Re: Excessive worry in 8 1/2 year old son

[Guest guest]

:

I'm and new to the group. I agree that ADD and OCD can be easily

mistaken. In fact, I kept attributing Luke's inattention at school to his OCD

until just a few months ago when the psychiatrist diagnosed him with ADD (based

on teacher input, ours, etc.). Wow, the Adderall made a world of difference.

But certainly if your daughter is overall able to focus and follow the

directions in the classroom it's likely that the " inattention " on occasion does

relate to some obsession.

Interesting information regarding the decongestants. Isn't it amazing how

everyone's body reacts differently to medication. Though we haven't been on

Paxil, my husband has been on it for depression in the past. He reported a sort

of " could care less " attitude. He didn't feel he had his usual interest in

things. For him it was not a good choice. Also, keep an eye on the sleepiness

and weight gain. Luke gained 10 pounds in about 2 months time after being on

Risperdal for anxiety (which the doctor prescribed in addition to Zoloft when

Zoloft alone was not controlling the OCD). He was hungry all the time. We have

since changed meds since Zoloft at 200 mg wasn't doing the trick and we were so

unhappy with the side effects from Risperdal.

It's good to know you are not alone, isn't it? I find myself shaking my head in

agreement when I read some of your emails. Good luck with your daughter.

Warmly,

P.S. My son Luke recently joined the OCDkids support group and has enjoyed

hearing from other kids in the group. Is your daughter a part of this online

service?

Re: Excessive worry in 8 1/2 year old son

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted in a while because I took on a mid-year teaching job (7th

grade!) and I'm simply operating in survival mode right now. But I read your

posts as often as I can--they are a Godsend.

I was just reading about those of you who commenting on the relationships

between stimulant treatment for ADD/ADHD and the exacerbation of OCD symptoms.

This is so interesting to me, because I have noticed a similar relationship with

decongestants! Maia was a congested kid from early on in her life. I noticed

early on that she never slept well when she was taking a decongestant. We tried

all kinds. Poor thing--she needed it terribly. But the sleep problems

increased, and I finally connected the decongestant to her night terrors.

Needless to say, I discontinued the decongestants (didn't seem to matter which

kind) for many years. Well just last fall we moved from Austin to Lubbock (TX),

and were very surprised to find her fall allergies were worse here. We had run

out of her regular medicines (which weren't doing much good), and out of

desperation, I had her try one with a decongestant. It had been so many

years--we decided to se! e what would happen. (Maia is 10 now. Hasn

't had decongestants since she was about 3). Within two weeks she was in an

OCD crisis! That was when I e-mailed the group for help last November. It

took a few days for things to " click " --but within 2 days of discontinuing the

decongestant, she was reporting much relief from her OCD symptoms. (She becomes

compulsive about balance and symmetry, as well as constantly needing

reassurance. Of course, other things pop up now and then, but balance and

symmetry seem to be the " core " for her).

Anyhow, I have been wondering about ADD--we screened for it with Maia's

psychiatrist's guidance--but now I realize that even if ADD becomes an issue for

her, we will have difficulty with medication management. Maia has mild ADD

symptoms, perhaps, that show up at home--but they're hard to sort out from

normal pre-teen stuff. Nothing seems to be showing up at school. Though I

wonder about OCD being mistaken for ADD in some cases--since my daughter becomes

compulsive about symmetry, she can get caught up in balancing the punctuation

marks on her paper. If she's wrapped up in this, she will not be paying

attention to the teacher--which could be perceived as ADD behavior...

I do have a question for the group, though. Maia has been on Paxil 30 mg.

daily for a year and a half now, with very positive results. I have been

reading Chansky and research ERP options in our area (very slowly, I'm afraid),

and would like to get Maia started this summer. However, she's still fairly

resistant to the idea of ERP. We did go through the first steps

(self-inventory) early in her diagnosis--but the Paxil then kicked in and she

was no longer motivated to " do the hard work. " I suspect she is afraid to go any

further. What I'm worried about is that her motivation for many things seems to

have slid over the last year. She has always been a good student--and still

does well in school. But not because she puts any extra work into it! I have to

really set limits about homework, etc.--and she'll test them every night. And

she's been accepted into the GT program, which she was excited about. But she

doesn't reall! y seem to care for it--and won't put any effort into

the projects. We used to do art projects a lot at home, too--and I see an

increase in her inability to imagine getting started and in failing to follow

through. Is this ADD stuff? Or an effect of the SSRI? In addition, I notice that

Maia's appetite has increased tremendously, and she's beginning to put on extra

weight. I just wonder if these three things could be related.

Thank you all for letting me " listen in " all these months. Everything has

been helpful in guiding Maia, keeping my sanity, and maintaining hope in our

family.

R.

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