new to the group

June 9, 2006

From what I've

> learned here in

> the short time I've been here (2-3 months?),

Lol Wayne,

Aloha, I'm a brand new

member ...

So it's been slightly over a month, may the Dexadrine

be affecting your sense of time ?

I'd be interested to know what my GP could prescribe

dexedrine for, though. My urologist said ADHD (which

seems strange).

Cheers,

x JanR

__________________________________________________

June 9, 2006

From what I've

> learned here in

> the short time I've been here (2-3 months?),

Lol Wayne,

Aloha, I'm a brand new

member ...

So it's been slightly over a month, may the Dexadrine

be affecting your sense of time ?

I'd be interested to know what my GP could prescribe

dexedrine for, though. My urologist said ADHD (which

seems strange).

Cheers,

x JanR

__________________________________________________

June 9, 2006

Wayne,

- Can you share briefly what you have learned so I can speed read thru you and

I'll also look at old posts to see what it is I can learn to do for myself. What

are you doing that is working for you?

Ria

========

> I took Celexa for only 18 months and had every ED problem a guy

> could have. I could STILL get and erection and and orgasm with a LOT

> of work from masturbation, but forget just (just?!?) making-loving.

- Yes, it does take _a lot_ of work and by the time I think I am

supposed to finished I forget what I was doing in the first place &

fall asleep.

> Yours is the first I've heard from about Cymbalta and was really

> hoping it would NOT be the same as other SSRI anti-d's, however, I

> see it's the same. Too bad.

- My psych says that ALL patients he has put on that drug has sexual

side effects. He does not know of one single drug that is supposed to

side step that.

> The good news is and it's also good news about this group is 99% of

> all my sexual dysfunctions have disappeared!

>

> >

> > Hello. I am new to this group. I too am suffering from the

> effects of

> > a SNRI called Cymbalta. I no longer have sexual drive OR orgasm. It

> > did not happen overnight - it just happened over time. Sneaky

> meds...

> >

> > Is there a list of antidotes to try that you folks have come up

> with?

> >

> > I am willing to _try anything_ at this point. My psych says to take

> > drug holidays. He also says that Wellbutrin taken along with the

> > Cymbalta can help. Has anyone take Wellbutrin also to bolster drive

> > and orgasm?

> >

> > Any advice you can give is appreciated. I am female but feel free

> to

> > chat as women also have these problems...

> >

> > Ria!

> >

>

June 9, 2006

Jr and everyone? Whenever I make a reference to " time " in ANY way,

IGNORE IT. In the last 9+ (I'm SURE of THAT at least), 'time' is

just another day of waking up in such severe pain that in the first

15 minutes of waking, if a revolver was within arms reach, I'd take

myself out. PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN THAT.

Of course as most everyone knows, chronic pain that can no longer be

treated in any way except by medications is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

DISEASE. It changes from " Chronic Pain " to " INTRACTABLE PAIN " .

Intractable Pain has FOUR outstanding characteristics: (1) constant,

(2) severe, (3) disabling and (4)detectable biologic impacts on the

body's blood pressure, pulse rate, hormone levels and neurologic

systems. It's a catastrophic conditions that, inadequately treated,

leads to PREMATURE DEATH. Some complications include dementia,

osteoporosis, muscle wasting, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

There is no suffering worse than Intractable pain (IP).

If you ever have to define IP to someone, this is it: " Asevere,

constant pain that is NOT curable by ANY KNOWN means and which

causes a bed or house-bound state and earlky death if not adequately

treated. It couses adverse biologic affects on the body's

cardiovascular, hormone and neurologic systems. "

People with IP in the past would simply be those that you'd see

wasting away in a darkened corner in a vegitative state of mind.

It's impossible to live with. Thankfully for me, I was born in 1955

and was told by all my surgeons, doctors and my pain management

doctor that there was nothing more they could do for me except help

control the pain so I don't " waste away and, more than likely, end

my life. "

That is why at one time I was ingesting over 4 grams of morphine

daily along with opiod breakthrough pain meds and needing valium to

control my back muscle spasms.

Of course, as with most powerful pain medications my libido didn't

matter to me anymore let alone orgasm, however, my WIFE could only

take so much (or so little. Depending on how you look at it.)So I

had my Testosterone level checked and whatever the " normal range " of

290 to ? is (Total " T " or Free " T " ?), my level came out to be 84.

You see, in order for your body to 'survive' in such pain, it makes

all sorts of chemical changes, including hormonal. I'm positive the

pain medications and the other 11 meds I take also make a difference.

So, my fellow members, I am a real mess. Of ALL the careers to pick

from out there, I chose accounting (actually, IT chose ME, but

that's another novel). I no longer can be depended upon to meet

deadlines, calculate percentages, fill out simple forms and all the

other requirments needed to be an accountant. I managed to hang onto

my career until March of 2005 when my left knee " went out " on me and

I needed to have surgery for a torn meniscus. I DID have a fairly

successful addounting business at home for the last three years so I

could lay down when needed and work only when I could. But the

surgery and the recovery time needed took too long for my clients,

so I had to give them to other firms. I've now swallowed all my

pride as the " breadwinner " and " man of the house " and have an

appointment with Social Security for Disability Insurance next week.

OK, now, back to the Dexadrine...what I should be taking is

Provigil. In fact, I TOOK Provigil for the last year that my pain

management doctor worked before retiring. As you can imagine, I get

quite groggy by 2 to 4 in the afternoon from the medications, so I

asked about that and was given Provigil, NO PROBLEM.

After my Pain doc retired, he had one hell of a time finding another

doctor for me. Most of you know how hard it is just to get a vicoden

from a doctor, let alone what I was taking. Well, it just so

happened that the psychiatrist I'd been seeing was my pain

docs " best friend " in the medical field and my 'shrink' was only too

happy to take me " off his hands " .

Provigil is normally prescribed to Narcoleptics to keep them from

falling asleep during the day. The person who prescribes it has to

be a Board Cert. Sleep Doctor which my shrink isn't. In order for my

shrink to prescribe Provigil, he had to prescribe two other drugs

first (this is the insurance company TELLING doctors how to treat

their patients, AGAIN! Gggrrrrrr...). the first was Ritalin (yes, my

shrink had to mention ADHD or whatever it is for this). Ritalin made

me feel as if someone had closed a curtain halfway across my brain

and gave me such a unusual stimulant feeling that I would start one

project, think of another and start that, think of another and start

that until I found all the " started projects " but none of them

finished!!!! It didn't agree with me also. Just made me feel 'wierd'.

The next drug in line was Dexadrine. I was completely taken aback by

that because back in my " partying days " , stimulants were my drug of

choice (beside pot, but back then, pot was just a " staple " drug. It

was always around and there were days when I'd wake up with a joint

in my mouth even before my feet hit the floor! Those were good times

and I wouldn't change a thing about those days! Living with five

guys and my girlfriend. I don't think the stereo EVER went off!),

however, stimulants also got me put in the hospital (self-admitted)

because my heart had been beating so fast for so long that the

lining around it had swollen, so I was a little leary about them at

first.

Of course a medical practitioner didn't prescribe them the same way

I 'used' to take them. So I gave them a try and lo and behold!

Not only do they work fine for " wakefuleness " , but they also seem to

raise more than my libido! This just happened to be a pleasant side

effect because I was only looking for something to stop me

from " taking naps at 2PM through 4PM which would turn out to be all

night " naps " instead. I didn't like that nor did my wonderful wife.

I was surprised to read a post from Vornan, our moderator, about the

chemical effects dexadrine has on our brains that stop/reverse the

nasty sexual side effect(s) of SSRI's! But, whatever, for now I'll

just stick to the " Dex " and my lowered dose of the SSRI, Celexa (I

tapered from 20mgs to 5mgs WITH my doctors blessings and started

taking Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). As I've stated

probably 25 times already, 99% of all my bad sexual side effects

have gone away! I'm one happy man. Not to mention my wife.

One LAST thing (you REALLY believe that?), I would like to mention

the QUALITY of my erections, QUANTITY AND QUALITY of my semen, the

RE-ENERGIZING of the nerves around and on my genitals and lastly but

CERTAINLY NOT LEAST the length, force and emotional power of my

orgasms now. But I won't. I've written too much the way it is.

JanR? I don't know how much all of the above matters to you, but I'd

tell the doc to say ANYTHING S/HE WANTS TO just to get something

that MAY help you. It very well may NOT work for everyone since it's

a 'side effect', I only know it has that added benefit for me. OK?

Hawaiian Wayne

Aloha, I'm a brand new

> member ...

> So it's been slightly over a month, may the Dexadrine

> be affecting your sense of time ?

>

> I'd be interested to know what my GP could prescribe

> dexedrine for, though. My urologist said ADHD (which

> seems strange).

>

> Cheers,

>

> x JanR

>

> __________________________________________________

>

June 9, 2006

Hi Wayne,

How much of your sexual recovery do you attribute to:

a. reducing your dosage of celexa from 20 to 5 mg

b. starting TRT

c. starting dexedrine

Would be interested to hear your opinion of what helped the most...

Thanks,

Vornan

Aloha, I'm a brand new

> > member ...

> > So it's been slightly over a month, may the Dexadrine

> > be affecting your sense of time ?

> >

> > I'd be interested to know what my GP could prescribe

> > dexedrine for, though. My urologist said ADHD (which

> > seems strange).

> >

> > Cheers,

> >

> > x JanR

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >

December 2, 2006

30 year old male, 1 1/2 years approx. Lexapro usage. Right now I am

having many troubles socially and I continuously meet the WRONG

girls.That is actually an advantage because though I can " perform " i

have almost no libido.If i for instance , go to a place where there

are girls I can't get enough of it, but because I am very depressed

and shy and have had my throat cut one too many times, I keep my

distance and can only suffer.

I hate myself for it all and don't know what to do.It's been 5 years

since i have been in a meaningfull(though very disfuctional)

relationship and am very lonely.I cannot stop taking lexapro though

because i just get worse, i also am on a 2 other meds which disinhibit

the whole black and white issue of whether your penis works or not

more later

March 31, 2009

Hi, Chris! Thanks for your encouraging words.

" With the language delay you mentioned, what exactly is the delay? Is it his

being able to speak/talk or his articulation or...? With the high IQ but

problems learning, have they identified a learning disability? "

--------------------

My son has an expressive/receptive language delay - he started talking very

late - so it's taken him a while to catch up. He also has an articulation

problem with certain sounds. The school psychologist also mentioned that he

might have a learning disability due to the IQ/ Achievement discrepancy.

" Have you talked to him yet about OCD? "

----------------------

I haven't really talked to him about OCD yet. With his language delay, he

probably wouldn't understand it yet. But, someone in this group suggested a

good children's book. I think it would help him to see that other kids

sometimes feel like he does.

" Do you think he understands the game? Is he excited about playing it? "

----------------------

I think he understands some aspects of the game, but not everything. I

personally think he gets " overwhelmed " when he's out there with all those

kids " fighting " for the ball.but my husband insists on having him play.You

may be right, he might just feel " stressed " after having a full day at

school!!

What are some of the things he wants " just so " ?

----------------------

He gets stuck easily on certain things; for instance, there's a certain

process when he's taking a bath (there's a certain order to the way he does

things) and if you mess with that " order " he gets mad.

Another example - when he's getting dressed for school, his socks have to

fit a certain way and if they don't, he takes them off and says that they

don't fit - it's SOOOO annoying!!

Another example - if daddy is not home by the time we arrive, he'll say,

" Oh, Daddy is at work, " and I'll say, " No, Daddy went out with his friends " ,

he'll get very upset and say, " NO, Daddy is at work. " So, I just HAVE to

AGREE with him, or he won't stop, and start crying and throw a fit.

One time we went out to lunch with the family, and he wanted to go to the

bathroom - well, while he was peeing, a drop fell on his underpants

(literally, a drop). He cried during the whole entire time we were there

and demanded we take him back home to get changed. I kept telling him it

was nothing and that I had already dried it off. He wouldn't let it go.

It's the little things that upset him - and most people don't understand

why.not even my husband!!

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 10:22 PM

To:

Subject: Re: New to the group

Hi Carolina, welcome!

So sorry you're having to deal with OCD on top of everything else. With the

language delay you mentiones, what exactly is the delay? Is it his being

able to speak/talk or his articulation or...? With the high IQ but problems

learning, have they identified a learning disability? Glad he's doing better

in that EELP setting. He has lots of years of school ahead, best to get all

the basics down well before putting more learning & work on him. Sounds like

he's very frustrated too, not wanting to work on it at home.

What are some of the things he wants " just so " ?

Have you talked to him yet about OCD? There are some good books out for

young kids about OCD. Once he learns what is OCD and that he needs to boss

it back, he & you could do things like choose something he wants " just so "

and mess it up in some way; see how long he can stand it that way before

getting it " just so. " Or if he has routines he just HAS to do, mess up the

routine maybe. Of course you don't tackle all the stuff at once, choose 1 or

2 easier things to work on.

With soccer - well he is just 5. Having had 3 sons who played soccer (sons

now ages 24 and twins are 20; a twin has OCD), I remember that age! Do you

think he understands the game? Is he excited about playing it? Also am

wondering - with the mention of his struggle with learning letters &

numbers, could some of that difficulty (whatever is causing it) carry over

to the soccer or other things?

Sorry for all the questions! But glad you found our group. My son's OCD

began in 6th grade, though he had his quirks before that. He also has

Aspergers Syndrome, mild I guess. Also a dysgraphia diagnosis that he got

when his handwriting changed after OCD began, became illegible. But then he

already had some fine motor skills difficulties too.

single mom, 3 sons

, 20, with OCD, dysgraphia and Aspergers

March 31, 2009

Hi again Carolina! My twins were delayed with their talking also. More around

age 3. They just " jibber-jabbered " before that. Also had the articulation

problems. But then my oldest son also needed speech for that. Figured they all

inherited that from me, I also needed speech therapy for it. Oldest son wasn't

as affected though. I also wondered a bit with one twin about the

expressive/receptive possibility. Well, more the receptive part. just

didn't seem to know exactly what I was asking/telling sometimes.

Oh, soccer! Well - just didn't get it either. I'd be yelling " move,

move! " and he wasn't quite sure what to do. It's hard if the kids are all

bunched up chasing the ball too, not yet playing their positions, all trying to

kick it, sort of moving as one huge group, LOL. was also distracted

easily, might be more concerned with a cut on his finger or something. Once we

got him to understand " defense " he was determined to stand there in position

( " move, move! " ) and then later you could sort of see the bulldog determination

to block the ball (not that he was the best at that either). The other 2 sons

picked up on it more easily. My oldest probably began to hit his prime around

4th or 5th grade maybe; whereas some of the other players were just " great " from

age 5 on, the skill! Anyway, oldest played about year-round later, on county

teams, etc. But I think I may have yelled " move " at him too when younger, LOL.

And with and baseball/T-ball - well, too many things to remember, know

to do once it got past T-ball. But was surprised how often he did hit the balls

pitched, good eye. Just too other much stuff to remember, multi-task, etc.

The OCD stuff you mentioned - not unusual. Some kids just have to get that

" right " answer or will keep asking you for it. When things have to be in a

certain routine or " just so " , reasons can vary with OCD. Might be just a

feeling of anxiety if not done that way, might be a feeling that something bad

will happen, or they have to feel a " just right " feeling...can possibly be any

reason. Some younger kids do like things " their way " though, can be difficult

at times to decide if it's a phase or OCD. But either way, I think you can work

on the problem using the same methods. The underwear incident - we've had here

some children who change their's frequently during the day, worried or say it

feels wet or " might be " , just want a clean, dry pair.... With the socks, could

it be the seams?? Lots of kids have problems with the seams.

July 20, 2009

It's so hard to watch them talk themselves out of something that could be so fun

and good for them. For me, it's like watching myself all over again, since I

have OCD too. I was hoping she wouldn't have to go through what I went through.

<sigh>

Hang in there!

Laurie

>

> Things need to done right and if she's not sure she can do them right the

first time then she may opt out of trying them at all. This is heartbreaking

for a parent to see as I'm sure everyone on this site already knows. But this

is new for her daddy and I (and her 2yr old brother). It's hard to watch her

miss out on something because of these thoughts. It's also tough to try to get

through one her episodes without taking time from her brother. She's a bright,

beautiful, sweet and loving little girl. I wish I could fix this for her but

realize I can't. I can only help her try to come to the decision herself that

she wants to control the ocd and not let it control her. For a 5 year old, that

is a tough thing to do. >

July 20, 2009

Thanks Missy.

It's amazing for us to realize we're not alone in this. I try to talk to her

about whether its her or the ocd (in her case she has named them swirly's

because that is what it feels like in her mind when she goes through this. I'm

encouraged that a 5 yr old can name and describe it. When she has an episode or

is feeling anxious she describes it as her " tummy getting dizzy " . Being 5 yrs

old is hard for her to really understand what she has. At 5 yrs they are very

literal. But we're working on it. We've started with the smaller / easier

things for her to take control of (hand washing) and will move from there.

Today she went to the doctor's and we were told she has fifth's disease which I

suspected earlier this week. I asked them randomly to perform a strep test on

her (although all she had was a cold and cough) .... our therapist suggested it

a couple weeks ago in passing and just said " if you go to the dr's for anything

have them run a quick strep " . Surprisingly the doctor said her strep test came

back positive VERY quickly. I've heard that strep can increase the symptoms of

ocd in children of this age. I'm hoping the antibiotics for the strep will help

some of the symptoms subside but if not ... we are in this for the long haul ...

with her and for her .... no matter what. Thank you for your note and your

welcome to the group. It's nice to have others around that are going through or

have gone through what we're going through now.

>

> Welcome to the group.? I have a 7 year old daughter who was recently

diagnosed but whom I've suspected of having OCD since she was 3.? We've been

through the apologizing and also watched her not participate in activities

(usually because she's afraid she will throw up).? It's heartbreaking.? Now that

we're all learning how to respond (or in some cases, not respond) she's doing

much better.? It's all still new to us and I never feel like I'm the right

person to give advice but one thing that usually helps when she keeps

apologizing is to ask her if she thinks it's OCD or her who wants her to

apologize.? Usually she's able to recognize it as OCD and stop.? Good luck to

you and your family.

>

> Missy in OH

>

> New to the group

>

> Hello All,

>

> My 5yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with OCD. We always noticed some

quirky behaviors of hers since she was little and they would subside here and

there. This past May, my husband and I were getting ready to put our home on

the market and also start our girl in summer camp. All these changes at once

caused a sudden checking and rechecking behavior that was nonstop. Things have

slowed a little bit in this area but she still is dealing with a lot. We've

moved through the basic ritual of hers which was hand washing. This was easier

than what the future ones will entail. She apologizes all the time, for

everything. She doesn't want to do something wrong and it actually will prevent

her from participating in games and fun activities with her group at camp.

Things need to done right and if she's not sure she can do them right the first

time then she may opt out of trying them at all. This is heartbreaking for a

parent to see as I'm sure everyone on this site already knows. But this is new

for her daddy and I (and her 2yr old brother). It's hard to watch her miss out

on something because of these thoughts. It's also tough to try to get through

one her episodes without taking time from her brother. She's a bright,

beautiful, sweet and loving little girl. I wish I could fix this for her but

realize I can't. I can only help her try to come to the decision herself that

she wants to control the ocd and not let it control her. For a 5 year old, that

is a tough thing to do. I'm happy that I've found this site. Our therapist and

Dr Wagner's book encouraged us to look for support here. Any feedback or advice

you can give us (knowing what it was like to first start dealing with this

illness yourselves) is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

>

> ________________________________________________________________________

> Email message sent from CompuServe - visit us today at http://www.cs.com

>

July 20, 2009

Hello and welcome! My daughter is 6 now, but she was diagnosed when she was 5.

She does the checking and the hand-washing. She also had a touching ritual last

year that has subsided a little this year. Now she constantly checks the

bottoms of her feet every time she walks on our stairs inside our home to make

sure there are no bugs on her feet. There was a dead bug on the stairs a few

weeks ago and she still skips that step that the bug was on AND she checks her

feet too. She also has been diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD, and Nonverbal

Learning Disorder. I also suspect an auditory processing issue.

Welcome to the group and please know you're not alone.

Misty

mom to 3 Aspie girls & a nearly 3yo boy

________________________________

To:

Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 1:18:39 PM

Subject: New to the group

Hello All,

My 5yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with OCD. We always noticed some

quirky behaviors of hers since she was little and they would subside here and

there. This past May, my husband and I were getting ready to put our home on the

market and also start our girl in summer camp. All these changes at once caused

a sudden checking and rechecking behavior that was nonstop. Things have slowed a

little bit in this area but she still is dealing with a lot. We've moved through

the basic ritual of hers which was hand washing. This was easier than what the

future ones will entail. She apologizes all the time, for everything. She

doesn't want to do something wrong and it actually will prevent her from

participating in games and fun activities with her group at camp. Things need to

done right and if she's not sure she can do them right the first time then she

may opt out of trying them at all. This is heartbreaking for a parent to see as

I'm sure everyone on this

site already knows. But this is new for her daddy and I (and her 2yr old

brother). It's hard to watch her miss out on something because of these

thoughts. It's also tough to try to get through one her episodes without taking

time from her brother. She's a bright, beautiful, sweet and loving little girl.

I wish I could fix this for her but realize I can't. I can only help her try to

come to the decision herself that she wants to control the ocd and not let it

control her. For a 5 year old, that is a tough thing to do. I'm happy that I've

found this site. Our therapist and Dr Wagner's book encouraged us to look for

support here. Any feedback or advice you can give us (knowing what it was like

to first start dealing with this illness yourselves) is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

July 21, 2009

Hi there and Welcome,

Our son is almost 18yrs old and is doing well now, after three years from onset

of OCD. For us it came in overnight and took over our lives for a good two

years. I do still remember the horror of it, feeling helpless while I watched

our son suffer so much. For us it was around the clock, even in his dreams.

We spent two years sorting out medication, but it really was needed to reduce

the level of anxiety, so he could eventually take on the ERP. In our case, with

a teen, the biggest challenge, beyond the medication, was waiting it out until

he was willing to really take on the ERP. We found that really hard. You

wonder if they ever will take it on. I know many others here have dealt with

the same thing, and for longer. Hopefully with a younger child you can more

easily pursuade? I'm sure it depends.

It is heartbreaking as you say, to see your child missing out on " normal " life

and experiences. Eventually though, this can be one of the things that finally

gets them on board to do the ERP. They want their life back, or to be able to

play a game, or whatever. Often when the incentive is great enough they will

push themselves through their fear/anxiety. Again, it depends how severe it is

though.

Dr.Pinto-Wagner's book is very good, as are her books for children. She is very

encouraging too. You can always post a question to her on this site, she is

generally very responsive, and I have found her responses very helpful,

personally. She seems to be able to cut through the confusion and make clearer

the issue or next step.

This is a great bunch with good ideas for dealing with the day to day challenges

that come with living with a child with OCD. Keep posting, both the good and

the bad of it - nice to share the victories too!

Hang in there. They can get better with time and persistence with the ERP, ours

did.

Warmly,

Barb

Ontario, Canada

> > Hello All,

>

> >

>

> > My 5yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with OCD. We always noticed some