Question For Ladies Regarding Periods

[cornflakegirl]

Hi,

I'm new to this board. I'm posting about concerns for my 14 year old daughter's health. I don't know if she has celiac disease, but she does have many symptoms that concern me and make me think that she may have this.

I just want to start by breifly describing some symptoms that she has had over the years. When she was around 7 or 8 and still skinny, she had a fat belly. She developed psoriasis on her knees and elbows when she was 10. We have controlled this with diet off and on. A very heavy first period that lasted over 30 days. It stopped after birth control pills and now she has not had any period for several months ( she's off the pill now). Her doctor said this is normal and that she will eventually begin regular periods. She is slightly anemic and her face is very pale. She has a moustache that she has to bleach regularly. She also has a lot of stretch-marks. She complains a lot about belly aches. She sleeps a lot. I am concerned about all of this but mostly about her lack of menstruation.

I guess what I would like is for anyone here to share their experience with beginning menstruation. Has anyone here had a similar experience to my daughter's? I would appreciate any input.

[Guest j_mommy]

I had alot of teh same symptoms as your daughter when I was her age....I started my period at 12 and it was always heavy.

I have a friend who will go for months with no period and then have one for months. She is currently taking medication to get it to start and then it will stop on it's own she has had luck with it. She sees a gyno for her period probs...but being your daughter is young???? Does she do sports?????

[cornflakegirl]

Hi j_mommy,

She doesn't do any sports. She's kind of a computer geek. So can I ask if your periods eventually became more regular? I've always had such uneventful periods and feel so sorry for my daughter. She's afraid to start her period again and at the same time afraid she won't. It breaks my heart.

Thanks for replying.

[Guest j_mommy]

The older I got....probably by my senior year of high school things kinda leveled out.

Do you mind me asking what kind of birth control she's on???? I took ortho when I was younger but now I switch between depo(definetly wouldn't recommend for someone that young) and Yaz. I do 6 months on each. Yaz is a low dose and makes you have lighter periods! Maybe worth looking into for her!

[lob6796]

Has her thyroid been tested at all? The tiredness and hairgrowth, messed up cycles could all be thyroid issues. I would ask him to check her iron, her B12, and her thyroid. Throwing in a fell serum panel for celiac would be a good idea too. IgA, IgG, tTG, EMA and total IgA will give you a good picture. I hope she starts feeling better soon.

[cornflakegirl]

j_mommy,

She's not on the pill right now. She said they gave her a stomach ache. She went off them with the doc's permission to see if she would have regular periods and so far she's had nothing. Kind of a mixed blessing. She was on Kariva.

Hi kilcan-

After she had that heavy period the doc did her bloodwork and said everything was normal except for slight anemia. I don't know if they tested her thyroid. I will print out your suggestions and talk to her doc about them. Thanks!

[CarlaB]

Where are her stretch marks?

The Pill doesn't really regulate periods, it's main mechanism is to prevent ovulation, so it just seems like they get regulated. I didn't have regular periods until I was 16. The heavy bleeding would be a concern, but the lack of periods isn't really at that age, especially if she's thin.

The hair sounds like a hormonal problem. Has she had her endocrine levels checked?

[cornflakegirl]

Hi Carla,

She is actually a little overweight right now. That's something we are going to work on over the summer break.

Her stretch marks are all around her upper thighs and the backs of the kness and upper calves. Will they go away if she loses weight? She's too embarrased to wear shorts anymore. I'm hoping they will fade with time. I've never had her hormone levels checked.

[CarlaB]

Do the stretch marks look like this? There are several slides. Open Original Shared Link

I would have her hormone levels checked. I would also have her thyroid checked.

Is she taking anything for the anemia? I can tell you first hand that anemia makes you very fatigued.