16 Year Old with Severe Issues During Her Period

From my own experience...I was about that age too when I had to be in bed that first or second day of my period. I went to the doctor and they gave me birth control pills. That seemed to work because I didn't have it that bad anymore.

there are so many possibilities of what could be happening, it is best to take her to the OB/GYN. if nothing else, he can at least give her meds that will help with the pain and a little insight as to what is going on. and, even if you are against birth control for your young daughter, sometimes it is a big help with hormone problems.

I had the same problem growing up and still do.I definitly recommend birth control it will almost eliminate all of her symptoms.I would recommend the pills though because i tried the shot and i had my period the whole time it lasted and gained some weight.She maybe a little embarassed to get on birth control but when she sees how well it works i think she will feel better.The thing that i remember was the doctor i went to would not let me get on the pills until i had a papsmear I think that was the worst.Another plus she might like is it will help clear her face if she has any problems with that.Also if you want other options I have tried everything.These are some things that help also.The best thing for her at school might be a product made by Thermacare,it is a patch that sticks to your underwear and heats up like a heating pad.They are a little pricey but will last for over eight hours.You can find them at walmart with the other patchs like begay and that kind of stuff but this is the only one that really works.Also some things to help at home(heating pad,hot bath,alcohol rub down)Also the doctor can prescribe naproxen as a pain reliver.

IT sounds like endo, and in my experience it only gets worse. I would absolutely take her to an OBGYN immediately for laproscopic diagnosis.

Pregnancy is the only thing that makes mine go away, and clearly that's not something I'd recommend for a 16 year old - although if I knew what kind of relief it brought at that age, there's no guarantee I wouldn't have done it.

BCPs might help her.

Take her to a gyn!!! I suffered for a long time with almost the same thing (i had no fever). Except i didn't get my period till i was almost 15 and my symptoms got really bad at about 20 (when i fainted in school!!!). They put me on the pill. Make sure they start her on a lower dose pill and if they don't work they can start climbing up on the type of pill! They seemed to have given me something to strong that instead of the cramps, chills, headaches, and all that once a month ............. I had nausea, dizzy spells, worse headaches and felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest all month!!!! Don't let anyone tell u that's normal! It's not!!!! I feel for ur little girl. Get her checked out! I hope all gets better for her soon. God bless you all!

my sister is the same way. finally she went to the doctor and they put her on birth control. they said that something in the birth control helps the body cope with the period and makes the symptoms less painful. i know hope that must sound but it worked for my sister.

I would talk to her pediatrician first, if she still has one. Remeber, she may be a young lady, but still a child in the eyes of medicine. pmdd is a huge topic right now, and the one recommended pill is the Yaz pill. It's supposed to nip it in the bud. Many pills may exacerbate her moodiness and weight gain, so i would be careful. I have had the most horrible periods with extremely heavy bleeding all of my life. After my daughter was born it got a little better, but not much. Finally after i married my husband since we had decided that we did not want anymore children, i had an endometrial ablation. I do not bleed anymore. I know that your daughter has her whole life in front of her, so that procedure isn't an option for her, but they do have some similar procedures that may not effect the endometrium so drastically, still allowing her to concieve. Perhaps the saline balloon, or a d&c?

I had the same problem but I also experienced vomitting. Birth control pills will definitely clear that up. Without the pills, it only resolves itself once she begins having children.

R. - I have the same issues (I'm 33 now had since I was in 5th grade) but never had endometriosis. I'm part of a very low percentage of women who have a very heavy period. There was never anything for me to take. I also saw a doctor after passing out in high school. The doctor at the time said after having kids my period would get lighter and the symptoms would go away. (Not true). Time is all that has worked for me. I don't have as many symptoms now but I still suffer from cramps that bring me to tears (not every period but still enough to remind me) and a headache that pretty much keeps me in bed for a day. I use a website (mymonthlycyles.com) to help me track my period. This way I can see when my next cycle should be starting and I'm better prepared by having Advil with me and knowing which day I'm probably going to be staying home so I don't leave in the first place. This may work for her as well. I'm afraid there probably isn't a miracle cure out there. If it's endo then a doctor should be able to get her something but if it's not you do your best to support her. Also when I was in high school my parents left instruction with the school that if I told them I had to leave because of this issue there were no questions asked...I was allowed to go. It may help if someone at the school understands what is going on to make things easier at school when she needs to leave....like the school nurse or counselor. Anyways my .02 cents.

Sounds like Endometrosis or Cysts. I had some cysts in 7th grade and I am now 31. Lost an ovary to a chocolate cyst, so I have endometriosis now and must have my birth control taken for two months without a period to put off the endo.

You may think about putting her on BC and that sometimes will help with the symptoms of PMS and endo (if that in fact is it). You may end up having to monitor it very closely as it also could be that your daughter is sexually active and has gotten an STD or even the new thing that governer of Texas wanted girls to get vaccinated against.. some diesease.

Sorry to hear she is hurting.. in the mean-time, go out and buy some midol, that can at least allow her to have less pain.

She sounds exactly like me when I was younger. My sister whom is 17 has the same exact problems..

Wish you luck.

Hi. I use to have the same problem. My mom took me to the doctor at the age of 14 and they prescribed birth control pills for me. And I haven't had cramps or anything since then. It really worked for me.

This was exactly me when I was in High school. My stepmom wasnt as nice as you and wouldnt come pick me up so I had to skip class and spend it in the bathroom.She didnt even believe me that I started my period in 4th grade. (Luckily I wasnt heavy till middle school) I asked to be put on birthcontrol pill for it but my parents never believed me on how painful it was. I finally had to go behind there back and get a cheap birthcontrol pill. I would get nauseated on the pill but the pain of my period was rare afterwards. I used to shake for minutes because of the pain and I had to buy those portable heat pads and bring them to school. I would get her on a birth control and you might have to try different ones because of the dizziness and nausea. When I was able to go to the doctor on my own I have found the Nuva Ring works really well! I might have a few cramps before my period but its nothing to what i was feeling. AND you can leave the ring in week longer so you lessen the amount of periods you have.

I have heard alot of people talking about PDD. I dont really know what that is but you might ask.

R.,
i was the same way. i started at 11 and things were fine till about 16-17 i would have the same symptoms as ur daughter and my mother took me to a doctor and they put me on low lvl birth control, they said it was hormones at that time, but later in life at 30 and suffering with that for years i finally went and had myself checked and it was a bad case of endometriosis but yeah. so i say take her to a doctor and have them see if she has any type of problems they can see. if it is endometriosis a simple d & c will take all that away. mine is so bad i have to have it done every 5-7 yrs or the pain gets too bad for me.

HI R., I have had Endometriosis since I was about 16. I was diagnosed when I was 20. The only way to diagnos this is to have a Laproscopic surgery and they can actually burn the Endo tissue away. It does help in most cases. With me it came back I have had 2 surgies and am now for a 3rd time haveing problems again. My doctor has suggested me not having my period for 3 to 4 months at a time. It does help alot, all you have to do it start her on birth control and then instead of taking the sugar pills you just skip them and move to the next week. This is safe and my doctor says in some cases it is ok to go up to 6months without having a period if the symptoms are bad. I have been doing this for several months now and I have really noticed a difference. Also ask your OB/GYN about Naproxen it is an anti-inflamitory pill to help with the inflamtion. Also I take pain pills during my worst times, you can talk to them about that also. This is a horrible disease and there is no cure, only treatments. If her pain is that bad you may want to consider the surgery, she could have it over the summer break and it really is not that bad. You come home the same day, and are back on your feet in a few days. Let me know if you have any questions about Endo. I have been dealing with this for about 9years now and still am to this day.

Thank you,
J.

I went through the same thing at the age of 15. I was against birth control, and still am for that matter, but I fought it on my own. I kept track of when my cycle was coming each month on my calendar. I would mark the day it starts and the day that it ends. Then, when I saw that it was a week or two prior to it getting ready to start, I would cut out the caffeine, sugary stuff, and made sure that I stayed active whether it was exercising or just walking the mall or something. Then, 2 days prior to the start day I would take 2 tylenol or midol every 6 hours. This kept me from having the cramps and other side effects of my cycle. It also, after a year cut down on the length of my cycle. I went from a full week, to it lasting only 3-5 days each time. It was nice. Hope this helps.

I had all the same problems when I was younger. I started when I was 11 also. I would get so sick that I would have to go home from school. When I got to college I would get really sick to my stomach and start to throw up for a day. I ended up going to the OB/GYN and they put me on birth control pills and that helped a lot. Now that I have kids I am fine. I usually do not get the cramps that bad. I was never told that it was endometriosis.

HTH,
C.

I would certainly take her to see an OB/GYN. It wouldn't hurt to go ahead and get her started with yearly exams. Also, the doc can check for endometriosis or another problem. Birth control can help with PMS symptoms and such, so I would consider it an option. As long as she is okay with taking it that is. Don't worry about any implications that others might make. This is a medical condition that requires treatment and your daugther doesn't deserve to suffer with something that can be treated.

Hello R.,
The only thing I would advise you is to take your daughter to an Ob/Gyn. She should not be feeling like this when she gets her menstrual cycle its not normal b/c a normal period doesn't consists of all the symptoms she has. A great Ob/Gyn that I see is Dr. Jose Ruiz at the Institute for Women's Health off of Floyd Curl. There are alot of different offices but he is at the one on Floyd Curl in Medical Center area. He was great he takes the time to sit with you and explain anything you don't understand and shows great concern. He saw me through my first pregnancy and he was wonderful!! Best of Luck!!

I had this same problem when I was her age, and still sometimes do. My parents took me to an OB/GYN and he put me on birth control. My situation was two-fold (and I said, I had the same issues as your daughter, the only difference...I would pass out). The two issues I dealt with and am dealing with are cysts on my ovaries and endometriosis.

I hope she finds relief soon!

I was (and still am) the same way (except I got my period a few weeks before my 9th birthday!!!)My mother, and my baby sister (she's only 14) both have the same issues. The DR put me on birth control (BC) and it helped quite a bit. Now they have a new BC called Mirena, I am going to try that one. It is supposed to help with the pains and everything of your period by almost eliminating it. I have tried SEVERAL BC's over the years, and the one I recommend most is Ortho Cyclen. Again, I'm looking into Mirena. My mother is looking into putting my baby sister on BC but she is worried she'll think it means she can have sex if she wants to. Also, we all have Vicodin prescriptions to use for the first few days of our period. Good Luck.

I would definitely think about birth control pills. I've been on the pill since I was 16 (12 yrs)due to practically the same thing (but migraines, not just regular headaches.) It helped SOOOOOO much and within about 6 months I had a verrryyyyy minimal period (as in maybe 1 day.) I'd definitely talk to your obgyn about this.

My guess would be endometriosis. I had a good friend in HS who had the same issues. It took a while to resolve, but she was so relieved when it was finally taken care of. Oh, and she is now the mom of two healthy, beautiful children.

I hope your daughter gets some help soon! I feel for her!

I had the same problems. M. mother too, would get me from school and i would take benadryl (to fall asleep) and stay in bed all day. The doctor put me on birth control pills but that NEVER solved the problem. It only stopped when I had M. first son at the age of 25. (That was a long time to go through that.) There were never, ever and problems with me health-wise, because M. parents had any and all test run. It was time consuming, but very well worth it. I would have her checked out, but I think that sometimes people are just affected differently by their cycle. Good Luck with her :)