Re: 1st post - Reading and other issues

[Guest guest]

Hi Jana. I just read your post today. To respond to your questions:

1) Have any of you had

> reading issues related to OCD?

My 12 year old daughter with severe OCD and bipolar has major issues with

reading.

From the OCD, she believes that if she reads anything that mentions danger or

moreso the death of any character, it poses a direct threat to her or someone

she

knows. She believes that reading (or hearing or saying) something scary could

possibly cause it to happen. The OCD is so severe that it causes this type of

delusionsal magical thinking. As a result, my gifted, bright child, who is now

in a

therapeutic school, has fallen way behind in her reading skills because she has

been

avoiding so much reading material.

2) Have any of your children had

> issues of not being able to handle chemical smells?

Regarding smells, my daughter has major sensory sensitivities in all senses,

including

smell. She starts to cough if there is anyone in the vicinity with a cigarette

(none of

us smoke at home), and won't enter a room if there is a smell she doesn't like

or is

scared of. In her case, some of this is neurological, but a lot is OCD beliefs,

because

if there is a chemical or other smell she feels safe with, she's fine.

3) Have any of

> your children had any success with Lexapro and at what dose?

My daughter is on 15 mg of lexapro, which we hope to increase to 20 mg, along

with

3 mood stabilizers (hoping to go to 2), an anti-psychotic, thyroid hormone, and

a

stomach medicine. The lexapro has been SOOO much better than zoloft, paxil or

luvox in terms of side effects. It may not be as good for the OCD symptoms, I

don't

know. But it's really lightened her mood and helped her to be more of a giggly

12

year old at times. We started at 5 mg, went to 10 mg, and we've been at 15 for

a long

time it seems while we keep adjusting her other medications. I like lexapro so

far.

4) How do find support as a parent to deal with OCD in your child without

> feeling as if you are betraying your child by telling someone?

We've told a number of people about the OCD, including her separately telling

three

of her friends together with me and the friend's mother. It was a huge relief

for her

to tell someone. None of her friends rejected her. My husband and I tell some

people, and ask them to keep it confidential. No one has had a bad response.

I've

told her that eventually she will have to be completely open about it as an

adult as

needed. She is still very concerned about hiding the illness from most people,

but

she's loosened up a lot. We'd go crazy if we didn't tell some people. You

could also

consider getting her a 504 or special ed services. We didn't want to do it, but

it was

the only thing for us to do with her being so ill, and it's keeping her going.

You also wrote:

> P.S. We have an 11year old son who is in 6th grade who does not have

> any disorders at this time

We have an almost 6 year old kindergartener who has had major reactions to her

sister's illness. She's been termed " the well sibling " , and part of our

struggle with the

OCD and bipolar is to help our younger child as well. She's had some therapy to

deal

with all the stuff from her sister's illnesses.

Last thoughts:

We are still going through what you describe as the heartbreak and fear of your

child

becoming so ill and not knowing how things will turn out. My husband and I are

still

in mourning for the child we thought we had, and so sad and scared (and angry)

about what these illnesses have taken from us. But we're hopeful for the

future.

Also, our daughter also has multiple medical problems as well, some of them

caused

by the OCD. She gets sick frequently, and she has seen and continues to see

more

medical specialists than many people see in a lifetime. I think that a lot of

these

neurologically troubled kids have lots of medical problems.

Sorry this was so long. Every day we are all working so that these kids might

have

reasonable lives. It's so hard. Good luck to you.

Miriam in NY