Would you be angry?

seven-day-weekend

[QUOTE=claire16c;52909315]But just because youve never had pain that painkillers wouldnt fix, why would that mean someone else hasnt? And there is no reason to put up with painful/heavy periods when you can do something about them. Who wants to sit about in bed with a hot water bottle? Which is totally impractical to do every month when you have school/a job to go to anyway.

If the girl was say being sick or feeling faint then I can see why the lady might have panicked. Or the girl asked her to. We dont know what conversations went on, and also what the girl said to the doctor. She may well have asked for it herself - which she could do anyway - whether or not this lady took her.

Perhaps she took the opportunity whilst her mum was away. Who knows![/QUOTE]

I didn't mean that no-one else did, I just was stating that I had never had pain that severe.

I also didn't mean that nothing should be done about it. I just think the neighbour overstepped the mark.

Darren_G

Two of my three girls suffer with painful heavy periods. It's sometimes heartbreaking to see the state they get in, but I would be dead against them going on the pill for anything but its 'intended' purpose. Luckily, hot water bottles, ibuprofen and a sympathy cuddle from mum or dad work for them.

I think the health risks of prolonged use of the pill from an early age are too great to just start prescribing it willy-nilly if she is not sexually active, and the doctor should have considered this.

My view is that the friend was out of order. If the child had asked for help, she should have either booked an appointment for when the mother was home, or discussed it with her before going.

seven-day-weekend

Darren_G wrote: »

Two of my three girls suffer with painful heavy periods. It's sometimes heartbreaking to see the state they get in, but I would be dead against them going on the pill for anything but its 'intended' purpose. Luckily, hot water bottles, ibuprofen and a sympathy cuddle from mum or dad work for them.

I think the health risks of prolonged use of the pill from an early age are too great to just start prescribing it willy-nilly if she is not sexually active, and the doctor should have considered this.

My view is that the friend was out of order. If the child had asked for help, she should have either booked an appointment for when the mother was home, or discussed it with her before going.

That's how I feel too.

euronorris

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

What's wrong with bed, a hot water bottle and a strong ibuprofen?

WAY over the top, imho.

I can't speak for everyone, but that doesn't work for me. It just about takes the edge of, but that's all. Which isn't too bad if I don't have anything to do, but it's a bit impractical to take a couple of days off work (or school in this case) every month.

I've had to find ways around me, as the pill became a problem for me in 2010, so I came off it. For me now, it's a strong ibuprofen, a strong paracetemol AND a hot water bottle. I've also found that some light exercise helps (like a long walk), though it feels torturous at first, it soon starts to actually help and the muscles seem to relax somewhat. If I'm at home, I've found a glass of wine is by far the most effective pain reliever, and lasts for hours and hours. Though, that obviously isn't recommended for a child, and I only do it, because it's just one glass, for one/two evenings in a month.

But people really underestimate how bad periods can be, if they haven't experienced it themselves. I started at 10 and didn't have any period pains until I was 13. But seeing my sister vomiting and passing out every month used to terrify me!

Mojisola

I've been in the situation where a teenager's friend who was staying over needed medical attention. It was an emergency and, while I got her to A&E, my OH was contacting her parents.

If it hadn't been an emergency, I would have spoken to her parents before taking her anywhere and asked what they wanted me to do.

I would consider it very high-handed of a friend who took my child to the GP without consulting me. I would certainly want to be involved in any decisions about long-term medication.

The point isn't "how awful period pains can be", it's how the friend dealt with the situation.

JimmyTheWig

I think that the whole thing needs to be discussed between the three people involved. Unfortunately for us the OP isn't one of them and so we will probably never hear the full story.

If the woman encouraged the girl to go onto the pill then she has overstepped the mark.
If the woman took the girl to the girl's own GP and normally the girl sees her doctor on her own and this time the girl also saw the doctor on her own, then I don't think the woman has done much wrong at all.
There's various shades of middle-ground between the two.

We don't know whose doctor they saw.
We don't know who saw the doctor.
We don't know who first suggested the pill.
We don't know who agreed that the pill sounded like a good idea.

Fingers crossed that between them they find the right solution for the girl.

FatVonD

I too suffered horrendously painful periods in my teens throwing up and with diarrhoea too (I didn't know which end of me to point at the loo!) Hot water bottles didn't touch it and I'd cry with pain. Luckily I was very regular and it always happened on a Sunday so I didn't have to miss school. It stopped when I went on the pill for contraceptive reasons until my mum found them and stopped me taking them but that's another story...

liney

No I wouldn't be angry with my friend, but then i'd have already taken my daughter to the doctor if she was in excessive pain!

The pill has many uses apart from contraception, including reducing period pain and treatment of severe acne for which it was perscribed to me. It is medication.

From the friend's point of view, the girl would have needed another day off school if she has waited until her mother got home the next day. If she was going to go into the consultation alone, why not just give her a lift and let her get it sorted.

claire16c

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I didn't mean that no-one else did, I just was stating that I had never had pain that severe.

I also didn't mean that nothing should be done about it. I just think the neighbour overstepped the mark.

You said it was way over the top though. If someone you were caring for was in really bad pain, then why not take them to the doctor?

Darren_G wrote: »

Two of my three girls suffer with painful heavy periods. It's sometimes heartbreaking to see the state they get in, but I would be dead against them going on the pill for anything but its 'intended' purpose. Luckily, hot water bottles, ibuprofen and a sympathy cuddle from mum or dad work for them.

I think the health risks of prolonged use of the pill from an early age are too great to just start prescribing it willy-nilly if she is not sexually active, and the doctor should have considered this.

My view is that the friend was out of order. If the child had asked for help, she should have either booked an appointment for when the mother was home, or discussed it with her before going.

Health risks such as?

You also dont know what the doctor had considered. Seeing as youre a man youve probably never asked the doctor for help regarding your periods and therefore Im guessing you wouldnt know what went on at such appointments.. They dont just give it out like sweets.

Just because the pill can be used as a contraceptive doesnt mean it cant also be used for other reasons too.

Its pretty awful to read that a parent is willing to watch their kid go through pain, because they cant get over their own preconceptions of the pill. Parents like that, are the ones whose children will end up sneaking off to the doctors themselves and keeping secrets.

I mean seriously, you would be ok if your teenager came home and said they were having sex and therefore were going on the pill - but not if they had horrendously bad periods?? How does that make sense? Surely youd rather they were waiting to have sex til they were older! (when I say teenager I mean 13/14 not 17/18)

duchy

Mojisola wrote: »

I've been in the situation where a teenager's friend who was staying over needed medical attention. It was an emergency and, while I got her to A&E, my OH was contacting her parents.

If it hadn't been an emergency, I would have spoken to her parents before taking her anywhere and asked what they wanted me to do.

I would consider it very high-handed of a friend who took my child to the GP without consulting me. I would certainly want to be involved in any decisions about long-term medication.

The point isn't "how awful period pains can be", it's how the friend dealt with the situation.

Exactly

If my child was "rolling around the floor in agony" to the point his friend's parent felt he needed a same day doctor -I'd be livid no-one contacted me. On one hand people are saying it was serious enough to warrent medical attention-on the other -not serious enough to contact the mother-the two surely go together.

Also a fourteen year old may not know if there is a family history which would increase the risks for her taking the pill for example at fourteen I knew one of my aunts had died but didn't know it was a thrombosis .