“Ask a Social Worker” is a regular column featuring questions from the community and answers from members of NBDF’s Social Work Working Group. If you have questions for our social workers, send them to [email protected].
Dear Lucy,
I am 17 years old and I have von Willebrand disease. I just went to see my doctor at the HTC because my periods are horrible! They have been this way since they started. My period lasts at least a week, and sometimes longer, and I seem to go through a whole box of pads every time. The cramping is so bad, I don’t even want to go to school. When I am in school, I worry that I will bleed in class and everyone will know.
My HTC doctor recommended that I see a gynecologist who may help recommend pills to stop the bleeding, but my mother is really against me taking birth control. She tells me that stopping my period is unnatural, but I think she is worried that my boyfriend and I will start having sex. I feel that since I am almost 18, the decision to take birth control should be up to me. What should I do?
It sounds like you have been dealing with a lot! Please know that you are not alone and many girls struggle with managing heavy periods, especially girls with bleeding disorders. Unfortunately, like you, they have lived with these problems for a long time before anyone noticed because they were ashamed or unsure how to get help with this problem. Kudos to you for asking for help and going to school in spite of your worries about bleeding through your clothing!
You should know that you have the right to ask for privacy during your medical appointments and can request one-on-one time with your physician, nurse, or any member of the health care team.
You were given good advice to schedule a visit with a gynecologist. Gynecologists specialize in development and reproductive health issues for girls, women, and people who menstruate, whether or not they are sexually active. The first appointments typically focus on health education and do not necessarily involve pelvic exams or, as they are commonly known, Pap smears. The gynecologist can also check for other health conditions that may be causing your periods to be heavy.
In the bleeding disorders world, taking oral contraceptives to control your periods is known as hormonal therapy, not birth control, and it’s very common. The primary goal of this therapy is to make periods more regular, decrease heavy bleeding, and make them easier to manage. This does not always mean stopping your period completely or taking a pill. In fact, there are a variety of options that your gynecologist can offer you to help with your periods, some of which can be offered privately in the clinic or doctor’s office.
I recommend that you involve your mother in the discussion with the gynecologist about starting hormonal therapy. This will hopefully help to allay her concerns and increase her understanding that the primary goal of hormonal therapy is to control bleeding symptoms.
Best wishes!
— Lucy Ramirez, MSW, LCSW
Ramirez is a social worker at Rush Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Center in Chicago and a member of the Social Work Working Group.