I'll try to keep it short. My now 15 year old DD had been getting her period every 21 days and was in a lot of pain with cramps before, during and sometimes after her period. With a 21 day cycle, that meant most of the month. So I took her to see an Adolescent Specialist 3 months ago at the suggestion of her Pediatrician. The Specialist took an extensive history and spent a lot of time asking my daughter questions.
She put my daughter on birth control pills which were supposed to give her a more normal length cycle and make her periods lighter. After 3 months, we returned to the specialist for a follow up. My DD explained to the Dr. that her periods just lasted longer now and she had the same cramping for a full two weeks beforehand. I seriously don't think the Dr. believed that what DD was experiencing were menstrual cramps. She kept pushing toward it being a gastro issue which it's not. My DD knows the difference.
The Dr. finally agreed to have a pelvic ultrasound done as well as an abdominal ultrasound to check her other organs. We're getting these done this week. In the meantime, my QUESTION is - does anyone or their daughter experience painful cramps for the couple of weeks leading up to their period? The Dr. swears she's never heard of anything like this and I feel like we may need to find someone else to fix this. I don't want my daughter taking heavy duty Naproxen which is what's been prescribed to help with the cramps. This isn't good for her stomach and she hates taking it.
My daughter had this same issue when she was young. She has endometrioisis, she was put on the pill. She took it 3 months on 1 week off, then back to 3 months on.
I would look for a female OB/GYN and get her in for a pelvic exam and go from there.
I had bad pains that I thought was cramping when in my 20s. I saw the Dr who had me get an ultrasound. I was so nervous. When it came back normal, the Dr said that perhaps it could be diverticulitis. Well, fast forward 15 years and guess what, I now have a foot less of my large intestines!
My point is to take anything that the Dr says and consider it rather than blow it off.
Best of luck.
My first thought would be fibroids, PCOS or endometriosis as well. I am surprised with her symptoms they didn't do an ultrasound to rule it out before prescribing medication.
Also, the BCP your daughter was prescribed M. not be a good fit for her body, and a different kind M. be able to help (BCPs don't work the same way for every body).
All of that aside, I would be troubled by a doctor who first, doesn't believe your daughter when she relays her symptoms, and second, claims to have never heard of a woman in pain from cramping like this. It's fairly common in woman who have PCOS, for one thing.
Has endometriosis or fibroids been ruled out yet? Or is that what the ultrasound is going to be looking for?
Those would be my first thoughts. I think women with PCOS also have painful cramping, but I'm not sure if it's in advance of the start of the menstrual bleeding or mostly during.
Good luck finding the underlying problem and getting appropriate treatment. That must be miserable for your daughter.
By the way, did you consider taking her straight to a gynecologist? That's where I would have gone, I think.
My DD and I both get cramps, though not as often as your poor girl. We do like Advil, but I don't like us taking too many drugs either. You know what has helped more than I ever thought possible? Heating pads! When at home, have her put a heating pad over her abdomen, it was a miracle for us. I also bought those Thermacare (I think that's the brand) menstrual heating pads. They are like the hand warmer things that aren't electric or needing to be plugged in. They stick to the inside of underwear which keeps it up against the lower abdomen, she could use this in school with no one knowing. (just make sure she puts the sticky side on the underwear, not on her body- yikes). I'm telling you, I am sometimes skeptical of remedies that sound too easy, but this has changed our lives. Hope she finds some answers- and some relief.
A friend of mine did in high school. She had ovarian cysts. Because of them, she had pain both during ovulation and during her period - which mean she had pain much of the month.
Good luck sorting this out. It took a while for my friend to get diagnosed properly. One doc thought it was appendicitis, but when the ultrasound was negative for that, he flat out told her mom he thought she was making it up to get out of school! Thankfully, her mom didn't believe the doctor, and promptly took her to someone else who took her seriously.
My daughter has PCOS and has severe cramps during her period, but not really before it, sometimes maybe a day or so. She has been taking BC for a few years now. She used to get her period every two weeks and it lasted 10 -12 days. ON BC she now has a regular cycle with periods lasting 5-7 days. IMO you need to take your daughter to an OB/Gyn, or at the very least a different doctor.
Please find a female GYN. I had always seen male gyns and loved my doc in Dallas who was able to help me succesfully deliver my daughter after 17 years of infertility and multiple miscarriages. When I moved from there and the Lord blessed me with our son, I had to find a high risk doc in our area. The only one who was high risk was my current doc. I LOVE her and she really listens and identifies with me when I had horrible periods get even worse a few years ago.
Please please get her with someone who will listen and help her not dismiss her as an emotional teenaged girl.
Blessings!
L.
One of my girls gets headaches and bad cramps about 2 weeks before, then they slowly lessen as she nears the time. Sometimes they are very painful--last month she was in tears. It is very possible she could be feeling the ovulation. I do not understand why some doctors brush things off just because they are teens, not adult women.
I'm troubled by an adolescent specialist who never heard of serious cramping in a teenager. Is this a specialist in general adolescent medicine, or a gynecologist? If not a gyno, I'd see one.
I agree with Ms. May that a different type of birth control pill may be indicated. I agree with you that heavy duty Naproxen isn't solving the problem - it's just treating the immediate symptom but could be causing so many other side effects especially on the digestive system. She's already having stomach problems, and there is a lot of evidence of intestinal issues too.
I would think it's less likely that someone this age has fibroids or major PCOS but anything is possible. I'm hoping the ultrasound will give you some information. If you do decide to see another physician, remember that you (or your insurance) are paying for these tests and the results can be taken with you to see any other physician.
While your daughter definitely knows her body, it's possible that inflammation in the gastrointestinal area is putting extra pressure on her uterus, so while it's not entirely gastro, there could be some involvement there that's making her problem even worse.
Have you looked into any over-the-counter anti-inflammatory food formulas? That's worked so well for women in my professional circle and their daughters (teen issues through menopause). We attend regular food science trainings and information sessions, and there's a tremendous network of success stories including physicians, pharmacists and nurses, plus food scientists. There's a combination of something that helps with menstrual/hormonal issues as well as inflammation. That's another route to go that won't interfere with anything medical that you do.
Hi CM, my daughter started have long, brutal periods at 15, doc put her on Sprintec BC pills. The first 3 months were actually WORSE, then it leveled off and now she has short scant relatively painless 3 day periods every 28 days. Unless she screws up her pills, of course, which happens.
So maybe give a couple more months? Provided she's taking them the same time every day. Sometimes even being 2 hrs late taking her pill makes for a regrettable month.
:)
It could be a hormone imbalance. What she needs is blood work; probably an appointment with a specialist as well. In the mean time fill a zip lock bag with water and micro wave it for about a minute to a minute and a half to use as a heating pad and try to distract her with fun movies or board games.
I had serious cramps and my testing showed I had adhesions from my uterus to my pelvic wall. Cramps can be from intestinal stuff. It really can.
I hope she can find relief, it's crazy to be in so much pain.
I've heard different things about cramps. I've heard that heavy cramping is due to deficiencies in the diet. I've also heard it can be from the dioxins present in conventional feminine products--ie, bleached tampons and pads. I will say, I don't know if it's a coincidence or not but I used to get horrible cramps--I switched to natural tampons made by seventh generation and my cramps are almost non-existent. For dietary connections, google the book, "Woman Code." The author has great suggestions--the diet she follows is extreme, in my opinion. But you can always just try to make a few of the changes and see if it helps. Good luck.
I had horrible cramping. Found out I had a cyst on my ovaries. I get them a lot. Only had to have the ovaries scraped once. Ouch!
I did end up in the hospital due to the cyst rupturing.
Find a doctor who your daughter feels comfortable with. I agree with some below, find a woman doctor.
Women in my family have horrible cramping, heavy and long periods. I would get physically ill before and during my period (vomiting, headache, all over achiness) I felt like I had been hit by a truck. EVERY MONTH. For two weeks. Turns out, I had two uteri - who could see THAT coming?! It was actually only part of the problem. In the end I had a hysterectomy. Before that, we tried to suppress my periods completely. For many reasons, irrelevant to this conversation, it didn't work and I went the surgery route. BUT... my daughter has been suppressing her periods since she was sixteen (she's 27 now.) She's tried anywhere from 1 to 6 periods per year. Three per year seems to be the magic number for her. And by doing this, her symptoms have all but disappeared. Even in the months she has her period.
I think you should rule out anything that your doctor suspects. I think you should definitely have the ultrasounds done. But I feel like your daughter is a perfect candidate for suppressing her periods. Sometimes getting the Rx written properly for insurance takes a few tries (depending on the doctor) but insurance will cover it.
I don't agree about women OB/GYN vs men. I think there are good and bad of both genders. I went to countless doctors trying to find a solution to my problems. The ones who were the quickest to blow me off were women. In the end, it was a male doctor who took me seriously (and pointed out that one only had too look at my blood work to know I wasn't exaggerating.) and promised to find a solution. And he did. He was one of the most attentive and caring physicians, of any specialty, I have ever seen (and I move A LOT!) My suggestion is to get recommendations from friends, coworkers, internet. wherever and keeping going down the list until you find one that your daughter is comfortable with. I had completely given up on ever finding a solution for my issues (at 39 yrs old) until my friend and neighbor INSISTED I see her OB/GYN. She promised he would listen. He did.
I understand your frustration as well as your daughter's. I hope you find a solution quickly.
A friend of mine has a daughter who had bad cramps, she said drinking milk helped her daughter.
I was thinking ovulation, also. Ever since I started getting my period , after having my last kid , I have got the worst ovulation cramps. Ovulation , is now MUCH more painful than my period.
When I was in high school, I had cramps so bad I could not physically walk. I would also have cramping just about all month long...my boyfriend actually picked me up and carried me to class more than once.
It wasn't until the pain was so bad one morning that I actually missed school (had perfect attendance otherwise) and by the time my hair was blow dried it was wet from sweat....not damp, totally drenched. I couldn't sit, lay, or stand...nothing made it better.
BC helped regulate my periods and cramping but I still have them during the week of my period. They never lessened until I had my son. 15 years later, had my daughter and the cramps are back...YAY me!
