Thank you all so much for your input. I am still torn about this decision, but feel it is worth a shot. If there is no permenant evidence of damage, then I don't see a problem trying it out. Who knows if it will work for the better or for the worse.

DS7 is very smart, as all of you have this in common with me, but, is a perfectionist who will try something once & not again if he fails. The pressure he has on himself is tremendous. This is 100% internal. We do not push our kids. We encourage them & explain that everyone has different gifts. Some must try harder than others at certain things. So, it kills me to see him beat himself up.

Even at 1 yr, he would stack blocks high, but if they fell, he would have a serious, angry tantrum & it would be weeks before those blocks were played with again. It was shocking & that reaction to failure is still holding him back. We didn't realize how strange that block issue was until we had our 2nd son, who laughed so hard the 1st time his blocks fell. He would build them just to knock them down & laugh. It drove his older brother nuts!

Anyhow, DS7 constantly says what a bad child he is, how stupid he is & what a bad artist & writer he is. (he is an excellent artist & writer). He is so hard on himself & it doesn't matter how much I tell him how great he is, he has a different veiw of himself. It just hurts me to imagine a child feeling this way.

If the meds can help him feel more like a kid, than I have to at least try it. If it doesn't work, than we will know it is something we will have to deal with forever & figure it out.

I am still hoping to hear more success or failure stories about this issue, so please keep them coming!! And, THANKS!!!

Hi floridamom,

I registered just to reply to your posting!!

I grew up with OCD and have been on SSRIs since I was 18. I had no idea I had OCD when I was younger; since both of my parents have it, I figured it was normal.

My youth was awful, but it had nothing to do with my parents - I was so tormented. I was a straight A student, high school valedictorian, but would spend hours every night secretly doing rituals, even as a small child.

Then, when I finally learned I had severe OCD and I was put on SSRIs, my life changed - suddenly, I could smile, laugh, and it would take me maybe 30 minutes instead of 4 hours to go to bed. I have had a wonderful life since I have been taking the SSRIs!!

My one wish is that I had taken them when I was younger - honestly, it would have changed my life. I really do feel that my life began when I turned 18. It's SO hard having OCD - I would not wish it on anyone! It takes a little while to get used to the SSRIs (a few weeks) but after that, life becomes beautiful

I'm now a teacher and loving every minute of life! I'm curious to know what happens - good luck with everything!

Thank you for your post! "tormented" is the word that most describes my son. It hurts me that he seems so tormented all the time. He also takes a LOOOONG time to go to bed. Drives me nuts. We have got it down to about an hour process.

We recognized the OCD as early as 2 yrs old. I really appreciate hearing from someone with ocd that has found ssri's so helpful. I am 99% sure we will go ahead with it, but it is scary for me. We have our 2nd opinion appointment on 5/4. If this psychiatrist agrees with the therapist's diagnosis, than he will prescribe the meds.

A co-worker of mine is in her 50's & on ssri's. She said she wishes her mom or someone would have recognized her problem when she was a child. She said that if she would have been on ssri's from a young age, she would have become the Dr. she was meant to be. Of course, these drugs have only been available for about 8 yrs, so that was not an option for her.

I would love to hear more from you, Rachelle27. Any other info you can provide would be helpful.

Thanks!!

Hi Floridamom -

Just wanted to say it's great that you are looking into ways to help your son with his anxiety and OCD behaviors. While I think you are on the right track looking for possible medication to help with these issues, I would say that you are wise to be a little cautious. Some people do not react to meds in the expected ways. Sometimes this means they need more or less of the medication than "usual" and sometimes it means they react in ways that suggest a different diagnosis.

As a parent with lots of experience dealing with mental health issues with more than one kid, I would suggest that you start a log of your son's behaviors and meds, assuming he starts some. Doesn't have to be complicated but it will be very helpful to you in the long run. Tracking changes in problem behaviors and meds can sometimes provide information and insights you would not otherwise have discovered.

Here's the things I would consider tracking if I were you:

1)any special/unusual problems or events that day (for example - attended bday party, big melt down, sick w/cold),
2) assign a number to the level of problematic OCD behaviors you saw that day (doesn't matter what scale as long as it's flexible enough to accommodate extremes of behaviors and easy to use - for example maybe 1=few problems 2= moderate problems 3= many problems 4=off the charts)
3)assign a number to his apparent anxiety if you think it would be helpful to track that separately (hint - use the same scale for all the things you're tracking with a number)
4)assign a number for his highest and lowest mood states of the day (this may be important as SSRI's can affect moods in unexpected ways - you want to be aware of possible depression and/or up/agitated/manic type behaviors or language)
5)what meds he had that day including anything unusual like cold meds or antibiotics,
6)anything else you think might be helpful to track (like how long it took to get him to bed that night) that would give you concrete evidence that the meds were or were not helping.

If you're tech savvy, you can set it up as a spreadsheet and enter your data directly into the spreadsheet. Then you can make lovely charts of the scores to help look for patterns over time.

His doctors will love you and you will get a lot of information that may be very helpful as you figure out how best to help your son.

Best wishes

Sorry it took me so long to respond. DS7 started his meds 7 weeks ago & LIFE IS GOOD!! What a dramatic change we have in our home. He is still the same kid, but now the OCD is very managable if not completely gone. He still gets mad occassionally, but now it is not extreme & he is over it & happy again in 2 minutes. I can have a reasonable discussion with him about behavior & later watch him implement what I said. He is the 1st to apologize to his little brother when they argue. He shares more, and is more relaxed & always upbeat & happy. He is no longer worried, controlling, violent,argumentative or anxious. Bedtime is a breeze. That has been the biggest change.

He is on the lowest dose of risperadol at night & the lowest dose of zoloft in the morning. I am very happy that I went ahead with it. Although, when I gave him that 1st pill, I went in the bathroom & cried. I felt like I was selling out. But, I feel differently now. I did it for him & he is happy & enjoying life. A far cry from where he was 2 months ago.

He is a mature, caring, compassionate, thoughtful 7 yr old. I am so proud of him.

YAY for you and your fantastic little boy. Sometimes it's hard to see the child behind all the behaviors. It's so wonderful that you have found your son!

We had a similar experience when our son started zoloft at the same age. He was so controlling and irritable because he was so worried that something would happen that he couldn't handle. He couldn't sleep at night because he was scared. He was afraid to take meds and gagged when he tried, but within the first week, he was so proud and confident about all the new things he could do now that anxiety wasn't holding him back.

Now at age 9, we are in the process of going off meds, and so far so good.

I am so happy for you!

Thank you!! I haven't been able to speak about it much since we decided to keep it in the family. But, yes, I have found him & he is a wonderful child. We already knew he was gifted, but worried he would never reach his full potential because he had so much trouble with his fear of failure, and his controlling, difficult behavior.

Your son sounds just like mine. Good luck with going off the meds. I have a son who I never knew existed & now I can't wait to see him after school, etc. Before, I would have to emotionally prep myself for a battle that I knew we would have before even reaching home.

It's not for every child, but exactly what he needed to thrive & be happy.

Keep me posted with how it goes. I am dreading the possibility that going off the meds in a year or so will mean the old behavior & anxious thoughts will return. I would like to hear how your son does.

Good Luck!!!

Well done Floridamom!

Hi. I'm so glad to hear this update as I've been thinking of you from time to time. Our son's behavior was exactly like your son's. I understand how draining this is on all in the family. The joy is in seeing these kids be liberated from OCD and the emotional suffering it causes. Thanks for letting us know this good news. - San

Thank you. We all couldn't be happier. He is great!