i have ocd.. does anyone else?? mine didnt really start til sjogrens hit me

[valene2009]

my ocd is getting bad. i go to therapy every week.. i stressi wantto do cognitivetherapy=she is a psychologist but... i live in a town of about 150,000 so there are not a ton of options. i have tried numerousmeds.. they make my mouth so dry and eyes even after a few weeks-icant be on them.. plus i hear u have got to do the cognitive workanyway..

just curious if anyone else goes through this and what they do?? i dont want to drive my loved ones away. and ps.. i need to volunteer. i have too much time on my hands...

[Piebird]

My whole family has OCD tendencies. I am raising my 8 year old grad daughter and she has it big time! Luckily, we found a med that helps her.

OCD if a full time job!

[jazzlover]

Been tested for bartonella and Lyme?

[valene2009]

what is bortenella??no not tested for either

[valene2009]

i guessi need to add that i always had tendencies -checking the stove etc.. my whole life-so do my gparents and mom.. but lately i thinki have too much time on my hands and i wake up depressed and then wehn i visitwith people itend to ask question after question..sometimes wanting a diff answer..it is like a control thing..but i think its cause i have no life..  
im looking into volunteering. since i can no longer work.

[anita]

I think the volunteering is a great idea.  The fact that you're talking about it and addressing it is half the battle and shows you're being assertive, etc.  I wish you the best.

Good job Val!!!

[valene2009]

thanks anita... i am hoping they will let me volunteer at the preschool my niece went to 2 years ago--i went to grade school there.. it would be nice to bearound kids..and meet parents--i am 37and single.. and my friends are either married and have kids or have way too many issues themselves.lol.. thaks for the encouragemnet. i seriusly think my ocd is so bad due to too much time on my hands..ike the song by tommy shaw. lol

[eyeamdry]

Val-I did the disability retirement thing about 7 years ago, before I knew I had Sjs.  Then I got breast cancer right after SJS.  So, after I was through the cancer treatment and SJS was being treated (doesn't mean I was well) I decided I, too had too much time on my hands.  For a time I volunteered in a aviation museum.  Only one afternoon a week was all, but I enjoyed it.  Then I got so I was feeling bad again and I had my knee that needed replacement and I mostly stood on the job, so I had to quit .

It definitely gives you a different perspective to get out of the house and around others.  It made sure at least once a week, I got dressed and even fixed up!  I met nice people and was able to help them out.  I still remember some of them.  I am again thinking about volunteering.  I'm not sure it will be the same place or not.  With the price of gas plus the thrill of winter driving, it was a 25 mile round trip.  There are things much closer I could get involved in.  I had even thought of the elementary school where my daughter attended some 30 years ago.  I am not real crazy anout  KIDS (plural) but could definitely help out with reading or something.  Good luck and get at it.  The sooner the better.  Don't keep making excuses about the volunteering.  Go sign up and let us know when you do.  Think of the interesting things you can tell us. I will let you know when I start volunteering again.  Lucy

[irish]

I have a friend with OCD and she goes through a lot---changes from time to time but affects her in a big way.

I have been researching the OCD and I have kept telling her that she has to much anxiety that she is just overwhelmed with all this stuff. She does the same thing with wanting to talk and ask people questions and I can always tell when she is on a roll cause she is looking for the answer from you that she wants to hear. Sometimes I think it is a need to validate her own worth and ability to make decisions/choices, etc.

I have been telling her that I thought she would do well to try Lithobidd. This drug is given to people with depression and with bipolar or manic depressive disorders. I was given this drug many years ago before the SSRIs came out. It literally brought me out of a bad depression in 2-3 days. Now I take 1 tab a day and it helps. I am not bipolar, but another diagnosis lower down the list plus the depression and anxiety.

Then-----when I was doing all this research I ran across some articles about a psychiatrist who treated his OCD people with the meds used for bipolar disorder. He is of the opinion that people with bipolar disorder often present with OCD because of the intense amount of anxiety that they have. I think the guy is on the right track.

My doc has tried to treat me with mood stabilizers, but they darn near killed me. I can be a wreck and take one lithobid and in about 4 hours I feel like I am 75% better. My doc says that is changes the way that your brain transmits the impulses. Has to do with the sodium, etc. It is a cheaper drug. It has side effects like all drugs.

YOu need to have your thyroid checked every so often as the lithium binds with the thyroxin, if I remember right. Also, they do a creatine a couple of times a year and a lithium level to make sure that everything is ok. If a person gets too much it gives you diarrhea. The lower doses work really well in conjunction with other antidepressants. Might be worth asking your doc about. Good luck. IRish

[slccom]

OCD is known to be caused by brain infections; kids who had strep throat sometimes develop OCD, Tourette's and other manifestations. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-an-infection-suddenly-cause-ocd-201202274417  It is autoimmune, unfortunately.

Ok, they get that infections can cause pediatric infections; how long do you think it will take for them to figure out that it can do same for adults? Do we have any bookies here? 

Never mind: http://psychiatry.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2012/227/1 shows they are actually looking for it already!

I think that there are almost certainly other "psychiatric" conditions -- such as depression, that are "associated" with autoimmune disease. Back to the bookie....


Sharon

[susanep]

My son has ocd.

susanep

[valene2009]

thanks everyone..i am totally driving my parents, sis andher familynuts... they cannot take it anymore.. the repetivness... over andover... bringing stuff up-always needing reassurance..
i did find an ocd/anxiety support group thatmeets every other week here..which i planto go to..

and yesi am going to make some calls about volunteering...iwill keep u posted.... i have got to beat this thing...

[jazzlover]

what is bortenella??no not tested for either

http://www.lymeinfo.net/coinfections.html

[jazzlover]

OCD is known to be caused by brain infections; kids who had strep throat sometimes develop OCD, Tourette's and other manifestations. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-an-infection-suddenly-cause-ocd-201202274417  It is autoimmune, unfortunately.

-
Exactly. Lyme and bartonella affect the brain. Many who have these illnesses are OCD until they go thru treatment.

[jazzlover]

As for volunteering, there are many jobs in hospitals that you can do while sitting down. In our local hospital they even let the volunteers eat there for free.