14 year old son diagnosed recently with OCD, advice please

[Guest guest]

our son was diagnosed about 3 months ago, we have had a difficult time because

the clinical nurse he first met went off on long term sickness with stress, we

were referred to psychiatrist who prescribed Prozep and he developed nearly all

the side affects including a rash, our son was scared one of the questions he

asked before being prescribed medication was " will it change me " he was told no

and then with the side affects didn't like the changes. He said he felt

medication wasn't working for him and after we insisted on seeing the

psychiatrist again he decided to come off the medication with our support. We

did however, have a problem because the psychiatrist was extremely forceful and

would'nt listen to our son and insisted he stayed on the medication and even

stated that it was to be increased. We went to see GP and she advised how to

reduce the medication and come off, we have informed the psychiatrist but have

not yet had a response. We have today received a letter from psychology and

hope that the CBT will start but I have also been advised about ERP which I will

also enquire about.

Our son gets quite aggressive at times and his behaviour is quite extreme

screaming, shouting, swearing is this related to the OCD? I would appreciate

hearing from other parents as to how they dealt with the difficulties and if

their experiences were similar. At times we feel quite alone as he is so

secretative about it, it has caused him to have a lot of time of school so we

have had that added pressure. He doesn't like us to talk about OCD and at times

I just want to cuddle him and tell him he is safe but he doesn't like me to.

Any guidance would be great, thanks. Jx

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

There is much in your description that rings a bell. My 15 yr old daughter

has been very secretive about her OCD, and is still reluctant to talk about

it. She also showed signs of mild aggressiveness and bad language after

about four weeks on Zoloft. But that has passed now.

She has not resisted medication but it took almost four months before it

began to make any difference. The anxiety seems to have lifted now and she

is getting back into her life again.

As you have no doubt heard from others, the theory is that the medication

helps dampen the anxiety so that the sufferer can begin to confront their

OCD with ERP. But maybe your son can begin the treatment without the

medicine.

Because there is a method (medication+ERP) that seems to show good results,

I wonder if some medical practitioners don't go into auto-pilot and forget

to see the person sitting in front of them. Our daughter lost all respect

for her councillor when the latter didn't have the patience and empathy to

listen and react appropriately.

As someone else has written on this forum, you are the best expert on your

child. The unique parental combination of love, knowledge (read books and

this forum) and gut-feeling/common-sense will make sure you find the best

way to help him.

Don't give up on the cuddles - teenagers are strange beings: one minute they

are almost grown up, the next they are like small children.

Good luck,