Re: I'm New, 13yo daughter has OCD, what to espect??

[Guest guest]

The Prozac didn't help my son either. He was on it for a long time and we

didn't see much improvement either and as we started to increase the medication

he became depressed. We have just started the Lexapro with risperdal and so

far it has been the best combination. My son has only been on the Lexapro

less than two weeks, and he had a tic that seems to be going away. Thanks to

's advice and information seen below I am sticking with the medication

to see if it works. We had some terrible side affects with medication before

which never went away, so we had a bad habit of giving up on it before we got

to the " good " affects of the medication.

From my own experience I experience a ridiculous flare-up in ocd in

the first weeks of an ssri - a lot of it smoothed out after two

weeks - another noticeable decrease by 6 weeks - and at 12 weeks the

last of the flare up was gone -

2 weeks to know if the behavioral side effects are awful

6 weeks to know if there's a good shot at it helping

12 weeks for full effect

My son has literally been on every OCD medication there is so if this works

I am going to beyond words happy. The last Dr. we saw told us that

schizophrenia patients were easier to treat then OCD patients.

Sheree

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/4/2006 1:55:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

lvanhoy35@... writes:

She is a hand washer and

worries the germs (feums)from what ever she touches, will contaminate

someone else and make them sick or die.

Hi - welcome

KEEP THE FAITH!!!! Our situations are very similar. My daughter is 14 and

was just diagnosed in November/December - same fears as your child -

transferring HER germs to someone else - excessive hand washing, long showers,

etc

What's the dosage of Prozac your child is on now? Has it been increased

since she's started? My girl started on 10mg per day - we didn't really see

any

difference at all at that point, after 2 weeks she was increased to 20mg per

day - we started seeing a " calming " effect on her, mostly related to school

work (which, as it turns out, she had been displaying OCD symptoms with

school work for the past 2-3 years & we never realized what it was until it

turned

in the germ/washing thing - we always just thought she was a " hard worker "

and an " over-achiever " , as it turns out it was OCD all those years making her

spend 5-6 hours on homework that should have been done in 2 -3 hours).

Prozac has been a life-changing factor for her - after YEARS of having no

personal

life at all (because of school work), she suddenly has all sorts of free

time - it's WONDERFUL to see her being a kid again!

POINT IS..... give the meds a little more time, especially if she's on a low

dose. She may just need an increase. My daughter is currently on 30mg per

day. While this hasn't helped her rituals (hand washing, showers, checking &

rechecking) it has given her the ability to compromise more with us on how

to do things. We're just waiting for our first therapy session (CBT & ERP) on

April 25th. It took us that long to find a qualified doctor for this type

of therapy - not an easy task in this area (Virginia Beach, VA)

Don't be too hard on yourself - you didn't do anything to cause this.

Actually, I've read that a person is born with OCD - it just takes certain

situations to bring out the symptoms (usually something tragic/dramatic in the

their

life will start if off) For my daughter, the obvious symptoms (washing, etc)

came out after a neighbor & very close family friend died... then my father

just 1 1/2 months later. It was just too much of a shock for her. In

retrospect, the whole thing with the school work could have easily started off

by

our move from Maine to VA in 2000 - that's a difficult one to pinpoint because

I don't recall when the time she spent on school work went from " reasonable

for a straight A student " to " over the top ridiculous " .

anyway, I would be interested in hearing the dosage your daughter is on. My

daughter also has branched out into other types of rituals unrelated to

germs since she was diagnosed. First it was just the washing/germ thing - then

we started seeing the checking/rechecking/rechecking thing, fear of being seen

in her room or bathroom from the outside when she's changing or going to the

bathroom, excessive wiping after going to the bathroom (to the point of

bleeding from torn tissue), refusing to wear any article of clothing more than

once (because it's dirty - even a jacket!!! ). Oh - one tip for the hand

washing - switch out ALL your hand soap in bathrooms & kitchen to Cetaphil. If

her hands don't already look & feel like little red lobsters -- they will.

This is the gentlest soap out there & has made a HUGE difference in my

daughters

hands. They were so red & chapped, she would cry when she put lotion on

because they would sting so badly. It actually looked like she was wearing

bright read gloves!

Keep me posted on how you're daughter is doing. I have been trying to

convince my daughter it would be helpful if she emailed with another child her

age

with the same problems.... haven't been successful on that yet. She won't

talk to anyone but my husband & me about OCD.

LT

[Guest guest]

Hi! I like your reference to the weed, so true!

I don't think it's uncommon for OCD to worsen when beginning therapy

and beginning to work on things. Same with meds, OCD can worsen at

first but then that should lessen. AND with the med - barring bad

side effects/behaviors - the longer on it, the more improvement you

should see. So hopefully things will settle down soon for your

daughter and you.

My son (now 17) always said his OCD bothered him less at school. It

did affect him at school (greatly) but at home there's less

distraction I guess, home is a " safe place " and it all just comes

out/bursts forth! Really, it has to be tiring if our kids do " hold

back " at school; can't blame them for letting it out at home.

Gotta go!

>

> Just this Feb. my daughte was diagnosed with OCD.(she will tell

you it

> started the week befor her birthday in November) Dr. kept saying

was

> good we just found it. but it seems to have blown out of control

[Guest guest]

Talk about how tiring it can be. Her class is going to the OB for 4 days and

now I will plan to go to but I feel like I need to stay out of her sight during

the day as much as possiable cause I don't know if seeing me makes her stress

more or let me refrase that , seeing me allows her to vent her fears. I plan to

be there to keep her on time and moving along instead of holding out in the

bathroom.

nc too..

Re: I'm New, 13yo daughter has OCD, what to espect??

Hi! I like your reference to the weed, so true!

I don't think it's uncommon for OCD to worsen when beginning therapy

and beginning to work on things. Same with meds, OCD can worsen at

first but then that should lessen. AND with the med - barring bad

side effects/behaviors - the longer on it, the more improvement you

should see. So hopefully things will settle down soon for your

daughter and you.

My son (now 17) always said his OCD bothered him less at school. It

did affect him at school (greatly) but at home there's less

distraction I guess, home is a " safe place " and it all just comes

out/bursts forth! Really, it has to be tiring if our kids do " hold

back " at school; can't blame them for letting it out at home.

Gotta go!

>

> Just this Feb. my daughte was diagnosed with OCD.(she will tell

you it

> started the week befor her birthday in November) Dr. kept saying

was

> good we just found it. but it seems to have blown out of control

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[Guest guest]

HI, Man have you just described my daughter! She has been an A student but not

until this year has she been really taking so long with the homework, She will

tell you it started the week before her birthday but nothing like a death or a

move (other than 4 yrs ago) has occurred. She has always been a worrier and

never wanted to sleep alone until she turned 12 a year ago but then my 10 yr old

was sleeping with her and she didn't want to move out. She has now due to big

sissy's OCD.

I've read where they move from one obsession to a different one. Like from

germs to counting.

She has been in therapy for @ 7 weeks. we are now doing 2 a week. her meds have

only been 4 wks and we moved from 10 to 20 to just today, 40mgs. We saw a boost

which is described as a med hi about 8 to 10 days on the med and then she

dropped back. these past two weeks have had a few hi's but a lot more of the

lows.

We a going on school trip for 4 days and she is stressing about it. She is

excited about it but is realizing she can't stay in the hotel bathroom for ever

when she gets there. She is getting really frustrated with it all. She said,

She just could not relate to those people at school who said they hated their

life. They don't have any idea what they are talking about. " I took this

comment as encouragement. I see the frustration as her seeing what the OCD is

doing and therefore she can at some point separate herself from it.

She went on a school day trip today and has been in the bathroom ever since she

came home now.

can you tell if your daughters monthly effects her OCD symptoms?

Re: I'm New, 13yo daughter has OCD, what to espect??

In a message dated 4/4/2006 1:55:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

lvanhoy35@... writes:

She is a hand washer and

worries the germs (feums)from what ever she touches, will contaminate

someone else and make them sick or die.

Hi - welcome

KEEP THE FAITH!!!! Our situations are very similar. My daughter is 14 and

was just diagnosed in November/December - same fears as your child -

transferring HER germs to someone else - excessive hand washing, long showers,

etc

What's the dosage of Prozac your child is on now? Has it been increased

since she's started? My girl started on 10mg per day - we didn't really see

any

difference at all at that point, after 2 weeks she was increased to 20mg per

day - we started seeing a " calming " effect on her, mostly related to school

work (which, as it turns out, she had been displaying OCD symptoms with

school work for the past 2-3 years & we never realized what it was until it

turned

in the germ/washing thing - we always just thought she was a " hard worker "

and an " over-achiever " , as it turns out it was OCD all those years making her

spend 5-6 hours on homework that should have been done in 2 -3 hours).

Prozac has been a life-changing factor for her - after YEARS of having no

personal

life at all (because of school work), she suddenly has all sorts of free

time - it's WONDERFUL to see her being a kid again!

POINT IS..... give the meds a little more time, especially if she's on a low

dose. She may just need an increase. My daughter is currently on 30mg per

day. While this hasn't helped her rituals (hand washing, showers, checking &

rechecking) it has given her the ability to compromise more with us on how

to do things. We're just waiting for our first therapy session (CBT & ERP) on

April 25th. It took us that long to find a qualified doctor for this type

of therapy - not an easy task in this area (Virginia Beach, VA)

Don't be too hard on yourself - you didn't do anything to cause this.

Actually, I've read that a person is born with OCD - it just takes certain

situations to bring out the symptoms (usually something tragic/dramatic in the

their

life will start if off) For my daughter, the obvious symptoms (washing, etc)

came out after a neighbor & very close family friend died... then my father

just 1 1/2 months later. It was just too much of a shock for her. In

retrospect, the whole thing with the school work could have easily started off

by

our move from Maine to VA in 2000 - that's a difficult one to pinpoint because

I don't recall when the time she spent on school work went from " reasonable

for a straight A student " to " over the top ridiculous " .

anyway, I would be interested in hearing the dosage your daughter is on. My

daughter also has branched out into other types of rituals unrelated to

germs since she was diagnosed. First it was just the washing/germ thing - then

we started seeing the checking/rechecking/rechecking thing, fear of being seen

in her room or bathroom from the outside when she's changing or going to the

bathroom, excessive wiping after going to the bathroom (to the point of

bleeding from torn tissue), refusing to wear any article of clothing more than

once (because it's dirty - even a jacket!!! ). Oh - one tip for the hand

washing - switch out ALL your hand soap in bathrooms & kitchen to Cetaphil. If

her hands don't already look & feel like little red lobsters -- they will.

This is the gentlest soap out there & has made a HUGE difference in my

daughters

hands. They were so red & chapped, she would cry when she put lotion on

because they would sting so badly. It actually looked like she was wearing

bright read gloves!

Keep me posted on how you're daughter is doing. I have been trying to

convince my daughter it would be helpful if she emailed with another child her

age

with the same problems.... haven't been successful on that yet. She won't

talk to anyone but my husband & me about OCD.

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/4/2006 4:42:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

lvanhoy35@... writes:

can you tell if your daughters monthly effects her OCD symptoms?

Hmmmm - she hasn't started yet. I thought she did several months back, but

apparently not. THAT is going to be a HUGE nightmare for her. One of her

biggest fears is wetness coming through her pants onto chairs that she sits on.

She hasn't sat on her butt at school for weeks - always sits on her foot.

She came home crying one day because she was so sore, but just refused to sit

her rear-end on the chair in class. When she gets up, she wipes the seat

off with her hand (checking to be sure it's not wet or she didn't leave a

spot). I think I'll have to KILL myself if she starts her period before this

somewhat under control. I don't know how she will cope with that.

We had a REALLY bad day today. She cried a lot. We had a psychiatrist appt

today - they bumped her up to 40mg of Prozac - from 30mg. We talked a lot

about starting therapy this month in the car on the way home from doc's appt.

That could have started it for her - she is scared to death to discuss this

with anyone other than me & my husband. So, I think that whole concept just

kind of scared her -- having to talk to someone about it.

The showers are actually getting worse - I have to not only be IN the

bathroom with her, but more often than not, she now wants ME to wash her! I

just

flat out refuse any more. I told her she has GOT to learn to do it herself.

I'll stay in there - I'll verbally coax her through washing - but I am NOT

going to touch her with the wash cloth. I don't know if I'm helping or

hurting. She was practically paralyzed in the shower tonight. She got stuck

on one

arm & just couldn't get herself to stop. I had walked out for about 5

minutes, came back & she was in tears and gasping for breath saying " I can't

stop

Mommy, help me... " and she just kept crying.

I just don't know what the hell to do anymore. I just keep counting the

days until her therapy starts so we will know how to handle all this at home.

I

hadn't heard the transferring of rituals from germs to counting. OH

FINE.... I'M PROBABLY MAKING IT WORSE!!!! I actually TELL her to count while

she

washes. I figured it's one way she can use to be sure she's not over-washing

-- I said " 1-2-3 Move " (meaning, 3 swipes with the wash cloth on a part of

your body & MOVE on to another part) so, now she'll probably start counting &

have that TOO - and it will be MY FAULT.... UGH!!!!!!!!

Anyways... thanks for listening.

LT

[Guest guest]

I feel for you . . . I'll bet there are a lot of things you COULD be

doing during the time you're having to spend standing in the bathroom

while she showers!

I have two suggestions (based on my own problem with getting 'stuck'

doing activities . . . they do usually pass by the way . . . replaced

by something else maybe, but they do pass)

Tell her matter of factly that she's being bullied - you don't like

when anyone or anything bullies your daughter - and you are bound and

determined to break the bullies hold!! (ocd is the bully)

One is - no more showers for a while - if she doesn't start then she

can't get stuck doing it. Baths? A pan of hot water and a

washcloth? Washing hair in kitchen sink? I think this would count

as 'messing it up' and breaking its hold?

The other is - cut down on the amount of her hot water source . . .

turn down the tank temperature . . . or use up half the hot water

before she even begins . . .or halfway through her shower start up

another tap in the house to cut off part of her supply . . . this is

only if she IS able to stop once the water is cold. I think this

would also count as 'messing it up'?

By the way, don't even consider washing her yourself . . you really

don't even have to stand in the bathroom. I've found that a quick-

fix like that helps at first . . . helps a couple times . . . but

then it stops working . . . and I'm back to being 'stuck'! Noone can

really help. The ONLY way to end it is to either wait 'forever' for

it to fade away or force yourself to feel the " " intense anxiety " " !!

stopping yourself brings on and waiting (a much shorter time) for

these forced exposures to lessen and lessen down to nothing.

It's a big waste of her time getting 'stuck' - and a big waste of

your time accompanying her when she's 'stuck'.

I just had another idea . . . humor . . . tell her you're setting the

timer for x minutes (maybe the same number of minutes she is

currently using....at least to start up with) . . . then when the

minutes are up . . . come into the bathroom like a loud, obnoxious,

drill sargeant (dressed up in every piece of rain gear you can find)

and drag her out of the shower - wrap four towels around her and prod

her out of the bathroom!!! She'll still have to feel the anxiety but

she'll also be laughing which should help a lot.

Each time could be a half minutes less - each drill sargeant routine

can have some little bizarre twist that's funny - something like

waving a toilet plunger about - or wrapping a garden hose around

your shoulder. Just something new each time to keep it funny.

What do you think?

>

>

> In a message dated 4/4/2006 4:42:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> lvanhoy35@... writes:

>

> can you tell if your daughters monthly effects her OCD symptoms?

>

>

> Hmmmm - she hasn't started yet. I thought she did several months

back, but

> apparently not. THAT is going to be a HUGE nightmare for her.

One of her

> biggest fears is wetness coming through her pants onto chairs that

she sits on.

> She hasn't sat on her butt at school for weeks - always sits on

her foot.

> She came home crying one day because she was so sore, but just

refused to sit

> her rear-end on the chair in class. When she gets up, she wipes

the seat

> off with her hand (checking to be sure it's not wet or she didn't

leave a

> spot). I think I'll have to KILL myself if she starts her period

before this

> somewhat under control. I don't know how she will cope with that.

>

> We had a REALLY bad day today. She cried a lot. We had a

psychiatrist appt

> today - they bumped her up to 40mg of Prozac - from 30mg. We

talked a lot

> about starting therapy this month in the car on the way home from

doc's appt.

> That could have started it for her - she is scared to death to

discuss this

> with anyone other than me & my husband. So, I think that whole

concept just

> kind of scared her -- having to talk to someone about it.

>

> The showers are actually getting worse - I have to not only be IN

the

> bathroom with her, but more often than not, she now wants ME to

wash her! I just

> flat out refuse any more. I told her she has GOT to learn to do

it herself.

> I'll stay in there - I'll verbally coax her through washing - but

I am NOT

> going to touch her with the wash cloth. I don't know if I'm

helping or

> hurting. She was practically paralyzed in the shower tonight.

She got stuck on one

> arm & just couldn't get herself to stop. I had walked out for

about 5

> minutes, came back & she was in tears and gasping for breath

saying " I can't stop

> Mommy, help me... " and she just kept crying.

>

> I just don't know what the hell to do anymore. I just keep

counting the

> days until her therapy starts so we will know how to handle all

this at home. I

> hadn't heard the transferring of rituals from germs to counting.

OH

> FINE.... I'M PROBABLY MAKING IT WORSE!!!! I actually TELL her to

count while she

> washes. I figured it's one way she can use to be sure she's not

over-washing

> -- I said " 1-2-3 Move " (meaning, 3 swipes with the wash cloth on

a part of

> your body & MOVE on to another part) so, now she'll probably start

counting &

> have that TOO - and it will be MY FAULT.... UGH!!!!!!!!

>

> Anyways... thanks for listening.

> LT

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We don't do it from the humor standpoint, but my 11-on-Saturday dd also has

problems " getting distracted " in the shower and takes forever. Her therapist

advised us to set a timer and reward her if she succeeds in getting out of the

shower before it goes off. We have one of those wind-up kitchen timers and she

now sets it herself. The reward varies, but she is very proud of herself if she

manages to get out and it's still ticking.

P.

klwicklund77 <k777thorpe@...> wrote:

I just had another idea . . . humor . . . tell her you're setting the

timer for x minutes (maybe the same number of minutes she is

currently using....at least to start up with) . . . then when the

minutes are up . . . come into the bathroom like a loud, obnoxious,

drill sargeant (dressed up in every piece of rain gear you can find)

and drag her out of the shower - wrap four towels around her and prod

her out of the bathroom!!! She'll still have to feel the anxiety but

she'll also be laughing which should help a lot.

---------------------------------

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