Hi,
My oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD in the 2nd grade. He is currently on Concerta. I was wondering if any other parents have experienced symptoms of obsessive/compulsive disorders in their children. If so, I’d like to share some ideas on that. My husband and I recently talked about this with our doctor. We are opting not to medicate that condition. We want to work with him on recognizing the condition himself. Thank you. Bobbie M
Re: OCD
Hi,
I attended a seminar by Dr. Daniel Amen a few months ago. He has a few books out and is an ADD “expert.” He has sub-categorized ADD into groups according to symptoms and found different meds are more effective depending on those symptoms. You might browse through his books for more info. I recall him specifically discussing OCD sypmtoms in one of the sub-categories. He has a web site: www.amenclinic.com
Re: OCD
I am not an expert, but I remember hearing at a conference (and I wish I could remember who said it) that OCD and OCD tendencies can present themselves as a result of ADHD meds if the person has a predisposition to the disorder and should looked into.
Just thought I would mention it.
Re: OCD
I actually had more OCD symptoms before the meds. The symptoms came from worrying about forgetting stuf I no longer forget :-). I heard a lot of negative stuff about medication before I started taking it one year ago and it has been nothing but a good experience for me.
Re: OCD
I think that if the dosage on the meds isn’t right, perserverating behaviors can occur. They’re resolved when the meds are adjusted.
My attitude about OCD in general (unrelated to meds) is that if the behavior isn’t taking over the person’s life or if the individual doesn’t mind the behavior, then it isn’t such a terrible thing, in fact can be a strength.
But if it takes over, it’s a pretty awful thing. I have a sister whose OCD behavior took over to the point where she couldn’t function in life and was thoroughly miserable. She was unable to concentrate on anything other than 3 or 4 thoughts so appeared distractible. The reality was that she was perseverating on those thoughts alone and nothing else. Zoloft made a major change in her life.
Re: OCD
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a proven effective way of dealing with OCD—my experience is drugs can be very hit and miss and somtimes the side effects are just not worth it.
I would seriously recommend looking into Snesory Integration Dysfucntion (SI). I have a boy I work with going into 2nd who the Dr. said was OCD, and he may well be but most of his symptoms come from needing to control his environment for sensory reasons. I myself was suspected of having OCD in high school because I obsessed about socks but in reality it was a sensory issue as well, I didn’t tolerate most socks and no one understood that and it got stuck in my mind. Look into it, SI therapy with speech therapy has helped him a lot.