Hello

[Guest guest]

My name is Dana and my daughter is 8y/o. She hasn't received a definite

diagnosis yet, but we feel fairly confident she has OCD. Her father and I have

our first meeting with a therapist tomorrow.

Maybe two months ago she began with meltdowns at bedtime that could last an

hour, saying she was afraid she would die in her sleep. Her uncle (she was close

to) died suddenly in January (he was only 30) and I passed it off as a result of

that.

Shortly thereafter, I began to notice her hand washing. I counted 32 times in

one 12 hour period (just the times I was aware of). It has rapidly progressed to

repeatedly telling me throughout the day she has touched something, something

has gotten in her mouth, and " I feel like I want to wash " . She now is afraid to

touch doorknobs, items out of the fridge, bottles of water, silverware (if she

accidentally touched it before she washed)and becomes upset if someone touches

her hands. She has also begun spitting over the last few weeks and is constantly

running around with foam/saliva all over her chin. She says she's afraid she'll

be poisoned. When I ask her to wipe her face, she wipes it on her shoulder and

washes her elbows.

She seems to have since made some peace with the loss of her uncle by sleeping

in his shirt to keep her safe. Although all of this seemed to come on suddenly,

in retrospect, she has had an issue with unexplained vomiting since she was 4.

She has been tested for everything imaginable and no physical reason can be

found. The vomiting was so frequent that her back teeth are decaying and the

dentist bills are enormous.

Since the hand washing has begun, the vomiting has ceased.

I've had a difficult time dealing. I've done lots of crying and it's been good

to find some people who are dealing with the same. -Dana Knight