Judgemental post stating meds are poison

August 2, 2007

Is out on the trichotillomania site.

I have one DD w/ trich and OCD and one with

OCD and no trich. At any rate this parent

stats meds are poision. We

just took the medication plunge, so I found

this reall offensive.

Positive stories about meds if you have them.

Also, if one has severe OCD, not medicating would

be abusive, wouldn't it????

It kills me to medicate, I know i have no choice.

Her post was painful to me.

Kathy

August 3, 2007

I hate medicating my daughter also. I have tried several times to drop

the medication, and our lives were " rocked " . She NEEDS her

medication! We have to provide our children the tools to survive in

the world with ocd. It is no different than giving a diabetic insulin

when needed. Do not beat yourself up over what others say!

gale

August 3, 2007

It would seem when it comes to mental health there is a different

attitude about medication than for physical disorders. The example

is often given with diabetes where one would not think twice about

using needed medication. If one has had a very bad experience with

medication, strong views generally follow.

I think the fact that we still don't know how these medications work

and the fact that we are talking about the brain/mind/emotions that

then it is not seen as physical. Often it is seen as some kind of

character flaw, something one can just will away. Since generally

medication alone doesn't do it and one must do ERP, learn coping

skills and strategies, again it begs the question are the drugs

needed. In some cases no, in some cases yes.

As any parent who has witnessed the unrelenting torture our children

endure when ocd has taken over their lives, to not give medication if

it helps would border on neglect if not abuse. I personally would

have given our son poison if I thought it would have given him relief

when he was at his most severe, and I have always been one to avoid

medication because of concerns of side effects. We did try inositol

and every natural remedy I could find, nothing helped.

Seeing our son escape that unending torture after starting

medication, and beginning to have his life back was the best gift

ever. We are not there yet and are still sorting out medications,

but even with all the ups and downs I have no doubt that my son needs

medication at this time or he might not survive this disorder.

The process of finding the " right " medication really sucks and I

understand why someone might choose to stop. Specific to the OCD

treatment, there is not enough research to make the choices crystal

clear. But the fact that some medications work for some people seems

to me to prove the point that the underlying cause is physical. The

strong genetic component also seems to confirm this.

So to the person who says medications are poison, perhaps they are

for her, I'm guessing she can live her life without them. For some

of our children they are life saving. Walk in our shoes, in our

children's shoes, the view might change.

Barb

>

> Is out on the trichotillomania site.

> I have one DD w/ trich and OCD and one with

> OCD and no trich. At any rate this parent

> stats meds are poision. We

> just took the medication plunge, so I found

> this reall offensive.

> Positive stories about meds if you have them.

>

> Also, if one has severe OCD, not medicating would

> be abusive, wouldn't it????

>

> It kills me to medicate, I know i have no choice.

> Her post was painful to me.

> Kathy

>

August 4, 2007

I have encountered some " don't poison your kid with meds " people too. In fact,

I quit one online ADHD support group because no one there used meds. I tried

all the alternative and natural product substances, and they made NO difference

in my dd's behavior! So when I decided to put her on meds (which made a huge

difference) the whole group ostrasized me and another mom who had just put her

son on meds.

My dd is not shy about taking meds, and sometimes I have to give doses of

Focalin during the day. (she only gets it if she needs it due to the extended

release forms worsening her OCD). People are nosy and want to know what she's

getting, and sometimes my dd replies.

I " m learning how to say " thanks for your concern but we've persued many other

alternatives first "

Laurie R

Sandy <sndy_steele@...> wrote:

Kathy, we have a positive story about medication. Bre(16) functions

very well on 200mgs. of zoloft and 25mgs.of buspar. People who aren't

educated about ocd do not know what they are talking about if they

feel meds are poison. Some people have reactions to different meds,

but when the right one is found, it can have amazing results. I had

to learn not to let people's comments bother me. Hard feat at times.

I would love for Bre to be med free. As long as she needs it though,

I will support her by giving it to her. She wants medication and says

it helps her function. Her ocd is violent thoughts and scrupulosity.

She could not work on ERP without meds. It was too hard.

Sandy

-- In , " stinkydogkid "

wrote:

>

> Is out on the trichotillomania site.

> I have one DD w/ trich and OCD and one with

> OCD and no trich. At any rate this parent

> stats meds are poision. We

> just took the medication plunge, so I found

> this reall offensive.

> Positive stories about meds if you have them.

>

> Also, if one has severe OCD, not medicating would

> be abusive, wouldn't it????

>

> It kills me to medicate, I know i have no choice.

> Her post was painful to me.

> Kathy

>

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August 4, 2007

I also am medicating my 8 y.o. dd. She blew over into severe OCD in

April and May. Her and my life became unbearable. Had it not been for

Luvox I don't know if both of us would have survived it. I now have a

happy, back-to-normal child, and we are both relieved. I too don't go

for meds and always look for natural remedies first, however people

need to be practical and do what is needed at the time. As many

others have said, it's easy for others to stand in judgment of us

when they don't go through what our families go through. Just my 20

cents worth on the topic... Breda

> >

> > Is out on the trichotillomania site.

> > I have one DD w/ trich and OCD and one with

> > OCD and no trich. At any rate this parent

> > stats meds are poision. We

> > just took the medication plunge, so I found

> > this reall offensive.

> > Positive stories about meds if you have them.

> >

> > Also, if one has severe OCD, not medicating would

> > be abusive, wouldn't it????

> >

> > It kills me to medicate, I know i have no choice.

> > Her post was painful to me.

> > Kathy

> >

>

August 4, 2007

I don't post often but had to share our story. We started my ds on

medication this past winter. He is currently on 30 mg of Prozac and

doing great. He was always a little quirky and had OCD tendencies

when he was younger and was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in 2nd

grade. This past school year he started Middle School and had a lot

more anxiety and developed full blown OCD symptoms. He also had a

cough that we thought was allergy related but his Dr. said it could

be a tic type cough. His OCD symptoms were counting and symmetry

related with no rhyme or reason to why he had to perform his little

rituals. His Dr. said he wasn't a good candidate for therapy because

of this.

We started with 10 mg of Prozac and noticed an improvement almost

immediately although it wasn't until we slowly upped it to 30 mg over

the course of a few months that he became *almost* completely symptom

free. We go in this week for another med check and not sure if he

will be increased again but we are very happy with the results and he

is so much happier and less stressed out. And the cough that we

thought was allergies has also disappeared. I had no expectations for

the Prozac to help with that.

It was a hard decision to medicate but we know in our hearts it was

the right decision. It was hard for us to tell our in-laws and my mom

about our decision but told them they needed to read about OCD and

then they would better understand where we were coming from. They

have seen what a difference the medication has made now and are

supportive for the most part.

I think that those that are quick to judge and criticize are the ones

that haven't done the research and are ignorant. How sad that the

kids are left to suffer when they could live a more normal life!

>

> Is out on the trichotillomania site.

> I have one DD w/ trich and OCD and one with

> OCD and no trich. At any rate this parent

> stats meds are poision. We

> just took the medication plunge, so I found

> this reall offensive.

> Positive stories about meds if you have them.

>

> Also, if one has severe OCD, not medicating would

> be abusive, wouldn't it????

>

> It kills me to medicate, I know i have no choice.

> Her post was painful to me.

> Kathy

>

August 4, 2007