Re: Follow Up question on Inositol

[Guest guest]

Here is a website that gives some helpful information. . .

http://westsuffolkpsych.homestead.com/Inositol_and_OCD.html

If your child is on any other medications, it's probably best to have

a medical professional on board too, just because you never know what

might conflict.

When we tried it, we found our son had a lot of gas, and some diarrhea

with it. Some in here have said going up slowly can help with that.

Unfortunately, it didn't help with our son's OCD. But, yes, Chris's

son did have good results with it for a while. I'm sure she can and

will tell you more specifics. )

BJ

>

> Last week, I asked whether anyone had success with Inositol, as our

> family isn't ready to turn to medications (no judgment on those who

> have, but we haven't reached that point yet). Someone (maybe Chris?)

> said they had had success for the pre-teen years. Where do I turn for

> advice on dosages, titration, etc? Did any medical professional

> supervise the treament or did you do it on your own?

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, the article BJ linked to is the one I used for info on it. But

I'll add a few things from our experience.

We did try it on our own, no medical professional. wasn't on

any medication at all so it was just the inositol powder we were trying.

I did go up slowly to try to avoid any gassy stomach, etc. I think I

did 1/4 tsp the first couple days, then went to 1/2 tsp next 3 days

then up to the 1 tsp, etc.

The article about inositol and OCD mentions dosages. The brands vary

as to how " strong " the dosage is. We had used the Source Naturals

inositol powder and the tsp dosage for it was, I think 3 grams, where

in the article you'll link to it states 1 tsp dosage equals 2 grams.

So just take note of the brand you buy as to how many grams you get in

a teaspoon.

We did try various brands (looking for a good price) and they did

differ as to how well they dissolved. Source Naturals dissolved really

well. But I know some others who used inositol and had good results

used other brands. (Note: I got the inositol " crystals " once by

mistake when I ordered; they did NOT dissolve well, make sure you

get " powder " )

Cheapest to buy it online. Can be hard to find and expensive locally.

I also recall when comparing brands and reading the comments made by

purchasers that one person had switched brands and they did say

that " this brand " didn't cause gas like the other they tried. So I

guess brands vary in ways like that too.

Mix the powder in juice. Supposedly a sweet taste so we just mixed it

in a cup with some Kool-Aid. (I joke I'm one of the few parents who

encouraged Kool-Aid each morning before school!)

would take some in the morning, some when he got home from

school and then again later. We did sometimes use more than that on

stressful/anxious days.

He ended up on around 13-14 grams or so. That was just my " target " to

try and we waited weeks at that to see if it would work. Some others

have had success with much less, maybe even 5 or 6 grams, so it is hard

to decide " how high " to target for. After had been on it that

first year and doing well for a while, we eventually backed down dosage

and he only took a teaspoon a day and maintained.

That's all I can think of at this moment. As I mentioned before, we

did try it again a year ago (he's in college now!) and it was no help

at all, even went up to and past the 18 grams. So I give it a 50/50

chance to work but I think worth trying if you're real hesitant about

prescribed medication.

>

> Last week, I asked whether anyone had success with Inositol, as our

> family isn't ready to turn to medications (no judgment on those who

> have, but we haven't reached that point yet). Someone (maybe Chris?)

> said they had had success for the pre-teen years. Where do I turn for

> advice on dosages, titration, etc? Did any medical professional

> supervise the treament or did you do it on your own?

>

[Guest guest]

& BJ

Thank you so much!! My son isn't on any meds and I doubt his doctor

will have any better knowledge, so this is exactly what I was hoping

for.

The OCD diagnosis is new for us, and I'm not 100% convinced it's what

we're dealing with. My son has recently admitted to compulsive acts -

such as having to watch the digital clock as it turns to certain

special numbers, but unlike OCD, doing this act brings him pleasure.

The distress comes from not being able to do his compulsion, and he

denies that there's any fear of a bad thing happening. He just " likes

it " . (He was obsessed with opening and closing doors as a toddler -

it delighted him)

Last night, he was supposed to help me make an apple pie for

Thanksgiving. It got to be late and my husband convinced me to wait

until this morning. My son flipped out, crying, begging, screaming

for 45 min. The " idea " of making pie had grown to the size of an

elephant in the room, and every time he gave us a " good reason " to

make it right then seemed to make the idea grow stronger. He just

could not let go of it. He was hysterical. Then when my husband

finally lost patience and rasied his voice with a firm " Stop it! " -

my son ran through the house afraid of my husband (who has never

struck him or harmed him and who btw also has OCD, but has learned to

keep it under control). My son was almost possessed. I finally held

him (against his will) and he was shaking and very scared of what was

happening. There was no way we were going to give into the idea, and

he finally accepted no for an answer. But then he immediately

latched on to another impractical idea and wouldn't let that one go

without 10 minutes of a tantrum. It was a long night. But unless he's

really not admitting to a fear that underlies his compulsion, if he

really wants to do his compulsion, can it be OCD? The literature

makes a strong distinction on this point. Yet this is more than OCPD

and he doesn't show signs of Asperger's. 90% of the time he's

a " normal " kid with just more anxiety than most. But then Blair

shows up and turns our family upside down.

Anyway, Thank you very much for the great advice on the inositol. And

for all your other sharing of what you know. I hope you all have

happy and " uneventful " Thanksgivings!

[Guest guest]

I am not really " read up " on OCD but your son's behavior does sound familiar to

me. The psychologist told us that there is a lot going on inside Kate's head

that doesn't necessarily come out as " fear " but it is still OCD.

One thing he noticed right away, just from chatting with her at the very first

visit, was that she has to tell a story in it's entirety and absolutely 100%

correctly. He asked what she was doing in school and she proceeded to tell him

the play-by-play of every single subject, recess, etc in the proper order. He

purposely interrupted her but she absolutely could not leave the topic until she

got to the end of the school day. The psych said he's seen OCD kids that have

to start at the very beginning if they get interrupted. Fortunately, Kate would

just pick up where she left off. But if she got something in the wrong order

she would start back at the error and re-do the whole thing.

We have come to the point where we will tell Kate, " You're stuck. Let it go. "

Sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. It isn't even necessarily

something that is upsetting to her but I could easily see her having a tantrum

or OCD-anxiety (with tears and screaming and denial) over something as simple as

not getting to make the pie she'd been looking forward to making.

Anyway, I know nothing about the Inositol but the behaviors you describe do

sound a lot like some of the OCD-traits my daughter exhibits.

Beth

Re: Follow Up question on Inositol

& BJ

Thank you so much!! My son isn't on any meds and I doubt his doctor

will have any better knowledge, so this is exactly what I was hoping

for.

The OCD diagnosis is new for us, and I'm not 100% convinced it's what

we're dealing with. My son has recently admitted to compulsive acts -

such as having to watch the digital clock as it turns to certain

special numbers, but unlike OCD, doing this act brings him pleasure.

The distress comes from not being able to do his compulsion, and he

denies that there's any fear of a bad thing happening. He just " likes

it " . (He was obsessed with opening and closing doors as a toddler -

it delighted him)

Last night, he was supposed to help me make an apple pie for

Thanksgiving. It got to be late and my husband convinced me to wait

until this morning. My son flipped out, crying, begging, screaming

for 45 min. The " idea " of making pie had grown to the size of an

elephant in the room, and every time he gave us a " good reason " to

make it right then seemed to make the idea grow stronger. He just

could not let go of it. He was hysterical. Then when my husband

finally lost patience and rasied his voice with a firm " Stop it! " -

my son ran through the house afraid of my husband (who has never

struck him or harmed him and who btw also has OCD, but has learned to

keep it under control). My son was almost possessed. I finally held

him (against his will) and he was shaking and very scared of what was

happening. There was no way we were going to give into the idea, and

he finally accepted no for an answer. But then he immediately

latched on to another impractical idea and wouldn't let that one go

without 10 minutes of a tantrum. It was a long night. But unless he's

really not admitting to a fear that underlies his compulsion, if he

really wants to do his compulsion, can it be OCD? The literature

makes a strong distinction on this point. Yet this is more than OCPD

and he doesn't show signs of Asperger's. 90% of the time he's

a " normal " kid with just more anxiety than most. But then Blair

shows up and turns our family upside down.

Anyway, Thank you very much for the great advice on the inositol. And

for all your other sharing of what you know. I hope you all have

happy and " uneventful " Thanksgivings!

[Guest guest]

Hi -

This sounds so much like my 10 year old daughter. We had a very

similar incident happen with our daughter 4 nights ago over watching

T.V. in our bedroom with her father. Well, it got too late, she was

fighting with her brother, etc. so no t.v. tonight. WOW! Screaming,

meltdown, tantrum for 45 mins. like your son. Couldn't let it go, it

was everyone else's fault, all of a sudden afraid of her father and

I, she even pulled out some of her hair. Whoa! Very scary! What is

that? From what I understand from talking to the therapist, when

children with OCD get a " thought " in their mind that they are going

to do something, they have to follow through with it and when they

can't or don't or someone won't allow it can result in these raging

tantrums because it has become an " obsession " now and they are not

allowed to follow through on it. It does not necessarily need to be

based in fear-they just need to do it.

Many times my daughter just gets an idea in her head-she doesn't

always think something bad will happen, she just wants to do it.

Sometimes she feel that this may be the last time she will ever have

the chance to do it so I do think that their is some anxiety or

worry.

She does have some germ and contamination OCD along with the

obsessive thoughts OCD. We feel like we walk on eggshells because

it's hard to know what thought will trigger these tantrums and it

takes the ability to reason with your child and throws it right out

the window. And in the case of a child w/o OCD they may be upset or

disappointed, but these mind-blowing tantrums are frightening.

You are in the right place for answers by being in this group. I

came here again today for answers and lo and behold there was your

post, describing my daughter exactly and letting me know I am not

alone. It sounds like your son has very mild OCD and hopefully the

therapy will really help him be the boss of his OCD.

Wishing you all a peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

>

> I am not really " read up " on OCD but your son's behavior does sound

familiar to me. The psychologist told us that there is a lot going

on inside Kate's head that doesn't necessarily come out as " fear " but

it is still OCD.

>

> One thing he noticed right away, just from chatting with her at the

very first visit, was that she has to tell a story in it's entirety

and absolutely 100% correctly. He asked what she was doing in school

and she proceeded to tell him the play-by-play of every single

subject, recess, etc in the proper order. He purposely interrupted

her but she absolutely could not leave the topic until she got to the

end of the school day. The psych said he's seen OCD kids that have

to start at the very beginning if they get interrupted. Fortunately,

Kate would just pick up where she left off. But if she got something

in the wrong order she would start back at the error and re-do the

whole thing.

>

> We have come to the point where we will tell Kate, " You're stuck.

Let it go. " Sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. It isn't

even necessarily something that is upsetting to her but I could

easily see her having a tantrum or OCD-anxiety (with tears and

screaming and denial) over something as simple as not getting to make

the pie she'd been looking forward to making.

>

> Anyway, I know nothing about the Inositol but the behaviors you

describe do sound a lot like some of the OCD-traits my daughter

exhibits.

>

> Beth

>

>

> Re: Follow Up question on Inositol

>

>

> & BJ

> Thank you so much!! My son isn't on any meds and I doubt his

doctor

> will have any better knowledge, so this is exactly what I was

hoping

> for.

>

> The OCD diagnosis is new for us, and I'm not 100% convinced it's

what

> we're dealing with. My son has recently admitted to compulsive

acts -

> such as having to watch the digital clock as it turns to certain

> special numbers, but unlike OCD, doing this act brings him

pleasure.

> The distress comes from not being able to do his compulsion, and

he

> denies that there's any fear of a bad thing happening. He

just " likes

> it " . (He was obsessed with opening and closing doors as a

toddler -

> it delighted him)

>

> Last night, he was supposed to help me make an apple pie for

> Thanksgiving. It got to be late and my husband convinced me to

wait

> until this morning. My son flipped out, crying, begging,

screaming

> for 45 min. The " idea " of making pie had grown to the size of an

> elephant in the room, and every time he gave us a " good reason "

to

> make it right then seemed to make the idea grow stronger. He just

> could not let go of it. He was hysterical. Then when my husband

> finally lost patience and rasied his voice with a firm " Stop

it! " -

> my son ran through the house afraid of my husband (who has never

> struck him or harmed him and who btw also has OCD, but has

learned to

> keep it under control). My son was almost possessed. I finally

held

> him (against his will) and he was shaking and very scared of what

was

> happening. There was no way we were going to give into the idea,

and

> he finally accepted no for an answer. But then he immediately

> latched on to another impractical idea and wouldn't let that one

go

> without 10 minutes of a tantrum. It was a long night. But unless

he's

> really not admitting to a fear that underlies his compulsion, if

he

> really wants to do his compulsion, can it be OCD? The literature

> makes a strong distinction on this point. Yet this is more than

OCPD

> and he doesn't show signs of Asperger's. 90% of the time he's

> a " normal " kid with just more anxiety than most. But then

Blair

> shows up and turns our family upside down.

>

> Anyway, Thank you very much for the great advice on the inositol.

And

> for all your other sharing of what you know. I hope you all have

> happy and " uneventful " Thanksgivings!

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Just wanted to let you know that our son also had compulsions with no

fear or anxiety attached. They don't always " fit " what the book says

in terms of OCD, at least ours didn't. Sometimes there are other

aspects going on too that might blur the picture. We also had wild

outburst attached to not getting his way with the obsession, and just

over general frustration with OCD/lack of function/life sucks when

you have OCD (mine's a teen).

From what I understand doing a ritual gives relief, more than

pleasure, and not being able to do it/follow complusion creates the

opposite, and can result in anger, frustration, and finally

behavior. None of it fun to live with, for either the one afflicted

or those around them!

Hang in there!

Hugs.

Barb

[Guest guest]

Hi, . It sure sounds like OCD. OCD does not always have to have

anxiety attached. Quite often, they need things to feel " just right " ,

before they can let it go. Our son had many rituals that were

prompted by things needing to feel right, yet he also had some that he

would feel anxiety about, if he couldn't carry the ritual out. And,

it was a matter of feeling relieved, when it was the way his OCD

needed it to be. But, if he couldn't get " it " done well enough, the

OCD would be nagging at him, and he couldn't let it go and move on.

The tricky part about OCD is that the ritual might help at first, but

the OCD gets more demanding about what it requires before they can

feel better about it, let it go, and move on. So, it grows and

requires more and more of their time, to try to attain that place of

relief.

OCD is also very rigid. Change is very hard for kids with OCD, even

small change. So changing what he had his mind set on, could cause a

tantrum. The thing to try to remember is that the OCD is controlling

him, so he is not necessarily behaving badly, or being defiant. Most

likely, he is having a hard time handling it and doesn't even

understand why, himself.

Have you tried any CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)/ERP (exposure

and response prevention) therapy with him? It made a HUGE difference

for our son (getting the right kind of therapy).

Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

BJ

>

> & BJ

> Thank you so much!! My son isn't on any meds and I doubt his doctor

> will have any better knowledge, so this is exactly what I was hoping

> for.

>

> The OCD diagnosis is new for us, and I'm not 100% convinced it's what

> we're dealing with. My son has recently admitted to compulsive acts -

> such as having to watch the digital clock as it turns to certain

> special numbers, but unlike OCD, doing this act brings him pleasure.

> The distress comes from not being able to do his compulsion, and he

> denies that there's any fear of a bad thing happening. He just " likes

> it " . (He was obsessed with opening and closing doors as a toddler -

> it delighted him)

>

> Last night, he was supposed to help me make an apple pie for

> Thanksgiving. It got to be late and my husband convinced me to wait

> until this morning. My son flipped out, crying, begging, screaming

> for 45 min. The " idea " of making pie had grown to the size of an

> elephant in the room, and every time he gave us a " good reason " to

> make it right then seemed to make the idea grow stronger. He just

> could not let go of it. He was hysterical. Then when my husband

> finally lost patience and rasied his voice with a firm " Stop it! " -

> my son ran through the house afraid of my husband (who has never

> struck him or harmed him and who btw also has OCD, but has learned to

> keep it under control). My son was almost possessed. I finally held

> him (against his will) and he was shaking and very scared of what was

> happening. There was no way we were going to give into the idea, and

> he finally accepted no for an answer. But then he immediately

> latched on to another impractical idea and wouldn't let that one go

> without 10 minutes of a tantrum. It was a long night. But unless he's

> really not admitting to a fear that underlies his compulsion, if he

> really wants to do his compulsion, can it be OCD? The literature

> makes a strong distinction on this point. Yet this is more than OCPD

> and he doesn't show signs of Asperger's. 90% of the time he's

> a " normal " kid with just more anxiety than most. But then Blair

> shows up and turns our family upside down.

>

> Anyway, Thank you very much for the great advice on the inositol. And

> for all your other sharing of what you know. I hope you all have

> happy and " uneventful " Thanksgivings!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. My husband and I go back and

forth between an anxiety disorder like GAD or OCD. We can talk

ourselves into or out of either one. When I step back, I see

obsessions in a topic or idea, but I don't see a complusion that has

to be done to relieve stress or " feel right. " His " obsessions " are

only slightly beyond normal He needs help preparing for a transition,

but he's able to let go of a favorite thing when it's time to leave

for school etc. They may annoy us, but they don't rule his life or

interfere with his functioning. He can get his mind set on something

and not want to let it go, and his tantrums certainly

aren't " normal " , but his idea and need to follow through are usually

based in some sort of rational thinking. We have " flair ups " for a

week or so every 3-4 months where his " symptoms " are worse, but OCPD

feels closer than OCD.

As most of you might have guessed, on Thanksgiving morning, guess who

had no interst in making pie? Grrr! I wanted to wring his 6 year old

neck! But when we talked about it at bedtime last night, he had

a " rational " motive for his desires - he wanted to stay up late

without his little sister and do something special just with mom. He

had his heart set on it all day and when we changed plans, he got

derailed. Extreme temper? yes. Inappropriate response? yes. OCD? I'm

not convinced. He didn't want the need to make pie to go away. He

didn't need to make pie for the pie sake but rather to satisfy his

need for alone time with mom. He calmly explained that he got scared

of Dad because dad shouted at him, and dad never does that (Mom is

the one who yells, dad usually walks away or give in before he loses

his temper). So the unusually intense responsive from dad and the

loud sound of his voice freaked him out when he was already feeling

out of control. Is an OCD response this rational?

Do we have a problem? Yes. We sought out a therapist 2 months ago to

help us with CBT. We have Warren the Worrier and Edgar the Angry and

he's doing really well trying to control these guys (pie episode not

withstanding). We aren't doing ERP because we can't identify any

specific compulsion that needs to be worked on. But the OCD label

seems like an ill-fitting suit. It sort of fits, but not really. GAD

sort of fits, but not really. Asperger's has a faint ring to it in

that he doesn't read peoples cues as readily as his super-nurturing

sister, but he's a guy. He's not monotone and he understands sarcasm

and he does have empathy, etc. So that's not it. He had a serious

body tic for 4 weeks after strep, and that sent us down the PANDAS

path, but his strep titer test came back negative. And the tic has

gone away, except for a mild response when he's very upset or making

a transition.

To save my sanity, I remind myself that GAD and OCD respond to the

same therapies and we're seriously considering Inositol, though we'll

target a smaller dose to start since GAD would respond to a lower

dose than the OCD would. We'll continue with the CBT because it helps

our family life. I know disorders can be comorbid, but it's like

having a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite recall.

A diagnosis that feels right eludes us.

Thank you all for indulging me and helping me know that no matter

what our ultimate diagnosis, I'm not alone and I have much to be

thankful for.

[Guest guest]

Hi . I did want to point out that there is also a diagnosis called Anxiety

Disorder NOS, maybe this fits your child better. The NOS means Not Otherwise

Specified because the person has characteristics of multiple anxiety disorder

types, but not all of a certain one to fit neatly into a specific category. Good

luck, Stormy

Subject: Re: Follow Up question on Inositol

To:

Date: Friday, November 28, 2008, 7:17 AM

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. My husband and I go back and

forth between an anxiety disorder like GAD or OCD. We can talk

ourselves into or out of either one. When I step back, I see

obsessions in a topic or idea, but I don't see a complusion that has

to be done to relieve stress or " feel right. " His " obsessions " are

only slightly beyond normal He needs help preparing for a transition,

but he's able to let go of a favorite thing when it's time to leave

for school etc. They may annoy us, but they don't rule his life or

interfere with his functioning. He can get his mind set on something

and not want to let it go, and his tantrums certainly

aren't " normal " , but his idea and need to follow through are usually

based in some sort of rational thinking. We have " flair ups " for a

week or so every 3-4 months where his " symptoms " are worse, but OCPD

feels closer than OCD.

As most of you might have guessed, on Thanksgiving morning, guess who

had no interst in making pie? Grrr! I wanted to wring his 6 year old

neck! But when we talked about it at bedtime last night, he had

a " rational " motive for his desires - he wanted to stay up late

without his little sister and do something special just with mom. He

had his heart set on it all day and when we changed plans, he got

derailed. Extreme temper? yes. Inappropriate response? yes. OCD? I'm

not convinced. He didn't want the need to make pie to go away. He

didn't need to make pie for the pie sake but rather to satisfy his

need for alone time with mom. He calmly explained that he got scared

of Dad because dad shouted at him, and dad never does that (Mom is

the one who yells, dad usually walks away or give in before he loses

his temper). So the unusually intense responsive from dad and the

loud sound of his voice freaked him out when he was already feeling

out of control. Is an OCD response this rational?

Do we have a problem? Yes. We sought out a therapist 2 months ago to

help us with CBT. We have Warren the Worrier and Edgar the Angry and

he's doing really well trying to control these guys (pie episode not

withstanding) . We aren't doing ERP because we can't identify any

specific compulsion that needs to be worked on. But the OCD label

seems like an ill-fitting suit. It sort of fits, but not really. GAD

sort of fits, but not really. Asperger's has a faint ring to it in

that he doesn't read peoples cues as readily as his super-nurturing

sister, but he's a guy. He's not monotone and he understands sarcasm

and he does have empathy, etc. So that's not it. He had a serious

body tic for 4 weeks after strep, and that sent us down the PANDAS

path, but his strep titer test came back negative. And the tic has

gone away, except for a mild response when he's very upset or making

a transition.

To save my sanity, I remind myself that GAD and OCD respond to the

same therapies and we're seriously considering Inositol, though we'll

target a smaller dose to start since GAD would respond to a lower

dose than the OCD would. We'll continue with the CBT because it helps

our family life. I know disorders can be comorbid, but it's like

having a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite recall.

A diagnosis that feels right eludes us.

Thank you all for indulging me and helping me know that no matter

what our ultimate diagnosis, I'm not alone and I have much to be

thankful for.

[Guest guest]

Hi, . Our son's therapist told us that GAD and OCD are treated

differently. GAD, because there is usually some real concerns that

are exaggerated are typically treated with " realistic thinking " ,

whereas, OCD, which is typically irrational, is treated with CBT/ERP.

Although, since both are an anxiety disorder, they both respond to the

same meds. Dr. Aureen Wagner told me the same in here, when I asked.

We never had the chance to try therapy for our son's GAD though, since

the medication toned it down, then made it go away. The OCD, which

I've read can typically require higher amounts of medication, became

more tolerable, but didn't go away, on the same level of mediation

though, so the CBT/ERP helped get it the rest of the way under control.

Anxiety disorders can be confusing, especially when there is more than

one. I hope you get it sorted out. And I hope the inositol helps.

Let us know. )

BJ

>

> Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. My husband and I go back and

> forth between an anxiety disorder like GAD or OCD. We can talk

> ourselves into or out of either one. When I step back, I see

> obsessions in a topic or idea, but I don't see a complusion that has

> to be done to relieve stress or " feel right. " His " obsessions " are

> only slightly beyond normal He needs help preparing for a transition,

> but he's able to let go of a favorite thing when it's time to leave

> for school etc. They may annoy us, but they don't rule his life or

> interfere with his functioning. He can get his mind set on something

> and not want to let it go, and his tantrums certainly

> aren't " normal " , but his idea and need to follow through are usually

> based in some sort of rational thinking. We have " flair ups " for a

> week or so every 3-4 months where his " symptoms " are worse, but OCPD

> feels closer than OCD.

>

> As most of you might have guessed, on Thanksgiving morning, guess who

> had no interst in making pie? Grrr! I wanted to wring his 6 year old

> neck! But when we talked about it at bedtime last night, he had

> a " rational " motive for his desires - he wanted to stay up late

> without his little sister and do something special just with mom. He

> had his heart set on it all day and when we changed plans, he got

> derailed. Extreme temper? yes. Inappropriate response? yes. OCD? I'm

> not convinced. He didn't want the need to make pie to go away. He

> didn't need to make pie for the pie sake but rather to satisfy his

> need for alone time with mom. He calmly explained that he got scared

> of Dad because dad shouted at him, and dad never does that (Mom is

> the one who yells, dad usually walks away or give in before he loses

> his temper). So the unusually intense responsive from dad and the

> loud sound of his voice freaked him out when he was already feeling

> out of control. Is an OCD response this rational?

>

> Do we have a problem? Yes. We sought out a therapist 2 months ago to

> help us with CBT. We have Warren the Worrier and Edgar the Angry and

> he's doing really well trying to control these guys (pie episode not

> withstanding). We aren't doing ERP because we can't identify any

> specific compulsion that needs to be worked on. But the OCD label

> seems like an ill-fitting suit. It sort of fits, but not really. GAD

> sort of fits, but not really. Asperger's has a faint ring to it in

> that he doesn't read peoples cues as readily as his super-nurturing

> sister, but he's a guy. He's not monotone and he understands sarcasm

> and he does have empathy, etc. So that's not it. He had a serious

> body tic for 4 weeks after strep, and that sent us down the PANDAS

> path, but his strep titer test came back negative. And the tic has

> gone away, except for a mild response when he's very upset or making

> a transition.

>

> To save my sanity, I remind myself that GAD and OCD respond to the

> same therapies and we're seriously considering Inositol, though we'll

> target a smaller dose to start since GAD would respond to a lower

> dose than the OCD would. We'll continue with the CBT because it helps

> our family life. I know disorders can be comorbid, but it's like

> having a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite recall.

> A diagnosis that feels right eludes us.

>

> Thank you all for indulging me and helping me know that no matter

> what our ultimate diagnosis, I'm not alone and I have much to be

> thankful for.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Just wanted to say that much of what you describe would have fit our

son when he was younger and we would not have had a diagnosis of OCD,

and he would not have fit the criteria at the time. We did have a

diagnosis of GAD, but it was not severe enough for medication at the

time, we felt. Although I wonder now if we had taken steps then

where we would be now...

All that to say since it is the nature of OCD to grow itself it would

be a proactive move for your son to learn about and understand it so

he can be empowered to combat anything OCD-like. It tends to start

small and grow, and from what I read and hear it is so much easier to

work with when it is small (not that OCD is EVER easy to deal with).

As you say at least the med part would be the same for both. But as

BJ points out the CBT part is handled differently. You might ask

your son if he has mental rituals he does, since as you say there are

no physical compulsions. Our son was the same, no physical rituals,

except at the very start.

So it becomes a matter of understanding the thoughts, learning to

ignore them, and not trying to get whatever it is to satisfy

the " urges " , ie pie making. There is also the " just right " OCD which

affects transitions as you mention, and this one is very hard for

them to describe or even understand, it just has to be a certain way

to feel right, and they can be very provoking until this sensation is

reached. Makes it all very hard to decifer what it going on.

Hang in there, and keep reading and posting!

Barb

> >

> > Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. My husband and I go back

and

> > forth between an anxiety disorder like GAD or OCD. We can talk

> > ourselves into or out of either one. When I step back, I see

> > obsessions in a topic or idea, but I don't see a complusion that

has

> > to be done to relieve stress or " feel right. " His " obsessions "

are

> > only slightly beyond normal He needs help preparing for a

transition,

> > but he's able to let go of a favorite thing when it's time to

leave

> > for school etc. They may annoy us, but they don't rule his life

or

> > interfere with his functioning. He can get his mind set on

[Guest guest]

Barb, BJ, and everyone else who was willing to share their

thoughts - thanks for the support. After spending the holiday

weekend reading two OCD books cover to cover and preparing a 3 page

note of observations for our therapist, my husband joked that finding

my son's diagnosis has become MY obsession. I decided he's right. So

for now, we will focus on what we do know and focus our CBT

on " realistic thinking " and empowering my son to be the boss of his

own thoughts. For now, we do know there's anxiety. We'll keep an eye

out for any OCD. I don't like the the Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)

label, so we've decided to call it " LBS " for Blair Syndrome and

we'll learn how to cope when he becomes " possessed " .

We were dreading this long holiday weekend. But I'm happy to say we

had a great time. Edgar the Angery stayed mostly in his crate, and

when Warren the Worrier showed up, my son was better able to lock him

back up too. My husband and I also realized that we are a big part

of the equation, and the efforts we made to calm our own tempers,

manage our own frustrations and keep our own voices calm made a huge

difference in the family dynamics. Instead of getting angry that our

6 yr old couldn't manage his emotions/thoughts the way his peers can,

we adjusted our expectations and tried to help him based on his

current abilities. We wouldn't yell at a physically handicapped kid

who couldn't run a race or a mentally handicapped kid who couldn't

handle calculus. So we had to think of our son as having a very real,

albeit invisible, handicap. And with this, came a freedom from our

own expectations and a deeper resevoir of patience.

Thank you all for your support. The past month has been hell and it's

been a life saver to have someplace to come where everyone understood

and I didn't have to feel defensive of my family.