Help - What is it? Passive aggressive? Sugar issue? or Teenage Hormones?

PMDD? Maybe.

That's what I thought, too, until now that it's happened two days in a row after her cycle. Can PMDD last that long?

Sure it can. The amount of hormones and the amount of blood aren't always in sync. They can certainly dissipate at different times, even days apart. I'd start keeping really good track of the episodes. When she has one, write down the time, when (and what) she ate last, what the symptoms are, how long it lasts, if anything seems to snap her out of it or if it goes away on its own, the time she gets back to normal, etc. Maybe you can find a pattern.

There really wasn't any major trauma or abuse in her past. She was cared for since birth by her grandparent, who died at 92. They had an excellent relationship. That was the only real trauma was his death, which made her an orphan. She met her mother and father once or twice on separate occasions, but hadn't seen them for 3-4 years prior to her grandparent's death. She then lived with a foster family for 6 months and then to an orphanage for almost 2 years and then we picked her up. Her grandpas birthday and death date came and went without any notice by her or any change in behavior. I watched for that this past year.

I agree with the other posters about keeping a journal on her behaviors. After a few months you'll see a trend and she may be bi-polar. A lot of the things you say sound very similar to a bi-polar teen I am raising. I can tell you that she too told me she didn't know why she was having these feelings and she too was very passive aggressive about it. I can totally sympathize with you on that portion. I think it's more annoying than the outbursts (at least to my type A personality and took a lot of patience on my part!). Good luck either way. The kid had several trauma's by the sounds of her background. She was separated from her first parents, then her grandparent died and then she was moved across country. That would make me a bit hard to handle as well. I'd also suggest counseling.

Sounds like normal young teen, in many ways. Kids who are just getting established in their periods often have wild hormonal variations, which cause wild mood swings. They usually even out in a year or so, but if your daughter's moods get worse and/or she starts getting such bad cramps and heavy bleeding that she can't pursue normal activities, she may need medication to even things out. Yes, the treatment involves birth control pills, but just because she is taking them, doesn't mean that she will choose to run out and have sex; what you have taught her about values, and what the doctor and you have taught her about risks aside from pregnancy, will generally prevail.It probably wouldn't hurt to put your daughter on a multi-vitamin with iron, especially if her periods are heavy. Many teens don't eat the most well-balanced diet, and a multi-vitamin, in general, is not a bad idea; the addition of a tiny bit of iron is not going to hurt, and may give her some extra energy; just don't overdo it, as iron can be toxic in large amounts.Motrin does its work best if it's not just taken one time. If your daughter gets cramps or that heavy feeling, give a Motrin every eight to 12 hours hours around the clock for a few days and see if that helps. Have her take the Motrin with food or milk to avoid tummy upset. I currently have to take the equivalent of FOUR Motrin every eight hours for a neck problem, so one every eight hours won't hurt; just don't overdo it. Taking the Motrin regularly over three days or so a month may help.It's never a bad idea to think of a condition like depression when your teen, especially your internationally adopted teen, turns moody. After all, depression can have serious consequences, including suicide, when untreated. The good news is that the vast majority of teen girls will be witchy and cranky as heck, yet never have depression. But if you see major changes in your daughter's moods or behaviors -- especially great sadness and great anger -- get the situation evaluated.At 14, my daughter developed depression. It seemed, at first, to be situational adolescent stuff -- the end of a friendship with a boy. But it got so bad that, one day, she cried for almost ten hours straight, with almost no cause. She simply couldn't stop, and it was scaring her. Later, she also had a lot of feelings of anger, social phobias, and so on. Luckily, she got help, and with the aid of medication, wound up getting back to her old self.She's 18 now, not on medication, and successful academically in college. She knows, though, that depression can recur, that alcohol can make depressed feelings worse, etc., and is handling her life quite well.Although your daughter may not feel like exercising, exercise is actually beneficial for cramps and low spirits during a girl or woman's menstrual period. Even if it's just some brisk walking with the dog, it may help. To prevent the embarrassment and worry about a pad showing or about odor that keeps some girls from exercising during their periods, encourage your daughter to use tampons, if she's not using them now. Have a female doctor show her how, if she's reluctant to try them.Again, many young teens go through a year or so where their hormones make them so volatile that even they do not understand why they are angry or sad. Certainly, we parents don't understand, all the time, and it can be rather worrisome, not to mention as annoying as heck. But most kids pass through that era and emerge with greater maturity and insight. Most kids don't suffer from depression or bipolar disorder, but what we need to do as parents is to keep "tuned in", and to seek help if the stuff that's going on seems like more than normal adolescent angst.Sharon

Sounds like normal young teen, in many ways. Kids who are just getting established in their periods often have wild hormonal variations, which cause wild mood swings. They usually even out in a year or so, but if your daughter's moods get worse and/or she starts getting such bad cramps and heavy bleeding that she can't pursue normal activities, she may need medication to even things out. Yes, the treatment involves birth control pills, but just because she is taking them, doesn't mean that she will choose to run out and have sex; what you have taught her about values, and what the doctor and you have taught her about risks aside from pregnancy, will generally prevail. It probably wouldn't hurt to put your daughter on a multi-vitamin with iron, especially if her periods are heavy. Many teens don't eat the most well-balanced diet, and a multi-vitamin, in general, is not a bad idea; the addition of a tiny bit of iron is not going to hurt, and may give her some extra energy; just don't overdo it, as iron can be toxic in large amounts. Motrin does its work best if it's not just taken one time. If your daughter gets cramps or that heavy feeling, give a Motrin every eight to 12 hours hours around the clock for a few days and see if that helps. Have her take the Motrin with food or milk to avoid tummy upset. I currently have to take the equivalent of FOUR Motrin every eight hours for a neck problem, so one every eight hours won't hurt; just don't overdo it. Taking the Motrin regularly over three days or so a month may help. It's never a bad idea to think of a condition like depression when your teen, especially your internationally adopted teen, turns moody. After all, depression can have serious consequences, including suicide, when untreated. The good news is that the vast majority of teen girls will be witchy and cranky as heck, yet never have depression. But if you see major changes in your daughter's moods or behaviors -- especially great sadness and great anger -- get the situation evaluated. At 14, my daughter developed depression. It seemed, at first, to be situational adolescent stuff -- the end of a friendship with a boy. But it got so bad that, one day, she cried for almost ten hours straight, with almost no cause. She simply couldn't stop, and it was scaring her. Later, she also had a lot of feelings of anger, social phobias, and so on. Luckily, she got help, and with the aid of medication, wound up getting back to her old self. She's 18 now, not on medication, and successful academically in college. She knows, though, that depression can recur, that alcohol can make depressed feelings worse, etc., and is handling her life quite well. Although your daughter may not feel like exercising, exercise is actually beneficial for cramps and low spirits during a girl or woman's menstrual period. Even if it's just some brisk walking with the dog, it may help. To prevent the embarrassment and worry about a pad showing or about odor that keeps some girls from exercising during their periods, encourage your daughter to use tampons, if she's not using them now. Have a female doctor show her how, if she's reluctant to try them. Again, many young teens go through a year or so where their hormones make them so volatile that even they do not understand why they are angry or sad. Certainly, we parents don't understand, all the time, and it can be rather worrisome, not to mention as annoying as heck. But most kids pass through that era and emerge with greater maturity and insight. Most kids don't suffer from depression or bipolar disorder, but what we need to do as parents is to keep "tuned in", and to seek help if the stuff that's going on seems like more than normal adolescent angst. Sharon

Have you tried maca? It's great for hormone balance. Totally worth a try! I get mine from [[https://www.nhc.com/maca]]