Hi I am in a predicament, I am 16 and have regular periods, however they are only 20 days long and this has been pointed out as a potential problem from my period tracker app. I get heavy periods sometimes and can bleed through at night sometimes as well.
I dont know if I have got endometriosis, and am not looking for a diagnosis, just some advice. I am not sure if the cramps I get are worse than other people's but I have once or twice had to stop moving because the pain was a lot, but took paracetamol and was okay a while after.
I dont know what to do, and dont really want to see a doctor incase they want to look at my vagina as I am embarrassed. Is it possible that I could have endometriosis at such an age? Also what should I do?
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Ava8292
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It is difficult to say whether you have endometriosis. The fact that you are concerned is a valid reason for you to get checked out. The biggest next step for you is to build your confidence to ensure you can look after yourself/your body, ask for help and find a good doctor you can trust.
If you did have endo or another condition in the future you will need to be treated. As you get older the idea of getting a check up and letting someone see your vagina is going to become more commonplace for you. To be a healthy and responsible woman you will need to find a way to be ok with it. And it will be ok.
Perhaps go an see your GP first, ask for an appointment with a woman doctor if that is more comfortable. When you go in prepare a list of your worries and start with you being very nervous about the idea of a physical exam. Let her know you are not ready for that during your first appointment. Would you feel better if someone came with you? A friend, sister, mum, aunt etc?
But don’t be concerned and rely on apps etc. for your health. Some doctors may not be great, but so many of them are good and they will have seen so many different kinds of patients.
I'm new to all this to. Sorry to hear you're so young and so worried that's awful, I've been there.
Can you book an appointment with the nurse practitioner at your gp? The nurse practitioner can prescribe things and if you explain about your irregular, painful periods she would probably prescribe a contraceptive pill as that could ease all of your problems, making your periods every 28 days and much more manageable. I know that's what most people are suggested to do when they have endometriosis.
Maybe it would be a good starting point and if it doesn't help as much as you'd like, at least you will hopefully have a more trusting relationship with the nurse by then. You shouldn't need any kind of examinations just yet.
Hello, like you I was young when I was going through all of this, I started my period at aged 10 and each year they were just getting worse and worse and heavier and heavier... the amount of time you bleed for is very similar to me, when you say about bleeding through at night do you use tampax? Because I used to use one of them then have a pad and underwear and occasionally double up so it went tampax, pad, underwear then another pad on another pair of underwear as it just soaked through. Definitely get a doctors appointment to just explain what you are going through and see what they advise but like the other ladies have said just say your nervous about an examination and get a friend or relative to go with you. I also used to be extremely shy but by now I am so used to having examinations you do slowly get over the fear when you realise that’s just something you need to do unfortunately to get the help but ALWAYS ask for a lady if you are nervous and if by any chance you ever do need a man then ask for a female nurse to be in the room with you or your mum. Also speak to your school nurse about it so you can get some support there as well. Feel free to message me whenever if you ever want to ask anything else as I was in the exact same position as you and didn’t get my diagnosis until my surgery in 2016 so I did all the research off my own back and made the doctors look for that specifically lol. But we are all here for one another and always here to answer any queries or worries xx
Hi Ava8292, Endometriosis varies from person to person as to how much pain they are in. For some people it’s crippling and they can’t get out of bed, for others it isn’t too bad. But listen to your body, if you feel it’s more painful than it should be and that your periods are heavy, speak with your doctor. I know it can be embarrassing, but it’s what they’re trained to do. I believe I had Endometriosis from when I started my periods at 11. Once you’ve started your periods, you could have endo at any time. 20 days is a short cycle, so I would definitely think it’s worth having a conversation with your GP. Ask to see a female one if you would feel more comfortable.
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