Heavy periods and terrible cramps
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Anonymous
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Dd is 14 and has bad her period for a little over a year. It’s never been very regular but it has been getting heavier and her cramps are getting worse it seems with each cycle. Today she had to lay down in the nurses office because she couldn’t focus on school with the pain, even after taking Advil and Aleve.
What are some things we can try to help her? I have a bit of cramping the first day or so of my period but hers is currently on day 4 and she’s still in agony. I also can’t tolerate hormonal bcp and she’s very young so I’m a bit wary of putting her on hormones at this age. Any combo of meds/supplements/patches or anything else that you’ve found helps for horrible cramps? |
Anonymous
| Sounds like endometriosis. It is very painful - well beyond normal period cramps. Advil is the only thing that works for the pain in my experience. Also, a heating pad helps. |
Anonymous
| Feed her a ton of leafy green vegetables. |
Anonymous
| Could be endometriosis. I had same symptoms but the doctors just shrugged me off saying they can’t do much but recommended birth control pills which helped. As an adult I switched to the mini pill and that’s done wonders for me. Heating pad and taking ibuprofen BEFORE the cramps start help - also walking or cycling during cramps helps. Unfortunately I also experienced infertility as a result years later and wish I understood how my endometriosis might impact other aspects of my life. IVF worked for us but it’s a reality for many with endo or suspected endo. |
Anonymous
| This was me as a teenager and BCP were the only thing that helped. |
Anonymous
| How does one get a teen checked for endometriosis? I did take her to a pediatric gyn last year because she had constant period bleeding for months but they ran labs and said everything was “normal”. |
Anonymous
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9962077/
How many covid vaccines did she get? |
Anonymous
| And did she already have any underwear autoimmune issues? IBS? |
Anonymous
| She doesn’t have any autoimmune conditions that we know of. She’s overall a healthy child other than this pain. She had Covid in March 2020 when she was 10 and hasn’t had it since. She had her regular series of vaccines after turning 12 and 2 boosters. She didn’t begin menstruating until after turning 13. |
Anonymous
| They can’t diagnose endometriosis until in surgery. An ultrasound can rule out cysts or fibroids. |
Anonymous
| Laparoscopy. Take her to a gynecologist. |
Anonymous
Diagnostic criteria has changed (thank goodness) and you can now be diagnosed based on symptoms but you can’t be “sure” without surgery. I have unconfirmed endo — terrible periods since I started my period but not quite bad enough that I’ve needed surgery to fix/further confirm. I’ve been on prescription strength naproxen sodium since I was a teen; you could ask your ped about this? Things to be aware of: take with food is a MUST, never take aleve outside of the prescription (it’ll just mess with your tolerance), and start taking the prescribed dosage a day or two before your cramps start in earnest. But it worked for me; I can still tell I have cramps but it’s distant enough I can function. You can also try hormonal birth control, which works for some people (it didn’t for me although I tried for several years). |
Anonymous
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Magnesium supplements. B complex. D3. Vitamin K2 MK7 - every day.
Take Midol, drink coffee, hot water bottle. - During periods. Also take iron supplement - two days before periods, during periods and three days after that. Read up on Shatavari. Buy from Whole Foods. |
Anonymous
| 3 Advil |
Anonymous
You can go over the dosage on the labels of painkillers (I’m the PP who has been taking prescription naproxen sodium my entire adult life and I take the equivalent of ~9 aleve tablets 2-3 times a day for 3 days every month) but I would strongly recommend working with a doctor on dosage and safety. |