Re: New to OCD and Looking for Advice

[Guest guest]

At six, he may simply be too young to find relief entirely from therapy

alone. His mind and emotional control is not yet matured. We find a low

dosage of Zoloft combined with weekly therapy is the right fit for my seven

year old. The Zoloft helps her to gain control over her

thoughts/feelings/compulsions. She can then put what she is learning in

therapy into play.

[Guest guest]

At six, he may simply be too young to find relief entirely from therapy

alone. His mind and emotional control is not yet matured. We find a low

dosage of Zoloft combined with weekly therapy is the right fit for my seven

year old. The Zoloft helps her to gain control over her

thoughts/feelings/compulsions. She can then put what she is learning in

therapy into play.

[Guest guest]

Are there any side effects from the medication? I was just talking to my

husband about that, but wasn't sure if he was too young. I have an appointment

with another doctor who can subscribe medications, if it will help him, I am all

for it.

Thanks for getting back!

>

> At six, he may simply be too young to find relief entirely from therapy

> alone. His mind and emotional control is not yet matured. We find a low

> dosage of Zoloft combined with weekly therapy is the right fit for my seven

> year old. The Zoloft helps her to gain control over her

> thoughts/feelings/compulsions. She can then put what she is learning in

> therapy into play.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

There was a little sleeplessness and hyperness at first, but the beneficial

effects were immediate. Though after the initial relief we did have to

tinker with the dosage a few times. It really has helped her so much. I

held out on medicating for 9 months. After medicating, I was amazed by the

relief experienced by the whole family. My daughter feels and acts like

" herself. " She is not a zombie, her personality is in no way affected. She

is simply better able to manage her feelings and behavior and really apply

herself to the " work " of her therapy. Again, we use Zoloft. I can't speak

for the other medications used.

She still has breakthrough intrusive thoughts, and at times struggles with

her compulsions, but the difference now is these are isolated instances

that we can address and work on, rather than a constant storm.

[Guest guest]

Just curious what is considered a low dosage of Zoloft. We tried liquid

Sertraline at 25 mg and saw some improvements, but didn't think it was helping

that much. At twice the dosage, we believed he became activated and at that

point we just weaned him entirely from all meds. We're now trying CBT with no

medication, but I am wondering if his age (7) and lack of insight/maturity may

not allow him to work effectively using only CBT.

Re: New to OCD and Looking for Advice

At six, he may simply be too young to find relief entirely from therapy

alone. His mind and emotional control is not yet matured. We find a low

dosage of Zoloft combined with weekly therapy is the right fit for my seven

year old. The Zoloft helps her to gain control over her

thoughts/feelings/compulsions. She can then put what she is learning in

therapy into play.

[Guest guest]

She's on 75 milligrams of zoloft which we were told by the prescribing

doctor is considered in the low range for a therapeutic dosage.

[Guest guest]

Hi , welcome!

So has the bullying stopped at school? Hope so!

Good thing is it sounds like he is managing to get through the whole day. Is he

managing to do his work, how is that going? Has he said if there is any time

that he feels better while there, maybe when they are busy with some work or

he's paying attention to the teacher....? Has his teacher said anything about

his class/day to you?

How are things at home over the weekend?

So I'm sure your son knows he isn't the only person (child or adult) to have

these type thoughts. Hope that helps him feel better. And though people may

think those thoughts, they don't act on them. They worry they will and/or worry

what type person they are that would have such thoughts, etc. But this is OCD.

Sucks! There's a reason OCD is called the " doubting disease. " Here's a good

sentence for that: OCD is often described as " a disease of doubt. " Sufferers

experience " pathological doubt " because they are unable to distinguish between

what is possible, what is probable, and what is unlikely to happen.

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness & Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedP\

ageDisplay.cfm & TPLID=54 & ContentID=23035

Here's another little article about the " what ifs " :

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-the-doubt/200908/the-doubt-bully

AND one more paragraph from another article:

" A phrase he had used struck me as familiar. " they seem so real. " It has always

seemed strange to me how so many of my obsessive morbid thinkers use that exact

same phrase to describe their repetitive thoughts. I cannot begin to count the

number of times I have heard it from people who have never met or spoken to each

other. This is, for me, one of the great mysteries of OCD for me; how thoughts

about things that a person would never normally think, and would never do could

seem " so real. " It is also one of the great tortures. The vividness and the

convincing way the thoughts hit an OC sufferer almost always seem to convince

them that they just might actually do the horrible things they are thinking

about. The first question that occurs to most sufferers is, " Why would I be

thinking these things if I really weren't a psychopath or an evil person? " Since

the thoughts mostly won't quit, and are so striking, it seems like a pretty

reasonable question for a person to ask him or herself. The rest of us more

fortunate human beings can always find a way to 'change the channel' when we are

having unpleasant thoughts. We don't often appreciate what it is like to be in

control of our own thinking, and take it for granted. That's why it is so easy

for people like 's previous and rather ignorant doctor to simply say " Just

think good thoughts. " As if.

http://www.wsps.info/index.php?option=com_content & view=article & id=81:teens-with-\

morbid-obsessions & catid=36:ocd-and-related-subjects-by-frederick-penzel-phd & Item\

id=64

So sorry your son is going through this! There are some other children's books

he may like. The OCD Foundation lists a few, though you can find many more at

& Noble or Amazon and others.

Medication - very helpful to many! You can certainly try therapy without it,

but many find they need the help of medication also, which can make therapy go

better as the OCD eases up. No particular one is better for OCD. Unfortunately

it is a " try and see if this works and my child tolerates the med well " type

thing. We used Celexa for my son when he started medication in high school

(he's 22 now) and it was the first we tried and it worked really well. Another

person may have some side effect he didn't and need another of the OCD meds that

would work better for them.

Many in our group have tried some " alternative " type things prior to

prescription. There's been some successes there, but again nothing that has

worked for everyone.

Feel free to ask any questions you have! Glad you found our group.

single mom, 3 sons

, 22, with OCD, dysgraphia, Aspergers

OCD began severely 6th grade

Graduated UNC-Chapel Hill August 2011; BS Biology

>

> Hello,

> My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

>

> He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at school,

which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly tells me

that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked his

teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

[Guest guest]

Hi , welcome!

So has the bullying stopped at school? Hope so!

Good thing is it sounds like he is managing to get through the whole day. Is he

managing to do his work, how is that going? Has he said if there is any time

that he feels better while there, maybe when they are busy with some work or

he's paying attention to the teacher....? Has his teacher said anything about

his class/day to you?

How are things at home over the weekend?

So I'm sure your son knows he isn't the only person (child or adult) to have

these type thoughts. Hope that helps him feel better. And though people may

think those thoughts, they don't act on them. They worry they will and/or worry

what type person they are that would have such thoughts, etc. But this is OCD.

Sucks! There's a reason OCD is called the " doubting disease. " Here's a good

sentence for that: OCD is often described as " a disease of doubt. " Sufferers

experience " pathological doubt " because they are unable to distinguish between

what is possible, what is probable, and what is unlikely to happen.

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness & Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedP\

ageDisplay.cfm & TPLID=54 & ContentID=23035

Here's another little article about the " what ifs " :

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-the-doubt/200908/the-doubt-bully

AND one more paragraph from another article:

" A phrase he had used struck me as familiar. " they seem so real. " It has always

seemed strange to me how so many of my obsessive morbid thinkers use that exact

same phrase to describe their repetitive thoughts. I cannot begin to count the

number of times I have heard it from people who have never met or spoken to each

other. This is, for me, one of the great mysteries of OCD for me; how thoughts

about things that a person would never normally think, and would never do could

seem " so real. " It is also one of the great tortures. The vividness and the

convincing way the thoughts hit an OC sufferer almost always seem to convince

them that they just might actually do the horrible things they are thinking

about. The first question that occurs to most sufferers is, " Why would I be

thinking these things if I really weren't a psychopath or an evil person? " Since

the thoughts mostly won't quit, and are so striking, it seems like a pretty

reasonable question for a person to ask him or herself. The rest of us more

fortunate human beings can always find a way to 'change the channel' when we are

having unpleasant thoughts. We don't often appreciate what it is like to be in

control of our own thinking, and take it for granted. That's why it is so easy

for people like 's previous and rather ignorant doctor to simply say " Just

think good thoughts. " As if.

http://www.wsps.info/index.php?option=com_content & view=article & id=81:teens-with-\

morbid-obsessions & catid=36:ocd-and-related-subjects-by-frederick-penzel-phd & Item\

id=64

So sorry your son is going through this! There are some other children's books

he may like. The OCD Foundation lists a few, though you can find many more at

& Noble or Amazon and others.

Medication - very helpful to many! You can certainly try therapy without it,

but many find they need the help of medication also, which can make therapy go

better as the OCD eases up. No particular one is better for OCD. Unfortunately

it is a " try and see if this works and my child tolerates the med well " type

thing. We used Celexa for my son when he started medication in high school

(he's 22 now) and it was the first we tried and it worked really well. Another

person may have some side effect he didn't and need another of the OCD meds that

would work better for them.

Many in our group have tried some " alternative " type things prior to

prescription. There's been some successes there, but again nothing that has

worked for everyone.

Feel free to ask any questions you have! Glad you found our group.

single mom, 3 sons

, 22, with OCD, dysgraphia, Aspergers

OCD began severely 6th grade

Graduated UNC-Chapel Hill August 2011; BS Biology

>

> Hello,

> My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

>

> He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at school,

which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly tells me

that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked his

teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

[Guest guest]

I agree with everything said. Just so you know, my daughter took Prozac

10mg for her OCD and it helped a lot. The only side effect that she had was

that it was activating to her ADHD meds. However, it controlled her OCD so well

that she almost completely stopped having bad thoughts.

That said, she was almost too controlled in that aspect and we found her

exposure therapy wasn't working because she had no way to actually apply it. So

as of yesterday, we have decided to wean her off Prozac and go with exposure

therapy alone. We are also hoping this will help with her focus in school.

I will keep you posted!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with everything said. Just so you know, my daughter took Prozac

10mg for her OCD and it helped a lot. The only side effect that she had was

that it was activating to her ADHD meds. However, it controlled her OCD so well

that she almost completely stopped having bad thoughts.

That said, she was almost too controlled in that aspect and we found her

exposure therapy wasn't working because she had no way to actually apply it. So

as of yesterday, we have decided to wean her off Prozac and go with exposure

therapy alone. We are also hoping this will help with her focus in school.

I will keep you posted!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with everything said. Just so you know, my daughter took Prozac

10mg for her OCD and it helped a lot. The only side effect that she had was

that it was activating to her ADHD meds. However, it controlled her OCD so well

that she almost completely stopped having bad thoughts.

That said, she was almost too controlled in that aspect and we found her

exposure therapy wasn't working because she had no way to actually apply it. So

as of yesterday, we have decided to wean her off Prozac and go with exposure

therapy alone. We are also hoping this will help with her focus in school.

I will keep you posted!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group, .

When our son was 7, he was having trouble at school, with his teacher, not other

kids. It was complicated, so won't get into details, but will say that even

with a doctor's note, she refused to cooperate. It escalated to the point that

we pulled him out of school and started homeschooling. It was a huge blessing

to us.

When he was 10? 11?, he started medication for the first time. Within a week,

he showed improvement.

In a perfect world, our kids wouldn't need meds, but then again, they wouldn't

have OCD either. :~/

I'm sorry he's having such a hard time. " Intrusive thoughts " are harder to

fight, so I can understand why he is struggling so much.

What does the therapist think about the principal dragging him off to you and

into the school? That sort of made me cringe. They need to face their anxiety,

but not be " forced " to.

I hope the bullying has stopped. Even if it is happening in a subtle way, his

fears are understandable and probably " in that case " not OCD related. Although,

having an anxiety disorder sure wouldn't help the situation.

Glad you found the group.

BJ

>

> Hello,

> My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

>

> He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at school,

which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly tells me

that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked his

teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that he

just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants these

bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I to just

make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave the

house in fear that he might hurt someone.

>

> Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of anxiety

about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school. When

we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me crying and

screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act out his bad

thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt somebody, or

how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

>

> I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking to

see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

>

> If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

>

> His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

>

> Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

Welcome. I didn’t see anyone mention the possibility of PANDAS or another

infectious trigger initiating his OCD, so I will. Sometimes when OCD comes on

quickly like that, there is an infection that causes inflammation in the basal

ganglia that triggers the thoughts or behaviors. You can read about it at

www.pandasnetwork.com or www.pandasnetwork.net There are other sites too if you

google it.

It is really important to rule out an infectious cause of OCD before moving on

to psych drugs. PANDAS and Lyme Disease can cause OCD.

I wish you the best of luck!

[Guest guest]

Hi

As far as I know the bullying has stopped. I think that my son would tell me.

He is very open with me, which is a blessing and a burden.

According to the school, once they pull him off, within a few minutes he is

" better " . He stops crying and goes right in to class.

The teacher says she doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She said his

hand writing goes from good to bad, day to day, but that isn't totally abnormal

for a 1st grader. Sometimes he is distracted doing his homework, but I think

that is more for attention. His baby sister demands a lot from me, so that is

his alone time with just me. I think he prolongs it just to have me all to

himself. We do get through it though, and when he finally settles down, he has

no issue doing the work.

The weekends are filled with anxiety for school to start again. He has a hard

time just enjoying his time off, and then gets frustrated since he wasted his

time worrying. At home, when he brings up school, or hurting someone, we are

trying to have him talk back to his OCD. This does help him a bit since he gets

to yell out loud and makes a joke of his OCD by saying silly things to make

himself laugh. It gives him some relief but doesn't really seem to stop the

thoughts for long. He can't seem to grasp the concept of talking back in his

head, so talking out aloud is the only thing that helps. Which sadly he can't

do at school.

That is why I am wondering if a new school might help? Any thoughts about that?

My husband is against home schooling, which was my first thought. I feel sad for

him that he is alone in school, suffering with these thoughts, with out his

personal cheer leader (me) there to help him get through the day. I know he gets

through the day, but at what expense? Most of his killing thoughts are directed

at the 4 boys that hurt him. Quick version, 4 boys got mad at my son for playing

with the girls. One kept knocking him on the ground, one bounced a ball of his

face, one kept kicking him and one just kept screaming.. get him..get him.

School was very disappointing to me and him on how they dealt with it. The

basically made my son confront the 4 boys and my son shut down and it got

dismissed. I resolved the issue with the school, and don't think it will happen

again, but sad that it happened at all.

I have also challenged his thoughts. When he tells me he is afraid his nail is

going to stab me and kill me. I literally make him stab me with his nail to

show him that it isn't going to kill me. I have to say that helps, he typically

doesn't bring that specific thought up again. Now, some of these I can't do

that. When he is holding a butter knife and tells me his mind is telling him to

stab me with that, well that could really hurt me. Not quite sure how to handle

those except to make him talk back to it!

I am so happy I found this group. I have been wondering around feeling

helpless, at least now I feel that I can get some sound advice on how to help my

child.

Thank you!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

As far as I know the bullying has stopped. I think that my son would tell me.

He is very open with me, which is a blessing and a burden.

According to the school, once they pull him off, within a few minutes he is

" better " . He stops crying and goes right in to class.

The teacher says she doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She said his

hand writing goes from good to bad, day to day, but that isn't totally abnormal

for a 1st grader. Sometimes he is distracted doing his homework, but I think

that is more for attention. His baby sister demands a lot from me, so that is

his alone time with just me. I think he prolongs it just to have me all to

himself. We do get through it though, and when he finally settles down, he has

no issue doing the work.

The weekends are filled with anxiety for school to start again. He has a hard

time just enjoying his time off, and then gets frustrated since he wasted his

time worrying. At home, when he brings up school, or hurting someone, we are

trying to have him talk back to his OCD. This does help him a bit since he gets

to yell out loud and makes a joke of his OCD by saying silly things to make

himself laugh. It gives him some relief but doesn't really seem to stop the

thoughts for long. He can't seem to grasp the concept of talking back in his

head, so talking out aloud is the only thing that helps. Which sadly he can't

do at school.

That is why I am wondering if a new school might help? Any thoughts about that?

My husband is against home schooling, which was my first thought. I feel sad for

him that he is alone in school, suffering with these thoughts, with out his

personal cheer leader (me) there to help him get through the day. I know he gets

through the day, but at what expense? Most of his killing thoughts are directed

at the 4 boys that hurt him. Quick version, 4 boys got mad at my son for playing

with the girls. One kept knocking him on the ground, one bounced a ball of his

face, one kept kicking him and one just kept screaming.. get him..get him.

School was very disappointing to me and him on how they dealt with it. The

basically made my son confront the 4 boys and my son shut down and it got

dismissed. I resolved the issue with the school, and don't think it will happen

again, but sad that it happened at all.

I have also challenged his thoughts. When he tells me he is afraid his nail is

going to stab me and kill me. I literally make him stab me with his nail to

show him that it isn't going to kill me. I have to say that helps, he typically

doesn't bring that specific thought up again. Now, some of these I can't do

that. When he is holding a butter knife and tells me his mind is telling him to

stab me with that, well that could really hurt me. Not quite sure how to handle

those except to make him talk back to it!

I am so happy I found this group. I have been wondering around feeling

helpless, at least now I feel that I can get some sound advice on how to help my

child.

Thank you!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

As far as I know the bullying has stopped. I think that my son would tell me.

He is very open with me, which is a blessing and a burden.

According to the school, once they pull him off, within a few minutes he is

" better " . He stops crying and goes right in to class.

The teacher says she doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She said his

hand writing goes from good to bad, day to day, but that isn't totally abnormal

for a 1st grader. Sometimes he is distracted doing his homework, but I think

that is more for attention. His baby sister demands a lot from me, so that is

his alone time with just me. I think he prolongs it just to have me all to

himself. We do get through it though, and when he finally settles down, he has

no issue doing the work.

The weekends are filled with anxiety for school to start again. He has a hard

time just enjoying his time off, and then gets frustrated since he wasted his

time worrying. At home, when he brings up school, or hurting someone, we are

trying to have him talk back to his OCD. This does help him a bit since he gets

to yell out loud and makes a joke of his OCD by saying silly things to make

himself laugh. It gives him some relief but doesn't really seem to stop the

thoughts for long. He can't seem to grasp the concept of talking back in his

head, so talking out aloud is the only thing that helps. Which sadly he can't

do at school.

That is why I am wondering if a new school might help? Any thoughts about that?

My husband is against home schooling, which was my first thought. I feel sad for

him that he is alone in school, suffering with these thoughts, with out his

personal cheer leader (me) there to help him get through the day. I know he gets

through the day, but at what expense? Most of his killing thoughts are directed

at the 4 boys that hurt him. Quick version, 4 boys got mad at my son for playing

with the girls. One kept knocking him on the ground, one bounced a ball of his

face, one kept kicking him and one just kept screaming.. get him..get him.

School was very disappointing to me and him on how they dealt with it. The

basically made my son confront the 4 boys and my son shut down and it got

dismissed. I resolved the issue with the school, and don't think it will happen

again, but sad that it happened at all.

I have also challenged his thoughts. When he tells me he is afraid his nail is

going to stab me and kill me. I literally make him stab me with his nail to

show him that it isn't going to kill me. I have to say that helps, he typically

doesn't bring that specific thought up again. Now, some of these I can't do

that. When he is holding a butter knife and tells me his mind is telling him to

stab me with that, well that could really hurt me. Not quite sure how to handle

those except to make him talk back to it!

I am so happy I found this group. I have been wondering around feeling

helpless, at least now I feel that I can get some sound advice on how to help my

child.

Thank you!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Interesting that your brought that up. I did have a blood work done when his

thoughts first started, but I didn't think to ask if they checked for Lyme or

any other auto-immune disorders. I suffer from a rare auto-immune disorder,

mixed connective tissue disorder, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think that my

son might have one as well.

He did have a bad case of strep last year, it infected his lymph notes so bad he

had to hospitalized.

I am still fighting my insurance company to have an MRI done. Just want to make

sure his brain is clear of tumors.. or anything else that can effect behavior.

Since he was diagnosed with OCD, they feel it is unnecessary.

Thanks for that insight. I will check with my ped to make sure the blood tests

looked for those as well!

>

> Hello,

> Welcome. I didn’t see anyone mention the possibility of PANDAS or another

infectious trigger initiating his OCD, so I will. Sometimes when OCD comes on

quickly like that, there is an infection that causes inflammation in the basal

ganglia that triggers the thoughts or behaviors. You can read about it at

www.pandasnetwork.com or www.pandasnetwork.net There are other sites too if you

google it.

>

> It is really important to rule out an infectious cause of OCD before moving on

to psych drugs. PANDAS and Lyme Disease can cause OCD.

>

> I wish you the best of luck!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Interesting that your brought that up. I did have a blood work done when his

thoughts first started, but I didn't think to ask if they checked for Lyme or

any other auto-immune disorders. I suffer from a rare auto-immune disorder,

mixed connective tissue disorder, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think that my

son might have one as well.

He did have a bad case of strep last year, it infected his lymph notes so bad he

had to hospitalized.

I am still fighting my insurance company to have an MRI done. Just want to make

sure his brain is clear of tumors.. or anything else that can effect behavior.

Since he was diagnosed with OCD, they feel it is unnecessary.

Thanks for that insight. I will check with my ped to make sure the blood tests

looked for those as well!

>

> Hello,

> Welcome. I didn’t see anyone mention the possibility of PANDAS or another

infectious trigger initiating his OCD, so I will. Sometimes when OCD comes on

quickly like that, there is an infection that causes inflammation in the basal

ganglia that triggers the thoughts or behaviors. You can read about it at

www.pandasnetwork.com or www.pandasnetwork.net There are other sites too if you

google it.

>

> It is really important to rule out an infectious cause of OCD before moving on

to psych drugs. PANDAS and Lyme Disease can cause OCD.

>

> I wish you the best of luck!

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Going to see his therapist on Friday. I am going to speak to her about his

increase in anxiety about going to school. It is getting worse by the day,

something has to be done to give him some relief.

I am going to talk to my husband again about home schooling, he is against it.

We have a young daughter and he is not sure how I am going to handle teaching

him and taking care of her, which is a legit concern!

Thanks for the input, will let you know what the therapist says!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that

he just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants

these bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I

to just make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave

the house in fear that he might hurt someone.

> >

> > Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of

anxiety about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school.

When we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me

crying and screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act

out his bad thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt

somebody, or how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

> >

> > I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking

to see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

> >

> > If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

> >

> > His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

> >

> > Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Going to see his therapist on Friday. I am going to speak to her about his

increase in anxiety about going to school. It is getting worse by the day,

something has to be done to give him some relief.

I am going to talk to my husband again about home schooling, he is against it.

We have a young daughter and he is not sure how I am going to handle teaching

him and taking care of her, which is a legit concern!

Thanks for the input, will let you know what the therapist says!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that

he just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants

these bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I

to just make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave

the house in fear that he might hurt someone.

> >

> > Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of

anxiety about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school.

When we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me

crying and screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act

out his bad thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt

somebody, or how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

> >

> > I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking

to see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

> >

> > If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

> >

> > His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

> >

> > Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Going to see his therapist on Friday. I am going to speak to her about his

increase in anxiety about going to school. It is getting worse by the day,

something has to be done to give him some relief.

I am going to talk to my husband again about home schooling, he is against it.

We have a young daughter and he is not sure how I am going to handle teaching

him and taking care of her, which is a legit concern!

Thanks for the input, will let you know what the therapist says!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that

he just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants

these bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I

to just make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave

the house in fear that he might hurt someone.

> >

> > Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of

anxiety about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school.

When we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me

crying and screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act

out his bad thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt

somebody, or how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

> >

> > I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking

to see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

> >

> > If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

> >

> > His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

> >

> > Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

OCD is not the same as school avoidance. By the principal pulling him from you,

I'm afraid that your son is feeling even more out of control.  OCD is like

anxiety to the 10th degree.   I like the comment BJ made in the fact that in

a perfect world we wouldn't need to put our kids on medication - but in a

perfect world there wouldn't be OCD.  My son also has more of the intrusive

thoughts.  I also have OCD and that is the kind I have.  There is not much

therapy to do when it's thoughts instead of compulsions.  The therapy we did

was to help us " understand " the disease and that the thoughts are not real. 

However, for us medication was the key. It doesn't remove the OCD completely,

but it helps eliminate the anxiety so it becomes managable and every day life

isn't so big (like going to school).  It is heartbreaking to see our kids

struggle.  He is a lucky boy that you are there for him and doing whatever it

takes to figure this out.  My son

was a kindergartner when his started.  He is now a freshman.  

 

Hang in there!

 

Christie

   

To:

Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 12:55 PM

Subject: Re: New to OCD and Looking for Advice

 

Hi BJ,

Going to see his therapist on Friday. I am going to speak to her about his

increase in anxiety about going to school. It is getting worse by the day,

something has to be done to give him some relief.

I am going to talk to my husband again about home schooling, he is against it.

We have a young daughter and he is not sure how I am going to handle teaching

him and taking care of her, which is a legit concern!

Thanks for the input, will let you know what the therapist says!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that he

just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants these

bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I to just

make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave the

house in fear that he might hurt someone.

> >

> > Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of

anxiety about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school.

When we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me

crying and screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act

out his bad thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt

somebody, or how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

> >

> > I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking

to see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

> >

> > If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

> >

> > His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

> >

> > Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

OCD is not the same as school avoidance. By the principal pulling him from you,

I'm afraid that your son is feeling even more out of control.  OCD is like

anxiety to the 10th degree.   I like the comment BJ made in the fact that in

a perfect world we wouldn't need to put our kids on medication - but in a

perfect world there wouldn't be OCD.  My son also has more of the intrusive

thoughts.  I also have OCD and that is the kind I have.  There is not much

therapy to do when it's thoughts instead of compulsions.  The therapy we did

was to help us " understand " the disease and that the thoughts are not real. 

However, for us medication was the key. It doesn't remove the OCD completely,

but it helps eliminate the anxiety so it becomes managable and every day life

isn't so big (like going to school).  It is heartbreaking to see our kids

struggle.  He is a lucky boy that you are there for him and doing whatever it

takes to figure this out.  My son

was a kindergartner when his started.  He is now a freshman.  

 

Hang in there!

 

Christie

   

To:

Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 12:55 PM

Subject: Re: New to OCD and Looking for Advice

 

Hi BJ,

Going to see his therapist on Friday. I am going to speak to her about his

increase in anxiety about going to school. It is getting worse by the day,

something has to be done to give him some relief.

I am going to talk to my husband again about home schooling, he is against it.

We have a young daughter and he is not sure how I am going to handle teaching

him and taking care of her, which is a legit concern!

Thanks for the input, will let you know what the therapist says!

> >

> > Hello,

> > My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with OCD. His therapist thinks it

was triggered from a bully experience he encountered at school.

> >

> > He has no compulsions, just bad thoughts. He thinks he hurts people at

school, which he doesn't. He tells me that he wants to hurt me, but quickly

tells me that he would never do that. Once he came home and told me he licked

his teachers shirt, which didn't happen. He becomes so unsure of himself that he

just curls up in a ball and crys. He is becoming depressed and just wants these

bad thoughts to stop. He keeps having outbursts begging my husband and I to just

make his mind better. He is starting to shut down and not want to leave the

house in fear that he might hurt someone.

> >

> > Going to school is a nightmare. He starts crying and showing signs of

anxiety about going to school the next day the minute I pick him up from school.

When we get there the principal waits for us and has to drag him off of me

crying and screaming for me not to leave him. He is afraid he might truly act

out his bad thoughts. He wants to know how I can promise him that he won't hurt

somebody, or how I know for sure he hasn't already. And honestly, how do I know.

> >

> > I am struggling trying to figure out how to help him. It is heart breaking

to see my young son dealing with such a crazy mental illness.

> >

> > If anyone has a child who has obsessive bad thoughts, what type of therapy

have you tried? I know there is no miracle cure, just want to make sure we are

on the right path.

> >

> > His current therapist has him reading What to do when my brain gets stuck,

which he tells me doesn't help him at all. I have thought of changing schools

since he can't seem to get past the bully experience, but his therapist feels

that is giving his OCD to much power. He has to learn to deal with this anxiety

and as each day goes by when nothing bad happens, at some point his mind will

move on. But he doesn't feel like nothing bad happens, he is confused between

his thoughts and reality. I feel that maybe a new start away from the kids who

hurt him might help his anxiety level. Does anyone have any input on this issue?

> >

> > Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to getting information that

might be able to help my son.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

This sounds like my daughter. She is 11 and was diagnosed over the summer. She

has no discernible compulsions. She Has such intrusive thoughts, she too is

unsure of what is real and what is not.

We have been doing the, " give it a try " when it comes to school. Hers started

years ago as general anxiety disorder and now that you mention it, it was soon

after a bullying experience at school in 2nd grade.

She is convinced that she will hurt herself or others. Convinced if I don't pick

up the phone on the first ring, I am dead on the side of the road. She has

images of death, destruction, herself killing herself, being kidnapped or

injured. Her brain does get stuck on the scary and bad thoughts.

She has also read and worked through that book. She " enjoyed " it, and it seemed

to help her understand what is going on better.

We have her in Cognitive Behavior Therapy weekly and she sees a psychiatrist.

She is on medication, and truly this has been so helpful. I was originally

opposed, but when we had to take her to the emergency mental health hospital, I

knew I was being selfish in my " no drugs " beliefs.

We talk about OCD as the bully and personify it so that she can hopefully

recognize it is not her, it is the OCD. We have learned little tricks to

distract her mind from her fears. Sometimes it works and sometimes, it doesn't.

We have a 504 set up at school for her. Most days, I get her from school early.

Each day, we try to get her to stay longer and say we can beat the bully.

I think trying medication if you haven't already. I think helping him

disassociate himself from the bad thoughts is the key. Developmentally, that is

difficult, even for my 11 year old.

Email anytime. I get it. We all need support.

Long distance hugs

Jenn

Jenn@...

[Guest guest]

This sounds like my daughter. She is 11 and was diagnosed over the summer. She

has no discernible compulsions. She Has such intrusive thoughts, she too is

unsure of what is real and what is not.

We have been doing the, " give it a try " when it comes to school. Hers started

years ago as general anxiety disorder and now that you mention it, it was soon

after a bullying experience at school in 2nd grade.

She is convinced that she will hurt herself or others. Convinced if I don't pick

up the phone on the first ring, I am dead on the side of the road. She has

images of death, destruction, herself killing herself, being kidnapped or

injured. Her brain does get stuck on the scary and bad thoughts.

She has also read and worked through that book. She " enjoyed " it, and it seemed

to help her understand what is going on better.

We have her in Cognitive Behavior Therapy weekly and she sees a psychiatrist.

She is on medication, and truly this has been so helpful. I was originally

opposed, but when we had to take her to the emergency mental health hospital, I

knew I was being selfish in my " no drugs " beliefs.

We talk about OCD as the bully and personify it so that she can hopefully

recognize it is not her, it is the OCD. We have learned little tricks to

distract her mind from her fears. Sometimes it works and sometimes, it doesn't.

We have a 504 set up at school for her. Most days, I get her from school early.

Each day, we try to get her to stay longer and say we can beat the bully.

I think trying medication if you haven't already. I think helping him

disassociate himself from the bad thoughts is the key. Developmentally, that is

difficult, even for my 11 year old.

Email anytime. I get it. We all need support.

Long distance hugs

Jenn

Jenn@...