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OCD about this again...please help


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Hi All,

I have really awful OCD at the moment. One of the many foci/uses of my OCD is about harm coming to my dog. Today I got a form to fill out for ESA and picked up some papers from a drawer where I store ibuprofen (& some of the little blister packs of tablets are not in their boxes) and batteries. I brought the papers (from the drawer) downstairs without thinking much about the ibuprofen but throughout the day I have been worrying that a small foil blister pack of ibuprofen may have been stuck in between the sheets of paper and that my dog might have swallowed them (she's a big year-old golden retriever so it's possible). Also there is a smaller chance that there were some loose ibuprofen tablets in the draw that got stuck to the papers and that again I brought the ibuprofen down on the paper and my dog swallowed it.  

I cannot get this worry out of my head (classic OCD I guess) and the 'what-if' is really bothering me!

At the moment I struggle with one or more of these worries each day (e.g. has she swallowed a mushroom/some glass/some chewing gum (v toxic to dogs)/a pin or needle/a sharp bit of stick/a pen lid/ a raisin (again they are v toxic to dogs) and I'm not sure of the best way to deal with it all. I have also spent money asking for Vet advice on a vet website at times when I didn't think a Vet visit was probably necessary.

I have had a really awful day even aside from the OCD so I wonder:

1. Does this worry sound quite illogical?

2. What is the best way of dealing with these daily worries especially when some of them seem to make sense to some extent? (e.g. if she really did swallow a mushroom or some raisins or glass then she would be at risk of serious illness)

3. Do you think that the fact that I have this type of OCD means that if I have children in the future I may well face the same sort of worries?

Thanks!

 

 

 

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Hey, sorry to hear your having a hard time.

I have a minture jack russel and she is always in the wars, since getting her two years ago we have had several drama's she got anaphylactic shock from a balloon of all things while playing in the garden this lead to an emergency trip to the vets. Another time she eat slug pellets in the shed which are lethal to dogs so another emergency vet bill (very large bill). Last week she got a thorn in her paw another trip to the vets. As much as we love our dogs we can't keep an eye on them all the time and trust me if something was wrong with your dog she would let you know. The what if's we suffer with are awful all we can do is to try and live with risk and trust everything will be ok! :yes:

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BelAnna, your worries are irrational because they come from OCD. There are hundreds if millions of dogs out there. Do you think all their owners obsessively worry about their dog eating something they shouldn't? Of course not.

This is all OCD and you need to treat it as OCD. That means in part identifying the compulsions you are doing and working hard to stop them. That includes no more talks with vets unless you have direct evidence that something is wrong. That also means curbing your ruminating, which I'm sure you do a lot of.

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Thanks DizzyD and PolarBear,

DizzyD, it can be a nightmare can't it? Sorry to hear you've had so much stress from your little miniature Jack Russell. My Golden Retriever is a year old and already she's been seriously ill with lungworm, which made her collapse (this was despite Milbermax worming preventative tablets and she had to have full heart and lung investigations/tests at a specialist vet hospital); swallowed a hairbrush needle and had to have x-rays; had an ovarian cyst and bled for 2 months continuously before her Op; eaten a mushroom and been made to throw-up and had two other serious infections.

I think that I have OCD about her eating something pretty much every day. Tonight I'm worried because she seemed to eat something that was long and thin on the floor and I'm worried in case it was a needle or a hair pin. I have these catastrophes playing out in my head- for example that it was a needle and her intestines will be pierced by, then she will get peritonitis. I  know that my worries don't sound very rational but that's OCD I guess!

Thanks PolarBear, I know that lots of dog owners are not as (overly) careful or as consumed with OCD/anxiety about their pets- there is a chance that my dog would not have survived this year without me being careful but equally these worries are affecting my life and she is "just a dog".

I will try to take your sound advice on board!

Thanks!

Edited by BelAnna
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Today's worry (so far):

I just took my dog for a walk- she walked through some crushed glass and I'm worried that I saw a shard of glass and that she might have eaten it.

I am tracking my OCD worries on this thread so that I can see quite how frequently and dramatically I freak out and how she is ok 90% of the time afterwards xx

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See I suffer heavily from what ifs as well not regarding animals (I have a bird who I love to death he's a year old parrelet & he's finally learning how to talk) 

but I can relate because as you can find on my other threads I had a horrible experience with a old friend deciding to string me along so I worry about my friend now constantly doing the same thing when every day the daily worries come out fine

its always easier said then done for us but from one what if OCD worry person to another lol try to figure to yourself "the dog is living fine" "the dog isn't showing signs of weakness" "if the dog had a weakness it would tell you"

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Hey BelAnna hope your keeping well

It sounds like you and your dog have had an awful time. I understand the stress and worry you go thru my little dog is spoilt rotten and rules the house! My main worry is she will get out of the house and get lost which cause's me to check on her constantly if i lose sight of her for two minutes i freak out! Today we have been gardening she has eaten loads of compost and bonemeal this had done her no harm!! She is up causing hell as usaul. :)

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