Period pain keeps her home.

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 4:46 am

Another thought - IME my midwife always leaves time for talking, takes into account emotional factors and is open to complementary treatment. Not all CNM's are the same, but your daughter may benefit from having someone like this to talk to about her periods, if her/your doctor isn't able to address her emotional concerns, which may be exacerbated by and/or contributing to her pain.

Also, if you are in the US, please keep in mind that over-the-counter herbal remedies are not regulated and you have no way of knowing what's in them, short of sending them to a lab. A medical doctor or CNM who includes complementary treatment will be up to date with good products and how to use them effectively.

amother

Copper

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 7:35 am

When I was in school I remember literally suffering through the school day and then coming home and literally rolling around my bed in pain no normal meds or hot water bottle helped!!
Take her to the dr get a prescription medication. I have now something called mefenamic acid (I think..) that helps (now the pain isn’t so bad after childbirth and bc)

lavenderchimes

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 7:35 am

I had a friend in high school who suffered from excruciating pain every month. Her mother was a Dr., and in the end, the only solution was birth control. It helped the pain tremendously. But she still occasionally missed days of school. It sounds like you don't believe your daughter -- why is that? Do you have reason to suspect that she is trying to avoid something specific on those days? A test she wasn't prepared for? Does she have a history of lying? Why not give her the benefit of the doubt and try to get her some help?

amother

Azure

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 7:49 am

Ruchel wrote:

Warm bath? cute. Try having PAIN. Same for people suggesting "plants" for migraines. Urgh.

I've had excruciating pain, and baths have helped to eliminate them. If you research the genesis of pain in the body you may get a sense of why warm baths or being in a relaxed and stress-free environment really do reduce pain.

Zehava

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 8:05 am

Agree with everyone above. I also missed school at this age. No she doesn't have to be tough what is this the 50s? And yes my period pain was worse than labor. Labor was a contraction every few minutes but that pain was constant and relentless. And my mother would tell me that labor is worse lol. NOT HELPFUL. Give her some Motrin and let her do whatever gives her relief. I did find that hot showers helped until the painkillers kicked in as they massaged my stomach and back directly.

amother

Khaki

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 8:09 am

I had this kind of pain as a teen. Some people really do have worse pain than others. I know of grown women who have to miss work a couple of days a month because it's that bad. Unusual, yes, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Just like some have worse pregnancies than others. I started taking BC at 14 or 15 because nothing else worked. When I stopped after getting married in order to ttc, the few periods I had before getting pregnant were not so bad, so it seems the BC corrected something. Now, I only use BC for BC, not for dealing with my periods. I would also suggest taking her to a doctor to rule out endometriosis or fibroids (yes, those can happen with teens, and better you should know now so you can deal with it before it causes fertility issues).

amother

Seafoam

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 8:12 am

My high school claimed that in the "real world" you can't just take off when you have your period. That is so not true IME. The worst time for me was high school. I would take the day off in expectation of my period just so that I wouldn't be stuck in school if it came in middle of the day.

I only had one labor, and one miscarriage that came close to period pain. (During the miscarriage I was actually given morphine for the pain). For some reason period pain is looked at as a "deal with it" kind of pain, even though people really suffer through it.

The other two labors, didn't even come close to the pain I suffered through every month in high school.

Please trust your daughter, and get her whatever help she needs.

Some things that have helped me:

HOT bath

Heating pad in my underwear-they sell disposable ones in the pharmacy, so on day 3-4, I would wear it and half function.

Advil round the clock for a day or two prior to period starting.

Meditating every day, and when period comes, connect with the pain through meditation. (Guided meditations on YouTube: Michael sealey, Jason Stephenson)

Passing out from the pain- this was really the best pain relief.

Only drinking hot water (soothes the stomach, and the water was the only thing that didn't hurt me when it came back up)

I didn't know about this then, but Craniosacral therapy can help.
[ the way it can help is by releasing the tension in the soft tissue (fascia) that hold the organs in place. We tend to hold our tension in specific places in our body called transition points. Transition points are at the level of the body where the spine changes from cervical to thoracic to lumbar to sacral to coccyx. The Craniosacral therapy Works to release these tension areas. Releasing the lower abdominal area tension may prevent the intense cramping that comes with her period]

Ruchel

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 8:52 am

amother wrote:

Relaxing helps. If bath relaxes you, then bath helps. But real pain needs a painkiller unless maybe you never took them and hence
1) deal with pain better
2) the smallest help, helps

When I was sick in China, I wanted to try their traditional remedies and they said why would I not want at least a painkiller too. Tons of things can help a little bit. But if you really suffer, and want to be kinda functional? PAINKILLER. There should be a broche on it.

Amarante

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 9:09 am

I had very bad period pain as a teenager. So bad that I either had to lie down with the nurse or sometimes my friend's mother would drive to take me home. Sometimes I would break out in cold sweats and feel faint.

Most women have fewer issues after childbirth.

What does seem to work for me is Motrin or the generic because it actually inhibits the production of prostaglandins which are what cause the contractions of the uterus which are what causes the terrible pain.

The trick is to take it a day or two BEFORE you get your period so that the prostaglandins don't get produced in such large quantities.

We are not talking about a dangerous opioid or taking a huge quantity of painkillers every day. We are talking about talking a safe non-addictive very effective pain killer for a day or two every month so that your daughter (or any other woman) with cramps doesn't suffer so badly.

MrsDash

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 9:24 am

Has she been to gynecologist yet? Endometriosis can cause immeasurable amounts of pain. I was told to “tough it out” as well. Later found out I have severe endometriosis, and it doesn’t go away after having children. Is she complaining about other symptoms? Nausea, vomiting, very heavy periods, etc? Please get her checked out by a specialist. It took more than half a dozen gynos until endometriosis was even mentioned. Please. I beg you. She shouldn’t have to suffer like this. It’s NOT normal to have debilitating pains like that.

petiteruchy

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 9:24 am

I would strongly suggest taking her to a gynecologist and like others said, staying outside for at least part of the visit.

A mirena IUD or other form of birth control might really help her. Lots of women and teens suffer from debilitating period pain but it doesn't need to be that way! The gyn can give her solutions as long as you both take your dd's pain seriously.

amother

Mint

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 9:31 am

amother wrote:

Just wanted to add to this post-
My periods were worse than my labors.
I took every type of painkiller as a girl. It did not harm anything. Warm baths are perfect for cleanliness. It will NOT help period pain.
Why deprive her of something that can help her?
If she only got it this year she might need time to get used to it.

This. Three days of labor pains every month. And yes, I stayed home
from school.

amother

Orange

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 10:25 am

op, my dd is only 10 and has a little girls body still. Recently, I've been thinking about how she will handle period pain. She is very sensitive to pain and will probably end up being somewhat similar to your dd. I am not looking forward to it and I know that she will be a mess for a few days each month. I think that the pain is real no matter how intense. Aside from the pain there is also the discomfort from wearing a pad, using the bathroom in school, feeling like you are wearing a wet diaper and can't wait to come home to get as comfortable as possible. It's so hard that little girls have to deal with this.The only good thing that I can think of is that at least she is not embarrassed to discuss this with you. For some reason some girls feel ashamed and their mothers don't do anything to help them along.

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 10:32 am

MrsDash wrote:

I second the endometriosis. Took years to find out that it was the problem for me.
It didn't get better at all after childbirth.