Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 DM - My son suffers with depression along with OCD and TS. He takes Zoloft, which has been a tremendous help. The difference in his outlook and demeanor is truly amazing. I don't know that we'd have this good of a response with a more natural approach. As far as symptoms, before treatment - definitely the defeatist attitude, excessive sleeping, lack of energy. Just kind of a continual sad appearance. Within two weeks of medication the change in him was so profound that I couldn't even imagine sending him back to that " other world. " It's as though a whole world that he never knew existed opened up. I think depression is a common side effect of OCD, as are other conditions. Certainly exercise would prove beneficial, but if one is so depressed that they don't have the energy to even attempt that consistently, I don't know that you'd get the expected response? Maybe others have experience/opinions on that. Unfortunately, OCD with other co-morbid conditions is trickier to treat I think when it comes to medication. In a message dated 3/21/2006 9:32:06 AM Central Standard Time, DianeM52@... writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? I'm curious about the symptoms you've seen (excessive sleeping? defeatist attitude? taking long time to do tasks? other?), and how you've treated it. Has anyone had any luck with treatment other than medication, such as exercise or nutrition? Thanks, DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 In a message dated 3/21/2006 10:33:49 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, DianeM52@... writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? DM Luckily we haven't been too hard hit with this. My daughter, bless her heart, went through some horrible episodes of just crying & crying - " why, mommy, why - this is SO unfair - I just want to be normal again " ... I suppose that could be counted as depression. They mostly occurred at night, which made it harder to deal with because she had a hard time calming down for bedtime & it just upset everyone else too. Although we only had a handful of experiences like that. They are few & far between now with the increased meds (Prozac - 30mg/day) She is just happier all the way around & much more relaxed. I would think doing whatever you can to get your child's mind off of it - even for a while - would be helpful. If you could find something she's interested in - some type of crafting, hobby, exercise - whatever. Funny - I " m going to start taking my kids to the gym on base (military) near our house and I had to laugh today watching all the people wiping down the seats & handles of the equipment they just used (which is expected to be done in the gym) and this is one of the very things my daughter does that we're trying to get her to NOT do (wiping off seats after getting up) HA... and now I'm going to take her somewhere & say " WIPE UP YOUR WET SPOT " hahahahaha Hmmmm..... life is just funny that way sometimes. LT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I know nutrition makes a difference with my 14 y/o son. His psyche gets very tender if he hasn't had good real food. And a multi once or sometimes twice a day. I stuff him in the morning. But he also eats a decent lunch and then another whole meal after school and more in the late evening. I also think getting his heart beating hard (even just 5 mins of running) revs him up in a good way. The one time he ran over 20 minutes for a P.E. thing he came home and I swear he seemed happier all evening. On the adult site lots of sufferers swear that exercise makes a big difference -- especially with the depression with happens about 30% of the time with OCD. --- DianeM52@... wrote: --------------------------------- Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? I'm curious about the symptoms you've seen (excessive sleeping? defeatist attitude? taking long time to do tasks? other?), and how you've treated it. Has anyone had any luck with treatment other than medication, such as exercise or nutrition? Thanks, DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 In a message dated 3/21/2006 10:23:20 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? My 13.5 year old spent her 11th birthday in the child psych ward due to depression from OCD. In retrospect, I wish they would have started her on medication much earlier in order to avoid the ordeal -- she started the day before she was hospitalized, after having been in therapy for 4 mos. Anyway, in terms of symptoms... She was crying just about nightly, obsessing about a friendship, she felt like " there was a knife where her heart should be " . She was very moody and irritable (typical in teen depression). I've been told that teen depression presents differently than adult depression. She was hospitalized 3 times that summer, but is doing well right now (although she has spent part of the last 3 school years on independent study at home when pressures build too high.) She is currently on Luvox, Seroquel, and Busbar. Suzanne in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 In a message dated 3/21/2006 10:23:20 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? My 13.5 year old spent her 11th birthday in the child psych ward due to depression from OCD. In retrospect, I wish they would have started her on medication much earlier in order to avoid the ordeal -- she started the day before she was hospitalized, after having been in therapy for 4 mos. Anyway, in terms of symptoms... She was crying just about nightly, obsessing about a friendship, she felt like " there was a knife where her heart should be " . She was very moody and irritable (typical in teen depression). I've been told that teen depression presents differently than adult depression. She was hospitalized 3 times that summer, but is doing well right now (although she has spent part of the last 3 school years on independent study at home when pressures build too high.) She is currently on Luvox, Seroquel, and Busbar. Suzanne in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Exercise is definitley good for depression or anxiety (my son's pediatrician and psychologist have both affirmed this). But, depending on how severe the symptoms are will depend on whether someone will actually be able to put for the effort. I don't have OCD or depression, but I have my moments, and a good walk/run on the old treadmill always gives me a lift - even if only for that day. > > > --------------------------------- > Can other parents share their experiences with their > children experiencing > depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? > I'm curious about the > symptoms you've seen (excessive sleeping? defeatist > attitude? taking long time > to do tasks? other?), and how you've treated it. Has > anyone had any luck with > treatment other than medication, such as exercise or > nutrition? > > Thanks, > > DM > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 My daughter has struggled with comorbid depression and OCD. When her depression starts up she will not get out of bed. She sleeps during the day and she misses tons of school. She will get irritable very easily. It is hard for her to get her school work done, even though she is normally a top student. She also gets highly critical of everything and everyone when her depression recurs. Exercise is helpful according to her therapist, but my daughter has not had it prevent her depressions. Unfortunately, when her depression recurs, it is usually an indicator that she needs a med change. She is currently on Zoloft and Risperdal. Kim In a message dated 3/21/2006 9:32:03 AM Central Standard Time, DianeM52@... writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? I'm curious about the symptoms you've seen (excessive sleeping? defeatist attitude? taking long time to do tasks? other?), and how you've treated it. Has anyone had any luck with treatment other than medication, such as exercise or nutrition? Thanks, DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 My nine year old should have been placed in the hospital last summer. She presently is only on 15 mg. of Paxil. During the summer, her dose will nearly double. Reese was diagnoised as clinically depressed before the OCD set in. She cried all the time, was uninterested in doiong anything, would not talk, at all. She screamed, but not words, she would just scream. I could hardly ever get her to get out of the bed. From the time she was born she was a sleepy baby. She would get up, eat, go back to bed: get up, eat, back to bed, get up, yep, you guessed it EAT and then return to bed. If she was not asleep, she wias screaming; if she was asleep, she was whimpering. This past summer, it was terrible. She had horrible panic attacks. Would literally think she was dying, obsessed about her sister dying, and beg me to make it all go away. The only thing that I have found is mental excercise. If I keep her busy thinking about other things, she could not obsess about silly things. suzstone@... wrote: In a message dated 3/21/2006 10:23:20 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? My 13.5 year old spent her 11th birthday in the child psych ward due to depression from OCD. In retrospect, I wish they would have started her on medication much earlier in order to avoid the ordeal -- she started the day before she was hospitalized, after having been in therapy for 4 mos. Anyway, in terms of symptoms... She was crying just about nightly, obsessing about a friendship, she felt like " there was a knife where her heart should be " . She was very moody and irritable (typical in teen depression). I've been told that teen depression presents differently than adult depression. She was hospitalized 3 times that summer, but is doing well right now (although she has spent part of the last 3 school years on independent study at home when pressures build too high.) She is currently on Luvox, Seroquel, and Busbar. Suzanne in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 jtlt@... wrote: In a message dated 3/21/2006 10:33:49 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, DianeM52@... writes: Can other parents share their experiences with their children experiencing depression as a side effect or co-consequence of OCD? Oh yes, we have had problems with depression and have just hit a new low. Our 13 yr. old daughter, who has not had OCD problems to speak of for a few years, has suddenly become horribly depressed. Her grades have dropped from A's to C's (and lower), she is crying or fighting with us constantly, and when she is not doing that, she is sleeping. It's very hard to watch. We are seeing her psychiatrist next week and her therapist the week after that (after not having had a therapy appointment for almost a year!), but I'm not sure there is much they can do other than encourage her to eat better, exercise a lot and work with us on whatever sent her off into this particular funk. She is already at a high dose of Lexapro and can't handle any higher. But we'll see - we're very lucky to have excellent doctors. Depression is very, very common in people with OCD and she has had bouts of it several times in the past. This new teenaged version is particularly bad though. It's especially hard since teenagers don't want to take the advice of a parent (thankfully she does listen to her doctors). As it is, *I'm* the one causing the depression, wouldn't ya know. My advice to anyone with a child with OCD is to address the issue head-on, and very early, with a therapist or psychiatrist. Our therapist was very frank about the odds that my daughter would end up with depression and/or an eating disorder, and taught us what to watch for, how to handle these issues whenever they poked their heads up, and talked with my daughter about how to ward off food and mood problems. As a result, she was the one who came to me a couple of weeks ago and said that she could feel depression creeping in. She has also asked to see her doctors when food and weight issues started to become too much of a focus. I'm hoping that these are good things, in the long run. Best wishes to all, in NV (mom to a 13 yr. old girl with OCD, ADHD, TS and depression) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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