OCD and Tourettes

[sgrunin]

How common is having tourettes and having OCD?

 

I was diagnosed with tourettes when I was younger but I have always had OCD but I dont remember anyone ever saying that to me.

 

Since I was a kid I have to check the doors 6 or 7 times to make sure they are locked. I flick the lights on and off a bunch of times until the light feels like its off correctly...if it comes up a bit I have to do it again.

 

I check the locks on my jeep multiple times.

 

I use hand wash every time I touch things..I even have a small one on my keychain.

 

If I get one thing on my mind I cant let it go no matter what...

 

I flip the stove on and off a bunch of times cause I am afraid that it is not off "correctly" and when I go to sleep we will have a fire.

 

There are a lot more but I dont have time to write a book right now :-)

 

Do people that have tourettes and ocd get diagnosed for the ocd part?

 

I know a lot of it is because of stress....I have always had ocd but it has gotten a lot worse in the last year.

 

Most of the time it does not interfere with my life..It actually helps at work because my boss said a few weeks ago I never make mistakes...

 

I check every email and read every email at least 10 times to make sure its perfect so it does not hurt my life that much.

 

Lately though with my best friend it has come in the way..a lot.One of the only people in my life I really love a lot and care for..I have something on my mind and I cant let it go..I know she is very frustrated with me and mad at me and probably hates me right now but I really cant help it and cant stop thinking about things.....I go home and want to cry every night....hurts really really bad...ocd seems to be really ruining things right now.

 

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this.

 

Scott

[Claire]

Scott,

 

OCD or ADHD are COMMONLY comorbid with Tourettes. I have read from 30% to 50% of the time.

 

Impulse control.

 

Good luck with your situation--I think you tried some of the supplements that Chemar recommended for OCD? They made a difference for her son.

 

I hope you and your friend can talk it out and you let her know that it just takes you longer but you are motivated to get there.

 

You need those positive relationships in your life.

 

Claire

[LuluGirl]

Hi Scott,

 

There is a really good book that I bought about OCD that you may find helpful. It's called "Freeing Your Child From Obessive Compulsive Disorder" by Tamar Chansky. It was very enlightening to me. The book cover says:

 

Step by step guidelines to:

 

Break the cycle of debilitating rituals

Empower your child (you) to take back control

Maximize your child's (your) recovery, whether on or off medication

Make sense of confusing symptoms

 

There's chapters on treatments as well as contamination fears, checking/repeating/redoing, just right: evenness/ordering/symmetry/numbers and hoarding, intrusive thought and imagined impulses and managing your OCD.

 

One quick thing that I got from it was to stress to my son that "it's OCD, not you compelling you to do something and YOU can fight back". It's almost as if you have to re-wire the paths in your brain. For example, when you turn off the light once (or ten times) and want to do it again, fight back - just that once! - don't do it - just that once!. Little by little you will make a new path in your brain.

 

Softcover book is $14.95 and I think you'll get a lot out of it. Good Luck! There are also some supplements which are helpful that I think Chemar wrote about.

 

Lulu

[Chemar]

Hi Scott

 

yes, OCD is very frequently comorbid with TS

 

It is important to recognise that the OCD seen with TS is OFTEN not the same as "classic" OCD, and in folks with TS, the OCD and the tics are frequently interrelated where a tic can become an obsessive/compulsive action and vv.

TS related OCD also involves a lot of thought problems, where small matters become very consuming. It is a really complex situation, which is not to suggest that classic OCD isn't, but the parameters in the OCD that occurs with TS are so very much broader.

 

Seratonin levels are usually depressed in OCD and so elevating seratonin is very helpful in reducing OCD symptoms.

 

As I have mentioned before, the most helpful supplement for my son was 5HTP

Also Inositol and samE (methionine) and St John's Wort.

 

I STRESS AGAIN THAT SERATONIN ELEVATING SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD NEVER BE COMBINED WITH MEDICATIONS, ESPECIALLY ANTIDEPRESSANTS(SSRIs)

and should also not be used in combination with each other withour a physician's guidance

[Claire]

Lulugirl,

 

I saw a comic once with two doors with OCD and the devil holding them open. They read: "Darned" if you do, "Darned" if you don't. But not those words.

 

My nephew has/had it--it has greatly improved since puberty, flax seed oil and lower carbs. The drug (Paxil?) didn't work for him. It IS hard, but apparently you can actually change your brain chemisty by breaking the habits--it does get easier over time.

 

But to me, especially when combined with TS, as Chemar says, it is highly complex. It would be nice to reduce the urges in the first place.

 

Scott, are you trying any of the things on this board to see if they help you? I have no idea what relief they might offer an adult. However, I know that the vitamin deficiency test and subsequent supplements that my husband and I both took helped us feel better in general. And my sleep is no longer disturbed as it was. Since yours got worse later in life, I wonder about mercury or other metals...If you show low antioxidants on the Spectracell test, it might indicate metals are high.

 

I have a friend who eliminated certain foods and their obsessive thoughts virtually disappeared. I think it could be worth trying some of the same things for tics. Again, DAN doctors general help OCD without drugs. But Chemar is right, combining drugs and supplements needs professional supervision.

 

Claire

[Chemar]

I forgot to mention a VERY valuable treatment to help with OCD, PROVIDED that it is done under the supervision of a very sensitive, compassionate therapist.

It is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and it really does work wonders under the right kind of supervision.

 

sadly there are some therapists who are somewhat "control freaks" and try to change people into what they believe they should be, rather than just allowing the individual to emerge liberated, but inherently intact from the binders of OCD etc.

However, if you feel comfortable with the therapist (usually a psychologist, tho my son was blessed to receive the therapy from a wonderful psychiatrist) I HIGHLY reccoment CBT

[sgrunin]

Thank you for all the replies! I am kind of a conrol freak also....cant help it though :-)

 

Scott

[sgrunin]

I am going through the posts to see what I might try..I did get some zinc last weekend..I read it helps some people sleep..I have the hardest time sleeping without taking tylonal pm or benadryl..

 

I just have not started taking it yet..still sitting on my counter....

 

Scott

[Claire]

Scott,

 

I do zinc at night. 15 mg is the normal adult dose (in a multivitamin). I take 25 an hour before bed--no megadose and it cured my sleep disturbances. However, I started with 50 mg for the first week and saw results within 2-3 days. Then after a week I dropped to 25 mg and it does the trick. I don't like megadosing long term. Do you have white spots on your fingernails? This can indicate a deficiency.

 

Melatonin--even just .25 mg--30 minutes before bed will put me right to sleep on the rare times that I drink decaf (I never have caffeine--haven't in about 15 years). I probably use this only once a month. I read that if you are deficient in melatonin, that even .33 mg will put you to sleep because that is about what the body makes naturally and you are replacing it.

 

I also sleep in a dark room now.

 

Is your problem just getting to sleep, or do you wake up in the middle of the night? My problem was middle of night wakings.

 

Claire

[sgrunin]

I have problems with both...I cant fall asleep each night then I wake up in the middle of the night and have problems falling back asleep :-(

 

Scott

[Claire]

My son had both issues also. Melatonin stopped this in its tracks (after 10 years of issues consistently). .25 mg a night dissolved in water--the studies showed 6 grams, or 25 times as much!. Now he no longer needs the melatonin. I think his better cal/mag and zinc all made a difference. All were just at or above the normal daily dose.

 

Do you resist taking the normal recommended allowances of supplements also?

 

Since you are an adult, I see less concern with trying melatonin if zinc alone doesn't work.

 

I cannot tell you how much I personally appreciate the good night's sleep I am getting after 20 years of disturbed sleep.

 

Claire

[LuluGirl]

Scott,

 

Regarding your sleep problems, do you drink any caffeine during the day? I, too, had trouble falling asleep, woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble falling back to sleep. Once I totally cut out caffeine, I felt SO much better overall as well as got a great night's sleep each and every night. Made a big difference just being well rested. Just a thought!

 

Lulu