Want You to Hear a Good Story

[Guest guest]

My DS, who was suffering so badly with OCD for months and less badly

for years, is finally doing very well. I just want everyone to know

what finally worked in the hopes that it will help someone. And

yes, I do wonder every day if this will last because we all know

that OCD has a way of raging back, but I'm confident that if it

does, he will at least be better able to manage it and it will not

be as bad as it has been.

We finally realized that we had the wrong doctor, wrong therapy, and

wrong medication, and decided to do everything we could to get the

best available in our area. We ended up with the chief of pediatric

psychiatry at the major teaching/childrens' hospital, and a very top

pediatric cognitive behavioral therapist/psychologist, also at this

major hospital. The medication change made a big difference, but I

also know now that the CB therapy has made him stronger and more

confident when he feels OCD coming on. I wish we had started it

years ago. He takes alot of medication and will probably take it

for years if not forever, and I don't like that. But he has his

life back- -he is a happy kid with a normal social life and many

interests and smiles every day. He is a different person and our

family is happy again. We travel anywhere together (yes, with

Purell and wet wipes) and enjoy each other. His grades went up and

he started enjoying so many different activities that it's hard to

fit them all in. I don't have to tell anyone on this site how bad

it was- -it was the worst.

He started at twice a week with the CB therapy and worked to once a

week, then now on an as needed basis. He takes 30 mg of Lexapro.

He was on 20 for a long time but had a bad setback, and since we

went to 30 it made a huge difference. At bedtime, he takes 2

Seroquel. He has Chlonazepam to take if needed. He is not and

never will be free of OCD. But with CBT, he learned first, to do

something, anything, when OCD hits, just to change the situation.

Then, he learned to think something different, because you can't

always do something different if you are in class, etc. Before,

when it hit, he curled up in a ball on the sofa and stayed there for

hours. Now, I can see him get up, and have a silent conversation

with himself. This is way oversimplifying the therapy- -it is much

more involved than that and he has been in it for a year and a half

now.

DS wants to reduce the medication but the PDoc wants to wait because

he feels that patients who experience a long period of wellness

before trying a reduction, do better than those who reduce as soon

as wellness is experienced. Also, my DS needs more practice with

the CBT. However, the plan is to reduce and hopefully eliminate the

seroquel first, then see.

I wish everyone could find the medical care that we have found. I

don't know what the long term effect of these medications will be,

but I know that a teenager who had no life and no happiness now has

a lot. Maybe the tradeoff of real benefits now for possible

detriments later is worthwhile.

Good luck to all from a parent who has tread this terrible road for

years. My love and support go out to you all.