Guest guest Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 Hi, This may seem like a weird question but I'm not sure on what to do...we are being given a free bunk bed by someone in our family. At first my daughter with OCD was excited but now she is having anxiety about her room changing. Now she keeps saying she doesn't want them with her sister. So do I make her get the bunk bed to have her sister move in her room and possibly cause her distress, or do I not give in to the OCD and make her get them? This may seem like a silly situation but I am trying to avoid her having more anxiety causing her more compulsions. Thoughts someone???? Sent from my iPhone > Rhonda, > > If I were you, I would try the emergency room if that's what you must do to get him into treatment. If your son has urinated repeatedly in his jeans without showering or changing them, he could easily have skin, fungal, or urinary infections and you might not be aware. Our dd struggles with being wet at night and not cleaning her personal areas thoroughly. She has had recurrent yeast infections (until I put her on Lactobacillus tablets) and recurrent urinary tract infections. She also went through a period three years ago when she would only use the bathroom twice a day. At that time, she was washing for an hour each time and her arms looked like she had suffered burns (the skin was so raw). > > I find it hard to believe that any experienced OCD treatment center would forcefully change a patient. I can imagine them limiting privileges or devising exposures to deal with the clothing issue and requiring the patient to have clean clothing available. > > I also think your son may be right that he could do some things at the ER or the hotel that he cannot do at home. OCD is a tricky disorder. People with OCD can often manage things in public that they cannot do in private/at home. We can cover rituals up sometimes if people are visiting. We can also play mind games with our OCD. When my own OCD was worst over 20 yrs ago, I could not plan an overnight or longer trip away from my apartment. If I did and then tried to leave, the checking rituals would be both exhausting and time consuming. If I told myself I was just going to work and did not pack anything, the rituals were still there but not as bad. Once I got to work, I could call my parents and tell them I had decided to come after all--and could I borrow a nightgown (because I could not pack). I did this more than once, so at some level, I must have known I might go away overnight--but I could not pack and prepare for the trip in > advance because that would make the rituals much worse when it was time to leave the apartment. > > Best wishes, whatever you decide. > > (mom w/OCD, almost 12 yo dd w/OCD, 9.5 yo dd w/ tics and possible just right OCD) > > ________________________________ > > To: > Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 9:05 PM > Subject: Re: Re: family rituals > > From what husband reports, Lindner Center wants clean clothes and will change him if he is not clean. Because he is not in life-threatening situation, I don't know if emergency room will even take, or Medicaid will pay. > > That is a great point about ER being used to all kinds of stuff. We're talking he has peed out repeatedly over last 2-3 months because couldn't get hands washed in time and hates going to bathroom, and has not changed those jeans. > > So I started talking to him about this process and he said he would be able to shower and change at the ER! Really? It turns out that living here with his dad is a HUGE issue, therapist never really validated. Son would put on new clothes after showering but not clothes from home. If ER would not take him, he might consider going to motel and showering and changing there, as long as he knows he's on his way to the center. This is a boy who has not showered for six months. > > He might be able to stay at motel if doctor orders lab tests and everything takes awhile. I thought everything " out there " was dirty, but it seems it's related to where dad has been and what dad has touched (like, it was just the car seat that was dirty, not everything else.) > > He doesn't really know if the motel would " work " or not, in terms of feeling clean enough and him being able to put on different clothes. Said he would think about it. He's been up about 30 hours on this go-round and just took the melatonin. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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