Re: Cindy and BJ

[Guest guest]

Debbie, got a chuckle out of that because I remember an episode of

Monk where he told a little kid that " nature was dirty " . <grin>

We found with exposure our son didn't initiate, it caused serious

anxiety. He had to be the one to initiate it for that exposure to

work. I suspect it's because it was his choice then. He had to be

mentally prepared to do it, and it had to be a free choice. Is that a

problem for your daughter too?

The world is not the pristine, germ-free environment that OCD demands

it wants. . Not even hospitals. I can only imagine how hard that is

on our kids, who have contamination issues. Our son worked through a

lot of them though. So, hopefully, when you daughter gets up her

hierarchy list, she will be prepared to take that on and have a

victory over it.

BJ

..

>

> ,

> " still wonder whether the Zoloft is " to blame " or whether her

illness is just getting worse naturally "

> Every time we increased my DD's dosage of Zoloft (generic), she had

a flare-up. But like you posted, I think we caught her OCD early

enough that it was still " progressing " while we got the meds on board.

Even now at 100mg, we still see new things come up and others fade

away on a weekly basis. But this is now the hard part; do we keep

increasing it or keep her at 100? Her ped is really not all that

" into " this; he increases it based on what I tell him about her

symptoms and whether there is improvement.

> BJ,

> I don't know if I ever mentioned the " lack of affection " thing or

not; there are so many little things, it changes from day to day. But

her inability to reciprocate affection was a big issue right from the

beginning. And she was so afraid of being " infected " she literally

would jump out of the way when they passed by, or even cross the room

to avoid them. This was not the case with me, however, I could still

hug and kiss her (though I made sure to tell her first!). One thing I

regret about her having OCD is she refused to go hunting this year

with her dad. That's always been their " special time " alone. She says

it's because she wants to be more " girly " , but I think it's all OCD

related. We continued to encourage, but even when her brother got an

8-point buck, it wasn't enough (they usually compete for the biggest

buck!). But at least now she will choose to go somewhere in the car

with Dad on occasion; early on, that was a definite no-no! And now

she is actually MORE loving with her younger sister than she was even

before the OCD! The funny thing with most of her fears is that where

we live is constant exposure therapy because we live on 22 acres of

woods; definitely not the pristine germ-free environment she craves!

> Debbie

>

>

> _____________________________________________________________

> Get help now! Click to find the right drug rehab solution for you.

>

http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2221/fc/Ioyw6i4t72fOSQ5WXbItoLzmVhA30i7pg\

5AxwPSGJLnWouchaGWOAh/?count=1234567890

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Debbie, We've been seeing a ped neuro for meds since June. Although I think the

Docs in the group are bright, professional and competent and give us plenty of

their time, I have a nagging feeling that seeing a child psychiatrist for

medication management would be more beneficial. I'm in the process of arranging

to see a child psych under the same roof where we go for her CBT/ERP. I'm hoping

for improved collaboration and consistency. Any chance anyone else can do your

daughter's meds? I think it's important to find someone that you feel very

confident in. Best, W.

________________________________

To:

Sent: Monday, November 3, 2008 9:54:43 AM

Subject: and BJ

,

" still wonder whether the Zoloft is " to blame " or whether her illness is just

getting worse naturally "

Every time we increased my DD's dosage of Zoloft (generic), she had a flare-up.

But like you posted, I think we caught her OCD early enough that it was still

" progressing " while we got the meds on board. Even now at 100mg, we still see

new things come up and others fade away on a weekly basis. But this is now the

hard part; do we keep increasing it or keep her at 100? Her ped is really not

all that " into " this; he increases it based on what I tell him about her

symptoms and whether there is improvement.

BJ,

I don't know if I ever mentioned the " lack of affection " thing or not; there are

so many little things, it changes from day to day. But her inability to

reciprocate affection was a big issue right from the beginning. And she was so

afraid of being " infected " she literally would jump out of the way when they

passed by, or even cross the room to avoid them. This was not the case with me,

however, I could still hug and kiss her (though I made sure to tell her first!).

One thing I regret about her having OCD is she refused to go hunting this year

with her dad. That's always been their " special time " alone. She says it's

because she wants to be more " girly " , but I think it's all OCD related. We

continued to encourage, but even when her brother got an 8-point buck, it wasn't

enough (they usually compete for the biggest buck!). But at least now she will

choose to go somewhere in the car with Dad on occasion; early on, that was a

definite no-no! And now she is

actually MORE loving with her younger sister than she was even before the OCD!

The funny thing with most of her fears is that where we live is constant

exposure therapy because we live on 22 acres of woods; definitely not the

pristine germ-free environment she craves!

Debbie

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _

Get help now! Click to find the right drug rehab solution for you.

http://thirdpartyof fers.netzero. net/TGL2221/ fc/Ioyw6i4t72fOS Q5WXbItoLzmVhA30

i7pg5AxwPSGJLnWo uchaGWOAh/ ?count=123456789 0

[Guest guest]

Bj, you hit it right on the head! Any time I try to do some exposure, it's not

a good thing. We just tonight had a big issue with her emptying the dishwasher;

yes, the same chore just Sunday she said she'd do. Today has been worse for

some reason; maybe because we saw the new therapist? Seems anytime she really

has to confront or deal with the OCD, it gets worse for a bit. When she can

" forget about it " for awhile, it's better. I'm not so sure this new therapist

is going to work out; they didn't do any exposure work today; her and

addressed some of her fears, but from what told me, it almost bordered

on reassurance by the therapist. Nor did she get a hold of the " trainer " we

talked about, though I emphasized how important it was. Anyway, she didn't want

to do the dishwasher because of some scum build-up on the sides; in this case, I

just took some Fantastik spray and cleaned it off; then she managed to do it.

Pick your battles, right?!

, I talked with them about her seeing the psychiatrist about the meds; he's

too booked up right now to see anyone new. I'm going to try to get an ongoing

scrip for the 100mg and one for 25 mg; then I can move her up by 12.5 mg to see

where we get good results; I'm pretty sure the ped will go along with this. I

hope to sure see some major improvement in the next 4 weeks!

I am really glad I have you guys to talk to about this stuff.

Debbie

_____________________________________________________________

Click here to become a professional counselor in less time than you think.

http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2221/fc/Ioyw6i4vFH82zuNlAaGJ5uS9XZIEqCa3Q\

BmE0YKWHtdKJ5hHj4uFpX/?count=1234567890

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie,

Just thought I'd jump in to your conversation on this, hope that's

ok.

The confronting the OCD definitely will cause things to get " worse "

for sure, and often the anxiety can go way up. Often the case after

doctor's appointments too, where they " talk " about it. Avoidance is

a strategy, and common, ours pretty much lived by it....teen(!). Not

THE answer, but common, just wanted to say that. To be fair, often

they do what they need to do, it is a process to coming to fully be

able to do the CBT and exposures.

I'm sorry I have not seen your other posts, not sure where you are

with medication, but it does take time, so until you are at an

optimal dose, often the CBT is not doable (don't think that's a

word?). It can really help to lower the intensity of the OCD and

make everything easier.

I totally go with the " pick your battles " . I would say, sometimes

you do the " wrong " thing, but for the " right " reason, as in just to

get through the day!!!

Hope you start to see things turn around soon.

Barb

>

> Bj, you hit it right on the head! Any time I try to do some

exposure, it's not a good thing. We just tonight had a big issue

with her emptying the dishwasher; yes, the same chore just Sunday she

said she'd do. Today has been worse for some reason; maybe because

we saw the new therapist? Seems anytime she really has to confront

or deal with the OCD, it gets worse for a bit. When she can " forget

about it " for awhile, it's better. I'm not so sure this new

therapist is going to work out; they didn't do any exposure work

today; her and addressed some of her fears, but from what

told me, it almost bordered on reassurance by the therapist.

Nor did she get a hold of the " trainer " we talked about, though I

emphasized how important it was. Anyway, she didn't want to do the

dishwasher because of some scum build-up on the sides; in this case,

I just took some Fantastik spray and cleaned it off; then she managed

to do it. Pick your battles, right?!

> , I talked with them about her seeing the psychiatrist about

the meds; he's too booked up right now to see anyone new. I'm going

to try to get an ongoing scrip for the 100mg and one for 25 mg; then

I can move her up by 12.5 mg to see where we get good results; I'm

pretty sure the ped will go along with this. I hope to sure see some

major improvement in the next 4 weeks!

> I am really glad I have you guys to talk to about this stuff.

> Debbie

>

>

> _____________________________________________________________

> Click here to become a professional counselor in less time than you

think.

>

http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2221/fc/Ioyw6i4vFH82zuNlAaGJ5uS

9XZIEqCa3QBmE0YKWHtdKJ5hHj4uFpX/?count=1234567890

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Debbie, there are some great workbooks that are designed for home use

that walk you through ERP. We tried them, but found our son just

listened to a therapist better. Maybe because he wasn't emotionally

involved. Anyway, if you want to familiarize yourself with ERP and

how it should be done, it's a great place to get the gist of it. You

might even be able to check them out at your local library to save

money.

They are Talking Back to OCD, by March. He also has a book FOR

therapists, in case your therapist is interested. It is called, OCD

in Children and Adolescents, A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Manual.

Josh's therapist was surprised I had the therapist's book too. I

told him that just how desperate we were. lol

The other workbook is, Helping Your Child With Ocd: A Workbook for

Parents of Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee

Fitzgibbons and Cherry Pedrick

Maybe the therapist would even be willing to use one of the workbooks

with you, to guide you through it. Just a thought.

Yes, you learn to pick your battles, for sure. We also found that

while our son was working up his hierarchy list, we had to just ignore

a lot of things, until he got to the point of working on them.

BJ

>

> Bj, you hit it right on the head! Any time I try to do some

exposure, it's not a good thing. We just tonight had a big issue with

her emptying the dishwasher; yes, the same chore just Sunday she said

she'd do. Today has been worse for some reason; maybe because we saw

the new therapist? Seems anytime she really has to confront or deal

with the OCD, it gets worse for a bit. When she can " forget about it "

for awhile, it's better. I'm not so sure this new therapist is going

to work out; they didn't do any exposure work today; her and

addressed some of her fears, but from what told me, it almost

bordered on reassurance by the therapist. Nor did she get a hold of

the " trainer " we talked about, though I emphasized how important it

was. Anyway, she didn't want to do the dishwasher because of some

scum build-up on the sides; in this case, I just took some Fantastik

spray and cleaned it off; then she managed to do it. Pick your

battles, right?!

> , I talked with them about her seeing the psychiatrist about

the meds; he's too booked up right now to see anyone new. I'm going

to try to get an ongoing scrip for the 100mg and one for 25 mg; then I

can move her up by 12.5 mg to see where we get good results; I'm

pretty sure the ped will go along with this. I hope to sure see some

major improvement in the next 4 weeks!

> I am really glad I have you guys to talk to about this stuff.

> Debbie

>

>

> _____________________________________________________________

> Click here to become a professional counselor in less time than you

think.

>

http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2221/fc/Ioyw6i4vFH82zuNlAaGJ5uS9XZIEqCa3Q\

BmE0YKWHtdKJ5hHj4uFpX/?count=1234567890

>

>

>