Dr. Hive - adolescent menstrual questions

[MiniBlondes]

Dr. Hive,

 

My oldest daughter will be thirteen next week. She started her period on Christmas Day this past year. On Friday she started her third period. The cycles have gotten shorter every month, but I think her body was syncing to mine because I started the same day that she did. Anyway...

 

First two days were fairly light, a normal amount. About two hours ago she told me that she'd bled through her tampon and needed me to soak her underwear before washing. I told her no problem. She mentioned that her flow was very heavy so I told her to put on a pad with her tampon. About thirty minutes later, we were standing in the kitchen talking and she abruptly went to the bathroom. She'd bled through her regular tampon, her pad was soaked, her underwear was soaked in a large spot on the back, it was dripping down her leg, and there was some tissue/clots in the toilet.

 

I have never had a heavy flow (thankfully) so this just seems very excessive to me. Should I be concerned here? 

Edited February 16, 2016 by MiniBlondes

[Guest]

I do find that surprising with a young girl who just started menarche. I would ask a doctor, unless you get different advice from others.

[sparrow]

Mine were like that within about 6 months of starting.  They also lasted more than 7 days  :glare: .  My mom took me to the doctor after a couple months of it. The doctor said it was nothing to be concerned about, to expect over the next year that things would work themselves out, and many women simply have irregular, heavy periods. I put up with it for a couple years, but eventually they put me on BC pills for a few months to get things straightened out. That worked and I've been regular ever since.

 

I will say that tampons made things *much* worse for me. Once I switched to a cup, my cycles decreased in length and flow and I have much less cramping. I wish I would have started using one sooner.....but I can't convince my own dd to use one either.

[MrsWeasley]

Wait, she bled through a tampon and pad in half an hour?! I would take her to urgent care.

[JoJosMom]

I think that there is no normal for young girls at the start, but I would definitely call and discuss this with her pediatrician.

 

:grouphug:  for your DD; I hope she isn't freaked out.  Started can be emotional enough.  Bleeding so heavily is just...bleh.

[Kristie in Florida]

I don't remember what mine were like then. My daughter's have been normal/light since they started in October. If they were suddenly that heavy I'd call her doctor. Mine have never been that heavy.

[JoJosMom]

Wait, she bled through a tampon and pad in half an hour?! I would take her to urgent care.

 

I wouldn't panic.  What type of tampon?  On my heaviest day, for example, I bleed through a super plus in about an hour.  :glare:

 

(Now, if it's a super plus, it's certainly concerning.)

[Starr]

Bleeding through both in half an hour is something I would check with a doctor. Has it been lighter the last couple of hours?

[krsmom]

This would be normal for the first two days of my cycle. I am not 13 though, obviously. 

[happypamama]

I can remember mine being heavy like that in the first year or so. If it slacked off after that, I probably wouldn't think too much of it, but it might be worth a call to the doctor at some point, just to discuss it and to make sure she's not becoming anemic.

[Katy]

nm

Edited July 22, 2016 by Katy

[Reefgazer]

I had very heavy periods in my teens that were similar to what you describe (not quite that heavy, but still, pretty heavy).  I didn't get it checked out because I thought that was just par for the course; I mean,it's not like I had any other point of reference.  Anyway, it decreased once I hit my 20s, and everything has been moderate and OK since.  I think it can't hurt to discuss this with a doctor though. If they don't find anything wrong, I would be hesitant to medicate, though, because teens' cycles are crazy anyway and she'll probably straighten out in due time.

Dr. Hive,

 

My oldest daughter will be thirteen next week. She started her period on Christmas Day this past year. On Friday she started her third period. The cycles have gotten shorter every month, but I think her body was syncing to mine because I started the same day that she did. Anyway...

 

First two days were fairly light, a normal amount. About two hours ago she told me that she'd bled through her tampon and needed me to soak her underwear before washing. I told her no problem. She mentioned that her flow was very heavy so I told her to put on a pad with her tampon. About thirty minutes later, we were standing in the kitchen talking and she abruptly went to the bathroom. She'd bled through her regular tampon, her pad was soaked, her underwear was soaked in a large spot on the back, it was dripping down her leg, and there was some tissue/clots in the toilet.

 

I have never had a heavy flow (thankfully) so this just seems very excessive to me. Should I be concerned here? 

 

[OnMyOwn]

I'd call the doctor and at least speak with a nurse. There are specific guidelines about how much bleeding is okay before it is a problem.

[JFSinIL]

That is too much bleeding for a young girl.  And the shortening cycles - well, my kid sister was just like that (her cycles started at age 11) so the doctor put her on birth control just to regulate the cycles to 28 days. Otherwise every other week she was on her period! I had my youngest girl (started a little older) put on bc for the same reason.  I used bc for one year - my cycles had always ranged from 26 - 48 or more days (!!!) and I was sick of it.  I noticed the flow itself was less heavy on bc, too.  I would take your dd to a OB/GYN (female if possible, since she is so young a man might be too embarrassing for her) and discuss bc to regulate her cycle  (after a year or so she may be able to go off bc and see if her cycles stay regular without )    She may also need iron supplements. 

 

Our periods do not have to make us miserable. 

Edited February 16, 2016 by JFSinIL

[MiniBlondes]

Thanks everyone.

 

I have made an appointment with our GP this morning and we will go from there. It seemed to slow down overnight but has picked up again now that she's up and awake. That's probably just because she was laying down all night. 

[AmandaVT]

I ended up on the pill when I was a teenager for similar periods - my cramps would be so bad, I'd be throwing up regularly and I'd bleed quite heavily. I'd give the pedi a call to check in. *hugs* to your DD too! Heavy periods are no fun!

[happypamama]

I also might suggest, if you need to see someone, to ask about a midwife.  I happen to like our family doctor a lot, and she is DD's daughter too; she's a sweet woman around her early 30s, and I think DD would be pretty comfortable with her.  But if I wanted to discuss female issues more in depth, especially for DD, I would probably try to see one of my midwives.  They've all always had a nice bedside manner, not so sterile as doctors can sometimes come across, and they're less likely to suggest hormones.  I'd be a little leery of putting a 13yo on hormonal birth control without looking for a deeper cause, so I'd want to try different things first, and a midwife is more likely to suggest things to address the underlying issue.  (For instance, I have never had a doctor suggest that I might have some endometriosis, but one of my midwives did suggest that based on some symptoms after doing my regular well woman checkup/Pap smear.  It wasn't enough of an issue for me to follow up on it in a deeper way, so I don't know, but I'd always thought it might be a mild concern.)

 

Also, I know my cramps and flow got a LOT better when I started using a cup.  However, that was at about 30, and after having a couple of babies, so I don't know what the actual difference was, but I have heard that tampons can make the flow heavier and the cramps stronger.  So you might try switching to a cup or cloth pads to avoid any chemicals and seeing if that helps.

[JoJosMom]

What was she doing before this heavy bleeding happened?  That much bleeding is a sign you should tell a doctor, unless just beforehand she'd spent hours sitting with her tailbone tucked up, or lying on her back. If so her blood might have gathered and clotted, and just come out when she got up.

 

The doctor's answer is going to be to do a pap to make sure she doesn't have obvious signs of disease, then put her on the pill to regulate things. Personally I'd watch it a month or two first to see.  And rather than just agreeing to the pill, make sure they do some blood work and check to see if she has a bleeding or clotting disorder.  If she has a clotting issue the last thing you want to do is put her on the pill.

 

What's her diet like?  Did she eat a great deal more fat than usual recently? More soy or dairy?  Can you have her eat less fat, less dairy, more fiber, and incorporate a little blackstrap molasses into her diet every day (great in chai lattes made with coconut or almond milk).  All of those will lower her estrogen level and reduce bleeding and cramping.

 

Are her gums pale?  That's a sign of anemia.

 

OP, please PLEASE listen to the bolded.  For political reasons, doctors hand out birth control pills like candy.  For some women, though, they are DANGEROUS.  Certain clotting disorders themselves increase a woman's risk of stroke; birth control pills increase that risk enormously.  Very few doctors do any screening prior to prescribing the pill, though. 

[Katy]

OP, please PLEASE listen to the bolded.  For political reasons, doctors hand out birth control pills like candy.  For some women, though, they are DANGEROUS.  Certain clotting disorders themselves increase a woman's risk of stroke; birth control pills increase that risk enormously.  Very few doctors do any screening prior to prescribing the pill, though. 

 

This is true.  Fortunately, strokes among young women are rare, but when they do happen they almost always involve undetected clotting issues and birth control pills.