Re: New Member

[Guest guest]

I know what you mean. Our son's OCD has morphed into new things,

quite often. For him, it was a matter of figuring out how to tailor

his CBT/ERP to nip it in the bud, and get it under control before it

grew. If he couldn't figure something out, he would take a list to

his therapist, who would help him come up with a way to fight it.

It seems it is normal for OCD to do that <change>. I've always

thought the whole point of learning CBT/ERP is so they could be

lifelong tools, that they could use to continue to keep this disorder

under control. That's our goal.

Is he working with his therapist on any of the things you've mentioned

here, Annette? Or are those too hard for him yet? It is scary when

they start to lose weight. Is he eating at all? Or completely

avoiding food at home? I'm assuming part of it is because his OCD

sees you as contaminated, so doesn't want to eat anything you

touch.(?) There have been some in here who've dealt with their kids

not eating. I hope they can chime in and give some input about what

helped them.

There were times our son would struggle with schoolwork too.

Sometimes he would put his head down and say he couldn't concentrate,

because the OCD was so active in his head that it was distracting. At

yet another time, he went through a thing where he couldn't get the

gist of what he was reading, because his OCD wanted him to concentrate

on picking out different parts of grammar in the sentences. For him,

the medication helped with both of those things.

Because we homeschooled, missing school wasn't a problem for us. Our

son was so severe back then (about 2 years ago) that he couldn't

function at all. He spent pretty much every day on the sofa, in the

fetal position, clenched, white faced, and moaning. The doctor put

him on Klonipin (anti anxiety med), as needed, until the Celexa had a

chance to start working. But, even with that, he struggled. It took

months to get him to a better place. He missed half a year, but

because we homeschool, I was able to work with him to get him caught

back up.

There's nothing easy about OCD. We all do the best we can, with what

we have to work with.

Glad you are here, Annette.

BJ

>

> BJ--The Psych Doctor changed my 12 almost 13 year old sons meds. He

> feels that Anafranil is the best drug for OCD. It has helped calm my

> son down and helps with his low frustration tolerance levels. While

> we have seen a little progress--we are going to weekly therapy

> sessions--it seems like we take a step forward and then new OCD

> behaviors emerge.

> >Our Son definitely is holding back and has admitted there are things

> he is not ready to work on--#1 being not touching me or anything I

> contaminate. It is hard to see him lose weight and get thinner and

> struggle through his day at school. Eating at home is #2 on our list

> of major OCD issues. Also, our sons grades are dropping quickly,

> which is another battle altogether. He does not need tutoring--he is

> very intelligent and can do the work. However, getting him to bring

> home the school work and actually complete it is a long hard daily

> road. Most days I have to write the answers for him because he will

> not even hold a pencil or touch certain papers/books. How have your

> handled your son not being able to attend school?