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My DS& has been seeing a therapist for his difficult behavior. He was diagnosed with mild OCD, which we were already aware of, but this is the 1st "professional" to confirm. We worked on behavior modification for months, with no improvements, or temporary improvements. Therapist is leaning towards a chemical imbalance. Chemical imbalance/OCD is strong on my hubbys side, so not so far fetched.

My question...

Talk of medication was brought up last visit. We are discussing it. DS& is VERY gifted, as well as VERY difficult. He is always anxious, worried or beating himself up for not being perfect. He just is not being a kid. He has always seemed a bit tormented about things. He has never experienced trauma or anything that would cause this.

I was told the med would be taken for 1 yr only & would train the brain to produce the proper amount of seratonin. After 1 yr, he would never have to take it again & would lead a more productive life.

I, honestly, am ALL for it. I want him happy, & if he is suffering inside, I want it to stop. The people on my hubbys side with OCD are very low functioning, although very smart. I want more for my son. He has unlimited potential, but this is a roadblock that could stop him from acheiving all he is capable of.

If you have had any experiences with ssri's, please let me know what success you have had. I am leaning that way.

Thanks so much. This has been difficult for us.

I think that OCD responds well to behavior mod/cognitive therapy, especially if the person is motivated and smart. Have you looked at that? Also, how old is the child? Was that an 8? Of course, that could become expensive and time consuming.

Your child may need meds and it may be the right choice for your family and everything, but if I had a dollar for every person that I know that's been on some drug "temporarily" while the body magically changed itself, I'd be rich. O.k. people, it doesn't work. Not for cholesterol, not for losing weight, not for AD/HD, OCD, tourette's. I mean, maaaaybe depression, but that's about it. If you do choose meds, I would suggest combining it with a skills based program so that if your child eventually comes off medication, he hasn't lost time developing a skill set needed for happy living.

Oh, you know, I didn't read your post very carefully. I see that you tried behavior mod. Hmm. I would try a different therapist. We saw one therapist for almost two years for my sons's AD/HD. She taught me a lot and I really liked her, DS liked her. Then, I ended up finding a different therapist who actually specializes in AD/HD. Now, we're really getting the help we needed, learning about more resources in the community and so forth. I wish I'd known about her two years ago! If there's anything I've learned through my journey, it is to find people who truly specialize in your issue.

Thank you. We will be seeking a 2nd opinion & I am also waiting for a response about a blood test. Someone said a blood test will confirm if there is a chemical imbalance or not. If to blood test is yes, than we will carefully consider our next move. If answer is no, than, obviously, we will not go ahead with meds.

It runs in my husbands side & although all highly intellectual, all are very low functioning. I don't want this for my son if he is, indeed, chemically imbalanced. But, I also understand that gifted children are often misdiagnosed as having ocd when they really don't.

I appreciate your input & any other that comes my way. I am open to all veiwpoints at this time!

My husband is just like you described. He is one of the brightest people I know, but his fears keep him where he is comfortable. At this age, try all you can before he gets to puberty and refuses. My husband is comfortable being at the top so he really cannot try something new - even though he is curious.

I know that his anxiety attacks/migraines and other things really kicked in during middle school years. He will quote that he "tried that when he was twelve and it did not work" for things such as skating or French.

He made an "A" in French and clepped out in college, but refuses to speak it or teach our daughter because he is "terrible at it". I had to learn to speak it (way worse) when we traveled to France and Quebec just to get around. Then, he would tell me the correct way to say it once I had asked for directions.

It is really tough for them (and the spouse).

Some of the more gifted people in my family have mild OCD but have never been treated for it. My daughter has it and says her little brother has it too but if he does, it isn't causing enough trouble to do anything about it.

But anxiety and phobias are making life difficult for both of us. This is one of the things I will ask the developmental pediatrician about if we can ever get in to see him.

I am worried about things like my son crossing over to Boy Scouts and having to go to camp with kids who would tease him about the phobias if they found out about them.

He can talk about some of this with me, because I have some of these issues also, but I know it bothers him that his dad, retired military veteran and physically and mentally strong and very smart, seemingly perfect in every way, might think he is weak. He made a comment about this to me recently and I didn't tell his dad because I know that he never intended for his son to feel this way.

I am also sad that my son is not being a kid. My son even says he is not a kid. I don't know how to change this, but I wish you luck in finding answers.

Just try what you can and decide. Each case is different. Luckily, my daughter takes it in stride most of the time. Yesterday, my husband was going to use equipment that could "kill him" (not really for most of us). He said to call and ask if he was alive when I got to work. I called and my daughter answered. I asked her if Daddy was still alive. She yelled "Daddy, are you still alive?". She got back to me, "He said yes - he is still alive."

She knows that if she wants to do something really dangerous (like skate), she comes to me and I will take her.

Hi Florida Mom,
Our experience with meds is that any administration is a trial basis because one can be great for a person and the same one can be futile or adverse for another. Our son is now 27 but suffered miserably with OCD in school, for years. A med helped lower the anxiety/obsessions. Ritalin helped him the most as he began achieving, doing homework, and losing the odd behavior that caused him stress. His anxiety was largely caused by his social oddities and Ritalin changed his behavior to be less impulsive and he became liked by his peers. I felt it helped him improve social skills which lowered his anxiety considerably. So, I believe they are worth a try with close observance so you can switch to another when needed. I don't know if Anafranil is still used for ocd, but our dr. had to monitor his heart while on it. Also, as long as his school placement was lousy, his condition never went away totally. Blessings.

I saw an ad for a Johns Hopkins study on ocd- they are looking for families to interview & test; looking at genetics. Not sure if the study would be informative, but they might be a place to contact for more info since it sounds like they might be on the forefront in research.

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.

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!

Just wanted to day that I am so happy for you and your family floridamom

Thanks so much!

That's great! Keep the updates coming. I am very interested to see how he adjusts.