Seeking advice for managing my son's OCD after harmful medication experience.

9yo boy with OCD

My son has been diagnosed with OCD, but the therapist that we are seeing doesn’t specialize in OCD. They put him on medication that caused severe side effects. After we stopped the medication, they just seem to almost wash their hands of the situation. This is a center with therapists, psychiatrists, an inpatient unit, a detox, a built-in pharmacy, etc. Yet, they can’t help my child unles it’s through medication. I’m fine with meds if they improve quality of life, but they harmed my child when he tried their first line of defense med for OCD in children. The other meds are in the same class, and we just can’t risk what happened to happen again. Just a little while ago my son and his dad were playing a video game. I guess my son hit a wrong button by mistake. This sent him on a loop of having to reset the game a handful of times. He needed my husband to reset his end of the game too. My husband didn’t understand what was happening, and this led to more emotion and frustration from my son. At this point my husband is upset, so I come in to defuse the situation. I’ve learned that the calmer I am, the better. My husband is trying, but he gets overwhelmed with the behavior. This is our life on repeat. I am so afraid for my child. We need help. Does anyone have any advice in dealing with OCD in children. I just want my son comfortable and happy again. Thank you, Christine

Parents of OCD kids

Username: StoicGuyStoicGuy

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

I dealt while OCD when I was a child. Get a therapist that specializes it can be useless or even damaging to treat someone with incorrect therapies. Therapists will also tell you to not give in to the compulsions as this makes OCD grow although with a child it can be really scary to tackle all at the same time. Also, he will need skills to manage the stress and anxiety while sitting with his anxiety. Therapists will develop a hierarchy of obsessions for him to practice ERP.

Username: StoicGuyStoicGuy

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

OCD recovery relies on being okay with uncertainty. Just help him to be okay with uncertainty. Often just have him repeat " this may or may not happen I don't know" and then he will have to sit with the fear without completing a compulsion. Don't reassure him as this makes OCD worse. Just comfort and help him to manage the anxiety while he resists giving in to compulsions such as resetting his game.

Username: StoicGuyStoicGuy

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

If you need help just comment back and ask any question you have. I have 25 years experience dealing with this disorder and I know how frightening it is when it first manifests as a kid.

Username: Wolfram Wolfram

Date posted: 44w ago

I don't have experience with this but I've seen similar things with people in the past. Meds are usually suggested to kids as upsetting as it sounds ERP therapy would be too much sometimes. Maybe talk to an ERP ocd specialist and see if they can do slow and gradual ERP exercises as your son may not be able to grasp the concept of it at that age. If he were to jump in the deep end with it, it could be traumatic as its scary as hell to go through. Your fight or flight will be completely overloaded and no matter how irrational it looks like from an outside perspective, to do ERP is stressful beyond belief. But I jumped in the deep end. I think if he was to do it, gradually and slowly doing it would be better. Or maybe cbt would be a better option at this stage in his life, its less stressful to go through. Cbt will give him the ability to refocus but not the understanding like ERP. Still works but if it flares up again, maybe ask the therapist for tips to help you and your husband manage it with him. Hope this helps. Good luck to all of you

Username: Wolfram Wolfram

Date posted: 44w ago

https://youtu.be/3lvbcShuz14?feature=shared Start watching at 2 minutes in. It's about pediatric ocd and cbt

Username: Mom4

Date posted: 6y ago

My 13 yr old son was just diagnosed with OCD. Does anyone have advise on how we can best support him? He I s seeing a therapist and is doing ERP therapy.

Username: John Gavin M...

Date posted: 3y ago

New here...son was diagnosed OCD at age 6. Now he is 16 and has POCD and he is absolutely spiraling right now. I feel helpless because I cannot relieve his anxiety. He is convinced he is a sick person no matter how many times i tell him this is the OCD not him. He is physically sick from the worrying. NOCD therapist cannot see him until next month and i have no clue what to do. Any advice on coping mechanisms?

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

LisaGrossman

Hi, I have a 15 year old son who is an identical twin and both boys suffer from OCD. With one it’s under control, the other one is kind of in a crisis, every single thing that the boy does is built around his rituals. He is late to school, he hardly sleeps, and is up all night, he avoids touching things, washes his hands all the time, refuses to sit down, or sit on a certain chair, or walk through the kitchen a certain pathway, or even enter the living room. He does this ritual in the morning with his sneakers before he puts them on and has been late to school so far 4 times this year even though his alarm is set for 45 minutes earlier than it was last year. He told me a while ago he’s scared, and he wants to talk to somebody, and the psychiatrist recently put him back on sertraline. It’s killing me to see my kid like this & the family (6 of us, me & my husband & 4 kids) has no patience for him anymore.

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Seeking advice for managing my son's OCD after harmful medication experience.

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