Re: Dealing with ocd and an adult child

[Guest guest]

Hi Tammie! When you say he can't sign a check, fill out a form, is

that due to writing (his problem with letters)? Or is that due to his

touching them?

My son (now age 19) used to seem like super glue at times. He

didn't keep things but a lot of what he would touch he would

get " stuck " on and not be able to let go. I think it had to do with

getting some " just right " feeling before he could quit touching it or

move, etc. Even picking up a pencil to write could be a problem, might

take a while before he could begin to write, would be touching the

pencil until it was " right " before he could write. (too many " writes "

and " rights " LOL, hope I didn't confuse them when typing) He would

some days avoid picking up things, including a pencil for schoolwork,

afraid he would get " stuck. "

OK, I said he didn't keep things but when younger was a hoarder for

some type items. Guess he still is when I think about it now.

Any of that similar to your son?

>

> My son has ocd he is 26 years old. His ocd involves letters and

> numbers. This involves every aspect of his life. He has a hard time

> functioning in all parts of his life. I was wondering if anyone has

any

> like experiences with ocd. He also can not throw things away that

have

> numbers or letters. He puts everything that he touches in his pockets

> or his vehicle. He can not sign a check or fill out a form. He is on

> medication but it is not working. I was wondering if anyone with an

> older child has any words of wisdom for me. Thank you Tammie

>

[Guest guest]

Tammie, I don't post often, but I do read selective emails when I have the

time. I know a few lady's on the group especially . She was the

first to reach out to me when I joined.

I also have an older son with mild ocd but also bdd which is the worst of his

issues. It has affected his life terribly. We are hopeful, but it does at time

become over-whelming for me. I suppose because like another mother said in a

previous post, mothers often feel sad and responsible...because they cannot fix

their child with ocd. On top of this, my son has multiple medical issues as

well. I'd be lying if I didn't think at times that he may be with us forever.

I am so worn out this evening I don't feel much like explaining a lot of

details. When I saw your post that your son was an adult-child 26 w/ ocd, it

made me curious if anyone on the group had done a survey of the members to learn

how many have children under 18 y.o. with ocd and how many have adult-children

with ocd 18 y.o. over.

Also, has anyone ever surveyed the group members to compile a list of all the

known drug taken for ocd and it's variant forms. This list wouldn't need to be

limited to ocd itself but could include other disorders that seem to coincide

with ocd like add or (?) ahdd and others. Sometimes I wish I had a list like

this I could print out instead of weeding through or saving various emails with

drug information. It would be invaluable to know all the drugs used and their

generic forms and how many patients found the drugs to be successful or not and

why. Oh well, it sounds like a good idea but maybe its not.

One other quick point I wanted to make was in response to the parent having

trouble with 504 and their public school administrators. I also experienced the

" we can't help you with your son by his advisor and teachers at his public high

school system. Basically they told me to take my straight A child out of school

and consider homeschooling or online school. I was uninformed at the time and

believed them. Feeling I had no other course of action but this, we withdrew

him from school. When I found this group, I discovered I did have options -

504!! So the person inquiring about this should take it to the school board if

they don't get the help they need. There is help they can provide, they just

don't want anyone to know about it.

Kind regards,

Sandi in GA

My son has ocd he is 26 years old. His ocd involves letters and

numbers. This involves every aspect of his life. He has a hard time

functioning in all parts of his life. I was wondering if anyone has any

like experiences with ocd. He also can not throw things away that have

numbers or letters. He puts everything that he touches in his pockets

or his vehicle. He can not sign a check or fill out a form. He is on

medication but it is not working. I was wondering if anyone with an

older child has any words of wisdom for me. Thank you Tammie

[Guest guest]

Hi, Tammie. Our son has dealt with numbers, and some grammar stuff.

It can make it hard to function, if it is nonstop. Our son had

difficulty concentrating. He is on Celexa, and it quieted things down

for him. He still has it going on a bit, but the meds made it a lot

less bothersome.

What kind of medication is he on? Might he need it raised a bit?

Generally OCD can require higher doses of antidepressants than

depression does.

Has he tried any CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and ERP (exposure

and response prevention)? That is the first line of evidence based

treatment for OCD. Though sometimes medication is needed to quiet the

OCD down some, so they can concentrate on doing the therapy. The

CBT/ERP helped our son a lot.

Therapists, who specialize in treating OCD, correctly, can be hard to

find, but worth the search.

BJ

>

> My son has ocd he is 26 years old. His ocd involves letters and

> numbers. This involves every aspect of his life. He has a hard time

> functioning in all parts of his life. I was wondering if anyone has any

> like experiences with ocd. He also can not throw things away that have

> numbers or letters. He puts everything that he touches in his pockets

> or his vehicle. He can not sign a check or fill out a form. He is on

> medication but it is not working. I was wondering if anyone with an

> older child has any words of wisdom for me. Thank you Tammie

>