9-Year Old Daughter Having Bad Thoughts OCD (Sexual)

[Sheila99]

Since 5/1/11, my 9-yr old has been having the unwanted sexual thoughts that include the boys she dislikes, her teachers, and those she loves. She also has scrupulosity, where she has to bring up minor stuff she thinks she's done wrong all the way back from kindergarten or preschool. She "relieves" or "cleans" by telling me first, then I have to tell her Dad.

 

I've been reading these forums (THANK YOU), which has been so helpful in assisting with what to do until we see an actual therapist, which will be on 6/28/11. The thoughts become so overwhelming at times, getting her so depressed. I'm hoping the therapy will really give her some help in how to overcome this bad thoughts OCD. Thanks to some moms' recommendations, I've been giving her Kids Calm, which I think takes a couple of weeks to take effect.

 

I noticed that lately, since 6/4/11, she now twitches while she's sleeping. But I don't notice a twitch when she's up and about. Now I'm thinking, do I need to get her checked for possible early TIC or Tourettes? She's never had strep throat, or LYME, so I don't think PANDAS is involved. We took her to pediatrician and he referred us to the Behavior Medicine dept.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Sheila --

 

Sorry your DD is going through all this. My DS (he's now 14) also has scrupulosity OCD, and therapy is definitely a great tool to help your DD content with that, as well as the sexual thoughts.

 

As for your DD's other potential underlying issues (tics, tourettes, etc.), a pediatric neurologist is probably a good step to take.

 

And finally, I note that you mention that your DD has never had strep throat or Lyme, but I can tell you from personal experience that, just because your child hasn't displayed classic symptoms of strep throat, that doesn't mean she's been entirely spared it, especially during her school years. My DS was diagnosed with OCD at 6 (first grade); it was fairly manageable via therapy and medication for the next 6 years. But then, when he turned 12, his OCD went through the roof to the extent that he was entirely non-functional. He couldn't attend school, he couldn't leave the house, he ritualized nonstop. My DS had never had strep throat that we knew of, but we knew he'd been exposed because we'd get a notice home from school that one of his classmates had been diagnosed with strep, and though he'd never show any sign of it, either DH or I would come down with a classic case within 5 to 10 days.

 

I came across the book "Saving Sammy" shortly after we'd had to pull DS out of school in the 7th grade due to his extreme anxiety and OCD; that book was the first information I'd had that a kid could be completely asymptomatic for strep, but still be suffering from it. We convinced DS's doctor to order the ASO and AntiDnase-B blood tests which measure the level of strep antibodies in the blood stream; this kid who'd NEVER "had strep" was actually walking around with strep antibodies in his system at a level FIVE TIMES the high end of the normal range! He's hyper-immune, so he doesn't get strep in the classic sense, but his body is reacting nonetheless. He was diagnosed with PANDAS, and his OCD behaviors receded dramatically within a week of beginning antibiotic therapy (Augmentin).

 

So . . . not to say that your DD has PANDAS, but just to say it's probably best not to dismiss the possibility just because your DD hasn't displayed classic symptoms. Should you think there's a possibility that your DD has been exposed to strep and therefore that could play a role, you might try giving your DD ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory) and see if she feels at all less anxious or less driven by the OCD thoughts. If she responds at all positively to the ibuprofen, that could be a sign that some inflammation is playing a role in her behaviors and could, in turn, suggest that an inflammatory auto-immune issue is also a possibility.

 

Good luck to you!

[Sheila99]

Dear Nancy, thank you so much for your insight. I've seen several of your entries and they have all been so helpful and supportive. They've all gone a long way in guiding me through this difficult time. I will most definitely ask her Dr to order the tests you suggested. In 1st grade, one of her classmates had strep, and the only reason I know that is that classmate all of a sudden had episodes of separation anxiety. Her mom mentioned she was recovering from strep at the time.

 

I've also cut out the Kids Calm for now as she was complaining of having no energy. It has 250 mg of magnesium and one of the side effects I read of "overdosing" on too much magnesium is muscle weakness and fatigue. Last night was 1st night w/o Kids Calm, so less twitching while she slept last night. But she did say it helped her to reduce the anxiety, so once I've figured out 1 capful of Kids Calm might be the culprit of the twitching, I may just reduce it to 1/2 capful or less. I'm thinking of giving her Inisitol but minimum I see at the vitamin stores is 500 mg. I am back to giving her the gummy bear vitamins for now.

 

Thanks again Nancy. You are a god-send.

 

Best regards, Sheila

[Chemar]

just an FYI that the Kids Calm on the market at present is not the original Kids Calm magnesium citrate powder that many refer to here. The new formula is a Multivitamin/mineral supplement

 

Most people use Natural Calm (by the same company) which is the pure ionic magnesium

It is a powder that gets mixed with water, juice etc

[Sheila99]

Dear Moms - THANK YOU NANCY, for suggesting to get DD checked for PANDAS. Results just came back and her strept test(ASO) is very high at 588(nl is < 151). Dr starting her on Zithromax. Keeping my fingers crossed.... Sheila

[MomWithOCDSon]

Dear Moms - THANK YOU NANCY, for suggesting to get DD checked for PANDAS. Results just came back and her strept test(ASO) is very high at 588(nl is < 151). Dr starting her on Zithromax. Keeping my fingers crossed.... Sheila

 

Sheila --

 

Sorry your DD is suffering, but so glad you've found at least one of the likely underlying causes! We felt the same way when we first discovered the asymptomatic strep! It was as though the light bulb went on after months of being in darkness! My fingers are crossed for you, also! Please keep us posted. And now that you know you're members of a "new club," you might want to check into the PANDAS forum when you have questions, as well as this OCD forum. All the best to you and your DD!