Re: words of encouragement?

[Guest guest]

-we took Zoloft for panic disorder and then Paxil for the OCD. We would

have just gone higher on the Zoloft but she always felt sick to her stomach

on it but it totally got rid of her panic disorder and then Paxil got rid of

the OCD BUT she is also BP and the antidepressant without the moodstabilizer

made her oppositional to the point of getting suspended constantly so we had

to back down on the Paxil. Now we are on Celexa because Paxil caused

tremendous weight gain. Good luck. Ellen

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Honestly, your daughter will be fine!!! You have caught the OCD

early, have one of the best OCD experts in the NATION working with you, and

are doing all the right things. Most children can become nearly symptom-free

with a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, or just

using therapy alone. The OCD may never go completely away, but it will be

reduced to mere background noise before you know it. Some day soon you will

find yourself worrying about something else (a sibling's issues, the car

needs an oil change, the cat needs his shots, etc.) and suddenly you will

realize that OCD is no longer the ONLY THING in your life and on your mind.

I know it's devastating to get this diagnosis in your child, but you

need to remember that jumping on it when she is young is much, much better

than discovering it when she is older. My daughter's psychiatrist told us

when we first saw him that he has had many young OCD patients who are well

enough now to not even need him anymore - their OCD is gone! Not everyone has

that level of success, of course, but many do.

Keep in touch, and let us know how things progress. You are at the

hardest point right now, I think, and I can promise that things will start to

get better very soon.

in Nevada

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Your daughter sounds very similiar to my 6yr old, Lydia. She was diagnosed

in July with OCD and started Zoloft. Her OCD symptoms are mostly obsessive

thoughts and fears that usually bother her at night. We have a few methods

we use to deal with this problem. Her therapist has taught us bothe whole

body relaxation-which is basically contracting each muscle group and holding

for 15 seconds. This helps her to relax when the anxiety from the obsessive

thoughts start. Another thing that works well for her is to write down the

obsessive thought and then write a positive one to counter-act it. We

usually draw a picture as well, sometimes on the Magna-Doodle so we can just

" wipe the bad thoughts " away.

Things will get better, and even if flare-ups occur, you and your daughter

will be better equipped to handle them as time goes on. The beginning is

the toughest, I know. My thoughts are with you. Keep posting and let us

know how you and your daughter are doing.

words of encouragement?

> My daughter was just diagnosed with OCD. She's 8 and so far after 2

> weeks, her anxiety has diminished with Zoloft. Most of her problem

> is especially at night when her thoughts become worrisome. She is

> bright in school and highly creative. Her thoughts alarmed me at

> first. She is also going for CBT and will see Dr. Chanske next

> week. Is there hope for this condition? I'm a Mom who needs some

> words of cheer.

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Oh yes, there's plenty of hope! Just a little tough/rough at first

when just beginning to learn about OCD, how to boss it back, finding

a therapist, etc.... And you have one of the best therapists, Dr.

Chansky, lucky you! (and your daughter!) And how great that you

already see good effects from the Zoloft, it can take longer than 2

weeks. She'll probably be doing even better as the Zoloft " builds

up " to a good " working level " in her system. I've read it can take 4-

6+ weeks to see really good effects on the meds.

My son was diagnosed in 6th grade at 11 y/o. I found myself

sometimes actually wishing he'd been younger(!) as I just felt at

times that younger kids had a better ability (imagination?) as to

learning to boss back OCD. Lots of kids seem to be " worse " at night,

especially bedtime, as perhaps they're more relaxed at home/bedtime

and no distractions, they're more tired, and OCD seems " worse " at

these times.

So far as I know (he's not very talkative) my son hasn't had any

obsessive thoughts (tho I've wondered), but I know from what I've

read (books & here) that the thoughts CAN be very alarming/shocking

to us parents (AND the kids too!). Just make sure she feels

no " guilt " for any thoughts she might find " alarming " as it's OCD and

NOT her.

My (who'll be 14 in January) had behaviors he had to do to

keep something bad from happening to HIM and also had to do things

until he got some " just right " feeling. He was soooo severe in the

beginning (6th grade) but now OCD is so mild for him that I had to

ask earlier this year does he still have " it. " I just hadn't noticed

him doing " things " for a while so much as he had been. He said yes,

it was still there. But isn't that great that I actually had to ask,

as in the beginning OCD was there for us all to see 24/7, and night

seemed the worse times.

Let us know how things are going and how the appt goes!

- single mom to , soon 14, with OCD, dysgraphia and to be

evaluated for Aspergers; -twin; Randall 17.5 -

> My daughter was just diagnosed with OCD. She's 8 and so far after 2

> weeks, her anxiety has diminished with Zoloft. Most of her problem

> is especially at night when her thoughts become worrisome. She is

> bright in school and highly creative. Her thoughts alarmed me at

> first. She is also going for CBT and will see Dr. Chanske next

> week. Is there hope for this condition? I'm a Mom who needs some

> words of cheer.

>

>