Young people's experiences of periods and period pain
Advice for healthcare professionals
We asked the young people we spoke with whether they had any advice or suggestions for health professionals who might see young people about periods and period pain. Their main messages were to:
- Recognise that asking for help with periods is a big step
- Listen to the young person and recognise the impact periods are having on them
- Give options and clear information about what happens next
Rosie was offered a medication that she decided she did not want to take. She didn’t feel she was heard or given other options. This has influenced her thinking about whether to go back to see a GP about her periods and period pain.
Rosie was offered a medication that she decided she did not want to take. She didn’t feel she was heard or given other options. This has influenced her thinking about whether to go back to see a GP about her periods and period pain.
I guess for health professionals and teachers, I would kind of have the same advice of sort of like... especially men, that I’m not too empathetic towards, but if you are dismissive of somebody who, you know, it’s obviously taking them courage to come to you and ask for help, it’s probably going to affect how they view reaching out for help for the rest of their life. And it also could completely change their sort of quality of life, especially for health professionals, if you listen to them. And I think sort of like female pain shouldn’t be viewed as something that is intrinsic to women and that is normal, because it’s not, and to have sort of like this presence of like constant pain in your life, it’s very difficult and something that all women are always gonna sort of struggle with, and to be dismissed is scary as well, because it’s sort of like confirming that this is something that has to happen to you for the rest of your life. It’s difficult.
Recognise that asking for help with periods is a big step
Deciding to go, and going to, a doctors’ appointment about periods and period pain was a big decision for some young people, which they might have worried or thought a lot about beforehand. Lily explained that “it takes a lot for people to come in and talk about it”, so “keeping an open mind” gives them a chance to share what they’re experiencing. For Zaynah this underscored the need for worries about periods to be taken seriously because “especially when you’re young, like why would you want to be sat in a GP surgery, or like going to see a specialist, when you can be like out with your friends, or like doing something that you enjoy?”
Sarenna thinks it is frustrating if doctors suggest waiting a “few more months” to see if period pains improve, without understanding she had already a long time before deciding to make an appointment.
Sarenna thinks it is frustrating if doctors suggest waiting a “few more months” to see if period pains improve, without understanding she had already a long time before deciding to make an appointment.
’cause like a lot of... like a lot of people, even the doctors and stuff, they’ll be like: “Oh, wait, why don’t you wait a few months,” or something like that, “and then come back?” and stuff like that. But then a lot of the time, like, you would have already waited... kind of you’d... ’cause you’d think in my head: ‘oh, I’m gonna go to the doctor’s, or I’m gonna go to the nurse,’ or something like that, and you’re like: ‘I can wait, let me give it 15 minutes to give... to see if it goes away.’ Or if... and if you’re going to the doctor’s, ‘let me give it like a few more... more months,’ or something like that, obviously, ’cause you’re seeing, and then, that it just... And then, obviously, if it didn’t get better, you’d normally go, but then they’d tell you to wait again, so it’s like that doesn’t really work.
And I think that’s... that’s a really, really, really good observation, that actually you’ve thought really carefully before you’ve gone in the first place, so you’ve...—
Yeah.
—and you’d already done that bit. Yeah.
Yeah, ’cause a lot of them will just say wait, but you’ve done it already.
You’ve already done that in deciding to go.
Yeah.
And I think you said that like that whole process of how you decide: ‘is this something I go to the doctor with’...?
Yeah, I mean ’cause like it’s just hard to know how... ’cause no one talks about how... like how much is mental health, or something like that, ’cause obviously there probably isn’t a normal, but there probably is something to... there should be some way kind of judging: ‘do I need to go to the doctor’s?’ or something like that, but it’s just... and it’s just hard to know when is the right time to go, ’cause like you might wait too long, or something, and then you might be worse than you think, but it’s just like it’s hard to know.
Even after taking the step to make and go to an appointment, bringing up the subject of periods or period pain could feel tricky. Emily explained: “I don’t think I’d talk to anybody if I wasn’t asked, if that makes sense, unless I went to go and see a doctor about it”. Anayaa thought it could be “awkward” to mention periods and encouraged doctors to find ways to signal that periods could be talked about at appointments: “say to them that it... this is a safe place for you to speak about it”. Grace thought that messaging that periods and period pain are a “valid” reason to go to the doctor could be helpful and “maybe just being able to create some like environment where people like know that they can go”.
Ela thinks it could be hard for young people to start talking about periods with doctors, and thinks it would help if doctors ‘took the first step and asked the questions first’.
Ela thinks it could be hard for young people to start talking about periods with doctors, and thinks it would help if doctors ‘took the first step and asked the questions first’.
Sometimes it’s hard maybe for younger kids especially to initiate conversations and concerns, like maybe it would help if someone took the first step and asked the questions first. ’cause I mean I can imagine it’s quite hard to go to someone that you don’t really know and tell them that you think something’s wrong. And it is a slightly... I don’t know how you would describe it, but periods are a topic that, you know, for a long time, people have thought it’s something you just don’t talk about outside of maybe with your Mum, or your family, but I think if people just normalise it as much as possible, like if a healthcare professional or a doctor, you know, started talking about their own experiences to their families. Even if it was a man talking about what they know, I think just making someone feel comfortable to... so that they could open up, I think that’s really important, because it is hard to go to someone, and it is hard to talk about it sometimes, especially probably with males, yeah.
When doctors raised the subject of periods first, for example in association with the symptoms they had come with, this could be helpful. Eidra’s GP made a connection between her stomach migraines and her period, and Willow’s GP linked her tiredness to anaemia and periods.
Listen to the young person and recognise the impact periods are having on them
Young people wanted doctors to listen to – not judge – them, and believe what they said about their periods and period pain. Some worried that period pain might not be thought of as a serious problem, or that they might be seen as exaggerating their pain. Eidra explained: “these girls, they’re not like faking it, they are in a lot of pain and they do need help”. Chloe asked that doctors “just believe them, ’cause I know a lot of the time it’s just like not really thought about as that serious”. Ivy felt “heard and valued” when doctors took time when speaking with her about her periods.
Lucia thinks period pain and the impacts of period pain need to be taken seriously, and that how doctors react is important.
Lucia thinks period pain and the impacts of period pain need to be taken seriously, and that how doctors react is important.
I think it should be, not more serious, but taken... and, yeah, taken more seriously ’cause some people might assume: ‘oh, everyone has it,’ and just deal with it, or... ’cause some people might have the pain so bad they can’t walk, and stuff, and if they go to the doctor’s and doctors just say: “Oh, well, that’s just what you have to do,” then it might... yeah, it’s just not good.
Is that something you’ve heard about happening?
Yeah.
Some worried about whether young people’s ages get factored into how their period problems are responded to. Yvette thought that doctors “shouldn't say that maybe the person is old enough to know, or too young to ask. They should just receive them, work calmly and then make the person feel safe and comfortable and wanted at where they are”. Scarlett added that “young girls also get periods, they also get painful periods, and it shouldn’t just be overlooked as: ‘oh, it’ll... you’ll grow out of it’”.’ Rahma emphasised that healthcare should be “inclusive” and not “dismissive”, including around age.
Liv thinks health professionals should not hold back on communicating directly with young people because of assumptions about their age, when they are the one’s experiencing the problems.
Liv thinks health professionals should not hold back on communicating directly with young people because of assumptions about their age, when they are the one’s experiencing the problems.
I think there should be more communication, especially... and like regardless of age, and I think age is the... and probably the most common thing that holds people back, it, like, thinking you’re not mature enough, or... I... Yeah, I think the maturity thing is one of the biggest, and that even though it is your health, they don’t think you’re mature enough to handle it, and that’s quite... probably where most of the problems are rooted in that they don’t think you’re responsible enough to talk about it and that they’ve got to talk to your parent, but your parents are not the one feeling it.
And yeah, I think... I think there needs to be more conversations between the patient and the doctor, especial... again, especially if they’re young, because they don’t know anything, they don’t... they might not have access to research, they might not know people who have the same experiences, and you’ve just got to explain every possible outcome, no matter like whether it’s... like, seems outlandish and nowhere near what the person’s going through, it’s... it’s better to kind of say that ‘it could be this, but it might not be’, than say... than just, like, not mention it at all.
It was important for some young people that doctors understand the impacts periods had on their lives. Emily X asked that they “try and consider each person’s individual experience”. Jian wanted doctors to “understand fully like how painful it is for that particular patient, or like how bad or scared the patient might be feeling”. Poppy added that doctors should “treat the situation with care, it’s quite a sensitive subject for a lot of people, and it is incredibly painful and quite distressing, so just... I think, just to be really sensitive”.
Reham encourages doctors to recognise that some people may be reluctant to talk about periods, even though they are having a huge impact on them.
Reham encourages doctors to recognise that some people may be reluctant to talk about periods, even though they are having a huge impact on them.
Don’t underestimate how much your patients are going through. Like some patient... some people will feel less comfortable to talk about it openly, but that doesn’t make... what they’re going through any less real and any less like worth it, and so they should just be more open and actually take it like seriously. Take what they’re given and try to find something that will help someone, and... ’cause periods can be really painful for patients, so they should take it seriously and try to find some medication that will help.
Some, like Bella, wanted to explicitly ask health professionals to not “diminish” young people’s period pain by “saying, “Oh, just take some painkillers, oh, pass, you’ll get over it’”’ and should instead be “listening and being empathetic”. Jayden worried about the consequences for young people who believe they should “just deal with it” and are therefore reluctant to see a healthcare professional, meaning they could leave an appointment without being “taken more seriously”.
Jayden thinks doctors need to hold a human connection and be listening as well as thinking technically, and to not ‘fob off people’.
Jayden thinks doctors need to hold a human connection and be listening as well as thinking technically, and to not ‘fob off people’.
I mean I... well, to me, it just feels like it’d be common sense, but don’t fob off people. Yeah, ’cause like I said, like a lot of the time it just doesn’t feel like I’m being, like, listened to, or like as you walk in they already have like an idea of what they think is gonna... like the issue is gonna be before you even open your mouth. And, I don’t know, just like so... so many just don’t seem to be open-minded because obviously they’re gonna be thinking quite... Yeah, obviously, you know, the... they’re gonna be thinking quite technically, medically, academically, but... and I feel like sometimes they can be like that bit of like loss of like a human connection, almost; they’re not hearing what you’re saying. They’re just thinking, ‘what did I learn?’ Or... that’s what it feels like sometimes, you know, ‘what... what have I learnt?’ And they’re just applying that where obviously that isn’t... isn’t helpful.
Give options and clear information about what happens next
Young people wanted doctors to offer options about what they could try for their period concerns, with enough information and explanations to be able to make choices for themselves. For Bella Z, this included “the side effects, and that, and just explaining all of the different options, I’d say. But I think most of all, like explaining what it should do, and if it doesn’t help, like it... it works in different ways to other people, and things like that”. Some, like River and Emily Z, appreciated it when healthcare professionals were honest if they don’t have all the answers, including when there is not enough research on a topic.
Although it was a lot of information, Abi appreciated her doctor telling her about the different treatment options: “discussing the other options that are forms of contraception as well, because I was a little bit taken aback when I just had loads of options of contraception, which I did want. …it’s always good just to have as many different options and viewpoints as possible”.
For parents who had experience of advocating for their children in healthcare about period problems, it was important that doctors listen to their knowledge and experience of their children. For example, for Leila’s parents, this included things like her not being able to take oral medicines which was important for considering pain relief options.
Young people asked health professionals to give them clear advice and guidance about what the next steps could be after they try a medication, including what to do if it did help as well as what to do if it didn’t help. Hannah thinks it would be good if doctors could have a system for “checking up on people, when they're like a few months down the line to see if what they're on is working because, especially as a young person, if you're like busy or you might just think ‘that didn't work for me so whatever, I'll just leave it’. But if you had someone coming to you a couple months later saying, “Did this work?” and if you can then go, “No”, well then you can get another appointment to then find a different option and then they like help you do that”.
Ivy thinks young people should be given enough information about treatments and options to make decisions and proactively supported to be followed up to see if they have helped.
Ivy thinks young people should be given enough information about treatments and options to make decisions and proactively supported to be followed up to see if they have helped.
Absolutely. So, even just be given a booklet about... I think there... there should be, like, a sort of pamphlet about every single medication which can be given to someone. And especially when you’re 12 or 13, and you don’t really understand medical words, it should be simplified and there should be like, you know, pictures saying, you know, “you take this once a day,” or this and that.
And has anybody ever told you what to do when you’ve tried something, so they’ve given you a medicine, can you remember anything about the kind of advice you got about what to do next? Or what to do if it helped or it didn’t help or... or reviewing things?
Yeah, so I was kind of told like you can try this medication, so-and-so, for two or three months and see how that will work, and what I found annoying was a lot of things would take months, and even like six months just to start working. So, especially for the pill, I found it took three or four months still to actually be effective, and during those first few months when I was feeling quite low and kind of de... depressed and more anxious, I was still experiencing the pain. So, I think it just takes time to settle in. And even though I was informed about that, I wasn’t really given regular reviews, like I had to actually go back to the doctor’s myself and say “this... this isn’t working. I want to discontinue this”.
OK, and that... I think that was at the heart of...?
Mm.
So, would you... would you like to have had a: let’s review things in six months’ time?
Yeah, so I would have liked, you know, things in place—
A plan.
—and like actually then booking the tele... the telephone appointment rather than putting that on a 14-year-old to like book this in six months’ time, phone up, and stuff like that
OK.
—so regular reviews, yeah.
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