Zoloft, Celexa, 3 year-old with OCD

[Guest guest]

Hi There,

I'm responding to different posts at the same time. I am sitting in a hotel

room in Oconomowoc, WI, the home town to Memorial Hospital, where my

beautiful and very ill daughter is getting treatment for her OCD.

She was exhibiting symptoms by age three -- with separation anxiety, frequent

hand washing related to thoughts about getting sick (FREQUENT - her hands were

bloody and raw,and she refused lotion because of her fear of contamination).

After years of this, and more and more rituals, I finally, at age 12, got her

into weekly therapy at a University where they did CBT and ERP. I had to

diagnose her myself, with the help of books, and the University confirmed the

diagnosis. By this time she was so entrenched in her illness, so now, . A

diagnosis at age three would have been a gift; she would have not lost so much

of the following ten precious years. I am glad OCD has gotten more attention

and that younger kiddos are getting the diagnosis. To mom of three year old:

read books, get ideas from the OCD Foundation, and get support for yourself

(this on-line group has been great for me). Medication and CBT combined are the

front-line treatment, so read up on the effect on little kiddos and work with

your doctor. Drag your husband to appointments when possible. I decided that I

would let my kid get medication if she had cancer, so why not OCD?

With regard to meds: I think each child will respond differently to the same

meds. She was on Zoloft which made her super happy, jumpy, giddy almost. Not

that she didn't like it, be she could not come down from the high while taking

it. They moved her to Celexa, and she is now twitching and unable to focus on

anything. They are going to try something else, and then something else, until

the right med comes along that works. Others don't have the same reactions, and

my guess is that the reaction changes during puberty (well, for her,at any

rate).

Hugs and support.

Judy