Does my 7 yo son have OCD?

[Shannon Poe]

Hello Mommas,

I'm extremely concerned about my 7yo son's behavior. He has always had some sort of odd habit that will last for awhile.

The first I can remember is washing his hands many, many times a day because he said his hands "felt sticky". I think he was about 4yo at the time.

His habits now are: conatantly saying "remind me of that", and clearing his throat.

I counted today during a 3-4 minute conversation he cleared his throat about 20 times.

I've had Obessive Compulsive issues in the past, but I don't remember having problems at such a young age.
I"m so concerned for him. I asked him why about the throat clearing, and he said he thinks he'll pass out if he doesn't do it.

I've been crying about this, my poor little boy shouldn't have to suffer with these behaviors. I'm afraid to ask his doctor for advice because I know he'll want to put him on an anti-depressant, and I do not want to put a 7 year old child on brain altering drugs.

Does anyone have any advice? Any books that I could read about childhood anxiety disorders?

Shannon

P.s He has a baby sister 10months old, he hasn't shown any jealousy and is very sweet and loving toward her. Could his behaviors be jealousy related?

[babybugmama]

First I want to say ...I came back to edit because I realized that my post could sound like your son was OCD and I just want to say there really is no way of knowing. Like I say a little further in this post everyone has traits of different disorders, it's whether they have *enough* traits, or that the traits get in the way of life KWIM? But also, to have something like OCD is not a death sentence. I firmly believe that we, as individuals, are like a beautiful tapestry with wonderful threads interwoven to create the unique beauty that is us. If we were to take just one thread out the picture is ruined. That means that our flaws, as well as our assets are what make us beautiful.

That said, this was my original post:

Well ocd is basicially obsessions, some sort of thought, such as I'm going to pass out combined with compulsions, such as clearing his throat. The compulsion alleviates the anxiety which in turn reinforces the obsession/anxiety. Does that make sense? I don't know if he has OCD or not...I'm just showing how in your instance it could fit. It's only one example...everyone has traits of all the disorders, it's whether or not it interferes with daily functioning as to whether you would become concerned.

Unless what he is dealing with is really severe, I wouldn't think you have to do meds right away. Talk to friends, neighbors, people you trust and get some names of very well respected child psychologists with expertise in anxiety. It at least would be a first step and they could provide skills to alleviate the anxiety. Also, explain to the psychologist your feelings about medication right at first and see if they can work with you.

I hope that helps,

I suggested the child psychologist because sometimes, if this truly is OCD, it is a way of treating the disorder without neccessarily resorting to medication.

[karen ann]

I have trichotillomania (no symptoms right now, knock on wood) and have had it since I was about 8 years old. (It wasn't diagnosed or treated until I was in high school though.)

I honestly can't say whether your son has OCD or not. If his compulsive activities are disturbing to him or interfering with his daily activity, I would ask his pediatrician for a referral to a child psychologist who has experience treating OCD and anxiety (if you think his doctor would be in too big a rush to thorw him on meds, see if your hospital has provider referral hotline and get a name from there, or call your insurance company and ask them for a recommendation). There are a lot of other treatment options besides medication; my trichotillomania was combated with a combination of talk therapy, behavior modification therapy (almost all self-relaxation techniques), and some family sessions (to help my parents understand what was happening & how they should respond to help me improve; to give them tools to help me). It took a couple of years for me to be "better" enough to stop counselling, but it worked.

I hope everything works out for you and your son.

[3 little birds]

I would definately see a psychiatrist that treats children. There may be a way to treat your son (if he has OCD) without meds.

I used meds, because my OCD had not been treated for so long. I was able to go off the meds and do "work" to train my brain, making new pathways, to stop the obsessing and compulsions.

I recommend the book Brain Lock for anyone interested in OCD. It's not written for children but it really helped me to understand the disease and work my way around it.

Best wishes

[FoxintheSnow]

I have trich and ocd too. Through therapy I realized when my ocd started. I remember ever since I was very young that I would obsess over symmetry (like if my right hang touched something my left hand would have to touch too for me to feel normal) and i would ride my bike around the block over and over because I kept thinking I ran over something or I would have wash my hands for exactly 60 seconds every morning)(My trich symptoms are my constantly raking my hair to look for a hair that feels foreign so I can pull it out or pulling random hair out to study the follicule) I had so many ocd symptoms but what I think made them worse was the fact that no one talked to me about it to help me feel "normal" I just figured I was some sort of freak and I shouldnt talk to anyone about it. Now that Im older I realize that ocd is fine. It just means I have a chemical imbalance. Realizing that ocd is fairly common and the obsessions and compulsions are not something to be ashamed of have helped me so much. So I think one of the most important things you can do is not show your son that you are concerned that he might have ocd. Make him feel like its fun to figure out why everyone has certain habits and its fun to figure out why people do certain stuff. Give him examples of funny stuff you do. If my parents did this for me at his age it would have made a world of difference! I hope what Im saying makes sense.

I also have to add that I think because psych drugs have been overdiagnosed so much they get a bad rep but I think they are very valuable to people who need them. I know that without Paxil I would be a mess. I look at it like if someone had a heart problem they would take heart medication and if someone lacks enough seratonin they take a seratonin reuptake inhibitor. There is nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

[teachma]

I don't know if your son does have OCD or not, but it definitely does sound like he has some tendencies-- as does my almost 4 year old son. I can relate becuase my son develops a habit that lasts a few weeks or months, and while that "habit" eventually goes away, it is usually replaced by a new one. For example, there were weeks during which he would tell me, every few minutes, "Mom, I touched my nose," then, "Mom, my elbow touched my knee," then, "I touched my tushie." That one drove me crazy more than anything, but my doctor said to give it minimal reaction, to say, "No problem" or something like that, and he would stop. Sure enough, he did, but then he started crying every night about being afraid to die. So, some of these obsessions are harmless or even annoying, but others really make you sad for your child. I, too, have minor OCD issues, but most of them would probably be seen as quirks rather than behaviors that interfere with my life. For instance, I like everything (my alarm clock, the $ of gas I pump in my car) to end with the number 6, and I always skip over the second to top step when climbing a staircase. I agree that at the point at which your child is clearly unhappy, or unable to continue with "life as usual," you should pursue support. Oh- definitely, my son usually develops new fears or compulsions around times of change in our lives. We had a new baby in March and moved out of my parents' house into our own in May, so these have been interesting times for him. He is settling down now.

[A&A]

My dd clears her throat a lot when she is experiencing anxiety. Is something troubling your son?

[Marsupialmom]

I battle trich and OCD's stress and anxiety can set me off. My son battles this . I do think there is a genetic predispotion because my dad, half-brother, grandmother, and a great aunt has the same issues.

I would see a theropist to help you and him learn relaxtion techniques. With my son I found a 3rd party teacher was better. He was less stress about what I expected from him and trying to do things perfect.

I would look into allergies also. My son's allergies makes things worse. A little eye irratation will send him into a spin of pulling half his eyelashes. It is very compulssive.

Also concider sensory intergration issues.

[Shannon Poe]

Than you everyone who has responded to my problem.

The day I posted I asked my son to try to stop saying "remind me" so often. He replaced it with "tell me"...sigh.

I've been thinking about what could be bringing on this stress reaction in him.

I had a miscarriage 5 months before I got pregnant with his sister, Millicent.
I suffer from Hyperemesis (extreme constant vomiting) while pregnant. We knew we wanted another baby and told Seth as soon as we found out I was pregnant that time, bad idea.
He saw me incredibly sick, hospitalized and then after the miscarriage (at 9 weeks) he walked in on me in the bathroom and saw I was bleeding. I had to tell him we weren't having a baby after all. I did it as gentle as I could. He took it hard, he ran and hide in his closet crying. He was five at the time.

When I was pregnant with Millicent we didn't tell him untill I was five months along. He was thrilled , he told me he had asked the angels for a baby sister.

After writing this down, I realize he has been through alot the past couple of years. I guess I always think of it in terms of my suffering, but he senses what I don't say out loud.

I feel so guilty.

My family does have a history of mental illness. My brother has OCD so bad his hands are raw and bleeding from so much hand washing. I have anxiety and panic attacks. I guess, I always blamed our problems on my bad upbringing. My mother is bi-polar and very abusive. I haven't spoken to her since I was pregnant with Seth. I didn't want to expose him to what I had to deal with growing up.

I though if I was a good enough mother my children would not have any of these problems.

I can hear Seth clearing his throat in the other room.

Shannon

[babybugmama]

Shannon - Loving our children and being the best possible mom is the best thing in the world for them. It gives them support and love and a buffer against our world. Seth probably has picked up on your stress, but you can't insulate him from the world or your grief. If you can, love him and yourself through this difficult time.

The way I think of mental health is that in times of stress our "weak link," shows through. Mine is anxiety...when I'm tense I become very controlling, irritable (due to the anxiety), I ruminate constantly, make lists in my head trying to control my world. When I am not under stress I am still a worry wart, but no where near as bad. I've learned what my stressers are to try and put some coping into place before it gets bad.

Again, I just want to give a big Go easy on yourself, love Seth and love yourself too...

[teachma]

I agree with babybugmama. And Shannon, by being a good parent, you won't be able to make your son's life trouble-free, but you will definitely be able to give him coping skills and provide support for the troubles he does encounter. If it makes you feel any better, my family has a big history of serious anxiety issues (my dad, sister, myself, and ds) and we have had none of the abuse issues or anything you described as part of your past.

[Bethla]

I would agree to take some kind of action helping your little guy. My younger brother had many of these same behaviors. My parents never saw it as a sign of something wrong. My brother is now 21 yo and very unhappy in life. He has never had a single friend, it is so sad to see him missing out on his youth.

[3 little birds]

I don't know if this helps or not but I did see on television once, that they believed there was a link between a particular virus and childhood OCD.

My uncle was hospitalized as a young adult for OCD (he recovered) and I believe my father (his brother) also has undiagnosed OCD.

I didn't find this out until after my experience with OCD. It would have been helpful if I had been told, so that I wouldn't have just thought I was crazy or something.

I agree with the above posters' about stress and trauma being a trigger for different mental diffuculties. It doesn't mean you are a bad parent. You obviously are a very caring and observant mommy.