How to help someone

[Moma52]

hi this is my first post my 22 yr old son has OCD, Tourette’s, anxiety, and intermittent explosive disorder. He is currently enrolled in DBT therapy to offset his explosive disorder, he needs this to start exposure response therapy. He says DBT doesn’t help him. He is so rigid in his thinking process and in those reactive moments cannot hep himself. No idea how to guide him. He can’t be accepted into a residential ocd institute until he gets his reactions under control. Any suggestions are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! Thanks

[JediYoda]

I believe there may be medication options worth pursuing (if not already happening), including dosage adjustments. Obviously will need psychiatrist for this

[Moma52 in reply to JediYoda]

Yes he takes clonazepam, Clonadine, and Luvox. Switched to Luvox from sertraline 6/22

[Carbon21 in reply to JediYoda]

maybe do a CBC check his B12 and vitamin D, can’t hurt. Check sugar/diabetes, hormones. Maybe there is Another condition causing the outbursts. I find a lot of meds make things worse but we’ve switched so many times I can’t even suggest one. I can tell you Cymbalta made my kid angry, every med is different to every person. I just haven’t found 1 good one. Best of luck.

[Hidden]

My 30 year old son was having a lot of trouble controlling his emotions and his psychiatrist suggested Abilify. After only 5 days of being on it he was much nicer, no longer getting mad at his dad and me over any little thing, and was willing to go places and do things again. It starts acting a lot quicker than antidepressants which can take weeks. He is also on 40 mg Celexa, but we feel the Celexa makes him withdrawn and anti-social, so we are hoping to taper down very slowly to a lower dose. Another thing he has been doing the past few weeks is neurofeedback. You can read about it online and see if there is a treatment center near you. It is pretty expensive but it does seem to be helping his anxiety quite a bit.

[aparente001]

My son has Tourette (including rage episodes), OCD, anxiety and ADHD.

I suggest you watch Dr Cathy Budman's youtube videos about rage episodes in TS. They overlap somewhat but are slightly different. I found them helpful.

I did take him to see Dr Budman in Long Island once and that was helpful too. (Long drive for us!)

Maybe she does telemed now, after covid, I don't know.

The IOCD Foundation website has lists of providers trained in ERP, if you'd like to try someone different. The client-therapist connection is very important, and if it's not a good fit for your son, he may not make much progress.

What state are you in?

A TS-savvy primary can prescribe for TS and OCD. Often it's the newer providers. Please read online all the documented side effects of each med he's taking. Only make one change at a time. Children with TS & OCD often benefit from very high dose SSRI (e.g. Zoloft) -- ramp up slooowly -- and scheduled medication for anxiety, such as Buspirone (start small -- 10 mg).

I've never heard of a child or adult being required to pursue a particular therapy as a prerequisite to start ERP. Also, I looked up DBT therapy and I read, "Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of talk therapy for people who experience emotions very intensely." This would have driven my son nuts too.

Rage episodes are a common feature of TS. Dr Budman encouraged us to avoid situations that could result in a blow-up.

Please send me your email address if you'd like some help with education advocacy (no charge).

The New Jersey Center for TS has a rich archive of webinars. You can also download the slides.

You and your son might like to watch some videos at leakybrakes.ca/brake-shop/b...

It can be very helpful to go to a TS Family Retreat (e.g. NJ, upstate NY, etc.).

Safe places and escape valves can be helpful for rage episodes.

Your son is not alone.