Re: Could my 5 year old have OCD

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am not a doc in any way, but it does seem your sons symptoms are similar to a

lot of kids that have OCD. My son was diagnosed when he was 5. I know the

religious obsessions and bathroom obsessions seem to be quite common. Last year

in preschool my son was constantly worried that he accidentally had a drop of

pee in his pants. He would go to the bathroom 4 times, in a three hour period,

checking to see if he had gone. OCD also loves to trick kids into the " what if "

game. It sounds like the " what if " I stick my middle finger up is a classic

example, especially when he is so bothered it brings him to tears. My son

appears to be OCD free for periods of time, but then he has a " flare up. " Since

you are questioning his behaviors a good book is, " the everything parent's guide

to children with OCD, " by and Costello. It definitely

has taught me ways to respond to him. With my docs approval I started giving my

son Omega 3's which a lot of people use here and thinks it helps with

stabilizing moods. My doc said it is completely safe to give in children, but

you might want to see what your doc says. I give him Nordic Naturals Omega

3,7,9.

OCD can definitely have a genetic component as I suffered with it as well. You

sound like me though surfing the internet and convincing myself that I have some

horrible disease! Last year I had leg twitching and I too though I had Lou

Gehrigs disease. I even had a nerve conduction study done...ouch! I have

learned one thing, the internet is great, but even with the mildest of symptoms

it makes you feel you have the most deadly disease with only months to live!!!

To:

From: strongmama@...

Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 19:24:16 +0000

Subject: Could my 5 year old have OCD

Hi everyone! I am new here and apologize in advance about the long post.

I am beginning to wonder if my 5 year old boy may have OCD. If anyone has any

thoughts/advice I appreciate it.

He has developed normally until recently he started obsessing about things.

Here are some examples...

We are not church-goers and rarely talk about God, however he worries constantly

that if he sticks his middle finger up, that God will not love him, or God will

be mad at him. The worry has had him in tears " what if I accidently do it? " He

asks me constantly!

Recently my husband was sick with diarrhea and (I am sorry to be graphic) had

blood in his stool. My son overheard this. Over the next 5 days he was

literally going to the bathroom every minute. I brought him to the ER twice and

they tested him for bladder infections and diabetes, both negative. When I

followed up with his regular doctor, she said he is worried about something and

asked what could it be. We asked him and he said he was worried about Daddy

being sick. I think now he was in the bathroom checking himself every minute

for blood.

He is overly concerned about other people following the " rules " and gets

extremely upset when another child breaks a rule (yet he tends to break the same

ones). He has major meltdowns if someone is not behaving properly.

Here is one more example. Three years ago I put poison peanuts in mole holes in

my backyard. A peanut was in our yard the other day and I told him not to touch

it as it might be a leftover poison one. For days following he worried that he

was poisoned, and finally confessed that he touched it before I told him not to.

He then washed his hands a number of times to make sure he wasn't poisoned, even

though days had passed since the incident. Now when he finds things on the

ground he asks me if they could be poison and when I tell him know he continues

to ask how I know they are not poison, etc.

I have heard OCD may be genetic. I do tend to obsess, but have never been

diagnosed. I am convinced I have Lou Gerhigs disease and spend hours on the

internet, and crying thinking I am dying. My 7 year old daughter also takes

about an hour to fall asleep each night as she worries about alligators,

volcanoes, and other things unlikely to occur in the Midwest!

Does this sound like OCD to you? Should I be seeking professional help for him,

or does this seem mild? We actually don't have any child psychologists in our

area so I am not sure what type of doctor to seek out. Thank you for your

help!!!

[Guest guest]

It can definately be called generalized anxiety. He is definately the

kind of child that should have information limited to what

he really needs to know. I didn't have my daughter watch the

news until she was in 5th grade and I wanted her to understand

that there are bad people. .

When my daughter was in K, 1 and 2 I would look at the health

worksheets before she saw it. Some information at school

is overstated for kids that don't think anything can

happen to them. Your son is the other way, a high fear of harm.

It is going to take you thinking through what and how you say

things to him.

Health rules need to be stated as: these are the rules

for good health. And that you should try to follow

these rules often, but if you don't sometimes you

are strong enough to stay healthy.

My daughter was afraid of knifes. They scared her.

So I gave her a plastic knife to practice cutting

soft things with. As she got older

I told her I had to be present to use a sharp knife.

I think the boy scout handbook is a really good book

to teach a boy health and safety skills and when he

is scared you can remind him that he knows the

safe way to do things and that this will keep him safe.

I was and still am greatly helped by working with a

therapist weekly. It is so helpful to have another

adult help me think through how to reshape fears.

Pam

>

> Hi everyone! I am new here and apologize in advance about the long post. I

am beginning to wonder if my 5 year old boy may have OCD. If anyone has any

thoughts/advice I appreciate it.

>

> He has developed normally until recently he started obsessing about things.

Here are some examples...

>

> We are not church-goers and rarely talk about God, however he worries

constantly that if he sticks his middle finger up, that God will not love him,

or God will be mad at him. The worry has had him in tears " what if I accidently

do it? " He asks me constantly!

>

> Recently my husband was sick with diarrhea and (I am sorry to be graphic) had

blood in his stool. My son overheard this. Over the next 5 days he was

literally going to the bathroom every minute. I brought him to the ER twice and

they tested him for bladder infections and diabetes, both negative. When I

followed up with his regular doctor, she said he is worried about something and

asked what could it be. We asked him and he said he was worried about Daddy

being sick. I think now he was in the bathroom checking himself every minute

for blood.

>

> He is overly concerned about other people following the " rules " and gets

extremely upset when another child breaks a rule (yet he tends to break the same

ones). He has major meltdowns if someone is not behaving properly.

>

> Here is one more example. Three years ago I put poison peanuts in mole holes

in my backyard. A peanut was in our yard the other day and I told him not to

touch it as it might be a leftover poison one. For days following he worried

that he was poisoned, and finally confessed that he touched it before I told him

not to. He then washed his hands a number of times to make sure he wasn't

poisoned, even though days had passed since the incident. Now when he finds

things on the ground he asks me if they could be poison and when I tell him know

he continues to ask how I know they are not poison, etc.

>

> I have heard OCD may be genetic. I do tend to obsess, but have never been

diagnosed. I am convinced I have Lou Gerhigs disease and spend hours on the

internet, and crying thinking I am dying. My 7 year old daughter also takes

about an hour to fall asleep each night as she worries about alligators,

volcanoes, and other things unlikely to occur in the Midwest!

>

> Does this sound like OCD to you? Should I be seeking professional help for

him, or does this seem mild? We actually don't have any child psychologists in

our area so I am not sure what type of doctor to seek out. Thank you for your

help!!!

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter was 5 when she was diagnosed. She/we have been in treatment

for a year now, and she has improved dramatically. I hope your son feels

some relief from his symptoms soon, and hopefully you can find a doctor

that will be helpful. I also have OCD, but didn't realize that my

" superstitious " behavior was in fact OCD until I started helping my

daughter get treatment. After a year on an SSRI, I have honestly never

felt better---never could I have imagined how much OCD was a part of my

life until it no longer was (or was at least reduced greatly). My quality

of life is my better, although at the time before diagnosis I didn't think

anything was wrong, I just thought I was a bit quirky. My best wishes to

you--good luck! This email list has been a real lifeline for me and my

family, and we are so thankful to everyone.

> Hi everyone! I am new here and apologize in advance about the long post.

> I am beginning to wonder if my 5 year old boy may have OCD. If anyone has

> any thoughts/advice I appreciate it.

>

> He has developed normally until recently he started obsessing about

> things. Here are some examples...

>

> We are not church-goers and rarely talk about God, however he worries

> constantly that if he sticks his middle finger up, that God will not love

> him, or God will be mad at him. The worry has had him in tears " what if I

> accidently do it? " He asks me constantly!

>

> Recently my husband was sick with diarrhea and (I am sorry to be graphic)

> had blood in his stool. My son overheard this. Over the next 5 days he

> was literally going to the bathroom every minute. I brought him to the ER

> twice and they tested him for bladder infections and diabetes, both

> negative. When I followed up with his regular doctor, she said he is

> worried about something and asked what could it be. We asked him and he

> said he was worried about Daddy being sick. I think now he was in the

> bathroom checking himself every minute for blood.

>

> He is overly concerned about other people following the " rules " and gets

> extremely upset when another child breaks a rule (yet he tends to break

> the same ones). He has major meltdowns if someone is not behaving

> properly.

>

> Here is one more example. Three years ago I put poison peanuts in mole

> holes in my backyard. A peanut was in our yard the other day and I told

> him not to touch it as it might be a leftover poison one. For days

> following he worried that he was poisoned, and finally confessed that he

> touched it before I told him not to. He then washed his hands a number of

> times to make sure he wasn't poisoned, even though days had passed since

> the incident. Now when he finds things on the ground he asks me if they

> could be poison and when I tell him know he continues to ask how I know

> they are not poison, etc.

>

> I have heard OCD may be genetic. I do tend to obsess, but have never been

> diagnosed. I am convinced I have Lou Gerhigs disease and spend hours on

> the internet, and crying thinking I am dying. My 7 year old daughter also

> takes about an hour to fall asleep each night as she worries about

> alligators, volcanoes, and other things unlikely to occur in the Midwest!

>

> Does this sound like OCD to you? Should I be seeking professional help

> for him, or does this seem mild? We actually don't have any child

> psychologists in our area so I am not sure what type of doctor to seek

> out. Thank you for your help!!!

>

>

>

>

--

Dr. L. Ware

Assistant Professor

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Boyden Hall, room 406

195 University Ave, Newark, NJ, 07102

[Guest guest]

Hi, it certainly sounds like OCD, or even if more general anxiety/worries, you

can still work on them the same way. Have you visited the OCD Foundation

website yet? http://ocfoundation.org

It has a lot of helpful info about therapy for it, meds that would be prescribed

if needed, and also a search function to see if anyone in your area who treats

OCD is listed (don't lose hope if you see no one, they're only listed if they've

asked to be put on the website).

Also there are some great books listed there for parents and kids about OCD. He

may enjoy a book about " worries " and what OCD is.

If this seems like it will continue (sounds like it may), I would certainly look

for some help with treatment. Helping him to learn about OCD and its " worries "

or compulsions/rituals (sometimes they have them and we don't realize it!), will

also help him, especially if you find a children's book that relates to what

he's doing.

Welcome to our group!

>

> Hi everyone! I am new here and apologize in advance about the long post. I

am beginning to wonder if my 5 year old boy may have OCD. If anyone has any

thoughts/advice I appreciate it.

>

> He has developed normally until recently he started obsessing about things.

Here are some examples...

>

> We are not church-goers and rarely talk about God, however he

[Guest guest]

I agree that this sounds like OCD. My daughter's OCD symptoms, which ebbed and

flowed, began when she was 5. Unfortunately we didn't recognize it for what it

was for several years. It is heartbreaking to see your child suffer like this.

:-(

It's interesting how OCD causes obsessions that are common among OCD sufferers

but have no connection to the person's own life. For example, we are not very

religious, and what little religious training my daughter received was purely of

the " God loves you unconditionally " variety. However, she has experienced severe

religious obsessions and believes she will be condemned to Hell for vague sins

that I don't understand.

I would definitely recommend seeking out a therapist. I wish I had done this

more quickly when was 5. You may want to ask your pediatrician for a

recommendation.

I wish you luck in finding a skilled, knowledgeable counselor. Welcome to the

group!

- 16 (OCD, anxiety/depression, Asperger's Syndrome, NVLD)

>

> Hi everyone! I am new here and apologize in advance about the long post. I

am beginning to wonder if my 5 year old boy may have OCD. If anyone has any

thoughts/advice I appreciate it.

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!  Thank you so much for the warm welcome and advice.  It sounds like

now is a good time to seek out some therapy.  Thank you for the book and website

recommendations, I will be sure to check them out.  I don't want anyone else to

suffer like this, but it is good to know there are others out there and a lot of

support! 

We are going out of town to have some fun this weekend, so hopefully his worries

will be minimal!  I will check back in on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone.