A bit of Jake's background for all of you...Re: Colleen

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen. I am really sorry you are feeling judged and I apologize if I

came off that way. That was not my intent. My daughter has bipolar and OCD and

meds have truly been a lifesaver for her. That is great if your son can be

helped without them. I think it is very individual. My dd takes 4 different meds

and I wish she didn't need them to be stable, but currently she does. I

personally believe that the answer lies in quality of life. My daughter had

none. If your son is still having a good quality of life then that is all that

matters. I hope this continues to work for him. Good luck. Kim

In a message dated 1/10/2008 7:45:19 A.M. Central Standard Time,

colleenstearns@... writes:

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/that Jake can do thi

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen. I am really sorry you are feeling judged and I apologize if I

came off that way. That was not my intent. My daughter has bipolar and OCD and

meds have truly been a lifesaver for her. That is great if your son can be

helped without them. I think it is very individual. My dd takes 4 different meds

and I wish she didn't need them to be stable, but currently she does. I

personally believe that the answer lies in quality of life. My daughter had

none. If your son is still having a good quality of life then that is all that

matters. I hope this continues to work for him. Good luck. Kim

In a message dated 1/10/2008 7:45:19 A.M. Central Standard Time,

colleenstearns@... writes:

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/that Jake can do thi

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

I can see how you would be hesitant to use meds. That must be very scary anytime

you have to give him any medication, if he's had such a bad reaction to OTC

stuff. There are many things to do without meds.

We got a new book that is promising. What to do When Your Brain Gets Stuck. It

is a work book format that helps kids with the therapy end of ocd.

Like I said, Ben has really turned a corner without meds. I don't judge anyone

who has used meds for their child or doesn't use meds. We all want whats best

for our kids. Meds scare me in general, especially psych meds. I would be very

afraid to start this for him. I just try and stay open minded.

Just now, I went and asked Ben if he was having bad thoughts and not telling me.

He said " of course they are still there, but they are only pesky right now. I

know I can tell you anything and I'll tell you if they get bad again, so you can

help me. " Big relief. I mentioned that sometimes as kids get older, they don't

want to share their thoughts, but that it is important that he does this so we

can help him.

Please don't take offense at what anyone says here. remember not to read

emotions into emails, it's hard with the written word to interpret the feelings

behind them. I do tend to try and be aware that though we haven't used meds,

many need to, so I try and make my posts neutral in that regards.

A bit of Jake's background for all of you...Re:

Colleen

Okay, let me give you all a bit of background. When Jake was 3.5

years old, he had a severe cough and cold. The pediatrician

recommended an OTC med., which we gave to him. This was the night

before Easter. Before long after taking the med., Jake began to

hallucinate. I called the ped., who told me to take him to

Children's. I did. They took blood and after finding that I did

indeed give him the correct dose of the med., the answer to the

hallucinating was that Jake had an adverse reaction to the

decongestant. It was decided then that we had to be very careful

with medication. So, Jake was not given anything other than

Benadryl, Tylenol/Advil, and antibiotics. Jake's pediatrician said

that Jake was very medication sensitive.

Fast forward to Jake at age 9. Jake was suffering from anxiety. He

has had GAD for many years. However, last year things got to be a

bit harder for him in school, and as a result, he would cry and

almost refuse to go. His therapist told us that she thought it was

time to try a medication to ease his anxiety. We spoke to his ped.,

and with many reservations, we agreed to put him on Celexa.

Please remember that the anxiety about school was the only issue we

were dealing with at that time.

Three days into the medication, Jake started to have problems. He

began to be bothered by the voice in his head. The thoughts started

as sexual thoughts and quickly went to that and the

thoughts " telling " him he wanted to harm himself/others. Not having

a clue what this was all about and where it came from, I panicked.

We called the ped. and the therapist. The ped. told us to stop the

medication immediately. He more or less let us know that the med.

and Jake's hyper-sensitivity to meds. was not a good mix for Jake.

Within a week, Jake was admitted to an outpatient partial

hospitalization intensive treatment program for kids with OCD. This

is run through Western Psych. hospital. We met weekly with a

therapist and the psychiatrist, who agreed with us that medication

was probably not the best route for Jake at that time. They did

strongly suggest that alternatives to medication would be work

researching. As a result, we started the Omega 3. (We tried

Inositol, but a few days after starting that, Jake had horrible OCD

thoughts. We stopped the Inositol.) Jake was in the progrom form

the end of January through mid-May.

The voice/thoughts were much worse last year than they are at this

point in time. I am aware that the OCD will wax and wane, so things

may get worse. His current therapist contacted another therapist

from the IOP, who informed us that Jake is welcome to return to the

program if it becomes necessary.

The program helped him immensely last year. Currently, the

thoughts/voice is not a problem while Jake is in school. Jake is

not avoiding me. He is still smiling and doing all the things he

did before the thoughts bothered him. He is functioning. He tells

me about the voice/thoughts, and also tells me that he is in control.

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/CBT alone RIGHT NOW, we

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

>

> Hi Colleen,

> Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently? Is he able to

function? I think the question here is his ability to function at

school , home and in the community, as well as the content of the

thoughts.

> My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like vomitting and " if

she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc, etc, horrible,

but she could function because it was not constant, and it was

manageable.

> My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific thoughts about

seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads, thoughts of

poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,. These types of

horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be helped with

therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you have to

consider the child's quality of life. These meds can give the child

back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you want your child

living with the thought of killing you and not being on meds, or put

the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> Hugs

> Judy

>

>

[Guest guest]

I can see how you would be hesitant to use meds. That must be very scary anytime

you have to give him any medication, if he's had such a bad reaction to OTC

stuff. There are many things to do without meds.

We got a new book that is promising. What to do When Your Brain Gets Stuck. It

is a work book format that helps kids with the therapy end of ocd.

Like I said, Ben has really turned a corner without meds. I don't judge anyone

who has used meds for their child or doesn't use meds. We all want whats best

for our kids. Meds scare me in general, especially psych meds. I would be very

afraid to start this for him. I just try and stay open minded.

Just now, I went and asked Ben if he was having bad thoughts and not telling me.

He said " of course they are still there, but they are only pesky right now. I

know I can tell you anything and I'll tell you if they get bad again, so you can

help me. " Big relief. I mentioned that sometimes as kids get older, they don't

want to share their thoughts, but that it is important that he does this so we

can help him.

Please don't take offense at what anyone says here. remember not to read

emotions into emails, it's hard with the written word to interpret the feelings

behind them. I do tend to try and be aware that though we haven't used meds,

many need to, so I try and make my posts neutral in that regards.

A bit of Jake's background for all of you...Re:

Colleen

Okay, let me give you all a bit of background. When Jake was 3.5

years old, he had a severe cough and cold. The pediatrician

recommended an OTC med., which we gave to him. This was the night

before Easter. Before long after taking the med., Jake began to

hallucinate. I called the ped., who told me to take him to

Children's. I did. They took blood and after finding that I did

indeed give him the correct dose of the med., the answer to the

hallucinating was that Jake had an adverse reaction to the

decongestant. It was decided then that we had to be very careful

with medication. So, Jake was not given anything other than

Benadryl, Tylenol/Advil, and antibiotics. Jake's pediatrician said

that Jake was very medication sensitive.

Fast forward to Jake at age 9. Jake was suffering from anxiety. He

has had GAD for many years. However, last year things got to be a

bit harder for him in school, and as a result, he would cry and

almost refuse to go. His therapist told us that she thought it was

time to try a medication to ease his anxiety. We spoke to his ped.,

and with many reservations, we agreed to put him on Celexa.

Please remember that the anxiety about school was the only issue we

were dealing with at that time.

Three days into the medication, Jake started to have problems. He

began to be bothered by the voice in his head. The thoughts started

as sexual thoughts and quickly went to that and the

thoughts " telling " him he wanted to harm himself/others. Not having

a clue what this was all about and where it came from, I panicked.

We called the ped. and the therapist. The ped. told us to stop the

medication immediately. He more or less let us know that the med.

and Jake's hyper-sensitivity to meds. was not a good mix for Jake.

Within a week, Jake was admitted to an outpatient partial

hospitalization intensive treatment program for kids with OCD. This

is run through Western Psych. hospital. We met weekly with a

therapist and the psychiatrist, who agreed with us that medication

was probably not the best route for Jake at that time. They did

strongly suggest that alternatives to medication would be work

researching. As a result, we started the Omega 3. (We tried

Inositol, but a few days after starting that, Jake had horrible OCD

thoughts. We stopped the Inositol.) Jake was in the progrom form

the end of January through mid-May.

The voice/thoughts were much worse last year than they are at this

point in time. I am aware that the OCD will wax and wane, so things

may get worse. His current therapist contacted another therapist

from the IOP, who informed us that Jake is welcome to return to the

program if it becomes necessary.

The program helped him immensely last year. Currently, the

thoughts/voice is not a problem while Jake is in school. Jake is

not avoiding me. He is still smiling and doing all the things he

did before the thoughts bothered him. He is functioning. He tells

me about the voice/thoughts, and also tells me that he is in control.

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/CBT alone RIGHT NOW, we

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

>

> Hi Colleen,

> Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently? Is he able to

function? I think the question here is his ability to function at

school , home and in the community, as well as the content of the

thoughts.

> My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like vomitting and " if

she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc, etc, horrible,

but she could function because it was not constant, and it was

manageable.

> My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific thoughts about

seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads, thoughts of

poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,. These types of

horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be helped with

therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you have to

consider the child's quality of life. These meds can give the child

back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you want your child

living with the thought of killing you and not being on meds, or put

the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> Hugs

> Judy

>

>

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

No one judges anyone here. We have not had to use meds while others have and

I rejoice in everyone's successes and mourn everyone's sorrows. Sometimes I

think we all throw out ideas to each other and sometimes, yes, our feelings on a

situation, but in a way that only we can, because we understand what it is like

to be a parent of a struggling child. We know the heartache, the sleepless

nights, the horror, and then we still see glimmers of hope that all will be okay

and we hold on to those tightly.

Everyone here has a heart that aches with yours right now. Please don't be

offended if thoughts are thrown your way. I have found more help on this board

than I have with my own therapist and it has sometimes made me realize my

therapist was so right and other times caused me to question things that she was

doing - and it ended up being a good question. This board is for support and

information and lots and lots of great ideas. If people were judging you, you

would not even get a response back. Everyone is trying desperately to throw out

ideas that may help your son work his way through this terrible disease.

Kind Regards,

in TN

mnmomof1@... wrote:

Hi Colleen. I am really sorry you are feeling judged and I apologize

if I

came off that way. That was not my intent. My daughter has bipolar and OCD and

meds have truly been a lifesaver for her. That is great if your son can be

helped without them. I think it is very individual. My dd takes 4 different meds

and I wish she didn't need them to be stable, but currently she does. I

personally believe that the answer lies in quality of life. My daughter had

none. If your son is still having a good quality of life then that is all that

matters. I hope this continues to work for him. Good luck. Kim

In a message dated 1/10/2008 7:45:19 A.M. Central Standard Time,

colleenstearns@... writes:

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/that Jake can do thi

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

No one judges anyone here. We have not had to use meds while others have and

I rejoice in everyone's successes and mourn everyone's sorrows. Sometimes I

think we all throw out ideas to each other and sometimes, yes, our feelings on a

situation, but in a way that only we can, because we understand what it is like

to be a parent of a struggling child. We know the heartache, the sleepless

nights, the horror, and then we still see glimmers of hope that all will be okay

and we hold on to those tightly.

Everyone here has a heart that aches with yours right now. Please don't be

offended if thoughts are thrown your way. I have found more help on this board

than I have with my own therapist and it has sometimes made me realize my

therapist was so right and other times caused me to question things that she was

doing - and it ended up being a good question. This board is for support and

information and lots and lots of great ideas. If people were judging you, you

would not even get a response back. Everyone is trying desperately to throw out

ideas that may help your son work his way through this terrible disease.

Kind Regards,

in TN

mnmomof1@... wrote:

Hi Colleen. I am really sorry you are feeling judged and I apologize

if I

came off that way. That was not my intent. My daughter has bipolar and OCD and

meds have truly been a lifesaver for her. That is great if your son can be

helped without them. I think it is very individual. My dd takes 4 different meds

and I wish she didn't need them to be stable, but currently she does. I

personally believe that the answer lies in quality of life. My daughter had

none. If your son is still having a good quality of life then that is all that

matters. I hope this continues to work for him. Good luck. Kim

In a message dated 1/10/2008 7:45:19 A.M. Central Standard Time,

colleenstearns@... writes:

I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I can to help my

son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed medication, then we

would go that route for Jake. Considering that the therapists agree

that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/that Jake can do thi

feel that we need to have faith in in that.

To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am being judged

here. That isn't why I joined this group.

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

Also, what some here have found alot of success with is nutritional testing.

My son, currently does not take any meds and takes a calcium/magnesium

supplement as well as a b complex, fish oil and focus factor. We went through a

homeopathic doctor and we are as well adding a chiropractor next week. His ocd

symptoms are non-existent.

If your son is so sensitive to meds, it may be worth a shot to have some

testing done on him for deficiencies and try to build him up. I know others

have done neurotransmitter testing - I think Joy. Write a new post about

that if you are interested in knowing more.

Kind Regards,

barb <barbnesrallah@...> wrote:

Shoot, I just read this post after I sent you another one about

considering medication!!! So sorry.

It's so hard here on this site because you sometimes only get/give

part of the story. I for one do not judge you in any way shape or

form. Every decision a parent makes when dealing with this or any

mental illness can be so difficult. I think as much as anything

others, myself included, just want to share their experiences, good,

bad and otherwise, hoping it might help someone else. Also, I suspect

many have felt judged for choosing medication, so it can be a hot

button both ways....

It sounds like you have a great team working with you and you all

seem pretty clear about things. That has never been the case for

us. So, sometimes sharing and comparing helps.

Our son also had wild reaction to decongestant when young, and

hallucinated on a homeopathic remedy, and other stuff, so I do

understand your concerns.

From what I have been told, by docs, a drug does not generally cause

an illness, ie OCD, but it can bring it out. In other words it was

latent. No comfort I know. Not sure how your docs explained what

happened re the celexa and the outbreak of OCD? Would be very

interested. In our case we have bipolar which was tripped off with

celexa at a high dose. I was very upset at the time, but have come

to realize it is all part of this sometimes lousy process of finding

answers to mental illness.

Sorry that you felt judged. Hope it does not stop you from posting.

I have found this a good and caring group.

Barb

> >

> > Hi Colleen,

> > Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently? Is he able to

> function? I think the question here is his ability to function at

> school , home and in the community, as well as the content of the

> thoughts.

> > My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like vomitting

and " if

> she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc, etc, horrible,

> but she could function because it was not constant, and it was

> manageable.

> > My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific thoughts about

> seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads, thoughts of

> poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,. These types of

> horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be helped with

> therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you have to

> consider the child's quality of life. These meds can give the child

> back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you want your child

> living with the thought of killing you and not being on meds, or

put

> the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

Also, what some here have found alot of success with is nutritional testing.

My son, currently does not take any meds and takes a calcium/magnesium

supplement as well as a b complex, fish oil and focus factor. We went through a

homeopathic doctor and we are as well adding a chiropractor next week. His ocd

symptoms are non-existent.

If your son is so sensitive to meds, it may be worth a shot to have some

testing done on him for deficiencies and try to build him up. I know others

have done neurotransmitter testing - I think Joy. Write a new post about

that if you are interested in knowing more.

Kind Regards,

barb <barbnesrallah@...> wrote:

Shoot, I just read this post after I sent you another one about

considering medication!!! So sorry.

It's so hard here on this site because you sometimes only get/give

part of the story. I for one do not judge you in any way shape or

form. Every decision a parent makes when dealing with this or any

mental illness can be so difficult. I think as much as anything

others, myself included, just want to share their experiences, good,

bad and otherwise, hoping it might help someone else. Also, I suspect

many have felt judged for choosing medication, so it can be a hot

button both ways....

It sounds like you have a great team working with you and you all

seem pretty clear about things. That has never been the case for

us. So, sometimes sharing and comparing helps.

Our son also had wild reaction to decongestant when young, and

hallucinated on a homeopathic remedy, and other stuff, so I do

understand your concerns.

From what I have been told, by docs, a drug does not generally cause

an illness, ie OCD, but it can bring it out. In other words it was

latent. No comfort I know. Not sure how your docs explained what

happened re the celexa and the outbreak of OCD? Would be very

interested. In our case we have bipolar which was tripped off with

celexa at a high dose. I was very upset at the time, but have come

to realize it is all part of this sometimes lousy process of finding

answers to mental illness.

Sorry that you felt judged. Hope it does not stop you from posting.

I have found this a good and caring group.

Barb

> >

> > Hi Colleen,

> > Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently? Is he able to

> function? I think the question here is his ability to function at

> school , home and in the community, as well as the content of the

> thoughts.

> > My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like vomitting

and " if

> she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc, etc, horrible,

> but she could function because it was not constant, and it was

> manageable.

> > My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific thoughts about

> seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads, thoughts of

> poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,. These types of

> horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be helped with

> therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you have to

> consider the child's quality of life. These meds can give the child

> back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you want your child

> living with the thought of killing you and not being on meds, or

put

> the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

What is neurotransmitter testing? I've never heard of that.

c ward <cward_ri@...> wrote: Colleen,

Also, what some here have found alot of success with is nutritional testing. My

son, currently does not take any meds and takes a calcium/magnesium supplement

as well as a b complex, fish oil and focus factor. We went through a homeopathic

doctor and we are as well adding a chiropractor next week. His ocd symptoms are

non-existent.

If your son is so sensitive to meds, it may be worth a shot to have some testing

done on him for deficiencies and try to build him up. I know others have done

neurotransmitter testing - I think Joy. Write a new post about that if you

are interested in knowing more.

Kind Regards,

barb <barbnesrallah@...> wrote:

Shoot, I just read this post after I sent you another one about

considering medication!!! So sorry.

It's so hard here on this site because you sometimes only get/give

part of the story. I for one do not judge you in any way shape or

form. Every decision a parent makes when dealing with this or any

mental illness can be so difficult. I think as much as anything

others, myself included, just want to share their experiences, good,

bad and otherwise, hoping it might help someone else. Also, I suspect

many have felt judged for choosing medication, so it can be a hot

button both ways....

It sounds like you have a great team working with you and you all

seem pretty clear about things. That has never been the case for

us. So, sometimes sharing and comparing helps.

Our son also had wild reaction to decongestant when young, and

hallucinated on a homeopathic remedy, and other stuff, so I do

understand your concerns.

From what I have been told, by docs, a drug does not generally cause

an illness, ie OCD, but it can bring it out. In other words it was

latent. No comfort I know. Not sure how your docs explained what

happened re the celexa and the outbreak of OCD? Would be very

interested. In our case we have bipolar which was tripped off with

celexa at a high dose. I was very upset at the time, but have come

to realize it is all part of this sometimes lousy process of finding

answers to mental illness.

Sorry that you felt judged. Hope it does not stop you from posting.

I have found this a good and caring group.

Barb

> >

> > Hi Colleen,

> > Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently? Is he able to

> function? I think the question here is his ability to function at

> school , home and in the community, as well as the content of the

> thoughts.

> > My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like vomitting

and " if

> she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc, etc, horrible,

> but she could function because it was not constant, and it was

> manageable.

> > My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific thoughts about

> seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads, thoughts of

> poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,. These types of

> horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be helped with

> therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you have to

> consider the child's quality of life. These meds can give the child

> back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you want your child

> living with the thought of killing you and not being on meds, or

put

> the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

Thanks for clearing up your son's story. Now that we

know the dangers of using medication with him, I think

we can all be more understanding of your hesitations.

How difficult for you not to have access to every

avenue of help for your son. We know you're doing your

very best.

--- Colleen Stearns <colleenstearns@...>

wrote:

> Okay, let me give you all a bit of background. When

> Jake was 3.5

> years old, he had a severe cough and cold. The

> pediatrician

> recommended an OTC med., which we gave to him. This

> was the night

> before Easter. Before long after taking the med.,

> Jake began to

> hallucinate. I called the ped., who told me to take

> him to

> Children's. I did. They took blood and after

> finding that I did

> indeed give him the correct dose of the med., the

> answer to the

> hallucinating was that Jake had an adverse reaction

> to the

> decongestant. It was decided then that we had to be

> very careful

> with medication. So, Jake was not given anything

> other than

> Benadryl, Tylenol/Advil, and antibiotics. Jake's

> pediatrician said

> that Jake was very medication sensitive.

>

> Fast forward to Jake at age 9. Jake was suffering

> from anxiety. He

> has had GAD for many years. However, last year

> things got to be a

> bit harder for him in school, and as a result, he

> would cry and

> almost refuse to go. His therapist told us that she

> thought it was

> time to try a medication to ease his anxiety. We

> spoke to his ped.,

> and with many reservations, we agreed to put him on

> Celexa.

>

> Please remember that the anxiety about school was

> the only issue we

> were dealing with at that time.

>

> Three days into the medication, Jake started to have

> problems. He

> began to be bothered by the voice in his head. The

> thoughts started

> as sexual thoughts and quickly went to that and the

> thoughts " telling " him he wanted to harm

> himself/others. Not having

> a clue what this was all about and where it came

> from, I panicked.

>

> We called the ped. and the therapist. The ped. told

> us to stop the

> medication immediately. He more or less let us know

> that the med.

> and Jake's hyper-sensitivity to meds. was not a good

> mix for Jake.

>

> Within a week, Jake was admitted to an outpatient

> partial

> hospitalization intensive treatment program for kids

> with OCD. This

> is run through Western Psych. hospital. We met

> weekly with a

> therapist and the psychiatrist, who agreed with us

> that medication

> was probably not the best route for Jake at that

> time. They did

> strongly suggest that alternatives to medication

> would be work

> researching. As a result, we started the Omega 3.

> (We tried

> Inositol, but a few days after starting that, Jake

> had horrible OCD

> thoughts. We stopped the Inositol.) Jake was in

> the progrom form

> the end of January through mid-May.

>

> The voice/thoughts were much worse last year than

> they are at this

> point in time. I am aware that the OCD will wax and

> wane, so things

> may get worse. His current therapist contacted

> another therapist

> from the IOP, who informed us that Jake is welcome

> to return to the

> program if it becomes necessary.

>

> The program helped him immensely last year.

> Currently, the

> thoughts/voice is not a problem while Jake is in

> school. Jake is

> not avoiding me. He is still smiling and doing all

> the things he

> did before the thoughts bothered him. He is

> functioning. He tells

> me about the voice/thoughts, and also tells me that

> he is in control.

>

> I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I

> can to help my

> son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed

> medication, then we

> would go that route for Jake. Considering that the

> therapists agree

> that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/CBT

> alone RIGHT NOW, we

> feel that we need to have faith in in that.

>

> To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am

> being judged

> here. That isn't why I joined this group.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Colleen,

> > Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently?

> Is he able to

> function? I think the question here is his ability

> to function at

> school , home and in the community, as well as the

> content of the

> thoughts.

> > My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like

> vomitting and " if

> she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc,

> etc, horrible,

> but she could function because it was not constant,

> and it was

> manageable.

> > My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific

> thoughts about

> seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads,

> thoughts of

> poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,.

> These types of

> horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be

> helped with

> therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you

> have to

> consider the child's quality of life. These meds can

> give the child

> back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you

> want your child

> living with the thought of killing you and not being

> on meds, or put

> the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

>

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

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[Guest guest]

Colleen,

Thanks for clearing up your son's story. Now that we

know the dangers of using medication with him, I think

we can all be more understanding of your hesitations.

How difficult for you not to have access to every

avenue of help for your son. We know you're doing your

very best.

--- Colleen Stearns <colleenstearns@...>

wrote:

> Okay, let me give you all a bit of background. When

> Jake was 3.5

> years old, he had a severe cough and cold. The

> pediatrician

> recommended an OTC med., which we gave to him. This

> was the night

> before Easter. Before long after taking the med.,

> Jake began to

> hallucinate. I called the ped., who told me to take

> him to

> Children's. I did. They took blood and after

> finding that I did

> indeed give him the correct dose of the med., the

> answer to the

> hallucinating was that Jake had an adverse reaction

> to the

> decongestant. It was decided then that we had to be

> very careful

> with medication. So, Jake was not given anything

> other than

> Benadryl, Tylenol/Advil, and antibiotics. Jake's

> pediatrician said

> that Jake was very medication sensitive.

>

> Fast forward to Jake at age 9. Jake was suffering

> from anxiety. He

> has had GAD for many years. However, last year

> things got to be a

> bit harder for him in school, and as a result, he

> would cry and

> almost refuse to go. His therapist told us that she

> thought it was

> time to try a medication to ease his anxiety. We

> spoke to his ped.,

> and with many reservations, we agreed to put him on

> Celexa.

>

> Please remember that the anxiety about school was

> the only issue we

> were dealing with at that time.

>

> Three days into the medication, Jake started to have

> problems. He

> began to be bothered by the voice in his head. The

> thoughts started

> as sexual thoughts and quickly went to that and the

> thoughts " telling " him he wanted to harm

> himself/others. Not having

> a clue what this was all about and where it came

> from, I panicked.

>

> We called the ped. and the therapist. The ped. told

> us to stop the

> medication immediately. He more or less let us know

> that the med.

> and Jake's hyper-sensitivity to meds. was not a good

> mix for Jake.

>

> Within a week, Jake was admitted to an outpatient

> partial

> hospitalization intensive treatment program for kids

> with OCD. This

> is run through Western Psych. hospital. We met

> weekly with a

> therapist and the psychiatrist, who agreed with us

> that medication

> was probably not the best route for Jake at that

> time. They did

> strongly suggest that alternatives to medication

> would be work

> researching. As a result, we started the Omega 3.

> (We tried

> Inositol, but a few days after starting that, Jake

> had horrible OCD

> thoughts. We stopped the Inositol.) Jake was in

> the progrom form

> the end of January through mid-May.

>

> The voice/thoughts were much worse last year than

> they are at this

> point in time. I am aware that the OCD will wax and

> wane, so things

> may get worse. His current therapist contacted

> another therapist

> from the IOP, who informed us that Jake is welcome

> to return to the

> program if it becomes necessary.

>

> The program helped him immensely last year.

> Currently, the

> thoughts/voice is not a problem while Jake is in

> school. Jake is

> not avoiding me. He is still smiling and doing all

> the things he

> did before the thoughts bothered him. He is

> functioning. He tells

> me about the voice/thoughts, and also tells me that

> he is in control.

>

> I would not hesitate FOR ONE SECOND doing all that I

> can to help my

> son. If the therapist told me that Jake needed

> medication, then we

> would go that route for Jake. Considering that the

> therapists agree

> that Jake can do this with talk therapy/ERP/CBT

> alone RIGHT NOW, we

> feel that we need to have faith in in that.

>

> To be honest with you, I get he feeling that I am

> being judged

> here. That isn't why I joined this group.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Hi Colleen,

> > Does your ds have the " bad thoughts " frequently?

> Is he able to

> function? I think the question here is his ability

> to function at

> school , home and in the community, as well as the

> content of the

> thoughts.

> > My dd was diagnosed with intrusive thoughts.like

> vomitting and " if

> she didn't kiss the chair, she would be choked " etc,

> etc, horrible,

> but she could function because it was not constant,

> and it was

> manageable.

> > My ds on the other hand had unbelievable horrific

> thoughts about

> seeing burning bodies and eyes coming out of heads,

> thoughts of

> poking himself in the eyes with a fork , etc, etc,.

> These types of

> horrific thoughts must be treated.!! These cannot be

> helped with

> therapy alone!! I hate giving my child meds. but you

> have to

> consider the child's quality of life. These meds can

> give the child

> back their life. You have to weigh it out. Do you

> want your child

> living with the thought of killing you and not being

> on meds, or put

> the child on meds and have him thinking normally?

> > Hugs

> > Judy

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

>

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

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know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

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[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

No, I certainly didn't want to make you feel that you were being judged at all.

I have been there and done that just like many on this board. I'm just trying to

help you. I understand the horror of all of this and trying to figure it all out

when your under so much stress is not easy. My main point is to be careful that

your ds is not suffering from psychosis.In the event he is, he needs the

meds.Some kids that are hypersensitive to antidepressants can be bipolar and

have these types of reactions.

I hate giving my kids meds. Everytime I dole out the pills I cringe. My kids are

extremely med sensitive also. I have a daughter who is OCD and Bipolar , and I

cannot put her on any mood stabilizer due to her reactions to the meds, so I can

certainly relate.

My ds(6) was in the ER a few months ago when he was 5 due to an almost fatal

reaction to a med.

I definitely urge you to try the natural herbs and therapy first, but be very

careful with those " bad thoughts " ESPECIALLY about harming himself and others.

Just trying to help!!!!!! and trying to make sure you are aware!!

((((((((((hugs)))))))))

Judy

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

No, I certainly didn't want to make you feel that you were being judged at all.

I have been there and done that just like many on this board. I'm just trying to

help you. I understand the horror of all of this and trying to figure it all out

when your under so much stress is not easy. My main point is to be careful that

your ds is not suffering from psychosis.In the event he is, he needs the

meds.Some kids that are hypersensitive to antidepressants can be bipolar and

have these types of reactions.

I hate giving my kids meds. Everytime I dole out the pills I cringe. My kids are

extremely med sensitive also. I have a daughter who is OCD and Bipolar , and I

cannot put her on any mood stabilizer due to her reactions to the meds, so I can

certainly relate.

My ds(6) was in the ER a few months ago when he was 5 due to an almost fatal

reaction to a med.

I definitely urge you to try the natural herbs and therapy first, but be very

careful with those " bad thoughts " ESPECIALLY about harming himself and others.

Just trying to help!!!!!! and trying to make sure you are aware!!

((((((((((hugs)))))))))

Judy

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

I agree with Kim. I think you have to look at his quality of life. If

he is still happy and functioning well, I think we would ALL choose

therapy over meds. We're just trying to share what worked with our

children and that includes good success with CBT or good success with

meds, or both. We understand that you have special issues with med.

sensitivities in your child. Many children here have had terrible

reactions to one med or another, but have found the right one for them.

Each case is so individual.

I hope your son can tackle his therapy without inpatient treatment this

time. Maybe he's learned what he needs to do enough to just need some

assistance as an outpatient.

I looked back at your original post and saw at the bottom that it was

" just a vent " and you weren't asking for advice--sorry! Hopefully your

therapist that he sees once a week can turn this around with him.

Best of luck,

Dina

[Guest guest]

Colleen,

I agree with Kim. I think you have to look at his quality of life. If

he is still happy and functioning well, I think we would ALL choose

therapy over meds. We're just trying to share what worked with our

children and that includes good success with CBT or good success with

meds, or both. We understand that you have special issues with med.

sensitivities in your child. Many children here have had terrible

reactions to one med or another, but have found the right one for them.

Each case is so individual.

I hope your son can tackle his therapy without inpatient treatment this

time. Maybe he's learned what he needs to do enough to just need some

assistance as an outpatient.

I looked back at your original post and saw at the bottom that it was

" just a vent " and you weren't asking for advice--sorry! Hopefully your

therapist that he sees once a week can turn this around with him.

Best of luck,

Dina

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

Sorry if someone's post seemed judgemental! Really, this is a

SUPPORT group, where we can throw around ideas, share days, vent on

bad days, share good news, what's worked for us or others we know of,

ask for suggestions, learn about therapy.... And even if a child

seems to be doing things no other OCD child is doing, we can all

agree on the illogic of OCD! had such odd things going on

when his OCD hit, I couldn't even find similar in any book and no one

here had heard/read of some of his behaviors either. LOL, I had to

have the OCD kid that was " weird " even for OCD!

When I joined this group years ago, I was the only one using inositol

powder, and it worked for . Used it all through middle

school. It's worked for a few others too. And then there's those

like your Jake, who it affected in an adverse way. And then here we

try it again this year, me really thinking, hoping, it will work

again, even upping the dosage and no effect either good or bad for

! (Actually everything we've tried so far this year,

alternatively, seems like it's like water or something to him,

absolutely nothing affecting him positively or negatively)

I know it's the same with prescription meds. Celexa worked great for

, only SSRI we've tried, while others had adverse effects on

Celexa. Some parents trial all, or about, the SSRIs, it might be the

5th one that works and/or has no behavioral or other side effects.

I'm sensitive to some OTCs myself - Benedryl and Nyquil for example.

I've gotten so anything I try new, I get liquids so I can take small

sips/dosages and wait to see how it'll affect me. Benedryl and

Nyquil make me jittery, can feel at times like my heart picks up

pace, and I will wake practically every hour all night. But I

still " sip " them when I need something as it'll help the symptoms

(cold, whatever).

What happened to Jake with the OTC med, seems like certain cold meds

were pulled not too long ago due to the concern of an ingredient that

could cause things like Jake had (hallucinations or other). It also

seems I recall someone once posting here about taking certain cold

meds with an SSRI should be avoided...don't know if that is related

to the OTC ones pulled or not.

Anyway, I envy Jake (tell him that) as he seems to have an

understanding of OCD that my soon-19 yr old doesn't. My son has the

bad thoughts regarding religion/God, won't share them in detail. I

know at one time he had thoughts about others but don't know if that

is still going on. If he wouldn't feel these thoughts are " him " and

understood that the " OCD imp " is causing the many thoughts...well,

not sharing them isn't important if he could just know he should

shrug them off because they're OCD. Instead he seems to dwell on

them, asking God's forgiveness, etc. I've always had a bit of " bad

thoughts " myself, since teens, but never developed into actual OCD

luckily. I don't know if that's because I did just shrug them off,

knowing it was my " contrary brain " causing them. Okay, I'm rambling

now.

Please continue to keep us updated, I'll be interested to read how

Jake is doing (and how you all are coping too!).

single mom, 3 sons

, almost 19, with OCD, dysgraphia and Aspergers/mild

>

> Okay, let me give you all a bit of background. When Jake was 3.5

> years old, he had a severe cough and cold. The pediatrician

> recommended an OTC med., which we gave to him. This was the night

> before Easter. Before long after taking the med., Jake began to