? about obsessive thoughts

house of cards

New Member
Recently my husband took Major to his psychiatrist appointment. He was explaining to her about the anxiety that impacts difficult child's life giving the example of the trip to and from football practice, how he is just wired but he is doing well during the practice. The psychiatrist then asked if Major had obsessions, which he does...like constantly talking about and asking for a video game and he is already gearing up for his wish list for Christmas. My question is why would she ask that after telling about the anxiety? I felt it is all part of BiPolar (BP), am I missing something?
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Kathie,
I can't speak specifically to the link between obsessions and BiPolar (BP), but the anxiety part I can guess on.

My difficult child has not been diagnosis with anxiety, but he has it big time.

I believe that, for example, gearing up already for the Christmas list is a way of maintaing some sort of control. "If I know what I'm asking for I won't forget to ask for it" therefore creating less anxiety. It's kinda like perparing our anxious kids ahead of time for a situation that is our of the ordinary or a first-time experience.

It lessens the anxiety because there is comfort for them in having a little bit of knowledge in a given situation. It helps them feel they have control.

Just a guess....

Sharon
 

smallworld

Moderator
I'm guessing she's asking about obsessions for one of two reasons:

First, to see if the anxiety has turned into Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is harder to treat than garden-variety anxiety; or

Second, to consider whether his obsessions might fall on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) spectrum.

Without knowing more about your son and the situation, these are just guesses on my part.
 

house of cards

New Member
Thanks for your insights. Major was diagnosed BiPolar (BP) at 5 y/o, this psychiatrist doesn't say BiPolar (BP), she will say anxiety and mood disorder but we are treating with BiPolar (BP) medications. They have helped, leaving the anxiety more apparent. They all love to say he is ADHD, but the ADHD symptoms really ebb and flow and he is missing some rather common ones like losing things, being consistant in high energy, talkativeness, even his focus and attention aren't consistant.

His overreactions to negative emotions have been my biggest concern but that has been improving. They will label him ODD because he has refused to do schoolwork for the teachers but he gives me less arguements/backtalk then most of my other kids and I don't think ODD is a fair label.

He does have sleep troubles, occasional rages usually lasting 10-20 minutes with aggression to property, overwhelming over reactions to fear...always shows as anger, competition,anger, and frustration.

At times he is slightly more active/talkative, at times he can get along with his sister, at times he can be very irritable (always is to some degree). He use to get very down on himself and say he didn't have friends when he did, that no body loved him, ect., that hasn't been a problem since the lamictal.

When he was very young the whole problem started with 2-3 days when he was disobediant and undeterred with punishment, then things would be good for awhile, then repeat. Eventually the bad times increased til they took over. That was when I first took him to a psychiatrist.

I remember commenting to a pt from Early Intervention that he appeared to have a little of alot of things going on. Maybe that is the case. He did suffer from abuse as an infant, was drug/alcohol exposed, had minor attatchment problems, fine motor trouble. He developed on time, no speech issues, maybe minor eye contact problems-usually noticable if I am trying to scold him. Has alot of difficulty in school but no known Learning Disability (LD)'s.

Right now anxiety is his biggest problem, so, at least psychiatrist sees it. I have been wondering if there might be some spectrum like part to him but I don't thing he shows enough to qualify for the diagnosis?? I don't see Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at all, but who knows, he always keeps me guessing. Anyway, thanks for the replies, it helps to hear other input alot.
 

Jena

New Member
hi,

i read your post. i agree with the others as well. my difficult child has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) among her diagnosis, she was just diagnosis BiPolar (BP) not otherwise specified anxiety disorder Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and adhd. she shows def. obsessional thinking pattern. she does gear up for christmas list 6 mos in advance yet when something happens she holds on to it for far too long and she can't release. which just makes the ups and downs and anxiety even worse.

good luck!! sounds like he's come a long way.

Jen
 

smallworld

Moderator
Kathie, how much Zyprexa is he taking? Zyprexa at the right dose can help a lot with anxiety and "stuck" thinking. My daughter M takes it.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
I tried to post earlier today but I managed to push the wrong button on this stupid loaner laptop and deleted everything. So now that I'm over my disgust with my ineptitude...

husband (whom I'm convinced has a mood disorder) would get obsessed to the point of it being an addiction/compulsion. This has improved since he started Paxil and even more so since Lamictal was added.

To illustrate (and this is not his specific obsession, but the way he'd act is the same): He would worry about when he'd get to have ice cream again when he just had a giant sundae that day or the day before. He would want me to plan WHEN he'd get the ice cream, what flavor, how much, where he'd eat it, how he'd eat it, etc. ad nauseum. You get the idea. He'd get extremely irritable and angry if he thought anyone was resisting or impeding his access to ice cream. His emotional stability depending on him getting ice cream. When anxious or sad or upset about something, invariably his conversations would come back to ice cream and his next helping of it. This may not be Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in the classic sense, but to me it is definitely stuck and distorted thinking tied to some form of anxiety.

difficult child 2 has had similar obsessional thoughts. When he was particularly manic, he would have horrible, nuclear meltdowns in public if I wouldn't buy him the thing he obsessed about (anything from a lizard, to a shirt, to a piece of dowling), acting as if his life depended on him getting whatever he happened to be fixated about. He was very desperate during these moments.

I don't know if that helps your perspective, but I did want to share my experiences with this.
 

house of cards

New Member
Thank you all for your descriptions, I never considered it a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)..but maybe. Smallworld, he is prescribed 5 mg of Zydis(meltaway) Zyprexa but I can only give him 4 mgs before it starts to cause trouble so I can't increase it. I've tried many, many times with the same results. Anyone have any ideas on a medication for anxiety that doesn't bother mood problems?
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
My husband has done well on Paxil. I know SSRI's are often a bad choice for BiPolar (BP) folks, but it did help him. And when he added Lamictal he was even better. Not sure how he'd be on just the Lamictal alone... But even now, if he misses a Paxil dose, he notices he is more irritable and explosive and has less patience.
 

smallworld

Moderator
Paxil is not recommended for children because it can cause strange disinhibition reactions, even in children without BiPolar (BP).
 

susiestar

Roll With It
While SSRI's can cause disinhibition in children, even those with-o bipolar or mood disorder, they don't always. Luvox has done WONDERS with Wiz's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In Wiz's case, the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may or may not be part of his aspergers, same for the ADHD.

Have any of the docs considered Asperger's or another autistic spectrum disorder? The stuck thinking, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be part of that.

Has Major had any recent testing? Five is really young for a doctor to be able to see all the facets of a child's mind, so that diagnosis would maybe not be correct. If the testing hasn't been repeated in the last couple of years it would be well worth it to have it redone. Kids just change so much, and as they mature different things become apparent. Things that a 5yo wouldn't be able to express.

I hope you can get this figured out soon. Anxiety is hard, esp on a kid.
 

Calista

New Member
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) simply falls under the umbrella of Anxiety. It can present in many, many ways. For my difficult child it is obssesive thoughts and the inability to let things go. His psychiatrist told us that it takes twice as much antidepressant to treat anxiety than it does to treat depression. Many anitanxiety medications are addictive so alot of psychiatristS avoid them. With a diagnosis of Borderline (BPD) the anxiety will be more difficult to treat with medications because of the effects of anti depressants on Borderline (BPD). With my obssessive difficult child, it helps if we let him write things down or tape record his thoughts and ideas. It allows him to get them out without driving the rest of us crazy.
 

house of cards

New Member
I am leary of the anti depressants, I've said no to them so far but I would like to try another drug like seroquel, I'll try to plant a seed with my psychiatrist next visit, it isn't urgent because Major is better then he has been in years now and I'm scared to mess with too much.
 
Top