Re: Recently diagnosed 9yr old son

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcie -

Welcome to the list. Your thoughts and feelings are something we've all

experienced and even during treatment still experience.

You asked about Luvox. My son takes Zoloft and had been on Abilify, but

that was discontinued a few weeks ago and Luvox was added to the Zoloft. I

can't say yet if " it works. " My son is a little older than yours and he

started

at 50 mg and last week was raised to 75 mg. He hasn't had much success thus

far in the real stickler obsessions, but with the Zoloft alone his anxiety

level has definitely decreased. It's the hope that the Luvox will help touch

the real stickler obsessional thinking.

Just keep in mind that there is no one treatment fits all here and it's more

a matter of trial and error, during which time we can sure become

frustrated. Just know though, that there are different options to try if Luvox

happens

to not be the best fit for your son. Being newly diagnosed, you'll probably

need some time to adjust and your son time to give the medication a good

trial run.

Read all you can here - you'll hear stories of frustration as well as

successes. The success stories are what a lot of us cling to in hopes that we

too

one day will be able to post our own success stories, no matter how small.

In any event, you've come to the right place - you'll find lots of

encouragement and support here.

In a message dated 1/4/2006 7:12:49 AM Central Standard Time,

kathylr@... writes:

I haven't read many emails about Fluvox?

> Does it work?

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcie, and welcome to the list, I'm glad you found us. It sound like

your son is on his way with appropriate dx and treatment (SSRI and CBT/ERP).

Fluvox=fluvoxamine=Luvox, you will likely find many posts about it if you

search under the Luvox name. It is one of the SSRIs which are the

first-line meds suggested to treat OCD in kids.

Luvox works really well for some kids and not at all for others. One of the

major problems with all the SSRIs is the trial and error that is required to

find the " right " SSRI and dosage for each individual. My own child for

example, tried four SSRIs before we hit on the one that did a good job of

reducing her OCD symptoms. If your son has recently begun effective

therapy, that might account for why his symptoms seem worse right now.

Ditto if he recently started the medication.

I'll leave the question of which is the best children's hospital to treat

OCD to others who have taken that route. Generally though, hospitalization

is considered when symptoms are impairing, and several medications and

several courses of therapy have failed to provide relief.

It's best not to get involved in your child's OCD rituals/compulsions since

this only strengthens them. You can relable the thought or whatever as OCD

and encourage your son to hang in there with it, without doing a compulsion

to relieve anxiety. When repeated, each time his anxiety will fall until

the thought no longer come or if it does, it doesn't cause anxiety. This

process is basic Exposure and Response Prevention.

Your son will get better--much better--and no OCD will not control his or

your family's lives forever. With effective therapy and medication, there

is no reason not to expect OCD will shrink to nuisance level. Though your

son may always have some OCD to contend with, he will be able to use the

" tools " learned in therapy to trounce it as soon as it rears its ugly head.

Hope something helped, (((hugs))) to you, where you and your son are right

now is hard, and it's difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel,

and it's really normal to feel overwhelmed.

Take care,

Kathy R. in Indiana

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

From: " kariranch " <kariranch@...>

> Hi,

> This all seems a bit overwhelming. I've been reading the posts

> for the last couple of days and it scares the heck out of me. My

> son was diagnosed with OCD a couple of months ago. He is

> seeing a CB therapist and is taking 50 mg of Fluvox once a day.

> But things are getting worse each day. The bathroom rituals, not

> touching doorknobs, lightswitches, etc., and now he seems to

> be repeating some of his words over and over as well as

> " jumping " patterns through out the house. Everyday its

> something new. I haven't read many emails about Fluvox?

> Does it work? What is the best childrens hospital in the country

> to treat OCD and when is it time to consider it as an option?

> How do you handle your child when you want to help them get

> past their disturbing obsessions?

>

> What I really need is some encouragement. It feels like this will

> run our lives forever. My heart is breaking for my son, but I'm

> also concerned about my daughter, my marriage and myself.

>

> Any words of wisdom?

> Sincerely, Marcie

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcie and welcome to the group. I have been here a year now and

it is one of the best things to come into my life. The support is

great. My daughter, Bre, is on luvox and she takes 225mg. a day. She

started when she was 13 and is almost 15 now. She also takes buspar

with it. She just saw the doctor and her anxiety is up right now,

though no increase in meds at this time or changes. Bre has had

therapy and she wanted to go for a booster session instead of

increasing meds. She has the tools to fight ocd, she just needs to

get back on top of it again. Ocd has a way of coming and going so to

speak. I feel awareness of that fact helps me to understand and also

makes me realize even though there is no " cure " , at least there are

breaks. Patience is the key while we wait for our children to get

better. It is very hard at times, but expressing yourself on this

site helps! I know for me, journaling my feelings helped alot too.

Also there are good books for children to read. " Up and Down the

Worry Hill " , by Aureen Pinto Wagner is excellent. I don't have

experience with hospitals, but Menninger and Rodgers are very good

from what I hear. There are people on this site who can tell you

more about it. Good luck and remember you are not alone!

Sandy

-- In , " kariranch " <kariranch@s...>

wrote:

>

> Hi,

> This all seems a bit overwhelming. I've been reading the posts

> for the last couple of days and it scares the heck out of me. My

> son was diagnosed with OCD a couple of months ago. He is

> seeing a CB therapist and is taking 50 mg of Fluvox once a day.

> But things are getting worse each day. The bathroom rituals, not

> touching doorknobs, lightswitches, etc., and now he seems to

> be repeating some of his words over and over as well as

> " jumping " patterns through out the house. Everyday its

> something new. I haven't read many emails about Fluvox?

> Does it work? What is the best childrens hospital in the country

> to treat OCD and when is it time to consider it as an option?

> How do you handle your child when you want to help them get

> past their disturbing obsessions?

>

> What I really need is some encouragement. It feels like this will

> run our lives forever. My heart is breaking for my son, but I'm

> also concerned about my daughter, my marriage and myself.

>

> Any words of wisdom?

> Sincerely, Marcie

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcie,

Please don't get " freaked out " by all you read here; it's easy to

panic and think your son will one day be like this or that, but just

take things one step at a time. OCD is SO individualized, it shows up

it so many ways, and most never get so severe that hospitalization is

necessary. Last year I thought my daughter would need to be

hospitalized, but once she started CBT with ERP (hopefully you are

getting both from your therapist) within months she was pretty much

back to normal. Of course, we all adjust to what " normal " is for our

households.

Also, keep in mind that usually people post in times of trouble, there

are SO many who have dropped from the list or rarely post because

their lives are running smoothly. Do you ever look up an illness on

the internet that you think you may have? If you start reading all

the info on it, you can get terrified, all you see is the negative.

You have to search hard to find the success stories. Unfortunately we

live in a world where no news is good news - we need to hear the

positive things more often!

If your son is in fact getting CBT and ERP therapy, the GREAT news is

that 1) it works! and 2) the kinds of things your son is doing are the

things that respond the best to CBT/ERP. As to what you should be

doing to help him, your dr. should be giving you the answer to that.

Our therapist told me to be firm and help my daughter " boss back " her

OCD. Sometimes she could only fend it off for 1 minute (i.e., resist

touching the doorknob), but that earned her a sticker. Gradually the

time was increased, and after she received x amt of stickers, she'd

get a reward (could be a little toy, candy, or even TV time).

Best of luck and hang in there! I have a niece who is very healthy

and happy at 21, but at 11 she was a mess. She got through it with

therapy alone, after trying many meds that didn't help. There's one

more success story for you!

nna.

NY

>

> Hi,

> This all seems a bit overwhelming. I've been reading the posts

> for the last couple of days and it scares the heck out of me. My

> son was diagnosed with OCD a couple of months ago. He is

> seeing a CB therapist and is taking 50 mg of Fluvox once a day.

> But things are getting worse each day. The bathroom rituals, not

> touching doorknobs, lightswitches, etc., and now he seems to

> be repeating some of his words over and over as well as

> " jumping " patterns through out the house. Everyday its

> something new. I haven't read many emails about Fluvox?

> Does it work? What is the best childrens hospital in the country

> to treat OCD and when is it time to consider it as an option?

> How do you handle your child when you want to help them get

> past their disturbing obsessions?

>

> What I really need is some encouragement. It feels like this will

> run our lives forever. My heart is breaking for my son, but I'm

> also concerned about my daughter, my marriage and myself.

>

> Any words of wisdom?

> Sincerely, Marcie

>