Chemar, question for you....

[trggirl]

Chemar, I know that you have mentioned that your son had tourettic OCD. My daughter has to say in her head "Ready, set, go" over and over before she does ANYTHING. For example, if she is doing a worksheet, she has to say it numerous times with each problem before she starts the problem. It will take us 2 hours to get through a worksheet when it should be taking 30 minutes. She can't stop it and it is really interfering with her ability to function. Is this tourettic OCD? Do you have any suggestions on what might help with this?

[Wombat140]

(Know this is addressed to Chemar but anyway.)

Still trying to find out myself what would help! Couldn't really say whether it sounds like Tourettic OCD or not without more information. Does she have any reason for doing it (afraid something will happen if she doesn't)? If so it seems like fairly classical OCD. Otherwise, well, it might be. Here's a link to Charles Mansueto's original article on Tourettic OCD, see what you think.

All the best,

Wombat140

Edited October 20, 2010 by Wombat140

[Chemar]

Hi

yes, what you are describing does sound like OCD

 

Tourettic OCD is a term used to describe the OCD associated with Tourette Syndrome, where sometimes tics can become obsessive or compulsive, or where OCD behaviors can become tics.

The "have to", "just right" and "or else something bad may happen" etc seen with so called classic OCD CAN also be present with tourettic OCD, so that is not a distinction. In fact, from our observance of both my hubby and son's tourettic OCD, it manifests with many of the same criteria as "classic" OCD, the only difference being the "morphing" of OCD symptoms into tics and tics becoming OCD-like

 

Just as with classic OCD, treatment is centered primarily in CBT techniques (cognitive behavioral therapy) as well as on elevating serotonin, which seems to reduce the OCD symptoms

 

my son currently uses foods high in serotonin and inositol to help, in addition to drinking lemon balm tea, and also the aromatherapy of pure jasmine oil.

 

there are various supplements that are also used like inositol, tryptophan, 5HTP, methionine, samE and even st John's Wort

 

HTH

[trggirl]

Thank you Wombat140 and Chemar! I will check out the links and try to decide what supplement to try!

[4Jack]

Thank you so much Wombat for posting this article on Tourettic OCD. This is my son to a "T". I have been asking my son's neurologist, pediatrician, and psychologist to distinguish between the two and have not yet gotten a satisfactory answer. His neurologist dx him with TS and OCD behaviors but his psychologist sees none of the OCD because he does not have the underlying obsessive thoughts or anxieties. I always thought the neurologist erroniously dx with OCD because his tic at the time involved vocal counting. It makes sense it was a compulsive element of his tics. I have learned more on this site than from any of the many doctors we have seen.

[Wombat140]

I'm so glad it helped. Pass it on if need be, won't you? It seems to be a rather little-known phenomenon. I was very surprised a few weeks ago to see someone on a mainstream OCD forum mentioning it - apart from here, I'd never seen anyone mention it before except me! It's easy to find the article again if you lose it, anyway - the combination of the words "Mansueto" and "Tourettic" is pretty distinctive for a Web search!

Isn't it funny how many apparently unrelated things go with "Tourettic OCD"? The sensitivity to clothes, and so on. I suppose that's good circumstantial evidence that it really is a distinct type.