If I weren't have sex I would be totally happy to not have gotten my period yet. I just like getting it as reassurance that I'm not pregnant. Danielle doesn't feel the same way. Every single person she knows (except our sister) has gotten their period except her. Last month she turned 15. Dani is beyond furious at her body lately even though I have reminded her a thousand times I didn't get mine until I was a few months past 15.
I researched it and it seems like the average is 12, but 15 is still inside some kind of normal range. The only thing it looks like doctors can do is put you on birth control and supposedly that induces periods? I am not sure what to do or if I should do anything.
4 comments:
Your reassurance is certainly helpful to Dani, but she probably also wants validation of her concerns. So, perhaps tell her, as you continue to reassure her, that if she doesn't begin to menstruate by 15 1/2 you will find her a good doctor to check her out. Follow through on this if necessary! Don't approach it as if something is wrong. Rather than deciding in advance something is wrong and looking for it to be fixed, approach it as wanting to find an appropriate doctor for a check-up simply to see where things are. Not yet having begun to menstruate is not the problem, but could be indicative of one, so forcing a period, and it would probably force just the one if it even worked, solves nothing, seems silly; the approach should be to do tests instead to see what's actually going on.
As for whether this is normal, you already know this is within a normal range though late on average for today's general population, and having your own age of menarche to go by makes sense, as you three share both biology and environment. Your environment includes healthful and chemical-free food, and you know that the food you all try to avoid is a prime cause of earlier onset of menstruation. Your environment has also included not having enough food to eat. If you all are eating more now, that should delay matters less, as girls who are very underweight or starve themselves and often also those who are super-athletic as well will tend not to menstruate as the body thinks it cannot support a pregnancy. Your environment also includes a lot of physical exertion in your daily life, getting all around the city. If Danielle participates in any activities like your running track or Alex's dancing, that might delay matters. Also think about how developed Dani is. If her hips haven't yet widened, menstruation might not yet be expected, but if she's got substantial and not just budding breasts already, wondering why she hasn't gotten her first period yet would seem to be more of a legitimate concern.
Don't worry, we have no way to tell her you are posting about this! Do you even use your real names?
If you didn't start until 15, then just really reinforce that. I know some girls don't feel womanly enough until they get their period, not grown up, all that, and it's likely driving her a bit batty.
I wouldn't run to a doc just yet-anything I remember reading said until over 16 it wasn't something to panic about, and even then it could just be indicative of nutritional issues or a lack of body fat. Poor thing though-especially if everyone around her has "become a woman", it's hard to still feel like a child.
I got mine at 12 or 13, and would have been QUITE pleased to wait until 15 or 16. But we're all different.
Many people think that hormones that are injected into cows to produce more milk can affect girls and cause them to go through puberty earlier. This may have caused the "average" age for puberty to be younger than in the past. Since you and your sisters drink organic milk without hormones, you would have avoided any adverse effect from the hormones. I was also a late bloomer (almost 15), and although at the time I worried a bit, in the long run I was glad of it.
Rosie
One of my high school friends didn't start having her period until the summer before her senior year. Some girls start early, some girls start later. It might make her feel better to get a doctor's stamp of approval, though.
Sara
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