Autistic DD, periods and rage / meltdowns

[Elnett]

My 14 year-old ASD DD started her periods in September last year. Since December she has started having terrible meltdowns every few weeks. Hissing, hitting herself, sobbing, shouting gibberish, absolutely consumed with rage. Can go on for hours. It almost always coincides with the start of her period or some other change in her cycle. This plus the fact that it started a few months after her periods leaves me convinced that it's hormonal. She's so scared by it - says she hates her brain and it feels like it's on fire.

Her GP is putting her on the pill - she starts week after next. I guess I'm looking for some good news stories. Is this common for autistic girls? Has anyone else been in this situation and found the pill helpful?

Bumping for the evening crowd. Does anyone have any words of wisdom?

Have you considered whether it’s PMDD? It’s more common in ND girls and women.

Thank you @JustKeepBuilding . I think you're right - I've just looked up PMDD and it looks as though she fits the bill for that. I guess in that case it's only really medication that will help. I'm keeping fingers crossed that the pill works for her.

Hi op. My dd, who is 13, is similar. Every major meltdown since she started her periods has coincided with a particular point in her cycle. It's interesting, as it tends to be when her period starts, rather than during the run up (ie - not PRE-menstrual). She won't consider the pill, because she is concerned about gaining weight - I think this is also quite common amongst women with autism.

Thank you @BigMadAdrian . Yes the more I read the more I realise that hormones affect autistic girls quite badly. I'm a bit worried about the GP appointment as the GP will need to go through the list of risk factors for DD to look out for. That alone is likely to scare her into not wanting to take it.