Where to go next??? Help for my 8 year old son

[Guest guest]

Hi

I think that you should follow your gut instincts and have him evaluated by a

pediatric psychiatrist who is familiar with ocd. Many Kids have obsessive

thoughts type ocd,that no amount of just ignoring will help. My daughter 18 now

has just obsessive thoughts, this can be very troubling for them. There is

alot of info and help out there. Have you gone on the ocfoundation web site,

good conference coming this July . Hang in there and let us know how it goes.

Lori T. in NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I am writing this post in hopes that someone can tell me where I

should start with my 8 year old son.

I didn't know it then, but I believe he has had OCD tendencies since

the age of 18 months old. It began with any drawers or closets

open, he had to shut them. He would be toddling around the house,

just playing, and he would see a drawer open, and he would close it,

and then it got to a point that he would automatically checkk ALL

the drawers and doors if he saw one open.

I never saw this as a problem, just thought he was a pefectionist

like his father. We thought it was cute, but did realize this was

NOT a learned behaviour, but probably inherited.

That eventually stopped, and next he began licking his lips all the

time. It got so bad that he had red chapped lips all the time and

around his lips were chapped too. This too eventually stopped.

Things got worse when my husband, his daddy, was diagnosed with

terminal cancer, and my son was 5 years old. My husband lived 10

months after the diagnosis. During this time, we were all seeing a

counselor to help us as a family deal with this. My 2 sons

continued seeing the phychologist after their daddy's death. During

this time, my 8 year old began complaining of stomach aches alot.

Then it went to feeling like he was always going to throw up. We

took him to Pediatrician to rule out physical conditions, and

everything was fine. He then began asking me at least 10 times a

day, " mommy I feel like I'm going to throw up, will I " ....the

counselor suggested we not make a big deal of it, and simply

reassure him that he was okay, and would not throw up. I would do

that, and he would then go on his merry way playing. But almost

anytime he would see me again, he would ask me again.

This went one for a while, then stopped. Next came changing his

underwear every time he went to the bathroom. He said it was

because a " drip " would get on his underwear. This got very hard,

trying to keep up with 7 pairs of clean underwear a day, so I

finally told him, He was only going to change his underwear in the

morning, and in the evening after bath. He did this, but then began

dabbing a piece of toilet paper after he would go to the bathroom,

and he still does that to this day.

The latest thing that got me thinking about OCD, is he began telling

me about two months ago, that he can never fill up. That he always

is hungry. I told him he is just a growing boy, and that was

normal. Then about a week ago he came to me and said " Mommy, I

don't like this feeling. I can never fill up " . I said, What is the

feeling like? He said the feeling is inside of his head, and that

it won't go away. That his brain keeps telling him he is hungry but

he is not hungry. He said, It's like fighting inside of my brain.

Well this got my attention, and is why I am looking further into

this now.

To tell you a little about my son. He is 8 years old and is a very

bright honor roll student in Second Grade. Academics come very

natural for him, and it does not appear he struggles at all, except

with maybe the perfectionist of wanting to be 100% all the time.

This is not pressure from me, but from himself. He is the type of

person that outside of the home, he is very compliant and everyone

thinks he is the MODEL 8 year old. Good manners, grades, lots of

friends. He is shy, but popular. I can see a low self esteem in

him, and he keeps things on the inside. I try to talk to him alot

at night, and during prayers, to keep his feelings on the table, but

that does not always work.

OCD does not run in my side of the family, but looking back now, I

believe my husband, his daddy, had many OCD tendencies, but never

addressed. When he was diagnosed with Cancer, these tendencies, not

only came to light, but also were magnified tremendously. The

doctor never said OCD, but he was put on many medications to try to

overcome some of the obsessive thoughts he was having.

My question now is Where do I start? Do I take him to his

Pediatrician? A Physchologist? A Physchiatrist? Someone who

specializes in OCD? Or does it even sound like he could have OCD? I

appreciate you allowing me to post here, and I pray that someone can

guide me in the right direction and/or share their experience with

Children with OCD. Thank you for your time and support.

smile

[Guest guest]

Hi, welcome!!

Sounds like it might be OCD to me!

A psychiatrist would be seen if you want medication; they can

diagnose and medicate. A psychologist can diagnose/treat or a

therapist who is experienced in working with OCD (using Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy, and Exposure & Response Prevention, CBT and ERP)

can work with your son on battling his OCD problems. But finding

someone who really is familiar with OCD can be the hardest part

sometimes.

I have a 15 yr old son diagnosed with OCD. He also had always had

OCDish behaviors, nothing causing a problem, major anyway. Suddenly

in 6th grade OCD was there 24/7, all new compulsions happening....

Well, kids are calling, have to go. Please write here anytime to ask

questions, comment, vent.... This group can be such a great support

for people, it has been for me!!! The OCD Foundation site has lots

of info and somewhere at the site you can ask for information on any

therapists, etc., in your area. I believe the site is at

http://ocfoundation.org

single mom, 3 sons

, 15, OCD, dysgraphia, HFA/Aspergers

, 15, nonidentical twin

Randall, 19

> Hi everyone!

> I am writing this post in hopes that someone can tell me where I

> should start with my 8 year old son.

>

> I didn't know it then, but I believe he has had OCD tendencies since

> the age of 18 months old. It began with any drawers or closets

> open, he had to shut them. He would be toddling around the house,

> just playing, and he would see a drawer open, and he would close it,

> and then it got to a point that he would automatically checkk ALL

[Guest guest]

Hi, and welcome to the group. I agree with the others who have

responded--you should take your son to a pediatric psychiatrist for evaluation.

My

youngest daugther was diagnosed at seven but we knew almost from the start that

she

was " different. " She is ten now and doing quite well with medication and

therapy. My oldest daughter was diagnosed at eleven and also takes medication

and

goes to therapy. She is thirteen now and while she is not progressing as

quickly as is, Hannah is showing gradual improvement. Our family is

genetically slanted toward OCD apparently. I have it, as does my father, aunt,

and

nephew. Oh, the fun we have at family gatherings! Your son is lucky to

have a mom who is watching out for him. Kelley in NV

[Guest guest]

--- In , " lovinglife787 "

<<Next came changing his underwear every time he went to the

bathroom. He said it was because a " drip " would get on his

underwear. This got very hard, trying to keep up with 7 pairs of

clean underwear a day,>>

Hi there, and welcome! I just wanted to comment on the above -

because my son had EXACTLY the same compulsion on and off for about

a year - and he said he had to change his underwear for exactly that

reason. We didn't connect it with OCD until about a year later,

when he did other things that were more " classic OCD " . It was hard,

too, because when my son was younger (around 5 y.o.), he actually

did " leak " a bit, he would get a quarter-sized spot in his underwear

before he realized he had to go. So it wasn't too weird for him to

change his underwear for that.

After we realized he had OCD, he went through a couple months of the

underwear changing again, and when I did check (yeck, nothing like

feeling underwear for wet spots) there were never any, so I was

pretty certain it was OCD. Also, a worry or bad feeling like " maybe

you have to pee " is associated with PANDAs especially (Pediatric

Autoimmune Neurological Disorder? correct me if I've got the acronym

wrong), a type of abrupt onset OCD thought to associated with strep

infections (which we have in spades), so I thought it likely that

the underwear changing was a variant of the urinary frequency

compulsion.

<<My question now is Where do I start? Do I take him to his

pediatrician? A Physchologist? A Physchiatrist? Someone who

specializes in OCD? Or does it even sound like he could have OCD? I

appreciate you allowing me to post here, and I pray that someone can

guide me in the right direction and/or share their experience with

Children with OCD>>

Unless you need a referral from your pediatrician, I would go

directly to a psychiatrist that has experience with children with

OCD. We had some totally wrong diagnoses with psychologists, but

when we got the correct diagnosis from the psychiatrist, they not

only prescribed medication, but pointed us back to a better

psychologist who specialized in CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy).

Of course, if I had been reading this List, I would have asked the

psychologist right off the bat if they " did ER/P (exposure response/

prevention) or any kind of CBT " for OCD " and their cluelessness

would have tipped me off.

You are doing the right thing already, by reading the messages here

and asking questions! You may also want to check out some of the

books recommended for OCD - I found Tamar Chansky's " Freeing Your

Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder " very helpful.

good luck, Sandy