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CBT with neuropsychologist while on abx


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Our daughter has been ill for about a year and a half. She was just diagnosed recently and is now on day 12 of second abx, CIPRO. She has shown some improvement the last few days and we are hopeful that she is responding to the abx. We had an appointment for an eval. for tomorrow to address her OCD issues with a psy. who specializes in CBT with children. My husband has cold feet now saying that he is afraid we will lose the ground we've gained over the last few weeks if we take her to a psychologist now. He is concerned she will think that we think she's crazy (she does deny her symptoms) and may withdraw or her symptoms worsen. I agreed to wait a few more weeks to see if she does indeed respond to the abx. My question is has anyone else had any experience in this particular area. Taylor is 12 now and she has been ill for a year and a half. It is very hard to see her suffer and I'm just eager now that we know something that we proceed to get her help as quickly as possible. My husband was hesitant at first when I told him she may have PANDAS. Perhaps I could give him some information on OCD and how to help children who suffer with it. Any suggestions?

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Hi - My dd13 has been dealing with PANDAS since she was 9. She has seen a psychologist for CBT that was initially one of the most helpful things we did and she was also on antibiotics. If you see someone good with a grounding in PANDAS she should be able to frame this for your daughter as an illness that effects her brain. We have taught our daughter to talk about it as an autoimmune disorder. CBT gave us tools to handle some of the situations that came with PANDAS. We still use some of it when needed. It was empowering.

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Hi - My dd13 has been dealing with PANDAS since she was 9. She has seen a psychologist for CBT that was initially one of the most helpful things we did and she was also on antibiotics. If you see someone good with a grounding in PANDAS she should be able to frame this for your daughter as an illness that effects her brain. We have taught our daughter to talk about it as an autoimmune disorder. CBT gave us tools to handle some of the situations that came with PANDAS. We still use some of it when needed. It was empowering.

Thank you for sharing. That is what I was imagining it to be like for Taylor. I guess her dad is as much denial as our daughter Taylor is. I may try to give my husband info. about cbt and tell him your experience. Thanks, Ellen

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Hi!

 

I can relate to your husband's fears, and it's even possible that, at first, you'll both think they've been realized. CBT for OCD isn't easy, and especially when the sufferer is in denial about it, being asked to confront the fears and anxieties can stir them up some and roil the waters. But here's the thing: the therapy won't create NEW fears or anxieties. It's only bringing to the surface the ones that already exist. And especially for an older child, abx can make a tremendous difference in their functionality, but therapy can help take her the rest of the way.

 

My DS is now 14; he had been diagnosed with OCD at 6, and it wasn't until his OCD grew to unmanageable levels at age 12 that we found PANDAS and discovered that he's "allergic to strep," among other OCD triggers. Abx helped him when all the traditional OCD interventions (both pharmacological and therapeutic) couldn't make a dent in his anxiety or behaviors. But as he's healed and become healthier, the therapy is helping to give him and us the tools we need for conquering the rest of the OCD that could possible hold him back if we don't address it. Unfortunately, while the OCD may be triggered by microbes and/or pathogens, the behaviors can become learned and/or habitual over time, and people can come to be married to rituals and/or compulsions that they truly believe help them manage the anxiety. But OCD's insidious and a major trickster, and those rituals and compulsions, if not dealt with, can grow and expand and consume more and more of a person's time and space. And, unfortunately, I think for older kids that can be more the case than for younger ones because they have more intellectual capacity and experience at their disposal, so they can better rationalize to themselves and to you why it "makes sense" to touch the doorknob 3 times before leaving the room.

 

I would keep the therapy appointment, and I would express your/your husband's concerns with the therapist up front; let her know how you're feeling and what you hope to accomplish and what you hope to avoid. It may be your daughter's therapy, but you and your DH will be heavily involved, especially in working toward the best possible outcome, so your concerns need to be addressed.

 

As for your DH, yes, perhaps giving him some more information about OCD and OCD and kids would be helpful. The IOCDF web site is a good place to start:

 

International OCD Foundation

 

Also, the Chicago Chapter of the IOCDF has some great, short papers on specific OCD topics called "Expert Perspectives;" some other chapters may have resources like this, too, but the Chicago site is the one I'm familiar with. Papers here like "What is Obsessive Slowness" and other topics that specifically spoke to our son's behaviors not only gave us more information, but also provided us with some resources we could share with his teachers, his grandparents, etc. that could help them understand a little better what he's going through. Since your daughter is tending to deny her OCD, one or more of these papers might break through to her, as well; I know my DS was surprised to read some things that described him so well, even though he'd never met the author or thought that any of the stuff that bothered him, bothered anyone else.

 

Expert Perspectives

 

And finally, Dr. Eric Storch of the Rothman Center for Pediatric Neuropsychiatry at the University of South Florida (he works with Dr. Tanya Murphy, who's well known in PANDAS circles, as well) has authored a number of papers on pediatric OCD, and there's one in particular titled "Family Accommodation in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" that speaks specifically to the importance of parents getting onboard with therapy for the best outcome. I could only find a link to an abstract of that paper for now, but I believe that if you poke around on the USF web site, you might be able to find a full copy of that paper, as well as a number of other specific to pediatric OCD. You can also PM me with an email address, if you like, and I'd be happy to forward you a copy of the full paper that I have.

 

Family Accommodation in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Abstract

 

Honestly, especially since your DD is entering puberty, therapy will be really great for her in the long run, if potentially a little bumpy in the beginning. With our DS now 14, I don't know where we would be today if not for a combination of all the interventions available to us, including abx, therapy, and this forum! Take care, and good luck!

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