12 year old DD on the pill

[jlder72]

I am a nurse and I know how I suffered with my period. She has a heavy flow and bad cramps. I think the pill is a good answer.

Has anyone done this with their tween? What pill would you suggest.

 

[grafxgirl]

My daughter is only 7 but if she ends up being anything like me, she will need to go on the pill early for those same reasons.

I was on the pill because I had awful menstrual cycles, pain and heavy flow, for the first two years, then my doctor did an exploratory surgery and discovered I had endometriosis at 14. The pill certainly did alleviate the pain and other issues. However, the pill caused me migraines, so my doctor switched me to the patch. I liked it because I didn't have to remember to take a pill every day.

I say if you and her doctor think it will be a benefit for her, then do it.

 

[kristina87]

I don't see anything wrong with it. I started on the pill at about 16 but should have been on it way earlier bc my flows were so heavy and awful. I started actually with the depoprovera shots that you just get every 3 months and you have no periods with them. They were great, but then I switched to the pill in college and took Seasonique and I am now taking a generic brand that I can't remember the name of at the moment

I think its a good idea, good luck!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Just a word of warning...I started a thread last year about putting my 15 year old on the pill because I have such horrible cramps. Most were nice, but one father actually wrote it's a good thing he didn't know me in person or I would have to deal with him for putting my child on b.c.
Like it was his business! I had a lot of people disagree with me, but he is the only one who kind of threatened me. That really ticked me off. But whatever.

 

[mhsjax]

Just a word of warning...I started a thread last year about putting my 15 year old on the pill because I have such horrible cramps. Most were nice, but one father actually wrote it's a good thing he didn't know me in person or I would have to deal with him for putting my child on b.c.
Like it was his business! I had a lot of people disagree with me, but he is the only one who kind of threatened me. That really ticked me off. But whatever.

Well to men like him, I say lets tie him down and have someone pull on his lower abdomen, (internally) for about 5 days and lets see how he feels about cramps and the pill.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Well to men like him, I say lets tie him down and have someone pull on his lower abdomen, (internally) for about 5 days and lets see how he feels about cramps and the pill.

Oh, I wish I had thought of this. That's brilliant.

 

[NewCrew42]

I should have been on the pill at a young age, terrible periods with vomiting and fainting due to pain. I developed anemia during this time and still fight it to this day. I didn't get on the pill until college when I took myself to the doctor and he prescribed them for me. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It really helped.

My mom didn't want me on the pill in junior high and high school. She was afraid of what other people might think. I don't blame her, because she sincerely thought she was doing the right thing and protecting my reputation. However, I would have missed a lot less of school, been in a lot less pain, felt better about myself, etc.

I have already talked to my doctor about if my DD should need this and with my history, if she shows signs, she will be on the pill right away. Things have changed a lot in the last 30 years. Do what you need to do to help your DD lead a healthy and productive life.

 

[disneychrista]

My daughter was put on the pill at 13 due to painfull periods. It helps a lot, especially since she is on Seasoneque and only has a period every 3 months. She is 17 now and it is nice knowing that she is protected just in case.

 

[Christine]

I would do it in the instance that the girl was having very heavy bleeding. If it was just awful cramping, nausea, etc., I would start with the naprosyn/ibuprofen regimine that works very well.

I'm certainly not against birth control pills by any means. I am a little leary of putting a 12 y/o on them who is still developing and her body is getting her own hormone levels going. I just don't like the thought off "adding" hormones to a 12 y/o girl--or rather interfering with a newly developing hormonal phase.

Having said that, I do think there is a small percentage of girls that have terrible endometriosis and other conditions that cannot be well controlled with anti-inflammatories.

Now once a girl is more mature (say 16), I am a little more comfortable with it.

My own daughter has been trying to find a birth control pill that works for her. So far she is on her third and it's not going well. She gets various side effects that are very disruptive for her. This last one she's on doesn't make her sick but now she's getting spotting.

Anyway, I'm not sure how I'd like dealing with a 12 year old having some of these side effects either. But if nothing else works, I think it's probably wise to try them. No need to be miserable.

 

[olwyngdh]

When I was 13 (1974) my Dr gave my Mom a choice between Hormone pills, which would cost $X a month, or taking me to a Planned Parenthood clinic and putting me on the pill for $1 a month. Guess which one she chose

I was on it until I got married and decided to have a baby at 23.

This saved me at least two missed school days a month.

 

[tinkerbellandeyor]

I was put on the pill in HS however it was because my mom was concerned that my boyfriend and I were moving to fast however i did notice some of the benefits that are talked about in previous post

 

[disfan07]

I went on the pill when I was 11. I started my period when I was 10. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 11 and 10 years later they now think that I probably have endometriosis as well.

Personally, I dont see the problem with putting someone that young on the pill because of heavy period, etc. Its worse to not give them it and leave them in a lot of pain when there is a simple solution that could help.

I will say though, that it took us 4 years and 3 different BCPs before we found one that actually worked for me. It worked for about 5 years and then we had to switch again because it stopped working.

 

[disneychrista]

If it was just awful cramping, nausea, etc., I would start with the naprosyn/ibuprofen regimine that works very well..

But it does not work for everyone. I know in my daughters case it did nothing. Nothing would touch it and she was in bed in pain for 2 - 3 days each month. Even with the BC she is stil in some pain, but not enough to interfer with her daily life.

 

[Christine]

But it does not work for everyone. I know in my daughters case it did nothing. Nothing would touch it and she was in bed in pain for 2 - 3 days each month. Even with the BC she is stil in some pain, but not enough to interfer with her daily life.

I agree. I just think that everyone should try the ibuprofen/naproxyn route before immediately going to birth control pills. Again, I don't think bc pills are evil, but they are hormones that I don't think should be taken lightly for a 12 year old girl, that's all. And certainly ibuprofen is not without its own side effects.

 

[proud_canadian]

I went on the pill at 16 due to period issues. Before that I had vomiting almost every month and bad diarrhea every month, plus debilitating cramps every month. Did I Mention the heavy, heavy bleeding? I should have been on it much sooner. My quality of life improved 500% at least afterwards. My periods were still heavy, but lighter than before and REGULAR. The cramps were still there, but less, and the vomitting and most of the diahrea stopped. I was missing 1-2 days at least every month and would pray those bad days would fall on a weekend so I didn't have to miss school... again.

That being said, not sure if it is recommended for someone as young as 12? Also, I went on at 16 and by about 23 could no longer take it. I took one for about 5 years and then after that started getting headaches and side effects and couldn't find one that worked well for me. Eventually I had a blood clot in my leg and was not allowed to take them at all, but I was at the point where I couldn't take one anyways because of the side effects. Not sure if that was related to starting to take the pill so "early" or not... but something to consider.

Good luck, and I feel bad, as I understand... praying my DD's don't go through that.

I ended up with hysterectomy at age 30.

 

[kacaju]

I have a thread here about my 14 year old and period problems. She doesn't have heavy bleeding, but she does get bad cramps (she calls them stomach pain) she also throws up
She just got over her *sickness* this week so next month i am gonig to try the aleve/motrin and see if that works. I have an appt with a Dr for the middle of Jan.
If needed we will put her on the pill, but honestly I'd like to wait until her body matures. Of course we will see what the Dr. thinks and how she does on the aleve or motrin. Right now she has already missed 5 days of school due to being sick from her period.

 

[MissMet]

I had the same problem as a young teen. Very intense periods. My mom (also a nurse) took me to her DR. Her DR felt that I should not go on BC that young because it's not a definite fix. More importantly, she didn't want me to be on it that long to eventually not have it work for the intended purpose when I finally did become "active". Also, I would then start feeling the side affects & have to change the BCPs often. She suggested ibuprofen. I eventual grew out of it.

Personally, I agree with my mom's Dr. It worked out for me just fine without it. I would just start ibuprofen a day or 2 prior to my period, taking it ever 4-6 hours and it became very manageable until I grew out of the stage. It only lasted for the summer & then it became "normal".

I had a friend diagnosed with PCOS and she was on BC from a very young age & hated it. She hated explaining to people why she was on it & was very embarrassed. The side affects also drove her nuts. She finally went to a naturalist (???) to be able to get off of it.

So I guess, everyone's different.

 

[hereyago]

I should have been on the pill at a young age, terrible periods with vomiting and fainting due to pain. I developed anemia during this time and still fight it to this day. I didn't get on the pill until college when I took myself to the doctor and he prescribed them for me. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It really helped.

My mom didn't want me on the pill in junior high and high school. She was afraid of what other people might think. I don't blame her, because she sincerely thought she was doing the right thing and protecting my reputation. However, I would have missed a lot less of school, been in a lot less pain, felt better about myself, etc.

Sorry, Who would know if you were on them anyway, unless she or you told someone you were on BC? I can't imagine being more interested in saving face and worry about what people thought than to have my DD suffer.

 

[jsmith]

I would, quiet frankly, hesitate to do this at 12-thats awefully young-she is still developing and developing bone-which estrogen can affect. The other factor is that you may be making decisions for her now that have long term consequenses. I started BC at 16 for what seemed to be overwhelming issues with my periods-if i had been able to see the future i would not have done it. i took them til i was in my early 20s when my blood pressure went out of the range that would allow me to take them-and i began developing hormone induced migraines. I tryed them again after the birth of my second son-by then the issues i thought were bad at 16 were magnified by 10-and continued to get worse-but i can no longer use BC pills since i used up my bodies tolerance early on. its certainly a discussion you want to have with her doctor-and it may be the best option-but consider the long term results carefully.

 

[Owlpost23]

If the Dr. gives the o.k.,why not? Periods are icky enough to deal with,if someone can bypass the pain,then it's fine in my book.Puberty is hard enough to deal with.