to Lesli

[Guest guest]

About your 5 year old...I can relate. The same thing happened to

when we first treated her OCD with Prozac a year and a half ago. The doctor

we were working with at the time (I wouldn't recommend him!) switched her

from Prozac to Zoloft when the hyperactivity and oppositional behavior

seemed out of control. That helped; eventually, as the OCD settled down,

she came back *almost* to herself. She'd been through a lot, and to some

extent, she couldn't be the sweet, sunshiny-outlook 6 year old she'd been

before my mom died and her OCD was triggered.

Today, even in the midst of an episode or backslide, she retains more of

herself. She's older now. But she can be infuriating and can seem like a

stranger sometimes. Sometimes I long for the days when she was a baby,

without OCD, and I could cuddle her and make every fear or stress or anxiety

go away. I lie; I often wish for that.

So you're not alone, Lesli...

Stockman-Vines

lstockman@...

Re: discouraged

Hi Lesli, yes I can relate to feeling trapped between two unhappy

choices--most of what you write about andra is true of my 5-year-old

daughter too, the meds make her a little more at ease ocd-wise but

obliterate her personality. Everything she does and says, says " not right,

not her " to me. It's a constant reminder of the disorder and makes even

small " vacations " from ocd hard to come by. In the few months since her ocd

started she's lost her sunny, bright, outgoing personality and become an

unpleasant, difficult, and miserable child who I can't wait to put to bed

each night. Then of course I feel crushing guilt for feeling this way

because none of this is her fault, or anyone's fault.

Dealing with this disorder takes almost inhuman patience I'm finding. I'm

glad your daughter's ocd symptoms are responding to Prozac--that's some

hope. Kel's been on higher doses of SSRI's than andra for a longer time

(I think, from some of your posts) and what I have noticed is that for a

couple of weeks following each dose increase things get really bleak.

Sleeping problems, attitude problems, behavioral problems, worse ocd

symptoms, but then each time they have slowly resolved to livable levels.

When we are in the midst of these periods, the problems seem insurmountable

and things seem hopeless.

Hopefully you are just in one of these bleak times when it's difficult to

see past the current situation. I'm thinking of you tonight. I hope

tomorrow is a better day for both you and your daughter.

Kathy R. in Indiana

Re: discouraged

I wish you luck with the Dr. appt. Maybe things can

get worked out with her Meds. It sounds like you know

what your daughter likes and I hope you are able to

use it to everyones advantage. Win/Win situations are

great. Maybe part of a behavior plan would include fun

family time with a reward of one of the things she

likes to do. Being 5 you have alot of time ahead. Just

know that you are doing the best you can. If I knew at

5 why my child was behaving the way he was, things

might be different now.of corse his OCD didn't get

full bore until 12y/o. Hang in there! Vivian in wa

st

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