Re: How do you know

[Guest guest]

Sharon, That does sound incredibly difficult. You seem like a wonderful,

atentive mom with good instincts, and it sounds like you do a good job of

walking the line between taking her concerns seriously and not letting them take

over your lives.

I think gave you good advice. I'd probably have the heart checked to rule

it out and downplay the other stuff, while offering solutions (e.g. drink more

water). I'm also wondering whether she's experiencing some real physical

symptoms (changes in heartrate, stomachaches) due to her anxiety? Would she be

open to learning relaxation techniques?

Steph in Virginia (17 y/o dd with OCD, anxiety/depression, Asperger's, and NVLD)

>

> Gosh Sharon, you brought back memories! was like that. And even with

my other 2 sons, I'm not one who took them to the doctor for any little thing.

[Guest guest]

Has anyone suggested testing her for Lyme, Bartonella and other tick-borne

illnesses? First off, Bartonella is being implicated in more and more cases of

OCD and other psychiatric illnesses - especially in children. Secondly, many of

the physical symptoms she is complaining of are additional symptoms of

Bartonella and other t.b.i's such as Lyme. For example, irregular heart beats,

oxygen deprivation. Smell sensitivity is another example.

My dd9's OCD first started when she was 7. After a few months, we determined it

was due to PANDAS and treated accordingly with great results (for several

months). Then, after a pretty intense decline over the winter, she was tested

for all of the above. Her results were positive for Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis

(the jury is still out on Lyme). Once we started the treatment for Bartonella,

she started improving again. She is at about 80% right now... (We are unsure

whether she has PANDAS, too, or whether the Bartonella has been the cause all

along...but either way, antibiotics are the medications helping her).

So, I guess I would encourage you to explore this route since it could either be

the root cause of the OCD and/or the cause of the physical symptoms she is

complaining of.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kara

>

> My dd is 10 and says things are wrong with her body all the time.  Her heart

skips a beat.  She can't breath.  She thinks she is dehydrated.  She is sure she

is going to have a heart attack.  She has a lump in her throat.  She is afraid

she is going to get cancer.  She smells a toxic smell.  Etc, etc, etc, etc.  How

do you know when to listen and take it seriously?  I hate to have something

actually wrong with her and ignore it.  In the past, she complained her ears

hurt and I finally took her in.  She had a BAD double ear infection and the doc

seemed shocked I would not have brought her in earlier.  Things like that have

happened in the past.  It is like The Boy Who Cried Wolf, I never know what to

believe or when to take her seriously.  She has started the heart skipping a

beat thing recently and my husband thinks I should have that looked at, that her

heart is too serious to ignore.  I will make a doc appt for that, I agree with

dh,

> but also know the chance of her having a real problem is low and then I am

just feeding in to her OCD.  She comes to me about 95% of the time with these

things, needing reassurance.  I usually ignore her, have her answer her own

question, tell her she knows the answer, things like that.  When she has had a

particularily difficult day, I do tell her the reason I won't answer her is

because it is her OCD asking and my answering will make it worse.  I tell her I

do love her, and that it isn't that I don't care about her and am not concerned

about her.  I tell her I know she is healthy and if I really thought something

was wrong with her, I would take her to the doctor.  I also don't know if I

SHOULD answer some of her questions.  She is very smart and loves to learn. 

Sometimes when she asks questions, I hate to not answer because I know she loves

to learn and so many of them are learning opportunities.  I hate to have her

miss out on that

> learning opportunity.  But, it is usually her OCD making her ask me.  So I am

torn.

> Thanks

> Sharon

>

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