Bathroom issues

[Guest guest]

Hi

My son was 13 - At the time. They had to ramp up his meds rather high- before we

could actually reason with him & implement CBT. I don't think boys are good

communicators - so who knows what OCD is making them think. On some levels they

may not really know either. On another note- his OCD had changed our family-

very stressful - we have lost social life, anger amongst everyone. You are NOT

alone.

Best of luck-

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> > > Hi Dr. Chansky,

> > >

> > > I am writing to ask for your suggestions on dealing with bathroom

avoidance issues with my son. He is almost 16 years old, has Tourette's,

OCD/anxiety. All of these conditions went undiagnosed until about a year and

half ago because prior to that time, he only had a mild eye-blinking tic and his

OCD was not really apparent. When he hit puberty, all hell broke loose and his

tics/Tourette's went into orbit. Since that time he's had many different motor

and vocal tics, some which have been pretty debilitating.

> > >

> > > He is currently on the wait list for 's in Wisconsin because his

day-to-day functionality has gotten to a very concerning point. On one hand, he

looks and acts completely " normal " and you'd never have a clue he has TS or any

other conditions, but behind closed doors it's an entirely different story. He

still looks and acts " normal " but has zero social life, zero outside activities,

and over the past few months has been ramping up with bathroom avoidance. Taking

a shower or bath is a huge ordeal and he refuses to do it until we basically

force him in there. In the past 3 weeks he's had 5 incidents that I know of

where he's defecated or urinated outside of the bathroom in our house or in the

garage. He'll do it in a plastic bag or paper towel and has even left dirty

paper towels he's wiped himself with on the floor in the dining room!!

> > >

> > > Sorry for all of the grossly graphic details, but obviously this is all

very concerning. He is normally one of the most polite well-mannered kids you

could meet and before the recent past he would have never in a million years

considered doing something like this and would have never recovered from the

embarrassment of being caught. What's most concerning about the bathroom

incidents and everything in general is his nonchalance about everything as if

it's completely normal and no big deal. A few nights ago he apparently peed in

his shorts, they were totally soaked. Yet he was walking around like nothing was

wrong and then was planning to go to sleep in the soiled clothing! Again,

totally nonchalant, and even a little smirk on his face. He also has extremely

obnoxious behavior that is very, very childlike, talking baby talk, gibberish,

and just non-stop taunting and antagonizing my husband and I. It's as if he's

regressing in just about every sense to being a toddler or pre-schooler.

> > >

> > > It's not like he's in any sort of zombie-like state or looking psychotic

or anything at all along those lines, it's just like he is so detached from

reality or has created an entirely new reality in his mind.

> > > I have tried discussing the bathroom situations with him and he will give

me very little info other than to say he doesn't feel like going upstairs. Now

upstairs in our home is a VERY short trip, maybe 10 seconds if that, so I'm not

buying that at all. And sometimes he'll go to the opposite extreme.......he'll

go in the bathroom and sit on the toilet in total darkness for an hour or more

with the door open.

> > >

> > > Anytime he does use the bathroom, including showers, he insists on doing

everything in the dark, and also eats his meals in the dark. I could go on and

on, but I'd love to get your take on this and hear any recommendations you have

for dealing with the bathroom issues at least until he gets to 's, which is

hopefully very soon.

> > >

> > > Thanks so much,

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