School (time off from) with heavy periods (menstruation)

uolypool

Torry_Quine wrote: »

I just wanted to say what a great Dad to notice and care about this important issue in his daughter's life.

I would just like to second this.I hope you and your daughter manage to get the reason behind the heavy menstrual cycle sorted soon and the problem with the school absences also get sorted.Being a teenager is never simple and straight forward;) Hugs for your little girl:)

Edit Is she anemic?? I am anemic due to not being able to tollerate iron supliments have been since having children,also have very heavy monthlys waiting for a hystroectomy. My gp told me to eat a bar of dark chocolate a day, even if it doesnt help it may cheer her up a little.

candygirl

I was exactly the same, but was never allowed any time off school:mad::mad:Managed to have DD at 19, but was then infertile as had severe endometriosis, so get her monitored as it could affect her when she wants a family.:o

jenniewb

Wow! I was sent home from school once for "looking very green" when I had overwhelming period pains (my friends shopped me to the head of upper school who let me go home with their blessing!) I'm imagining that your school has many reports of this maybe as time off for PP when I was at school was never heard of. It could be the school just don't get whats going on and are assuming your daughter is doing what many others could have done and abused the rules, ruined it for everyone.

I would get a doctor or gyno to write a note, if one does not then find another: if what your describing happens every month and your daughter needs time to work on getting a grip on it you could talk with the school about extra study time after school on days she is in to make up for the lost time. I do think 25% of school missing would have a huge impact on her learning and would make her feel worse and more stressed as a result. If the school were able to see you were doing everything in your power to have it impact her as little as possible they may start to take your side.

I would also see if you can speak to your doctor about getting any sort of a gyno appointment fast-forwarded. I don't know what its like in your area but where I live it was a 6 week wait which is fairly decent but at the same time is time away. I would then make sure when you do get the gyno appointment you ask what other things you can try re: the flooding. I take mefenamic (sp?) acid which has reduced my periods to a medium to heavy level (they were very very heavy before) and they have also made the pain that bit more bearable. They don't take the pain away, I'm still writering around in agony but it lasts 2 days instead of 7 and I am able to get on with things 60% of the time where as before I just was unable to function as the pain and nausia made it too difficult to walk straight or focus on anything.

I also take magnesium and evening primrose oil which I started about 3 months ago. I noticed a slight improvement, nothing massive but did help so I would also suggest trying out natural remedies too.

Where pain comes into things (I tended to work around the heaviness as I am an adult and don't need to be excused to the toilet IYSWIM!) I found keeping moving helped. A hot water bottle at night helped and the heat packs which stick onto your clothes helped. I know it may sound impossible but exercise which made me sweat (eg heavy exercise) is what helped most of all. I'm not sure if its the feel-good hormones or its just that the muscles around the abdomen do something different but it works. Pain doesn't 100% vanish and it all does come back again but its a short break for what can feel like endless hell!

Keep salt intake low, keep eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg keep occupied to keep your mind off things, these are what helps me.

[Deleted User]

Ian5 wrote: »

It is the flooding and amount that is the problem. For example she went to the GP early one morning for a blood test and whilst walking home, she flooded and went through the two STs pants and trousers. In December she texted home to say that she had unexpectedly come on, school would not me see her but took a bag of STs, wipes, etc. that I took to school. She spent the afternoon wearing blood-stained pants and trousers and was worried about leaving blood on her chairs.

Flooding is the problem, I (Dad) once saw blood trickling down her legs as she was going up to the bathroom. It's coping at school alone cleaning herself up with baby wipes, and asking the teachers to go to the toilet.

As someone how has also had problems (in my adult life) with heavy periods you really need to go back and push the doctor to get her treated sooner. It took a while to get me sorted out, but it has made the difference.

As someone else mentioned would it be possible for her to go on the pill? I know she is only young, but even if it is a temporary measure until something else can be sorted out then it might be a good option.

Another thing might be getting her to try tampons. Again, not easy due to her age, but I found that using a tampon and a thick towel were the best combination. Still need to change often, but better at stopping the mess.

Good luck with this as I can only imagine how upsetting this is for her.

P.S. Just another thought. The best towels to buy for her will be the night time ones as they are thicker and longer.

Mojisola

Ian5 wrote: »

It is the flooding and amount that is the problem. For example she went to the GP early one morning for a blood test and whilst walking home, she flooded and went through the two STs pants and trousers. In December she texted home to say that she had unexpectedly come on, school would not me see her but took a bag of STs, wipes, etc. that I took to school. She spent the afternoon wearing blood-stained pants and trousers and was worried about leaving blood on her chairs.

Flooding is the problem, I (Dad) once saw blood trickling down her legs as she was going up to the bathroom. It's coping at school alone cleaning herself up with baby wipes, and asking the teachers to go to the toilet.

As someone who has been a parent, teacher and governor - I think this was unacceptable. You should have been able to see her and reassure and comfort her.

I have no doubt that if a teacher had been forced to spend the afternoon still wearing her blood-stained clothing that the Union Rep would have beating down the Head's door to complain.

murphydog999

Oh to be a female!!

I was the same when I started at 12, it not only affected my schooling (I couldn't concentrate for worrying and embarrassment) but also my sleep because of flooding during the night (which then impacted more on my schooling). It was also really worrying, thinking that it couldn't be normal to loose all this blood, unfortunately my mum had died a year earlier (unlike the OP my father couldn't care less) and we had just moved to another area, so I just had to deal with it. This is all quite stressful for a girl of twelve.

I think you need to make sure she really knows what is happening IS normal, and she has as much support as poss to make her feel like she can cope with it. She can't be the only girl of her age in school that this is happening to, like Mojisola says, this does sound a tad unsupportive, and a resolution is needed rather than anger!!

milliemonster

Yes I had similar problems when i started my periods, I was so heavy that I would be off school for a week at a time as I was so weak and faint, I even fainted in the street. It turned out I was slightly anaemic anyway, but I ended up having to go on the pill to reduce the level of bleeding so my periods became more manageable, we are talking 25 years ago though, things may be different now.

I would definitely go back to your GP, periods like this can be debilitating and I don't think some GP's (male particularly) can understand at all.

They will settle down as she gets older but that obviously doesn't help her now.

Mojisola

milliemonster wrote: »

I would definitely go back to your GP, periods like this can be debilitating and I don't think some GP's (male particularly) can understand at all.

They will settle down as she gets older but that obviously doesn't help her now.

My (male) GP told me that things would be alright after I had my first pregnancy - I was 14 at the time!

skylight

My DD has suffered for years with similar things that the Docs couldn't help much with. The only suggestion was to stick a 12yo on the pill which they didn't want to do really. So she lives with it. (16 now, so different).

But the first bleeding day would make her violently sick and a yukky bum and this would often roll into the night/next day. So she was taking at least 2 days off a month from school. Not as bad as a whole week but the school obviously were concerned. However, they were far more understanding than yours is OP.

It was something she just put up with (I wouldn't!) buts that my DD all over; she just couldn't be bothered to do anything about it in the end; which reflects in other parts of her life... :mad:

Hobo17

Daisygirl wrote: »

I completely understand, my daughter is 12 (13 next month) and going through a similar thing. She started last April and has been going through horrendous heavy bleeding and flooding. It wasn't too bad to start with, irregular, missing some months, then light or heavy, but I went to the doctors with her last August after she was bleeding for 5 weeks straight, really heavy, and I thought, that's enough, she's going to be anaemic in a minute. She prescribed Tranexamic acid tablets for her and they have been brilliant, they really slow down/stop the flow after she takes them for a day or two.

She is going away with school in the summer and doing lots of water activities & horse riding etc, so I am wondering already about what to do about that for her! Hopefully something can be done to postpone it completely for a week. She is still very irregular - cannot predict when it will start each time, but hopefully her cycle will start to settle down soon - here's hoping, and that it will get lighter.

At school it hasn't been too bad - she takes a spare pair of trousers etc with her in her bag and loads of STs, and makes sure she goes to the toilets at all the break times. She cannot even bear to think about tampons yet (I understand entirely that too). She has no pain though, well maybe just a little bit, just heaviness. Luckily she has not needed to be off school yet (touches wood!). Good luck, I hope you find a solution and it gets easier.

You can get a drug called norethisterone which delays the arrival of your period. Or if she was to take the pill you can run 2 packs together and skip the 'week off' so you won't get a period.