Re: 8 year old chronic OCD

[Guest guest]

Hi, welcome! Well I hate to say this but I guess trying Luvox or

adding the Adderal seems worth trying since doctor suggested it. At

least she knows it's the Zoloft that makes her cry. Does sound like

she needs another SSRI that works better so she can stay on a good,

therapeutic dose daily.

Yes, it can be hard to find a therapist who works with kids AND is

experienced in therapy for OCD. Keep searching! We never could find

a therapist here either and, slowly, just had to work on things

ourselves with what I learned from reading and from suggestions read

here in this great group!

Have you tried just picking out 1 or 2 of her behaviors that seem

easiest/least anxiety to work on? Often when they can conquer one

OC behavior, it somehow seems to go faster on some of the other

behaviors, but it's a boost to our kids when they can make progress

on 1 or 2 things.

I used to have to choose what we worked on (son wasn't as *into*

working on his OCD as I was, LOL) but I always told him what I

thought, did he agree to work on this/that, etc.

single mom, 3 sons

, 19, with OCD, dysgraphia and Aspergers

>

> This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with me. I

> have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at the

time -

> trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what to do.

[Guest guest]

Welcome. Not much I can add to what's already been said, but wanted

to say " hi " .

Also, wanted to add the the correct type of therapy (CBT/ERP) made a

huge difference for our son. It's worth continuing to look for

someone your insurance will okay. An option I've also read of, is to

find someone that is willing to work with you, to learn how to use it,

and apply it. Usually by using a work book together that walks you

through CBT/ERP, and using it together. Some even do CBT/ERP at home,

without the help of a therapist, and have some success.

Here are the names of some books that we found helpful, that walk you

through the right therapy (if you are interested). . . .

Talking Back to OCD by March

Helping Your Child With Ocd: A Workbook for Parents of Children With

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee Fitzgibbons and Cherry Pedrick

BJ

-- In , " jvoch " wrote:

>

> This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with me. I

> have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at the time -

> trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what to do. The

> doctor wants to put her on Luvox instead or add Adderal to the Zoloft.

> I want her to learn some coping skills because I am fearful of meds.

> She is changing clothes frequently, washing hands, wearing layers

> to " shed " , having rituals due to " perhaps someone will die if I don't "

> etc. She was doing pretty good on the Zoloft for about 8 months then

> the crying started. She will ask me don't give me a whole pill it makes

> me cry. Then when the OCD creeps up, she will say, " Mom, I need a whole

> pill! " . I am struggling to find a therapist that works with ERP

> therapy. Most want to use " play therapy " or " talk " . Talking is working

> better for her when they give her a strategy, but I feel she is " giving

> up " . My insurance is not covering " mental illness " but it covers all

> this " counseling " so if I try to find a specialist - no luck.

>

> Any ideas on what to do?

> Thanks so much, jvoch@...

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

Just wanted to say welcome, missed your first post. I wondered if

you have already checked out the ocfoundation website? You might get

a lead on a therapist who does CBT/ERP there, and they have lots of

other information. Also check out the links and files section on

this site, I didn't really notice them for the longest time when I

first joined. Lots of info about medications and treatments which

can help you with decisions. Although at some point it can be a bit

of information overload...

Just wanted to suggest that the crying may be more of an OCD thing

that necessarily because of the medication. I have seen others post

about this sort of thing. Ours would be " suspicious " of the

medication, some obsession and would stop them off and on, so the OCD

can tell them all kinds of things.

Hang in there and keep posting, great bunch here.

Warmly,

Barb

> > >

> > > This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with

me.

> I

> > > have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at

the

> time -

> > > trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what to

> do. The

> > > doctor wants to put her on Luvox instead or add Adderal to the

> Zoloft.

> > > I want her to learn some coping skills because I am fearful of

> meds.

> > > She is changing clothes frequently, washing hands, wearing

layers

> > > to " shed " , having rituals due to " perhaps someone will die if I

> don't "

> > > etc. She was doing pretty good on the Zoloft for about 8 months

> then

> > > the crying started. She will ask me don't give me a whole pill

it

> makes

> > > me cry. Then when the OCD creeps up, she will say, " Mom, I need

a

> whole

> > > pill! " . I am struggling to find a therapist that works with ERP

> > > therapy. Most want to use " play therapy " or " talk " . Talking is

> working

> > > better for her when they give her a strategy, but I feel she

> is " giving

> > > up " . My insurance is not covering " mental illness " but it

covers

> all

> > > this " counseling " so if I try to find a specialist - no luck.

> > >

> > > Any ideas on what to do?

> > > Thanks so much, jvoch@

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hello again,

Thanks again for more info. We are trying to continue the Zoloft (back to the

higher dosage). My girl is trying to let me know what she is feeling when she

can put it into words. I try not to ask too often, but as a mom, I have a hard

time not asking, " how are you feeling? "  I need to back off and let her come to

me. -- she often does tell me everything OCD related at bed time. As far as the

CBT/ERP therapist - my insurance does not cover. I have been trying everything

possible. I even asked her psychiatrist if he could write it up somehow

different that my insurance would cover - no such luck.

Thanks again,

jvoch@...

Subject: Re: 8 year old chronic OCD

To:

Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 7:58 AM

Hi there,

Just wanted to say welcome, missed your first post. I wondered if

you have already checked out the ocfoundation website? You might get

a lead on a therapist who does CBT/ERP there, and they have lots of

other information. Also check out the links and files section on

this site, I didn't really notice them for the longest time when I

first joined. Lots of info about medications and treatments which

can help you with decisions. Although at some point it can be a bit

of information overload...

Just wanted to suggest that the crying may be more of an OCD thing

that necessarily because of the medication. I have seen others post

about this sort of thing. Ours would be " suspicious " of the

medication, some obsession and would stop them off and on, so the OCD

can tell them all kinds of things.

Hang in there and keep posting, great bunch here.

Warmly,

Barb

> > >

> > > This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with

me.

> I

> > > have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at

the

> time -

> > > trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what to

> do. The

> > > doctor wants to put her on Luvox instead or add Adderal to the

> Zoloft.

> > > I want her to learn some coping skills because I am fearful of

> meds.

> > > She is changing clothes frequently, washing hands, wearing

layers

> > > to " shed " , having rituals due to " perhaps someone will die if I

> don't "

> > > etc. She was doing pretty good on the Zoloft for about 8 months

> then

> > > the crying started. She will ask me don't give me a whole pill

it

> makes

> > > me cry. Then when the OCD creeps up, she will say, " Mom, I need

a

> whole

> > > pill! " . I am struggling to find a therapist that works with ERP

> > > therapy. Most want to use " play therapy " or " talk " . Talking is

> working

> > > better for her when they give her a strategy, but I feel she

> is " giving

> > > up " . My insurance is not covering " mental illness " but it

covers

> all

> > > this " counseling " so if I try to find a specialist - no luck.

> > >

> > > Any ideas on what to do?

> > > Thanks so much, jvoch@

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My son is seven and has had a rough few months with the OCD. He is on prozac

which, for him, has worked really well. We are doing the workbooks " What To Do

When Your Brain Gets Stuck " and " What To Do When You Worry Too Much " . He really

likes them and has been able to put into practice what he is learning. I am

going to have to stop going to his therapist because of insurance reasons too,

but I think that we can do a lot of this at ourselves and just use the therapist

every now and then. I hope this is helpful. Hang in there!

Walk by Faith

Tyler

________________________________

To:

Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 10:44:56 AM

Subject: Re: Re: 8 year old chronic OCD

Hello again,

Thanks again for more info. We are trying to continue the Zoloft (back to the

higher dosage). My girl is trying to let me know what she is feeling when she

can put it into words. I try not to ask too often, but as a mom, I have a hard

time not asking, " how are you feeling? " I need to back off and let her come to

me. -- she often does tell me everything OCD related at bed time. As far as the

CBT/ERP therapist - my insurance does not cover. I have been trying everything

possible. I even asked her psychiatrist if he could write it up somehow

different that my insurance would cover - no such luck.

Thanks again,

jvochyahoo (DOT) com

From: Barb Nesrallah <barbnesrallah@ rogers.com>

Subject: Re: 8 year old chronic OCD

To: @ yahoogroups. com

Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 7:58 AM

Hi there,

Just wanted to say welcome, missed your first post. I wondered if

you have already checked out the ocfoundation website? You might get

a lead on a therapist who does CBT/ERP there, and they have lots of

other information. Also check out the links and files section on

this site, I didn't really notice them for the longest time when I

first joined. Lots of info about medications and treatments which

can help you with decisions. Although at some point it can be a bit

of information overload...

Just wanted to suggest that the crying may be more of an OCD thing

that necessarily because of the medication. I have seen others post

about this sort of thing. Ours would be " suspicious " of the

medication, some obsession and would stop them off and on, so the OCD

can tell them all kinds of things.

Hang in there and keep posting, great bunch here.

Warmly,

Barb

> > >

> > > This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with

me.

> I

> > > have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at

the

> time -

> > > trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what to

> do. The

> > > doctor wants to put her on Luvox instead or add Adderal to the

> Zoloft.

> > > I want her to learn some coping skills because I am fearful of

> meds.

> > > She is changing clothes frequently, washing hands, wearing

layers

> > > to " shed " , having rituals due to " perhaps someone will die if I

> don't "

> > > etc. She was doing pretty good on the Zoloft for about 8 months

> then

> > > the crying started. She will ask me don't give me a whole pill

it

> makes

> > > me cry. Then when the OCD creeps up, she will say, " Mom, I need

a

> whole

> > > pill! " . I am struggling to find a therapist that works with ERP

> > > therapy. Most want to use " play therapy " or " talk " . Talking is

> working

> > > better for her when they give her a strategy, but I feel she

> is " giving

> > > up " . My insurance is not covering " mental illness " but it

covers

> all

> > > this " counseling " so if I try to find a specialist - no luck.

> > >

> > > Any ideas on what to do?

> > > Thanks so much, jvoch@

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jackie,

It often is the higher doses that will affect the OCD, so good luck

with this, my fingers are crossed for you.

I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to ask too much about

the OCD, and especially if she has been crying a lot. It's impossible

to not be concerned and to want to know how they are feeling. We

have a teen and he was very private and would tell me it felt like I

was always looking for things (which was true enough...) just hard

not to when you are trying to figure it all out. Anyway, I explained

my need to him and we came to an agreement as to what I could ask and

how and when. Mostly it was ok to ask a general " how are you " ,

rather than ask about the OCD.

Often talking about it triggers it, especially the feeling based

thoughts, we found. Ours was the opposite of your daughter and

didn't want to be " sensitive " , ie sissy (teen boy), so he needed to

prove otherwise to himself to counter the thought that was telling

him he was a sissy or whatever. I wonder if focusing on the feelings

might bring more attention to it, maybe refocus on doing/distraction

to get out of her head, if you know what I mean. I have to do this

myself.

I understand the lack of insurance for the CBT therapy, we were in

the same boat. I am in Canada and even if you have such private

insurance it only covers 6-7 visits, so it gets pretty costly.

Depending how bad things get though at some point it is worth it to

do it.

There is a five visit rule, where you should start to see results,

and then ten visits or so the basic skills should be learned and then

just need to be reinforced. Just to say it need not be a long term

thing if you could not afford that, but would get the process started

and you could then manage the frequency of visits part.

With a younger child who is on board for the whole process, and with

an experience ERP person, I would think the turn around could be

quite rapid. I notice others on this board have good success often

with this. All depends on severity and if any other complicating

factors though. Need the med stability first for sure, so hopefully

this is sorted out for you soon.

Again, we have a teen, he needed time and space, to decide to start

fighting and then things started to turn around. I can tell you that

with how bad it got there were times I never would have believed we

would be where we are now. It is a matter of time and getting all

the " right " pieces in place (easier said than done!).

Hang in there Jackie!

Hugs!

Barb

> > > >

> > > > This is my first posting on this web site so please bear with

> me.

> > I

> > > > have an 8 year old girl with chronic OCD. She is on zoloft at

> the

> > time -

> > > > trying to switch due to crying all the time - not sure what

to

> > do. The

> > > > doctor wants to put her on Luvox instead or add Adderal to

the

> > Zoloft.

> > > > I want her to learn some coping skills because I am fearful

of

> > meds.

> > > > She is changing clothes frequently, washing hands, wearing

> layers

> > > > to " shed " , having rituals due to " perhaps someone will die if

I

> > don't "

> > > > etc. She was doing pretty good on the Zoloft for about 8

months

> > then

> > > > the crying started. She will ask me don't give me a whole

pill

> it

> > makes

> > > > me cry. Then when the OCD creeps up, she will say, " Mom, I

need

> a

> > whole

> > > > pill! " . I am struggling to find a therapist that works with

ERP

> > > > therapy. Most want to use " play therapy " or " talk " . Talking

is

> > working

> > > > better for her when they give her a strategy, but I feel she

> > is " giving

> > > > up " . My insurance is not covering " mental illness " but it

> covers

> > all

> > > > this " counseling " so if I try to find a specialist - no luck.

> > > >

> > > > Any ideas on what to do?

> > > > Thanks so much, jvoch@

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

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