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We are new on our OCD journey. One week in. We are in daily crisis mode.  My son is 16 and hasn’t left the house for a week. It’s a struggle to get him to take his medication and we are missing doctor appointments as he can’t get ready to go out the house.  Contamination OCD. Extreme  hand washing now has become full body and constant changing of clothes   How do I get him to take his medication   It’s a struggle   Has anyone overcome this struggle   Is there a system that works    Thank you 

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If it was my kid I'd try and find out why he didn't want to take the medication. Is he experiencing unpleasant side effects for example. If he is it's possible his dose might need adjusting i.e. take a lower dose and increase it very slowly if increasing it is considered necessary. When you say doctor I assume you mean a GP not a therapist? 

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Thank you for your reply.  We have been in medication for one week. It’s not having any adverse affects at all. He is not taking his medication because he doesn’t want to.  It’s because he can’t find the time within his tasks of cleaning his hands to take a break and take the tablet.   I do know that taking the medication will not result in an immediate results but I do believe in the process and this is the beginning.   I wanted to know how he can take a break from cleaning his hands even if it’s only fir five minutes maybe he can also eat food    

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7 hours ago, CCC123 said:

It’s because he can’t find the time within his tasks of cleaning his hands to take a break and take the tablet.  

Well there's an excuse if ever I heard one. :laugh:  And I've been in a place where OCD took over my life literally 24 hours a day. :(

7 hours ago, CCC123 said:

He is not taking his medication because he doesn’t want to.

There's the real reason. :yes:  Chances are he only agreed to take it to get the adults off his back for a bit and didn't have the confidence at 16 to simply state his opinion and stick to his guns.  If he doesn't want to take it he's entitled to say no.

Medication is only an adjunct to therapy (CBT) at best. There may also be a part-placebo effect to taking it so if he isn't on board it might not be all that beneficial anyway.

My advice is either get him on board (get him to agree willingly to taking it) or ditch the medication and work on helping him reduce his compulsions while he waits for CBT.

Just as an extra angle to consider... is it possible he doesn't want to take the medication because he doesn't want to reduce his rituals? From the outside it seems logical the person will want to reduce their rituals, but when your thinking is that the rituals are keeping you safe that's not always the case.

Think of it this way, how would you react if you were told to stop using the zebra crossing and start dodging traffic to cross the road? Would you want to comply?

So the problem isn't the rituals, or the length of time they take, or how inconvenient it is for him and everybody around him. The problem is that his OCD thinking process has convinced him there is a need for the rituals. Just like you would say there's a very sensible, logical and obvious need to use the zebra crossing in order to stay safe.

It's the change in his thinking process that will help him see there is no need to do the rituals. No tablet in the world can do that, only CBT.

I'm not against medication in itself, it has it's place for some people and it can reduce anxiety even if it doesn't solve the underlying cause of that anxiety. But too often I see doctors, psychiatrists and others promoting medication as a treatment for the OCD -and I just believe people should be made aware that isn't what it's doing.

 

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Thank you snowbear. Thank you for letting me in and giving me the real angle   I’m sorry that I didn’t think it through and realise that safe feeling that the tasks makes him feel. His tasks last all day from when he wakes till he goes to sleep. He is in physical pain as his back and legs are hurting from bending over the sink. He says he wants to stop. That he is on board with the medication and therapy   But as you say he could be saying it to get me off his back   He wants this to end one way or another. I’m just trying to make it end by taking the guidance of the doctors.  I don’t want it to end in the other way.  Two weeks ago his ocd went into crisis mode and is still at that level. I want to help. I also know that 99% of what I am doing is not helpful. But I do want to say thank you to you for letting me see another angle 

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Can I just say that I know exactly how you're feeling. I really sympathise. Our son is 15 & he experiences similar OCD contamination to your son. He would stand at the sink washing his hands for up to 15 hours & couldn't do anything else like eat or drink until he had finished. He didn't leave the house for over 3 months as he couldn't put his shoes on (due to contamination). He would also shower for hours on end (up to 11 hours) & wouldn't get out of the shower even when it was leaking through the ceiling downstairs. He refused to see a therapist until it got to crisis point & he broke down as he was so exhausted too from washing & not being able to eat & drink. We saw a psychiatrist over zoom (as he couldn't make it out the house) & the only way he could even begin CBT & ERP was by starting on medication which he didn't want to take. I asked him what was the worst that could happen by taking it & the psychiatrist said that people with OCD struggle more than most to take medication. He eventually agreed & she prescribed liquid Sertraline (as he won't take tablets) but he hated the taste, so I now give him a glass of chocolate milkshake at the same time, which he seems happy with. Thankfully he didn't have any side effects at all. We have been able to gradually up his dose to 100ml over the last 4 months & it has really helped. There's still a lot of work to do & hopefully the medication will help him to be able to do more CBT. I think it was only when things got so bad that he decided he needed to give the medication a go. 

Hope that helps a little & to know that you're not alone.

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Thank you. That really does help. So so much.  Our stories are very similar   Thank you for sharing. Thank you for showing me that I’m not alone. I wish you and your son happiness

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