New Member

[Guest guest]

Jule - Could you tell me the dosage your son takes for Celexa. My son takes

55 mgs. I know the article on medicating children from the Ocfoundation

suggests a maximum of 60 for children. I've often wondered if this was a

misprint because if you compare the other SSRIs in the article on medicating

children with the article on medicating adults, the dosage for Celexa is the

same for children and adults whereas the maximum dosage for other SSRIs is

less for children that for adults. -My son hasn't been doing real great

lately and I fear that the next visit to the neurologist will put him at the

max for children and adults. He is only 8 yrs. old! Eliza in Wi----

Original Message -----

From: <j.monnens@...>

<egroups>

Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2000 11:31 AM

Subject: Re: New member

>

>

> :

>

> Thank you for writing such a detailed and articulate letter about your

daughter.

> I don't have any experience with eating disorders other than as a

registered

> nurse I know they can be deadly and, like suicidal ideation, should be

taken

> seriously. I would definitely seek the care of another medical

professional --

> one with whom you and your daughter are comfortable. Although any

medication

> can cause bowel problems, the one most frequently associated with Paxil is

> constipation. More likely, the anxiety is adding to her IBS. On the list

we

> frequently talk about medication " poop-out " , where a med will work

(sometimes

> for years) and then quit being effective. For example, my 11 yo son was

on

> Prozac for two years with good results. This spring he suddenly became

severely

> depressed and his ocd symptoms exacerbated. We had to made a switch to

another

> SSRI, and this one seems to be working well. The month we tapered down

the

> Prozac and up on the Celexa was sheer hell, however. It is also helpful

to keep

> in mind that in order for SSRIs to be effective for treatment of OCD, the

dose

> must be higher than for treatment of depression. Some docs are not

comfortable

> prescribing a therapeutic dose, especially in children. This is why it is

> critical to find someone well conversant with treatment of OCD in children

and

> adolescents.

>

> I'm sure Kathy H and will stress the importance also of finding a

> therapist trained in CBT and ER & P. Talk therapy has been proven to be

> ineffective in treatment of OCD. If you let us know where you live, one

of us

> may be able to recommend someone in your area.

>

> As to reassurance -- this was perhaps the hardest concept for me to grasp.

My

> son is primarily obsessional -- thoughts of death, apocalypse, major

disease,

> etc. I didn't realize for a long time that my reassurance was fueling the

ocd

> fire. I now will offer reassurance once, remind him that this is ocd

talking,

> and encourage him to " boss back " . Last night he actually did this

himself! It

> gives me hope.

>

> Anyway, I welcome you to the list. There are wonderful people here with

advice,

> experience and sympathetic shoulders. If you haven't already done so, I

would

> encourage you to visit the oc foundation website. The annual conference

is in

> August, and many of us on the list will be attending.

>

> Jule in Cleveland

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and find your ancestors now.

> Search over 550 million names and trace your family tree today. Click

here:

> 1/6254/7/_/531051/_/962728162/

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In

the body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. The Archives,

Files, and Features List for the may be accessed by

going to , enter your email address and password,

then point and click. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be

addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

:

Have you read any books on OCD? There are many out there of course, but I

recommend March's book OCD in Children and Adolescents, and Brain Lock.

I'm sure there's a list in the archives, too. You might want to

pick up a copy of Kissing Doorknobs too. It is a novel about a girl with OCD.

Maybe your daughter would read it. March's book explains CBT and ER & P very

clearly, and even though it is written for therapists, I have found it to be one

of the best references I have. It seems to me that there is someone in the

Detroit area doing some research on ocd -- or maybe it is Toledo. I'll try to

find out.

Jule in Cleveland

[Guest guest]

HI Ilene:

Welcome to the group and thanks for introducing yourself and Sami. You are

so right, OCD is a pretty difficult illness.

Most of us on the list have kids with more than one comorbid NBD. My son,

Steve (now 13)has OCD, MDD and PTSD-Type 1. Right now his OCD, which was

severe, is fairly under control and we have been worried a lot about his

MDD. This is improving thanks to a new (for him) medication, Luvox.

Getting along with peers is also a problem at times for Steve. He seems to

have some rocky relationships and this has gotten worse since OCD came to

stay. Teenagerhood has not helped a lot. There are lots of parents of

beautiful young girls on this list who may be potential pen pals for your

daughter.

How are you doing Ilene? Many of us here have had to learn to take good

care of ourselves so we can best help our families cope with OCD. I hope

you have some time for yourself. Take care, aloha, Kathy (H)

kathyh@...

You wrote:

I amnew to this group and would like to introduce myself. I am the

>>mother of 3 beautiful girls, my oldest Sami, has ocd. She started

>>showing signs ,severe ones around age 5. She is now 8. Its a very

>>difficult illness and it seems to have affected our entire family.

>>She has bizzare rituals that include jumping,hopping, facial

>>grimaces, teethe clicking, hand washing and skinpicking. She also has

>>adhd,which tends to complicate our situation greatly. Are3 there any

>>other moms with children out there who have combined illnesses?

>>We have tried several meds, Luvox, Paxil, and now she is on effexor

>>and ritilin. Life has been difficult to say the least. She is

>>completly alienated from her piers, and they tend to eat her up alive!

>>I'm open to all advice and suggettions. If any of you have a child

>>close to her age that would like to correspond with my daughter to

>>share some of thier feelings please e mail me for her email adress,

>>vernenjke@...

>>thanks Ilene

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Dad? name ???

My daughter is 3 and OCD/ADHD. I am too! Oh, so is my mother, grandmother,

and HALF of my family!

Anyway, what do you call 'drama' in the house, as we all have different

scenarios. Is there alot of getting 'stuck', or does she rage, have

tantrums...??? I'm curious:)

Also, what 'environments' is she functioning and thriving in currently? Is

she heavily involved in a sport or hobby/activity? What tools help her? Do

you have any tools?

How do you 'respond' to her OCD, as a father and as a family?

I would love to offer some tips or tools, if you can give me more info?

Thanks and hang in there! Xenia

[Guest guest]

,

This is just a thought....does taking medicine even vitamins have anything to

do with swallowing the actual capsule? I ask because this was something that

was associated with my son's OCD. He couldn't swallow pills...everything we

gave him had to be in liquid form even his prozac in the beginning. (He was

diag at 7.)

Also he was resistant to therapy too. It wasn't until he was 11 and we found

a wonderful therapist who was not only a specialist in OCD exposure response

therapy but also a person who could use her knowledge to relate to each

individual and make it work for them.

It was a struggle for all of us until we found the right person and my son

was ready to go for the therapy. I think it is a process. I don't know if

we could have moved it along any more quickly but we did get there and my son

is now 15 and doing much better. I don't think any kind of intervention

would have worked for him....he just had to be ready and have the facts about

OCD and how he could help himself.

Good luck and I'm glad you found the list.

Noelle

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Just a thought about your 11 year old daughter not wanting to take meds.

How about if you arranged for her to talk to other kids her age on this site

about their situations. From all of the messages I have read here, 90% of

our kids take meds. Sometimes it works much better for kids if they hear

from their own peers, and they love talking on the internet.

Best Wishes, Marsha

[Guest guest]

Being afraid to take pills is a fairly common OCD thing. I wonder if one of the

liquid meds would be okay (prozac and paxil come in liquid form). It's a tricky

situation because if taking meds is an OCD worry too high on her hierarchy to

address right off, and meds are what will make it possible for her to work on

any of her OCD worries, that's a difficult thing.

I am the parent of a 12 yr old daughter. IMO, she is too young to make medical

decisions for herself. She takes meds because I say she takes meds. She'd

rather not take them, she'd rather be " normal " etc., but I am in charge of her

medical needs. She actually likes swallowing pills so that part is not a

problem.

I would suggest you take the attitude of being in charge of this decision, just

to help you focus your resolve. Then perhaps you could find the source of her

resistance (is it pills, medication, a particular worry about meds?) and then

break the process down into small steps and reward each step. in San Diego

is good at breaking things down into small steps so maybe she has some ideas

about this.

The part where your daughter's input is valuable is in deciding the rewards that

will help motivate her. The decision of whether to take medicine for a medical

condition is too big to include her in at this age. Think of it as diabetes or

asthma, would you let her decide not to take insulin or use an inhaler (or

whatever they use for asthma these days)? When she gets older it will be her

decision, of course, which is all the more reason to have her take meds now so

she has a point of reference when making that decision in the future.

Good luck.

Dana in NC

ris88@... wrote:

> Greetings to all of you,

>

> I wrote a note the other day (about being a Dad) and now have a question for

> you all. Our daughter, now 11, has had OCD since she was 3. She is highly a

> functioning child out in the world, but at home OCD often is the leading

> character in our family drama. She has been in therapy for 2 1/2 years and

> has been completely resistant to beginning any CB therapy or taking

> medication, (which we all (parents and therapist) agree is her only hope of

> making progress at this point).

>

> Does anyone have experience with " interventions " where friends and family

> join to convince a person that help is essential? She is really afraid of

> any medicine (will hardly take vitamins), so it will take a lot to get her to

> agree. Like she also love to ride horses, and we have found that

> threats of taking that away are useless. Reward is the only strategy that

> works. Any suggestions?

>

>

>

>

> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the

body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. You may subscribe to

the Parents of Adults with OCD List at

parentsofadultswithOCD . You may access the

files, links, and archives for our list at

. Our list advisors are Tamar

Chansky, Ph.D., and Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D. Our list moderators are

Birkhan, Kathy Hammes, Jule Monnens, Gail Pesses, Roman, and Jackie Stout.

Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins,

list owner, at harkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome--reading your post I wondered, what reasons does

your daughter give for not wanting to do CBT or take meds? Addressing her

issues may be key to encouraging her to take meds and participate in the

therapy. (If her explanation is " jusdawanna " you may have to do some

sleuthing! :-) My daughter's main problems with both meds and E & RP were

her fear of doing anything to " hurt " OCD because in retribution OCD

threatened to get much worse. Also she worried she wouldn't be smart

anymore (this thanks to a therapist's casual remark) if OCD went away.

If OCD is interfering here you may have to begin very small, as she is not

yet doing E & RP. Is the idea that she will begin taking meds, and once they

take effect, begin E & RP? If so, can you and your daughter create a

mini-heirarchy around med taking, for ex., can she go along with having the

prescription written for her? Fill the prescription and have the medicine

at home? Can she imagine taking the pill? Can she swallow tic-tacs as

though they are meds and boss back the anxiety this causes? If taking meds

is a big OCD fear for her, ask her if there is any part of this process she

feels she *can* do and start there. One great thing about E & RP that your

daughter has no experience with is this: small efforts can sometimes

generalize, and big chunks of a fear can evaporate seemingly overnight.

Since you know your daughter is motivated by rewards, you may want to set up

a reward system that is tempting enough to overcome her reluctance, whatever

it is, to try meds or begin E & RP therapy. Heavy-duty rewards and lavish

praise were key to motivating my daughter to do E & RP especially in the

beginning. Given her age (5 at the time) she could not completely

understand the point of it, and the idea of going against what OCD told her

to do was counterintuitive and scary.

As my daughter improved with meds and the effects of E & RP she required less

rewards for motivation and is happy with a sticker book with stars for each

" bossing " session. (For the most part--she sometimes points out she's been

working very hard and so deserves a certain toy or outing. The cost of

doing business in my book! And this in itself is wonderful since one of her

biggest obsessions is that she's not allowed, doesn't deserve good things

and gifts.)

Good luck to you and your daughter,

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: <ris88@...>

> Greetings to all of you,

>

> I wrote a note the other day (about being a Dad) and now have a question

for

> you all. Our daughter, now 11, has had OCD since she was 3. She is

highly a

> functioning child out in the world, but at home OCD often is the leading

> character in our family drama. She has been in therapy for 2 1/2 years

and

> has been completely resistant to beginning any CB therapy or taking

> medication, (which we all (parents and therapist) agree is her only hope

of

> making progress at this point).

>

> Does anyone have experience with " interventions " where friends and family

> join to convince a person that help is essential? She is really afraid of

> any medicine (will hardly take vitamins), so it will take a lot to get her

to

> agree. Like she also love to ride horses, and we have found

that

> threats of taking that away are useless. Reward is the only strategy that

> works. Any suggestions?

[Guest guest]

Greetings everyone,

Thanks for all your comments. This one pretty much describes our situation:

In a message dated 10/12/00 8:26:26 AM, klr@... writes:

<< My daughter's main problems with both meds and E & RP were

her fear of doing anything to " hurt " OCD because in retribution OCD

threatened to get much worse. >>

Due to severe ulcerative colitis at age 6 months (shitting blood 17 times a

day for nearly 6 months) and numerous intrusive medical procedures and

medication, plus a predisposition to OCD and anxiety, our poor daughter

spends 3-4 hours wiping her bottom. She wipes til she bleeds. This

compulsion is the top of her hierarchy, but OCD permeates to entire fabric of

our life. I could swear she also has ODD, as any time we ask her to do she

locks up and somehow just can't do it. Even if we're sitting by the side of

the road on our way to horse riding waiting to put on her seat belt she just

can't seem to do it. But her friends, their parents and her school don't

have a clue. She is afraid of medication because if she takes it she won't

have a clean bottom. We are ready to insist she take it, and your advice is

giving us the strength to go to that very difficult place.

I'm so exhausted around this subject that I can't give any more details at

this time. But I'm glad I'm back on this group and that there are so many of

you with similar aged kids.

Is anyone close to Marin County, California?

[Guest guest]

HI :

My views may be a bit unusual or atypical. I learned the answer to this

one the hard way. When Steve's OCD really became severe and we started to

notice it he was 10. He also has MDD and this complicated things very

much. Also I have met many people who have had great difficulties with

their kids and the medication issue. I knew if we went head to head with

Steve on this we would be the loser and therefore so would he.

As hard as it is to accept, I believe the truth is that even with a young

child you really do not have sufficient control to ensure they take their

meds and/or do CBT. IT really is almost completely their decision. Dr.

Gravitz's saying about how you can take a horse to water but can't make it

drink, however you can make it very thirsty was a very helpful metaphor for

us.

I told Steve pretty early on that I wanted desperately for him to get

treatment as that was the way to make his life better. As he was so sick

and unable to attend school, which then he loved, he was very motivated to

" get his life back " . We got a lot of help from various docs who explained

his treatment choices to him. He would agree to do things but then the

fear would take over and he would not do CBT. Meds helped his MDD but

didn't do a whole lot for his OCD.

In desperation I would insist he did E & RP and it caused a lot of stress in

our family. His OCD did start to get better but our relationship got very

difficult. I kept looking for a CBT therapist and luckily after a year

found one who was able to establish an effective therapeutic alliance and

get him going. His psychologist helped a lot by designing interventions

that were fun as well as challenging. What we did was reward him for doing

E & RP. Also I had realized by that time that he needed to be in the

driver's seat so he would learn to do CBT on his own as needed. So I began

a campaign to remind him how strong, determined, brave, courageous,

fantastic, etc. he is. I told him I knew he had what it takes to do his

CBT on his own and that 25% of adults cannot do what he could.

In our experience the quality of the CBT therapist was the most important

ingredient in getting Steve to do the hard work of CBT. Also we made sure

that we did not participate in OCD and he felt the full brunt of suffering

from OCD so he got really thirsty to get better. I also learned not to

believe the fear and the refusal, it was OCD talking and saying he could

not do it, it was not Steve who is a very courageous, risk-taker when OCD

is not tricking him. Do not give up hope that your daughter wants to be

well even more than you want this for her.

Steve told me that making exposure fun was what worked for him. If you

tell us what your daughter's intermediate symptoms are I am sure the

parents who do E & RP with their kids can suggest some fun exposures which

you can suggest to her therapist.

Good luck, take care, aloha, Kathy (h)

kathyh@...

At 02:21 AM 10/12/2000 EDT, you wrote:

>Greetings to all of you,

>

>I wrote a note the other day (about being a Dad) and now have a question for

>you all. Our daughter, now 11, has had OCD since she was 3. She is

highly a

>functioning child out in the world, but at home OCD often is the leading

>character in our family drama. She has been in therapy for 2 1/2 years and

>has been completely resistant to beginning any CB therapy or taking

>medication, (which we all (parents and therapist) agree is her only hope of

>making progress at this point).

>

>Does anyone have experience with " interventions " where friends and family

>join to convince a person that help is essential? She is really afraid of

>any medicine (will hardly take vitamins), so it will take a lot to get her

to

>agree. Like she also love to ride horses, and we have found that

>threats of taking that away are useless. Reward is the only strategy that

>works. Any suggestions?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My son was afraid to take meds for the ocd even though he usually loves

taking medicine. When we found out the reason, we found solutions. It was

twofold. First, he was afraid the medication would brainwash him and second

he was afraid he'd choke on the pills.

So we started him on Prozac in liquid form and convinced him I would never

brainwash him. Once he was on the Prozac, it enabled him to move on to

Zoloft in pill form when he had an allergic reaction to the Prozac.

Interestingly , my daughter who has not been diagnosed with anything yet,

age 6, won't take any pills or medicine under any circumstances. I can't

find out the reason. That makes it much harder. A few years ago when she

had Strep Throat and needed to take an antibiotic, the only way we could get

her to do it was to threaten hospitalization and giving her the medication

through a needle.

Terry

Re: New member

Being afraid to take pills is a fairly common OCD thing. I wonder if one of

the liquid meds would be okay (prozac and paxil come in liquid form). It's

a tricky situation because if taking meds is an OCD worry too high on her

hierarchy to address right off, and meds are what will make it possible for

her to work on any of her OCD worries, that's a difficult thing.

I am the parent of a 12 yr old daughter. IMO, she is too young to make

medical decisions for herself. She takes meds because I say she takes meds.

She'd rather not take them, she'd rather be " normal " etc., but I am in

charge of her medical needs. She actually likes swallowing pills so that

part is not a problem.

I would suggest you take the attitude of being in charge of this decision,

just to help you focus your resolve. Then perhaps you could find the source

of her resistance (is it pills, medication, a particular worry about meds?)

and then break the process down into small steps and reward each step. Chris

in San Diego is good at breaking things down into small steps so maybe she

has some ideas about this.

The part where your daughter's input is valuable is in deciding the rewards

that will help motivate her. The decision of whether to take medicine for a

medical condition is too big to include her in at this age. Think of it as

diabetes or asthma, would you let her decide not to take insulin or use an

inhaler (or whatever they use for asthma these days)? When she gets older

it will be her decision, of course, which is all the more reason to have her

take meds now so she has a point of reference when making that decision in

the future.

Good luck.

Dana in NC

ris88@... wrote:

> Greetings to all of you,

>

> I wrote a note the other day (about being a Dad) and now have a question

for

> you all. Our daughter, now 11, has had OCD since she was 3. She is

highly a

> functioning child out in the world, but at home OCD often is the leading

> character in our family drama. She has been in therapy for 2 1/2 years

and

> has been completely resistant to beginning any CB therapy or taking

> medication, (which we all (parents and therapist) agree is her only hope

of

> making progress at this point).

>

> Does anyone have experience with " interventions " where friends and family

> join to convince a person that help is essential? She is really afraid of

> any medicine (will hardly take vitamins), so it will take a lot to get her

to

> agree. Like she also love to ride horses, and we have found

that

> threats of taking that away are useless. Reward is the only strategy that

> works. Any suggestions?

>

>

>

>

> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In

the body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. You may

subscribe to the Parents of Adults with OCD List at

parentsofadultswithOCD . You may access the

files, links, and archives for our list at

. Our list advisors are Tamar

Chansky, Ph.D., and Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D. Our list moderators are

Birkhan, Kathy Hammes, Jule Monnens, Gail Pesses, Roman, and

Jackie Stout. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be

addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the

body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. You may subscribe

to the Parents of Adults with OCD List at

parentsofadultswithOCD . You may access the

files, links, and archives for our list at

. Our list advisors are Tamar

Chansky, Ph.D., and Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D. Our list moderators are

Birkhan, Kathy Hammes, Jule Monnens, Gail Pesses, Roman, and

Jackie Stout. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be

addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Glad to hear you are in UCL.

The Debate is booked into the Anatomy Lecture Theatre in Gower Street

(opposite side of the road from UCH). We hope to welcome people on

Thursday November 16th from 6.30 pm with the debating kicking off at

about 7pm (the exact timing may depend on the travel arrangements of

our guest speakers). Full details will be posted for the Senate

shortly.

Woody Caan

1 - 19 Torrington Place

UCL xt 1721.

> Hi

> I have recently joined the Senate after encouragement from

colleagues at

> the CPHVA conference. I was rather suprised at the large email

in-tray that

> greeted me this morning. Great that this facility is so well used

with

> interesting discussion and networking, I have already passed on the

details

> of the group to HV colleagues who are not members, but I'm sure

would be

> very interested in joining.

>

> I am a HV/DN by trade and currently in an academic post at UCL,,

funded by

> Camden and Islington CHS NHS Trust. Research interests in health of

older

> people with a general practice, practice nurse focus.

>

> Interested in attending the meeting on the 16th November. Could

details as

> to where in UCL the event is taking place be posted on the web site?

>

> Thanks

>

[Guest guest]

Welcome ; good to have you on board. Just a reminder to everyone; if

the number of messages seem a bit overwhelming, you can find your details on

the web page (www./members/)

and request a 'daily digest' which strings them all together into a single

long message, instead of each one coming in separately. Some of us like

keeping track of how many messages there are: over 100 in October so far!

Best wishes

catherine evans wrote:

> Hi

> I have recently joined the Senate after encouragement from colleagues at

> the CPHVA conference. I was rather suprised at the large email in-tray that

> greeted me this morning. Great that this facility is so well used with

> interesting discussion and networking, I have already passed on the details

> of the group to HV colleagues who are not members, but I'm sure would be

> very interested in joining.

>

> I am a HV/DN by trade and currently in an academic post at UCL,, funded by

> Camden and Islington CHS NHS Trust. Research interests in health of older

> people with a general practice, practice nurse focus.

>

> Interested in attending the meeting on the 16th November. Could details as

> to where in UCL the event is taking place be posted on the web site?

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Stacey! It's good to know I am not alone and someone can relate to how

I feel. I used to be a size 5 before this pregnancy and had gone on the

Depo-Provera shot, gained 40 pounds in 5 months, got off the shot and became

pregnant with number 4! My youngest before him had been 7 and we were not

planning a fourth! My oldest is 15. One in high school, one in diapers! lol

Thanks so much for you e-mail.

[Guest guest]

THANKS SO MUCH! I WILL DO THE PLANNING AND WHATEVER IT TAKES TO ACCOMPLISH

THIS GOAL.

(smile)

[Guest guest]

THANKS KIT!!!

(SMILE)

[Guest guest]

Hi Miranda

Welcome to the group this is a great group and great program. I

just finished my first challengeon Oct 15 so now I am sticking to it

till the first challenge of next year. I lived in New Orleans for 5

years and know about that great food. haha

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Well, the jeans are my " fat jeans " hahaha. But, I have faith I will be back

in my size 5's when this is all over! God heeellllpp meeee!

ps-thanks for the support. It really helps!

[Guest guest]

Not that I will ever stop doing the BFL, just when this fatness is all over!

Just had to clarify.

Thanks again!

[Guest guest]

Hi welcome to the group and thats great about your jeans fitting

keep up the good work. Sharon

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/30/2000 5:36:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,

MoesWed@... writes:

<< I am 23 and recently married. I live in New Orleans Louisiana, one of the

most obese citys! All that great food >>

Welcome Miranda! I'm new to this group too although I'm on about Week 8 (I

say " about " cause I keep moving my Free Day around) ... Re-read the book or

watch one of the videos (do you have them yet?) ... those are the things that

inspired me and continue to do so. This program works ... truly it does ...

I never used to exercise but now my schedule is set and it's become a habit

like brushing my teeth ... it will take a few weeks to get to that point but

then it's all just automatic so all you really have to do is hang in there

long enough for it to become part of your daily routine. Hope you enjoy your

new body!!

Sam(antha)

PS ... I always get inspired by reading the guestbook entries on the

bodyforlife.com site.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/30/2000 5:57:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,

moniquestarr@... writes:

<< So far, I have been doing the BFL program 3 weeks and I have not seen much

activity on the scale but my jeans that were not fitting at all 3 weeks ago

went on without me having to lie down on the floor and lift my hips up!

hahaha. I hope I see some action on the scale soon as I have 50 pounds to

lose. >>

Hi .... I'm Sam(antha) and I live in ville FL ... I haven't

seen a lot of weight loss either, but my body is definitely changing .... so

much ... and all for the better ... that I just stopped getting on the scale!

Also, the thing that really really helped me was reading the article by

Hussman (is it ??) ... everything became much clearer for me and really

helped me get over my " lack-of-weight-loss-depression " ... it's

www.hussman.com/eas. It's kinda long, but it answers a lot of questions.

Anyway ... welcome to the group :-)

Sam

[Guest guest]

Wow ! Thanks!

I will definitely read that! I think part of my problem BFL was my stress. I

think it can keep you from losing weight. Well, the BFL program has helped me

in that regard as well and I am very excited and glad to be a part of this

group!

[Guest guest]

THANKS CHERYL!!!!!

Question - Did you find it more difficult to lose weight at this stage in

your life as well? I even went as far as having my thyroid checked because I

thought there was truly something wrong with me. Nope, all normal!

[Guest guest]

WOW! WHOOO HOOOO! Thanks again Cheryl!