Periods...worried

[cilldara]

Hi DD will be 15 in July.

She still hasn't started her period and I am starting to get a bit concerned. She has had two minor spotting incidents in the past two years but no full period. She has breasts and pubic hair.

She is a very active dancer with classes 4 days a week and some intensive company work over a few months of the year.

She eats well and is slim but not underweight.

I will take her to the doctor soon but just wondering if anyone has DDs who were similarly late with menstruation.

Thanks.

[crazynanna]

Snap...my dd is also 15 in July.

She is tall and slim, but not skinny, and has small boobs and pubic hair...plus all the curves,etc.

She had a full 4 day period Easter week..her 1st, and hasn't had another one. I'm not so worried, as I know periods do this in the very early days. My dd1 started hers at 13, but I was earlier at just coming up to 11.

I don't think you need to worry yet...I'm sure things will start moving pretty soon.

[cilldara]

Thanks crazynanna. That's reassuring.

I started my own periods aged just 13 so I was really getting concerned.

[crazynanna]

Beauty of nature. It's so random. When I started mine (in 1907!), I was the youngest. Most of the girls I knew started between 13 and 15/16. Now it seems it's unusual to start when you're older. DD is the last of her group of friends,though. Even her friend M, who is tiny and fragile, has started.

[dragongirlx]

Periods are a bit weird. I am the middle child of three sisters. My period started when I was 11. My older sisters didn't start till she was 16 and my youngers when she was 14. This is all within the normal range for women

[dragongirlx]

Periods are a bit weird. I am the middle child of three sisters. My period started when I was 11. My older sisters didn't start till she was 16 and my youngers when she was 14. This is all within the normal range for women

[chocoluvva]

My cousin had very very few periods. I don't know when they started but it was well after I had started and I'm 15 months younger than her. She was very curvy - but almost no periods.

Tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary and she two went on to have two children ( both of them 'accidents' despite being on the contraceptive pill) when she was in her twenties.

[MrsSheldon]

I wouldn't worry yet. I'm 20 and still haven't started!

[YDdraigGoch]

Tell her to be grateful. There's no rush - periods are such a nuisance

[horseonabeach]

No period by 20? I would go to the doc

[CouthyMow]

My DD had her first period last month. She is due roughly tomorrow. She was 15 in March, so was 15y1mo.

Not unusual, and my GP said that they don't tend to bother with investigations until they are 16.

[fubbsy]

My dd is a similar age (also does lots of dance) and no sign of a period. I'm not worried. All within the normal range, or so I am told. If she gets to 18 with no periods, I would suggest she sees a doctor. At that stage it would be up to her, though.

[Mabelface]

I was nearly 15 when I started. She's still very much in the normal range and she has started puberty. Nothing to worry about there. :)

[nobeer]

I was a similar size, also did a lot of dance and I started my periods at 15. My mother on the other hand, started when she was 10 or 11 so I reckon it's a load of nonsense that your cycle will be the same as your mother's.

[ivykaty44]

Because women weigh more than they did in the past, women tend to start their periods at younger ages and stop them at older ages (fat cells produce more estrogen). Scholars also suggest that hormones in modern food have led to earlier menstruation.

[cilldara]

All very reassuring. Thank you!

[Cuddleczar]

Worth going to the GP. I was in a similar situation with my middle DD...jolted into realising exactly how late she was starting her periods when her younger sister (by 2 years) started before her! The GP did some blood tests and sent her for a scan--polycystic ovary syndrome was diagnosed. My DD was put on the pill for a year to "kickstart" the system. Once the year was up, periods did continue spontaneously, but she still only has about 4 or 5 a year. Worth knowing about polycystic ovaries early, mainly because (we were told) it can be associated with overweight and obesity and from there to metabolic syndrome and diabetes in later life. My DD took this message on board and has limited her food intake to bring her weight down. But it's true, there is a huge variation in the age at which girls start, so it could be just normal for her.

[musicposy]

DD1 was well over 14 and they were very irregular even then. I was 11 so it did worry me a bit. However DD2 is now almost 14 and no sign whatsoever, though she's been in a bra for 2-3 years.
Both girls are slim and do a lot of dance and also skate. I personally think it holds it up a bit.

[CouthyMow]

DD didn't actually come on this month, so it's still a bit irregular. She still had the bloody PMT though!!

[bevelino]

There are blood tests that can show the hormone activity in the body, which I am sure your GP will offer if there is concern.

MrsSheldon amenorrhea in an otherwise healthy, non pregnant woman of 20 is very unusual and most women would be referred for investigation by then.