Advice please for 17 yr old

[Chris1802p]

Hi. I’ve posted about myself in other communities with an unrelated issue- but can anyone help with this I wonder? I’ve also posted in OCD-uk

Nearly 3 years ago my then 15 year old son was diagnosed with OCD. He had kept most of it secret for a long time. His main issues were spitting hundreds of times a day, various rituals taking up a lot of his time, habitual skin picking, intrusive and disturbing thoughts, coughing, clearing his throat, and many many others. His compulsions and anxiety make him regularly very depressed.

As soon as I realised, I took him to the GP who agreed to refer him to CAMHS, but said there would be a 3-6 month wait. As I was so worried about his mental health I used my company private health insurance to go private. He saw a really helpful psychiatrist who prescribed medication and CBT. The medication helped initially, but he found it difficult to engage with the CBT. The effects of the SSRI started to wear off. He had 4 sessions of CBT and the psychiatrist spent the next year trying different SSRI’S plus Aripiprazole, none of which had much effect. After about 18 months he suggested he should be referred to the adolescent OCD unit at the Maudsley in London, but that referral would need to come through CAMHS. So we went back to the GP for a CAHMS referral and waited. In the meantime we had a private consultation with one of the consultants who work in the OCD unit who agreed he would benefit from referral there.

When we eventually got seen by CAMHS they said they couldn’t refer him without having had any treatment through CAMHS yet. So I said fine, treat him then, we’re happy to wait and give it another go. Six month wait for CBT. 😡. So while waiting my health insurer covered 10 CBT sessions for him privately.

He came to the top of the nhs CBT waiting list and has now had 6 further sessions of CBT, none of which are helping him even though he is trying hard with it. They also keep cancelling his sessions and only offering him one every few weeks, so all of this is taking ages.

Fast forward till now. He is 17 and a half and no further forward. I asked the lead clinical (psychologist) for the third time about referral to the Maudsley OCD unit, only to now be told, oh, at his age we would now only refer him to adult services, which in this case would be a local OCD Clinic run by Health In Mind, which I don’t think would help him at all. I don’t think she had contacted the Maudsley. I think she had made up her mind not to refer him. After saying he needs to go through CAMHS treatment before we can even think about funding a referral into the specialist unit, they are now saying it’s too late. I’m utterly fuming and feel they are trying to fob him off because he’s 18 in 4 months.

I don’t know where to turn next to help him.😢 I might try contacting the Maudsley myself to see if it’s correct that they won’t accept a referral for him.

Well done if you’ve make it to the end .

[Wheeloffortune]

Hi! I’m so sorry for all the run around you are getting and applaud you for your tenacity!!

Keep on going- there is hope and healing for ocd!! I don’t know a lot about your health care so I can’t be of help with that. But, i didn’t see that you’ve tried ERP. It’s the gold standard for ocd treatment. Contact IOCD for help with this. Also, listening to podcasts by Stuart (ocd stories), Chrissie Hodges, and Shala Nicely have helped tremendously. Praying for you and him🙏🙏 keep going💪🏻💪🏻

[Chris1802p in reply to Wheeloffortune]

Thankyou!

[Aleese in reply to Chris1802p]

Chrissie Hodges is great isn’t she? So real-

[mopedmike]

I was wondering if you were going about the dietary method of increasing his serotonin? It does not give a complete cure but it has helped me a great deal.

[Chris1802p in reply to mopedmike]

I’ll look into that, thank you

[reshon]

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but not sure if there is a cure for OCD being male and first diagnosed 40 years ago at age 13- I feel for your son. I went through many of the same rituals. I was told 50/50 to finish high school and that's it- fast forward I graduated, followed by a Bachelors and Masters and hold 7 various security licenses. Was it easy - no way period, but I did learn to adapt and evolve over time. I was isolated a lot as a teen and slowly changed when I went off to college. I try to conceal from my co workers my habits and work through the day best as I can , sometimes good day and sometimes bad (esp. when you have a time sensitive project and have to deal with rituals).

Each day is a challenge and have never medicated by I do feel over the years your son either way will adapt, will get better don't give up.

I would like to offer also for him to reach out to me here and chat anytime as a pen pal if he likes as I know what it feels like to be a 15 yo boy and have OCD.

FYI: My Bachelors degree is in Psychology and my senior thesis was on OCD so I can relate on another level too.

Good Luck

[Chris1802p in reply to reshon]

Thanks for such a inspirational reply! I’m not really looking for a cure for him- it’s more that I want him to get the best help that’s available to help him deal with it. Like you he has high hopes and the ability to have a promising career, which is extremely difficult to achieve with all of this holding him back. But more than that I want him to have a happy and peaceful life. I’ll show him these posts, I’m sure it’ll give him a huge boost.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to reply, and very well done for all you’ve achieved!

[reshon in reply to Chris1802p]

Don’t under estimate him he may be more resourceful than you think .

I don’t think it’s a total cure but to adapt control and handle OCD better over time sure it’s possible over time. I have my ups and downs. Can’t speak about ERP and medicine but meditation helped some . Also trying to move about daily chores quick and focused sometimes catches the rituals and thoughts off guard?

My son now 35 is fine , mother has a bit OCD at times nothing major like me so the hereditary theory had some merit.

Share the post , feel free to let him

penpal back his questions under your supervision and feel free to monitor my responses - it might help him not coming from a parent ( as you know how teens can be a times).

Good luck and happy to help.

[Chris1802p in reply to reshon]

Thankyou

[bab5]

Hello.

I am sure that someone in this community can relate to the struggles of your son.

I, too, kept my OCD secret for a long time. I kept it as hidden as I could for years.

I relate to rituals taking up a lot of time, intrusive and disturbing thoughts, audibly clearing the throat, and many many others.

I fell into a deep depression immediately after I was diagnosed with OCD 14 months ago. I still have not completely recovered from this low point in my life.

3-6 months is a long waiting period. I am glad that he saw a helpful psychiatrist and was prescribed medication.

However, I am saddened to hear that he found it difficult to engage with the CBT and that the combination of medication and CBT did not end up faring well for him.

I am glad that he took the initiative and asked to be referred to the adolescent OCD in London.

I am glad that this opportunity was available for your son.

I am angered to hear of the 6 month wait that you had to endure. That is brutal.

CBT by itself is effective for some, but the combination of medication and CBT and/or residential treatment and CBT seems to work more efficiently.

They’re canceling his sessions? What the hell?

There is no further forward? Shit.

The local OCD clinic wouldn’t help him? Hm.

This sounds very corrupt.

I understand your anger. I obviously don’t understand it firsthand or from personal experience but I definitely understand why you are so angered by this entire situation.

I hope that you contact the Maudsley yourself.

Keep us updated! 👍

[Chris1802p in reply to bab5]

Thankyou for your reply. It was the private psychiatrist who recommended the clinic, I hadn’t heard of it till then. It’s CAMHS who are refusing to refer him, rather than the Maudsley refusing to see him. I have appealed fairly strongly and am awaiting the outcome.

[bab5]

Keep us updated!

I am glad that you appealed very strongly.

[Scouns]

look into inference based cbt. icbt.online/what-is-icbt/