She is on the toilet and can't get off

[Wilma Jenks]

Do you guys think that this steroid burst could still start to work. It is day 4, and her OCD is still severe. She can't get unstuck. Do you know what I mean? First she is stuck washing her hands, then she is stuck getting all of her urine out of her. She can't move and get out of the bathroom. She looks like a wild animal. She doesn't even care if anyone knows she is doing these rituals. Please tell me what you would do? Would you see this steroid thing through? She has 2 more days on full dose (3 pills a day) and then we go down to 2 pills a day. What do you think???? I am so sad for this girl. I am having such a hard time watching her suffer.

[rockytop]

I am still hopeful for her, Wilma.

We saw NO improvment whatsoever until 10 days to 2 weeks.

Edited May 26, 2011 by rockytop

[nicklemama]

Wilma- I would see it through come you know what or high water. Hang in there Wilma.

[butterflymom]

=

Edited October 9, 2015 by tampicc

[TexasDad]

I think it's pretty consistent across the board that steroids need at least a week to kick in. That has been our experience too. Hang in there! : )

[Kayanne]

Do you guys think that this steroid burst could still start to work. It is day 4, and her OCD is still severe. She can't get unstuck. Do you know what I mean? First she is stuck washing her hands, then she is stuck getting all of her urine out of her. She can't move and get out of the bathroom. She looks like a wild animal. She doesn't even care if anyone knows she is doing these rituals. Please tell me what you would do? Would you see this steroid thing through? She has 2 more days on full dose (3 pills a day) and then we go down to 2 pills a day. What do you think???? I am so sad for this girl. I am having such a hard time watching her suffer.

Oh Wilma, I'm sorry you are going through ###### right now...

 

I would stick with the steroid, you're still early in the game.

 

I remember my daughter sitting on the toilet for a loooooong time. She needed step-by-step intervention to do ANYTHING. She couldn't even remember if she had urinated one minute prior. It was so scary having my completely independent 6yr old change within weeks to someone who couldn't do anything at all. She would scream if she didn't want to do something, but in the beginning of being on the steroids...she looked BAD. A wild animal is an accurate description.

 

Things did get quieter when she was dropped to the lower dose, but we still had some raging, and then on the second drop of meds, the raging stopped, she was more cooperative. She still had many symptoms, but the painic on my part subsided because she didn't look like a child that needed to be hospitalized any more.

[Wilma Jenks]

Thank you. I am for sure sticking with it. I have no other choice. One good thing is she kissed me on my head for 20 minutes straight last night. I have never really had any affection from her since birth. I always craved to hold her and kiss her. Well, last night I got my fix. LOL

[Iowadawn]

Different is "good". Hang in there.

 

You are a tough cookie!!! (((HUGS))) Dawn

[dcmom]

Wilma-

 

While we never had this reaction to oral steroids, my daughter went completely crazy for a day following IV steroids. Fortunately, once things calmed down it lead to steady improvement! Hang in there!

[dcmom]

Oh, and BTW, I have two pandas girls, who both at some point- could not get off the toilet due to ocd.

 

 

One for EXCESSIVE wiping after urination (meaning and hour in the bathroom), and the other for fear if she got off the toilet in the evening she would vomit- so she would sit there for two hours.

 

We struggled, and I am NOT a psych- but this is what we concluded.

 

This type of thing can be a panic attack caused by ocd. Trying to push too hard or force the issue COMPLETELY backfires on us. We needed to CALM the whole situation down. Although counter to what most therapists would suggest for ERP, we would LET them do what they needed, with some love and comforting (although at the same time matter of factly telling them this is a panic attack, this is ocd). Once we LET them do what they wanted for a few days, they seemed to calm to a place where we could make an ERP plan.

 

I haven't followed your complete story, how old is your dd? Have you done therapy (I am in NJ, and have not found a good ERP therapist, so I imagine you may have not). Do you have the book "What to do when your brain gets stuck" a workbook for kids to overcome ocd? It is excellent! Even if your daughter cannot do it- it was actually the book that gave me the simplest handle on ocd. Ya know- when you have two kids with raging ocd- reading a dry 300 pg book was impossible- IF I did get my tush on the sofa, I would be asleep, not reading.

 

Anyway- things WILL get better.

[Stephanie2]

Just a reminder, make sure you are following her gut. Steroids are hard on the gut and you may need to do an OAT test when the taper is done to make sure she is not left with residual yeast/bacteria which may cloud the picture KWIM?

[Wilma Jenks]

i just never see any indication that her gut is bad.