Re: Desperate for advice on stopping my daughters periods....

November 4, 2011

Are you by chance still having your period, my daughter was doing similar

things and I was on my period and I took her in the bathroom to show her I

had a pad in my pants too with blood on it and that seemed to help at least

for now.

November 4, 2011

Hi Tina,

I've not had to deal with what you're going through, but I think if I were,

I would look into other options for doctors, even if it means having to go

outside of the area. I would want a doctor who has had patients with Autism

before so they at least have some understanding of what is being dealt with.

The option of an IUD wouldn't really help you with what your dealing with

anyway. They aren't known for stopping periods, although when I had mine,

they were lighter, so could make dealing with them easier, but I know

others who it had no significant change for and others still who dealt with

even more bleeding after getting the IUD. The only benefit you could count

on there is preventing pregnancy and I can understand the doctors not

wanting to go to that option at this point even if there isn't any chance

of your daughter being able to care for a child.

I know it may not be an option since she doesn't like the pads at all, but

have you tried using adult diapers like depends that look like briefs or

big kid pull ups (depending on her size they go pretty big) for those times

of the month? If you've not tried them already, I'd give it a shot, they

would be absorbent like a pad, but wouldn't be an additional insert in her

underware that she had to put on or change etc. She could just take the

whole thing off and toss it and put a new one on.

Then at least she should be able to attend school during her period and it

could cut back on the amount of laundry you're having to do.

I'd still look into finding a new doctor somewhere in the area or within a

reasonable distance that has some experience, but maybe this can help in

the mean time?

Best wishes,

Theresa

> **

>

> Hi, my daughter is 12 years old and has been getting her period for just

> over a year now. She is non-verbal and considered to be severe on the ASD

> spectrum. She can communicate via a Dynavox but cannot always tell us how

> she is feeling. She seems to be handling the period ok but REFUSES to wear

> a pad, she actually gets very upset and angry if I try to place it in her

> underware. She will rip it out and throw it away. She is usually a very

> loving and non-violent person but show her a pad and she is enraged. I have

> tried every trick in the book but she simply hates it. I even tried to show

> her how a tampon works but no dice. She also is CONSTANTLY wiping her

> vagina with toilet paper or anything she can get her hands on (like the

> bathroom towels)because she must feel she has urinated in her pants. All I

> do for the entire time is clean blood out of clothes, towels, carpets, bed

> linens etc... The school refuses to accept her if she won't wear the pad

> and I understand that but now she loses almost a week every month and that

> is unfair to my daughter.

>

> I took her to an OB/GYN and at first they refused to do anything due to

> her very young age, again, I understand but the circumstances are unique.

> They never dealt with a person who has autism. They had a team meeting to

> discuss our options at my request and the group of doctors came up with a

> prescription for Lybrel. I was and still am VERY nervous about any birth

> control pill due to the known side effects. We started the Lybrel 2 weeks

> ago and today I found out this medicine has been removed from the

> market....the doctor claims due to patent laws, not anything to due with

> harming women. They now have ordered seaonale. My question to the group is

> this: after 2 weeks on the Lybrel (which contains both estrogen and

> progesterone in low doses) she seems bloated and her breasts seem to have

> grown (both known side effects) She is CONSTANTLY touching and squeezing

> her breasts and lifting her shirt in public. I am trying to teach her time

> and place for touching herself but it seems as though maybe her breasts are

> tender and she is possibly massaging them to make them feel better? I gave

> her Motrin and it seemed to have helped. I am not sure if I should consider

> stopping the Seasonale but dealing with the period again scares us. I don't

> know what our options are at this point due to her young age. The doctors

> refuse to place an IUD such as Merena, or any surgical intervention such as

> uterine ablation. They say that they only due the ablation for women who

> are done having babies. I doubt my daughter will EVER have an opportunity

> to have a baby considering the severity of her autism. I think the ablation

> makes the most sense but they won't consider it. What else can I do if

> giving her the birth control pill fails????

>

> Any advice would be so much appreciated!!!

>

> Thanks,

> Tina

>

November 4, 2011

Tina,

My daughter hates wearing pads, too. I found underwear called " Stride

Femme " that's actually for women who struggle with incontinence. She wears

these panties with another pair of regular panties on top. She changes the

undies about 4 or 5 times a day during her heaviest days. These panties

aren't cheap (around $15-$20), but they're washable and last a really long

time. I just soak them in a basin of water and then hand wash them a bit

before throwing them in the washer. I don't put them in the dryer but just

let them line dry to extend their life. My daughter says they feel like

regular underwear and for the first time in 2 years she isn't complaining or

removing them prematurely. They used to be available from drugstore.com but

there were out of stock the last time I checked. I ended up getting a few

from Canada from the company's website. Just google " Stride Femme " and

you'll find them if you're interested.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me directly since I don't get a

chance to check the yahoogroup messages very frequently.

Good luck!

November 4, 2011

Sent from T-Mobile G2 with Google

Theresa wrote:

>Hi Tina,

>I've not had to deal with what you're going through, but I think if I were,

>I would look into other options for doctors, even if it means having to go

>outside of the area. I would want a doctor who has had patients with Autism

>before so they at least have some understanding of what is being dealt with.

>

>The option of an IUD wouldn't really help you with what your dealing with

>anyway. They aren't known for stopping periods, although when I had mine,

>they were lighter, so could make dealing with them easier, but I know

>others who it had no significant change for and others still who dealt with

>even more bleeding after getting the IUD. The only benefit you could count

>on there is preventing pregnancy and I can understand the doctors not

>wanting to go to that option at this point even if there isn't any chance

>of your daughter being able to care for a child.

>

>I know it may not be an option since she doesn't like the pads at all, but

>have you tried using adult diapers like depends that look like briefs or

>big kid pull ups (depending on her size they go pretty big) for those times

>of the month? If you've not tried them already, I'd give it a shot, they

>would be absorbent like a pad, but wouldn't be an additional insert in her

>underware that she had to put on or change etc. She could just take the

>whole thing off and toss it and put a new one on.

>Then at least she should be able to attend school during her period and it

>could cut back on the amount of laundry you're having to do.

>

>I'd still look into finding a new doctor somewhere in the area or within a

>reasonable distance that has some experience, but maybe this can help in

>the mean time?

>

>Best wishes,

>Theresa

>

>> **

>>

>> Hi, my daughter is 12 years old and has been getting her period for just

>> over a year now. She is non-verbal and considered to be severe on the ASD

>> spectrum. She can communicate via a Dynavox but cannot always tell us how

>> she is feeling. She seems to be handling the period ok but REFUSES to wear

>> a pad, she actually gets very upset and angry if I try to place it in her

>> underware. She will rip it out and throw it away. She is usually a very

>> loving and non-violent person but show her a pad and she is enraged. I have

>> tried every trick in the book but she simply hates it. I even tried to show

>> her how a tampon works but no dice. She also is CONSTANTLY wiping her

>> vagina with toilet paper or anything she can get her hands on (like the

>> bathroom towels)because she must feel she has urinated in her pants. All I

>> do for the entire time is clean blood out of clothes, towels, carpets, bed

>> linens etc... The school refuses to accept her if she won't wear the pad

>> and I understand that but now she loses almost a week every month and that

>> is unfair to my daughter.

>>

>> I took her to an OB/GYN and at first they refused to do anything due to

>> her very young age, again, I understand but the circumstances are unique.

>> They never dealt with a person who has autism. They had a team meeting to

>> discuss our options at my request and the group of doctors came up with a

>> prescription for Lybrel. I was and still am VERY nervous about any birth

>> control pill due to the known side effects. We started the Lybrel 2 weeks

>> ago and today I found out this medicine has been removed from the

>> market....the doctor claims due to patent laws, not anything to due with

>> harming women. They now have ordered seaonale. My question to the group is

>> this: after 2 weeks on the Lybrel (which contains both estrogen and

>> progesterone in low doses) she seems bloated and her breasts seem to have

>> grown (both known side effects) She is CONSTANTLY touching and squeezing

>> her breasts and lifting her shirt in public. I am trying to teach her time

>> and place for touching herself but it seems as though maybe her breasts are

>> tender and she is possibly massaging them to make them feel better? I gave

>> her Motrin and it seemed to have helped. I am not sure if I should consider

>> stopping the Seasonale but dealing with the period again scares us. I don't

>> know what our options are at this point due to her young age. The doctors

>> refuse to place an IUD such as Merena, or any surgical intervention such as

>> uterine ablation. They say that they only due the ablation for women who

>> are done having babies. I doubt my daughter will EVER have an opportunity

>> to have a baby considering the severity of her autism. I think the ablation

>> makes the most sense but they won't consider it. What else can I do if

>> giving her the birth control pill fails????

>>

>> Any advice would be so much appreciated!!!

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Tina

>>

>

November 4, 2011

I did try that when I had my period. I even showed her how to use a tampon. She

kinda got the idea of the tampon and did insert it herself but immediately

pulled it out. We tried social stories too but I think her sensory issues are so

strong that all the modeling goes out the window.

Tina

RE: Desperate for advice on stopping my

daughters periods....

To: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

> Are you by chance still having your period, my daughter was

> doing similar

> things and I was on my period and I took her in the bathroom to

> show her I

> had a pad in my pants too with blood on it and that seemed to

> help at least

> for now.

>

November 5, 2011

That's what I am afraid of with my daughter, in the van after church, she

was reaching in to try to take it off. Iyiyi! I don't know what next month

will bring.

From: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

[mailto:Autism_in_Girls_and_Women ] On Behalf Of

cuches@...

Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 7:29 PM

To: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

Subject: Re: RE: Desperate for advice on

stopping my daughters periods....

I did try that when I had my period. I even showed her how to use a tampon.

She kinda got the idea of the tampon and did insert it herself but

immediately pulled it out. We tried social stories too but I think her

sensory issues are so strong that all the modeling goes out the window.

Tina

RE: Desperate for advice on stopping my

daughters periods....

To: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

<mailto:Autism_in_Girls_and_Women%40yahoogroups.com>

> Are you by chance still having your period, my daughter was

> doing similar

> things and I was on my period and I took her in the bathroom to

> show her I

> had a pad in my pants too with blood on it and that seemed to

> help at least

> for now.

November 5, 2011

Thanks for sharing the info on stride femme. I am going to look into getting

those. Our DAN! recommended the Seasonique 3 month birth control pills so we

could control her periods to school breaks. She said it is more like mother

nature than the depo shots. We plan to go off the pills during school breaks

then in the beginning & end of summer breaks. Angie

Subject: Re: Desperate for advice on stopping my

daughters periods....

To: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

Date: Friday, November 4, 2011, 11:02 AM

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