Re: Re: Thanks BJ

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Micah's getting better, he doesn't use a night light, as they don't put out

enough light, we put 3 in his room, and it was still too dark for him.

But he uses his lamp, which has a dimmer, and I've noticed he's turning it

down more and more. 6 months ago it was full 60 watts.

Gong to the kitchen to get a glass of water, is another story. he turns

every light on, on the way, and runs back. I've suggested maybe he

shouldn't

watch the scary movies, but he doesn't want to give them up, he loves the

thrill. He just wants you to go everywhere with him afterwards for a day.

We start therapy the 8, Micah doesn't start until the 10, hopefully it will

go quickly, as we have no insurance coverage. She's joining our network, but

it will take months, unless employer approves in process appts...that would be

great....but not likely.

Does OCD every go away if left untreated? Or at least improve? I told Dr. we

may have to start out twice a month until insurance kicks in.

In a message dated 12/2/2008 11:30:33 P.M. Central Standard Time,

BJClosner@... writes:

, Josh was afraid of the dark up until about 2 years ago. He was

going on 15 before he gave up his light at night time. I think that

is not that unusual for kids with anxiety disorders. I just let him

figure out when he was ready to give it up. I figured he had so many

other things to cope with, that that just wasn't worth bothering with.

Micah has a lot going on, so I wouldn't worry about that one. He

will get there. ) They all do, it seems, eventually. . Just takes

longer for some.

Concerning therapy. . . We had two appointments together where we

talked and the doctor evaluated everything. By the third appointment,

Josh was working on making his list. By the 4th, he started his

CBT/ERP, choosing the easiest to start with. He started getting

things under control, one ritual at a time, starting with that 4th

appointment. It took a few months to get into his list a ways, going

once a week. But, it can be different for everyone. It depends on

how much it bothers them, as to how fast they can move forward. Some

" get " it right away, others struggle more. It takes patience, that's

for sure!

We reached a point where we were out of money and could only afford to

go once a month. He's been on that schedule ever since. At this

point, he is done with his list, but the therapist is coaching him

through coming up with ERP for anything new that pops up. He is

encouraging Josh to do it more himself, but being there to help him if

he isn't sure how to approach the ritual to get in under control.

On the way home, I was explaining to Josh that the CBT/ERP is training

for his lifetime. And how this is training for Josh to figure out how

to confront things as they come up in his life. Eventually it will be

up to him to recognize, and start exposures for anything new that OCD

comes up with. Along with applying any old exposures if the old stuff

tries to flare back up. He asked me if I had been talking to his

therapist, because apparently that is what he told Josh today too.

We've been going for quite a while, but when you only go once a month,

it can drag out. Still, Josh's OCD has been mostly under control, for

a long time now. I expect he will be done soon, with only occasional

trips for fine tuning, or flare ups.

BJ

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[Guest guest]

>>Does OCD every go away if left untreated? Or at least improve?

In our case the OCD definitely waxed and waned before we got treatment.

We didn't even realize what it was at first . . . the fear of germs and

constant hand washing/bathing. But it dissipated and we went on with our

lives. She continued to have " eposiodes " but was doing well until a year

later when OCD struck a lot harder and totally without warning. We have

since come to realize some things that trigger her OCD and it isn't what

you'd think -- it's not the scary books she loves (although we do avoid

those now) or discussions about gross bodily functions (which she seems to

be fascinated with). For her some triggers are lack of good, sound sleep;

change in routine; etc.

But, yes, for use the OCD came and went when left untreated. But there

came a point that she was in so much distress that she couldn't eat, had

daily melt-downs after school, was even having episodes at school (which

was especially distressing for her), etc. We had to do something!

Beth