 effective treatments. One is NSAIDs which is either mefenamic acid or tranexamic acid or a combination of the two. The other is hormones ie the pill. Yes exercise and heat etc have been shown to make a slight difference but if the pain/heaviness is bad enough to stop a motivated girl/woman going to school/work then they are unlikely to be effective enough. Weight loss helps too but again is not often relevant in teens.
The mef acid/tran acid route is really no different from taking ibuprofen. I have never heard anyone say before that they don't want their child to have that - I don't understand why it would be a particular problem. Mef acid/tran acid is more effective in this case but certainly ibuprofen will be a lot more effective than paracetamol. Mef acid/tran acid are not licensed in children. Almost nothing your child will ever have been prescribed is licensed in children. Something like 95% of all medications prescribed to children are unlicensed because children are not entered into medical trials and therefore licenses are hard to achieve. But years of experience gives reassurance about safety and efficacy. They do work. They reduce pain by a varying amount and blood loss by approx 30% on average.
The other is the combined pill (or indeed the progesterone only pill). I do understand mothers' reluctance to allow their 13 year old to go on the pill. It somehow "feels" wrong and uncomfortable. However there is no evidence of long-term harm from early pill use and it can be an excellent solution for some teenagers. There comes a point where, to be honest, the parents' opinion becomes less relevant and the girl's opinion is taken into account much more. I remember one girl who had the worst periods I've ever come across, unable to go to school each month for 3-4 days and fainting when she tried. Her mother was adamant she couldn't go on the pill and, for her, mef acid/tran acid didn't work well enough. She refused to allow her to go on the pill and eventually I referred her to gynae when she was 15. They sent the mum out of the room, asked the girl what she wanted and then gave her the pill. THe mum was furious but her daughter could have been getting the pill as a contraceptive for months and she would never have known. After 4 months the mum came to see me on her own and apologised for the previous 2 years of hassling me to "do something but not what you want to do" because her daughter's life was transformed....
I do give the pill occasionally in 13-14 year olds but I usually suggest trying it for 6 months (it will always work) but then stopping and seeing if nature has settled things on its own. Normally I find the mef acid/tran acid is enough.
I think personally that far far far too much in this world is over-medicalised. However this one to me is a bit like acne. I think it's an outrage that I still see teenagers / people in their 20s with bad scarring because their parents thought acne was "one of those things" that would just settle in time. There is no excuse to have bad enough acne to scar you for the rest of your life nowadays. It is treatable. Same with dysmenorrhoea (and, for what it's worth, if the period pains were due to endometriosis which is possible though not probable) then the pill is the treatment. It usually would prevent progression and maintain fertility. So it has other potential benefits....
End of sermon...

[loobylou]

I've just read the whole thread. There is a thrombotic risk with any of the medications but it is tiny at her age, unless she's very overweight or has taken up smoking. If you are really worried you could ask for a clotting screen (blood test) to see if there is any reason why she should be more at risk. I've been a GP for 15 years and most of my time is spent on gynae primary care - and I have seen one DVT/PE as a result of any of this medication (and that was a overweight smoking 17 year old on the pill for contraception who also turned out to have an abdominal cancer which was actually the ultimate cause of her clot...) I know that's only anecdotal but the actual risks are really very small.