Are the implant very used over there

Marguerite

Active Member
It can be surprising sometimes when you realise just how different some cultures can be, under the surface. I've been here on this site longer than Rotsne, and I still get surprised sometimes.

A radio show this morning was discussing "Americanisms we hate" and it was interesting for me to listen as people rang in and mentioned some slang our kids are picking up from watching US-made movies or listening to music from the US. "Whateverrr..." was one that was mentioned, but interestingly, we really don't hear it much at all. The word gets used here in ways much closer to its original meaning, with no hint of disrespect. In fact, a kid here wanting to make it clear that they're signalling a mix of boredom, studied insult and dismissiveness, HAS to say it with a US accent!

So I'm with Rotsne on this one, cultural differences can surprise you, it can be a much bigger issue than you think.

In terms of fear of terrorism - US mainland is going to be a little more insulated than mainland Europe, where a lot of recruitment can happen through easy overland access.

Back to topic - Rotsne, a few things need to be considered about hormonal contraception:

1) If the girl hasn't finished growing yet or is very early into puberty, using added hormones can affect her growth and other aspects of her development. The risk of this needs to be balanced against how urgent is the need for hormonal contraception.

2) Hormonal contraception does not protect against infection. It also may, by removing fear of pregnancy, increase the chance of a more casual attitude to sex. This is emotionally unhealthy, even if physical health precautions are taken.

3) ON the other side, a girl suffering form heavy and/or painful periods as you describe, will benefit from hormonal contraception. However, she may not need much hormone to reduce her symptoms.

I wouldn't put her on the Pill (or similar) without discussing it with the doctor, and with her, in order to have HER informed consent. If you don't have her agreement with this, then she is likely to try to do things her way and be deceitful about it. It is respectful to her to include her in this. That said, I did put both my girls on the Pill when they were 16 & 17. My decision was due to them choosing to be sexually active. easy child was also suffering from heavy periods, she was very glad of the contraceptive bonus but had also needed the Pill to reduce her symptoms.

I suffered from similar symptoms, in a time when there was absolutely no consideration given to this. A girl had to put up with it and not complain; it was a woman's lot. I could be fainting, but still be forced to go to school and not permitted to even mention "discomfort". I certainly was not permitted to go on the Pill. One of my sisters had gone on the Pill for bad periods, maybe our mother didn't think she was as much at risk.

After I left home (although still visited on weekends) I tried to go on the Pill. I was a uni student but the university doctors refused to prescribe the Pill, even for severe period pain. Instead I was given pain killers, muscle relaxants, the whole range. I remember one day I had taken three Panadeine (3 x 500 mg paracetamol plus 3 x 7.5 mg codeine) plus two Buscopan and taken them with a hot cup of coffee to speed up the absorption plus hoping the heat of the coffee would help dilate blood vessels and reduce congestion. I waited half an hour for the medications to begin to work, then began to walk home. I got no more than a few hundred metres before I fainted from the pain. Someone drove me to the campus doctor who shot me with more Buscopan and kept me under observation, then let me WALK home (about a mile). There I stayed in bed cuddling a hot water bottle until the pain finally began to ease. I actually was well enough that night to go to a choir rehearsal, although still feeling frail. I also was driven there and back.

I finally took myself to a contraceptive clinic and asked for the Pill to be prescribed. The effect on the period pain (and heaviness) was like magic. I was not quite 19 and had been living on my own since 17. I was having to get my Pill from a contraceptive clinic and must have been the only virgin in the place.

Your daughter sounds like she needs treatment. She needs to talk to a doctor, you need to talk to her and the doctor also. In the meantime, heat packs can ease period pain when it is bad. As for the fainting - it's unlikely to be anaemia, period pain alone can easily be bad enough. If she is so anaemic she's fainting, she needs to see a doctor for that, too. But I'm willing to bet her iron levels are not the cause of the fainting.
When I went into menopause, the first sign for me was a sudden increase in flow, to a ridiculous level. It really was bad. I guarantee, if your daughter were losing even half as much, you would be panicking (or she would be). But even as much as I was losing, my haemoglobin was still only dropping slowly.

Some research found the following: "A healthy male adult should have a haemoglobin level between 13.0 and 18.0 g/dl ( grams per 100 mls ). Because of normal menstrual loss, most women have a slightly lower haemoglobin level, usually between 11.5 and 16.5 g/dl. There is a growing trend to express haemoglobin levels in the International Unit, grams/litre or g/l. In these units the normal ranges are 130 to 180 g/l for men and 115 to 165 g/l for women."

My levels had been on the high end of normal, but when things got heavy, the levels began to drop about 10 g/l a period. At that rate it took six months for my haemoglobin levels to fall below normal. At that slow rate, your brain and body adapt and you're far less likely to go into shock, than if you lost the same amount of blood from a bad cut. The stories of people surviving and doing OK with really low haemoglobin levels are generally people who have gradually become anaemic, not people with sudden blood loss.

That's not to say her blood loss isn't a problem; it probably is. But if she's fainting, it is more likely to be her pain levels. And really, it's difficult to describe the pain or to really believe it is that bad. It might have been the culture of my upbringing when I wasn't permitted to complain about it, but I was always surprised at how bad I felt, when the pain was more dull than sharp, was difficult to localise and hard to describe. But with hindsight - yes, the pain IS that bad. I had many years' break from it before menopause reminded me of how it used to be in my early days. And this time I didn't wait - as soon as I realised this was going to continue and be a problem, I asked the doctor for something hormonal to make it go away.

Rotsne, it can't be easy for you, parenting teenage girls like this. Good on you for being prepared to tackle such a difficult topic for you. But do make sure your daughters play an active, informed role in decisions concerning their own bodies.

Marg
 
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susiestar

Roll With It
Oh, yeah, period pain can be some of the worst pain around. I was recently talking about it with 2 old friends from high school. One says that she only learned things 3 weeks a month. The other week she was just concentrating on being - it would hurt even to breathe so badly even AFTER they gave her pain medications and muscle relaxers AND birth control pills. She didn't know until after she had a hysterectomy in her 30s that some people really didn't have pain during their periods.

You are a good dad for being involved in all of this. I know my husband really doesn't want to know anything about periods, LOL!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I do not recommend them at a first choice only because they may cause headaches or disrupt a girl's monthly cycle (although typically it will improve it). I get migraines and had to go off BC many yrs ago and would worry that my daughter would have the same thing happen. Of course, she's a easy child and can do a trial run with-regular pills and behave responsibly.
With someone who is highly impulsive, you may not have a choice.
Anyway, just wanted to offer another point of view.
 
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