OCD??? or not???
By speedy1279
@speedy1279 (2665)
United States
December 11, 2007 9:28pm CST
Okay I just took my son to see his psychiatrist for his ADHD today. Well during the visit my son started doing his normal things of having to have all the toys in perfect order. Well it was right about the end of the session and I was trying to get my son to come on, but he wasn't having it. He was dead set on getting it done just right and then the game he was trying to put up fell apart and my son lost it. He was in tears. Of course the whole time, the doctor was still observing him and then said to me that it looks like he has OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). He asked me if he was always like this or was this just a fluke thing. Of course I told the doctor that he is always like this. No matter what he is playing with, it has to be in a certain order and be just perfect. And if you mess it up (even by accident) he loses it and has a temper tantrum. Up until now, I never thought about my son having OCD. I just figured he had a very organized personality. But now that I have read up on OCD and the signs and symptoms. I am starting to wonder if my son just might have OCD. I know the article I read said that it is very common for children with ADHD to have OCD as well. Anyways the doctor wants to keep observing him for OCD for now to see if he in fact does have OCD.
Any suggestions or advice??? I feel horrible to keep finding out my son has more problems. Like it's my fault, maybe I didn't do something right when I was pregnant that caused all this. Why couldn't he have been born a normal healthly child? As of right now, he has speech delay, diagnosed with ADHD and now it could be possible he might have OCD. What next???
3 people like this
8 responses
@terri0824 (4991)
• United States
12 Dec 07
How old is your son? I wouldn't blame yourself. You are doing the right thing by having his ADHD treated. There is one thing that many parents don't know about and that if children drink orange juice it can appear to give symptoms of ADD or ADHD. The sugar content in orange juice is very high. And then to boot they have had a pop tart with it, even more sugar. I really believe that most of our children's problems are a result of the foods they eat. There isn't much that we eat that doesn't have some type of perservative in it. My nephew has these same symptoms OCD and speech delay, and he was given a diagnosis of autism (I'm not for sure if this is a true diagnosis or one thrown from the mouth at random.) He is going to speech therapy and has made vast improvement in his speech. There are studies that are showing that immunization shots are the culprit of autism. Hope I didn't throw you for another loop. Just something to keep in mind.
@speedy1279 (2665)
• United States
12 Dec 07
Thanks for the advice. I never knew about the orange juice thing. That is interesting. But I know his signs of ADHD is not from orange juice as he doesn't drink it all that often and I limit my kids sugar intake. As for the Autism, I am not too worried about. I am pretty sure he doesn't have it, but you never know. I will just try to keep my chin up.
@joey_matthews (8354)
•
14 Dec 07
It sounds like he may have it, but you can never say for definate because OCD affects people in different ways.
I think i have OCD, but i have only ever talked to my husband about it before.
It can be something that will gradually go as he gets older.
Mine is where if i don't do something a certain way and a certain amount of times my mind tells me at the time something bad will happen.
If i do what my mind tells me my OCD just gets worse and more often, so the best way to stop it from getting worse is just not do what it tells you that you need to do even if it means he will have a tantrum, its better than it getting worse.
~Joeys wife
@DJ9020 (1596)
• United States
12 Dec 07
Let's see - with my daughter, we started out with school and social anxiety, went from there to Major Depression, and then OCD. She has a thing about having all the doors in the house closed and having to carry handiwipes with her to school to wipe down the keyboards before she will get to work. She always, and I mean always, wears the same hoodie when she leaves the house. Even on medication, it is a struggle for her everyday. I don't think you did anything wrong, just like I don't think my daughter's problems are my fault. Some people will argue against medication, but with the proper medication, you son can be as successful as he wants to be.
@musicman6 (2406)
• United States
12 Dec 07
speedy don't feel so bad, things like this happen to other people as well, it's not just you!
Even my own daughter has been blessed with a child that has seizures,imagine what she has to go through for the rest of her son's life!
But you know what, I thought about it for a long time also and wondered why, I finally realized that God has chosen certain people to receive these children like this because He knows that you are the special person for this responsibility!
You must be blessed, like my daughter is because she has done well in dealing with this problem!
@elizabethbathory (1132)
• United States
12 Dec 07
A few people in my family suffer from OCD and, truth be told, I believe that I do, too. I always find myself counting things and lining things up in perfect rows (i.e., sheets of paper on my desk), so I know full well how difficult it can be. If it goes unchecked, as it obviously has with me, these "habits" become so ingrained into who you are that they're almost impossible to break away from.
@froggylovesu (173)
• United States
12 Dec 07
Yes always follow doctor advice I agree but does'nt hurt to gather facts yourself information .As when you see the
doctor and say I wonder I was researching is this a possabilty of what we are dealing with or not ? If not why not ? just curious is all here .
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
12 Dec 07
Do not blame yourself. Take one day at a time. I went through that for a long time when we found out that my son has CP. All we can do is work at making their lives as normal as possible. Be happy that he is as good as he is, when I really get down, I make myself go somewhere where there are lots of people worse off than we are. Maybe finding out that he has this will be a plus. Help you to find ways to get things through to him and really help him along. If you need to talk PM me and we can email each other.
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
12 Dec 07
Ok hun- if you took care of yourself in your pregnancy you did nothing! Sounds like you are the type that would! :) Anyway, I didn't know that it was common to have ADHD and OCD together. My nephew is 5 and has chronic and I mean chronic OCD and needs serious meds because it affects him in school and his speech is also impaired but they keep saying they can't diagnose him until his 8 and he's only 5 now, my sister is a mess and feeling like you. It's not your fault- stuff happens and just love your son! Do what is best for him and go with your gut!! It sounds like your son has OCD- I'm not a doc at least not yet but he definitely has the symptoms. My nephew does the same thing with his toys- he has to swirl his spoon around the outside of his cereal bowl 3 times before every bite, he literally organizes the whole house the way he wants it- helps my sister out- this is how I get her to look on the bright side! :)
Hang in there, he doesn't sound this bad but I think without treatment it can get worse! Just love him and hug him and actually maybe let him know that organizing like he does is a cool thing and watch him do it and pretty soon he just might let you in on helping- this is how my sis gets my nephew to open up and not get so upset when it's time to put the toys away and he's not ready!
I feel for you and I know it takes a lot of patience- but there is hope and with whatever treatment you go with- it should get better!
Take care- add me as a friend if you need to talk! :)
