Is it safe for a teenage girl to be on the pill to prevent periods?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being on the pill a long time can really mess up the hormonal balance for some of us. Even after you stop taking it. Regret ever it. Inform yourself about the risks and benefits and let her decide. It’s her body.

Yup. Totally effed up my libido. Don’t mess with your daughter’s hormones like it’s no big thing, OP. It is a big thing, with potentially long-lasting consequences.

Enjoy all your unplanned pregnancies!

Loved the pill. All the sex I wanted. Maybe you just don't like sex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: It is for cramping and sports reasons.

Heh that's what she says but really she wants to have sex.

It’s actually my idea- not hers. She hasn’t mentioned it.

LOL, I am sure "hmmmm, I can have sex now" will neeeeeeever even occur to her....

I'm guessing you and your daughter think differently than OP and her daughter. Don't project on OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being on the pill a long time can really mess up the hormonal balance for some of us. Even after you stop taking it. Regret ever it. Inform yourself about the risks and benefits and let her decide. It’s her body.

Yup. Totally effed up my libido. Don’t mess with your daughter’s hormones like it’s no big thing, OP. It is a big thing, with potentially long-lasting consequences.

Enjoy all your unplanned pregnancies!

Loved the pill. All the sex I wanted. Maybe you just don't like sex.

Unless her teenager is in a lifetime, monogamous, committed relationship she will still need to use condoms when she becomes sexually active.

I, personally, hated the way the pill made me feel and I do not getting a tubal after we had our second baby. Talk about total freedom! I would never recommend a tubal to a teenage girl obviously.

[Anonymous]

do not regret

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: It is for cramping and sports reasons.

Heh that's what she says but really she wants to have sex.

My best friend has a very competitive swimmer who got her period at 13. The period was interfering with swim practice so her DD is on birth control and she doesn't get her period.

Great for her but Seasonales website states that 1 out of 3 women experience 20 or more days of breakthrough bleeding when starting that pill! My DD is a swimmer too and that level of bleeding would be catastrophic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was on the pill for 20 years and now have a little known side effect, liver disease. Do make sure you do your research. And I don't drink and have never been a drinker. Know of a few others in my same situation.

What? What kind of liver disease do you have? Is it reversible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sports reasons is not a thing, speaking as a former serious athlete who suffered from dysmenorrhea. I mean, unless she’s got serious endometriosis... in which case, she should absolutely suspend menstruation until if/when she wants to have kids.

Swim mom here. It is a thing.

That’s crazy - women swim with their periods every day. What kind of crazy swim mom are you?

NP here. I’m also a swim mom and am hearing this is a thing from my HS DD. We will soon see gynecologist to explore options. The issue is not swimming with a tampon, it’s swimming 2-4 hours a day when you have cramps. Elite swimmers can’t afford to be sidelined several days per month. You lose conditioning quickly. They also don’t want to deal with their periods or cramps falling on big competition dates. You train all year and taper for a couple big meets per year. Periods interfere with performance for some but probably not all. Like the PPs, I do suspect this is used as an excuse by some girls who are or are thinking of becoming sexually active. But not in every case. If it is easier for girls to use this reason to ask for BC- fine by me. The gym will just have to address STIs.

Yes- but if the pill is at all cutting her testosterone levels (which it often does as a woman’s testosterone is generated in her ovaries and the ovaries often get smaller and less functional on the pill) then you are handicapping her. It would seem that muscle mass and strength would be something that an elite swimmer needs.

Why are people so quick to f$&k around with women’s bodies??

[Anonymous]

Even the breakthrough bleeding on Mirena or Seasonique etc. isn’t going to be as bad as a full period and it won’t give her cramps. That said, if she feels weird about skipping all or most of her periods, she can use regular, 28-day birth control and her periods will almost certainly be lighter, more regular/predictable, with fewer cramps overall.

It’s a good thing for teens to be on BCP. School/activity/sports schedules don’t allow girls to be sidelined with period problems, which a lot of teens suffer from. If birth control makes their life a little easier, I’m all for it. They can decide whether to go off BC after college, so age 22-23 or so, and still have years to chart and track their cycles looking for any problems before trying to start a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was on the pill for 20 years and now have a little known side effect, liver disease. Do make sure you do your research. And I don't drink and have never been a drinker. Know of a few others in my same situation.

What? What kind of liver disease do you have? Is it reversible?

Geezus -

https://livertox.nih.gov/Estrogens.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even the breakthrough bleeding on Mirena or Seasonique etc. isn’t going to be as bad as a full period and it won’t give her cramps. That said, if she feels weird about skipping all or most of her periods, she can use regular, 28-day birth control and her periods will almost certainly be lighter, more regular/predictable, with fewer cramps overall.

It’s a good thing for teens to be on BCP. School/activity/sports schedules don’t allow girls to be sidelined with period problems, which a lot of teens suffer from. If birth control makes their life a little easier, I’m all for it. They can decide whether to go off BC after college, so age 22-23 or so, and still have years to chart and track their cycles looking for any problems before trying to start a family.

I’m awfully glad that no one medicated me just for being female.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being on the pill a long time can really mess up the hormonal balance for some of us. Even after you stop taking it. Regret ever it. Inform yourself about the risks and benefits and let her decide. It’s her body.

Yup. Totally effed up my libido. Don’t mess with your daughter’s hormones like it’s no big thing, OP. It is a big thing, with potentially long-lasting consequences.

Same here. It was gone by my late 20’s and never really came back. It’s more common than people think.

[Anonymous]

I always wanted to go on the pill for horrible cramps as a teen but never did. Ended up being lucky because as an adult my entire family was diagnosed with a dangerous genetic clotting disorder when my mom had a pulmonary embolism out of the blue- my hematologist said I was very fortunate to have never taken the pill as it very well may have killed me. Not worth even a small risk of that IMO for a convenience issue.

[Anonymous]

Can we get some actual science here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even the breakthrough bleeding on Mirena or Seasonique etc. isn’t going to be as bad as a full period and it won’t give her cramps. That said, if she feels weird about skipping all or most of her periods, she can use regular, 28-day birth control and her periods will almost certainly be lighter, more regular/predictable, with fewer cramps overall.

It’s a good thing for teens to be on BCP. School/activity/sports schedules don’t allow girls to be sidelined with period problems, which a lot of teens suffer from. If birth control makes their life a little easier, I’m all for it. They can decide whether to go off BC after college, so age 22-23 or so, and still have years to chart and track their cycles looking for any problems before trying to start a family.

I’m awfully glad that no one medicated me just for being female.

Like it or not, that’s the reality that girls are dealing with. Even girls who aren’t in sports face problems with their periods at school and work (if they have retail or food service-type jobs). You and I as adults can take care of our pads/tampons/cups any time. We can leave work if our cramps are too bad - or we can take Motrin or Advil, as much as we need to, as freely as we want. I keep it in my desk drawer at work. If my period starts a few days early and I’m out and about at the time, I can swing by the grocery store or drug store for a quick tampon pickup. Not so for teens. Many high schools and teachers restrict bathroom breaks, and kids are suspended if they are caught with over the counter medication. The school nurse may or may not have a spare pad or tampon for a girl who’s period started a few days early or who just had a heavier flow than expected. She might be shamed just for asking, and she certainly can’t leave school to get her own supplies.

These are very tough issues for kids to deal with, but the solution is birth control. And really - if OP’s daughter had said she wanted to become sexually active and mom had got her on birth control, everyone would be saying “good for you.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sports reasons is not a thing, speaking as a former serious athlete who suffered from dysmenorrhea. I mean, unless she’s got serious endometriosis... in which case, she should absolutely suspend menstruation until if/when she wants to have kids.

Swim mom here. It is a thing.

That’s crazy - women swim with their periods every day. What kind of crazy swim mom are you?

NP here. I’m also a swim mom and am hearing this is a thing from my HS DD. We will soon see gynecologist to explore options. The issue is not swimming with a tampon, it’s swimming 2-4 hours a day when you have cramps. Elite swimmers can’t afford to be sidelined several days per month. You lose conditioning quickly. They also don’t want to deal with their periods or cramps falling on big competition dates. You train all year and taper for a couple big meets per year. Periods interfere with performance for some but probably not all. Like the PPs, I do suspect this is used as an excuse by some girls who are or are thinking of becoming sexually active. But not in every case. If it is easier for girls to use this reason to ask for BC- fine by me. The gym will just have to address STIs.

Yes- but if the pill is at all cutting her testosterone levels (which it often does as a woman’s testosterone is generated in her ovaries and the ovaries often get smaller and less functional on the pill) then you are handicapping her. It would seem that muscle mass and strength would be something that an elite swimmer needs.

Why are people so quick to f$&k around with women’s bodies??

This is a GD good question. Men would never stand for this sh*t.