New here - treatment quandries

[Guest guest]

Another nubie. I tried searching around to see if anyone elses'

situation paralleled ours, but have noticed how unique each story is.

My 13 year old son has the kind of OCD which is obsessive thinking,

and then checking or seeking reassurance. Specifically, he is

obsessed with the thought that some harm will come to either my

husband or myself, and as a result, asks a thousand questions every

time we go out, and when we manage to get out, has to call us on our

cells frequently to make sure we are OK. At night, he is always

making sure the doors are locked before he goes to bed, and has

specific ritualistic questions that he must ask us every night before

he goes to bed. He obsesses about other things, too, mostly material

possessions... things he doesn't have, but wants. As soon as he gets

the thing, he wants something else. If he doesn't get the thing, the

he completely flips. The obsession with the possession is intense,

not like a typical kid wanting something. He also seems to obsess

about being with his friends, although, I am more likely to think of

that as typical teen.

Anyway, it has taken us a good part of 4 years to get this diagnosis.

We knew he had an anxiety disorder, but for some reason that my

husband and I can't fathom, not one shrink mentioned the term OCD to

us until this year. We didn't make the diagnosis ourselves; who knew

that OCD can come in so many flavors, especially since his is not

vanilla? Also, over the 4 years, he has tried a number of different

SSRI's with no effect.

He is currently on Celexa, an 80mg dose which completely unnerves me.

I am told that OCD med treatment is more effective in higher doses,

but 80mg of this drug is way above the average dosage. My first

question is, does anyone else have experience or knowlege of high

doses of celexa? We just started the 80mg, so I can't speak to its

effectiveness. I just know that 60mg wasn't doing anything, and his

psychiatrist seems to think its fine to go to the next level.

Also wondering what role sugar has in the whole treatment process.

Our son is definitely into sugar and we are exploring the possibility

of removing it completely from our house. My husband believes that a

stimulant like sugar may exacerbate the OCD problem. My son also has

impulsive behavioral problems, and we are getting him neuropsyche

tested this week for a possible ADD diagnosis on top of everything.

We have not started any kind of cognitive therapy yet, as we are still

digesting his diagnosis, and have to find the right person. The

bigger problem is that he refuses to go to therapy as he is convinced

that there is nothing that can help him. We obviously are going to

insist he goes, but my other question is if anyone else has

experienced going to therapy with a child who is convinced he won't

get better?

I appreciate your reading this, and any help or advise you can throw

my way.