Help with daily stuff

[laure]

HI Laure-

 

You will get your daughter back- and more importantly, she will get herself back.

 

This happened to our older daughter at age 8.5. She is our oldest. We are/were fairly strict and she was thriving, she was a high achiever in everything she did, and such an enthusiastic sweet girs. YOU need to hang on to who your daughter really is- because she is there, under all of the ocd, fears, and anger. AND you will be the one to help her find herself, and remind her of what she can do, once she gets treatment.

 

My dd has really turned around. YES we still have residual issues, BUT they do not interfere with her life. She still has some anxiety, and I think some cognitive difficulty (spelling- but no problem with conceptual). BUT- we can talk about it and work on it. We let go of everything during crisis. It was basically get her to eat, and not be miserable. She was out of school for 2 months.

 

But, after treatment she went right back to school- and the teacher commented that she was immediately back on track. At home, I could tell it took a bit longer, but she is doing really well now. I have let go of a lot- eased on schoolwork, extra curriculars, room tidiness, etc. But- I try to be tough on the ocd- which means we go out if she doesn't want to, we eat out, she tries out for the school play (because she wants to) even though the anxiety is high, etc. And I am militant when it comes to a healthy lifestyle (to bed early, eating healthy with frequent snacks, limited screen time, time outdoors and family activities).

 

Oh- and one thing I wish I tried much earlier- Melatonin if your daughter has trouble getting to sleep at night (although don't use with steroids).

[laure]

Hi dcmom!

Thanks, and yes we also are adamant on some issues. None of our kids has ever watched TV, mostly not in the culture where they grew up. They do watch movies, so if she takes care of all of her "list" items, I now let her watch a little even on school nights. She gets 9 - 9.5 hours of sleep a night, which seems to be enough, and she seems to have no trouble sleeping. Maybe if I tried melatonin she would sleep even longer, not sure if that would be helpful. I am big on healthy and organic food, lots and lots of exercise, and outdoor time. I think the exercise helps her brain. Also the distraction of friends and sports is wonderful. She does not admit to a problem, although obviously she knows we know. I look forward to being able to talk to her about it and talk her through the OCD and treatment for that. For now the mere mention of it is met with a rage. Sept 29th is her appt, counting down to that day.

[PhillyPA]

Last fall/winter my then 7 year old son would refuse to bath or brush his teeth. I would pick him up and make him do it. I would hold that little stinker down and bathe him or shower him. I would hold him and force him to brush his teeth. He would scream bloody murder. But - he was clean. I did this every other day. Cleanliness was not an option for me. OCD or not. I didn't really care what he wanted or how difficult it was for him. This is what normal people do, they bathe and take showers. When he was diagnosed last February 2010. Started steroids and augmentin. Wouldn't you know it - all bathing difficulties and teeth brushing issues were gone in one month. Apparently my actions left no mental scars on my son. It just stopped. No therapy needed. Just medicine. He still has big problems but cleanliness isn't one of them. The medicine also stopped the constant hand washing. He would get up several times in the middle of the night to wash his hands. They were red and chapped. This too went away after a month. Personally, I think the steroids were what helped most.

[laure]

Last fall/winter my then 7 year old son would refuse to bath or brush his teeth. I would pick him up and make him do it. I would hold that little stinker down and bathe him or shower him. I would hold him and force him to brush his teeth. He would scream bloody murder. But - he was clean. I did this every other day. Cleanliness was not an option for me. OCD or not. I didn't really care what he wanted or how difficult it was for him. This is what normal people do, they bathe and take showers. When he was diagnosed last February 2010. Started steroids and augmentin. Wouldn't you know it - all bathing difficulties and teeth brushing issues were gone in one month. Apparently my actions left no mental scars on my son. It just stopped. No therapy needed. Just medicine. He still has big problems but cleanliness isn't one of them. The medicine also stopped the constant hand washing. He would get up several times in the middle of the night to wash his hands. They were red and chapped. This too went away after a month. Personally, I think the steroids were what helped most.