HELP! 12 yo, first appt w/gyn questions

[midnitelpn]

my 12 yo has been having heavy periods & horrible mood swings since starting last year. they are regular, but heavy & lasting 7-10 days. her dr. wants her seen by gyn. she mentioned that they may not do an internal, but may rx. something like birth control to help regulate her periods. of course she said it would be up to the gyn md, as to what course of tx. etc., that they would take.....I am wondering what types of advice that you all could give to me. How i can prepare her for an internal, if thats what is needed. I also have some concerns about not having a internal & meds being rx.d w/o one (i'm fearful of masking something wrong & tx.ing just the sx.) what types of meds do you see rx.d most frequently, and what type of effects do they have on someone so young? what age would you recommend for tampon use? she is very active in sports & has a big problem w/using pads (she has to use very thick ones d/t flow etc), being embarrassed & having to change so frequently. is she too young? she is asking & talks w/me alot (for now, we'll see in a couple more yrs! lol) how graphic should i get w/ my explanations? she is a "young" 12 yo by todays standards.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I second the call for a silicone cup (I use the Diva Cup). It is sanitary, better for the environment and can be worn for 12 hours at a time.

[adc3797]

if they would have to do an internal exam you might ask if they could give her something to relax her maybe even a mild sedation, dont get me wrong im not for over medicating but something like this can be very scary for a young girl, when i was 15 i got toxic shock and they caught it early and i recovered but they were talking about doing that and i was terrified. good luck to you as i have only boys i will never truly understand what it is like to have girls, and sometimes im grateful just thinking about this makes me wnat to cry for you and her. best of luck to you both

[SmilingBluEyes]

I went through hell in my high school years because my periods were completely unpredictable and I would bleed like I was being slaughtered. I can't even say how many times I had to wear a jacket around my waist to cover up a massive bloody mess til I could get to the nurse's office to take care of business. Pads just did not cut it. And the dr suggested bc pills for me, but my mom nixed the idea, thinking it would give me some sort of green light to have sex.....(so little did she know).

Anyhow, you have received some excellent advice here already. Just be her advocate any way you can. She will remember this for a long time to come. I intend to do it for my little girl when she's there.......

[Baby Catcher, CNM]

I don't do internal exams on my peds pt's unless I suspect something abnormal. Many young girls have heavy and/or irregular bleeding. OCP's are a good option.

[DDRN4me]

Not sure where you live but most children's hospitals have a pedi gyn dept ; or can refer you to a gyn who specializes in young adolescents. I can truly sympathize with her i had horrible periods from age 9-19 till i went on the pill. that did help somewhat!