OCD Action

worriedmum64
Member

Hi. I am new on here so please excuse any errors I make with regard to the terms and the condition OCD.
My 20 year old pregnant daughter has just been diagnosed with OCD and I am concerned as to whether or not it is the right diagnosis.
Firstly she was taking a very low dose of Escitalopram and stopped taking it when she discovered she was pregnant. The reason she was given this in the first place was because she was suffering from depression and panic attacks, these improved but did not go away completely.
The psychologist she was seeing recommended the medication and has carried out lots of hypnotherapy. Yet since she became engaged and set the date of the wedding my daughter has constantly questioned if she is doing the right thing, and no matter how much we tell her that she is she still doesn't believe us. she constantly cries, is sick with panic and extremely depressed. It seems as if the one thing she is doing is obsessing over thoughts, yet is this OCD?
Can anyone help? I am so desperate as she has been told that it will get worse while she is pregnant and is saying how she has "had enough". That term in itself is bad enough as my husband took his own life and obviously I am scared she will do the same.
Please help.

Wed Nov 24 2010 18:23:13 #
POLO
Member

HI I AM ALLSO NEW AND SUFFER WITH OCD OBSESSING OVER BAD THOUGHTS I SPENT TIME IN HOSPITAL WITH DEPRECATION, ALL I CAN SAY IS I TRY EVERY THINK TO FIND A REASON Y I FELT LIKE I DID I BLAMED WHERE I LIVED MY LIFE STILE THEN ULTIMATELY MY WIFE AND ARE RELATIONSHIP. I NOW NO THAT IT WASN'T ANY OF THAT ESPECIALLY MY RELATIONSHIP IT WAS THE OCD BUT AT THE TIME IT SEEMS SO REAL

Wed Nov 24 2010 20:16:40 #
aishah
Member

Hi worriedmum,

I'm sorry that your daughter is suffering like this at the moment.
The awful thing about OCD is the fact that we worry too much about everything, it's part of it I'm afraid. From experience my OCD definately got much worse when I was pregnant with my last child, in fact I wasn't diagnosed then so didn't know what was wrong with me at the time, I do know that I excessively worried about everything so can understand what your daughter is going through.

The good thing is, is that she has support in the form of seeing a psychologist and has a very caring mum too, so hopefully that will help and when the baby is born then she could go back on her medication as it does help most of us.

Maybe she could come on the forum too as she may find that helpful to know that there are others who are going through the same thing.

I know it must be really hard for you too watching your daughter suffer like this, but speaking also from experience, she will have good times too, it's just at the time when you feel so bad, you never think that things will get better but they can.

How many more weeks until she has the baby?
Many of us here on the forum have been desperate at times and can't take any more of this awfull illness, but it's at these times especially that we get extra support from friends here, so encourage her to come on the forum as it will help her.

I don't know if this helps but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.

Take Care
Bridget

Thu Nov 25 2010 8:43:57 #
Advocate 1
Moderator

Hello worried Mum,

I am not sure whether your daughter is still under the Psychologist, but if she is it may be a good idea for her to go back for support and possible re assessment.
Also if she has stopped taking meds because of pregnancy,seeing her GP would also be a good idea as her symptoms may be becoming worse because of this. I know from posts that I have read on here that there are some SSRI's that you can take in pregnancy but she needs expert adivce on this.
If you or you daughter would like to either ring me directly on 0845 3906234 or our helpline on 0845 3906232 we can offer what help and support we can.
Kind regards
Jude Wynne ( OCD Action Advocacy Manager)

Thu Nov 25 2010 12:31:46 #
Advocate 1
Moderator

Hello worried Mum,

I am not sure whether your daughter is still under the Psychologist, but if she is it may be a good idea for her to go back for support and possible re assessment.
Also if she has stopped taking meds because of pregnancy,seeing her GP would also be a good idea as her symptoms may be becoming worse because of this. I know from posts that I have read on here that there are some SSRI's that you can take in pregnancy but she needs expert adivce on this.
If you or you daughter would like to either ring me directly on 0845 3906234 or our helpline on 0845 3906232 we can offer what help and support we can.
Kind regards
Jude Wynne ( OCD Action Advocacy Manager)

Thu Nov 25 2010 12:31:46 #
Unregistered

Just noticed your message. I am unable to spend much time here at the moment because of my daughter who is very ill, but just wanted to say that I experienced similar thirty years ago. We can certainly have one obsession with OCD with no compulsion. I was like that for seven years and I don't think many psychiatrists would have made the diagnosis mine did (there's more awareness now). His daughter had OCD so he really knew about the condition. I was in utter despair. Help is available though. I found pregnancy my worst time, hormones played havoc with my obsession. Tricia x

Thu Nov 25 2010 13:51:54 #
jen67
Member

Hi worried mum.
I am not a sufferer of OCD but am a mum and carer to my 24yr old son who has it. Sorry to hear about your worries for your daughter.
It's certainly extremely stressful for us as parents to see our children suffer and be unable to do anything to solve it. And it doesnt matter how old they get we dont stop caring for them and wanting the best for them.
Sorry I cannot offer you any advice, just one mother to another, who knows the pain of seeing your child go through symptoms of OCD related anxiety.

Thu Nov 25 2010 15:20:04 #
Tess
Member

Hi worriedmum
So sorry to hear about your daughter. It brings back so many memories of my son who, like your daughter was diagnosed with OCD. He lived happily with his partner for a year but as soon as they became engaged he started questioning, just as your daughter is doing. He became depressed, excessively anxious and started obsessing about whether the marriage would work and over the tiniest details of the relationship. His father and I thought his partner would be perfect for him, she loved him very much and we felt she would have supported him through all life's problems, we assumed it was pre-wedding nerves and would sort itself out. At the time I did my best not to interfere or pressure him in any way. I told him it was his life and he had to make his own decisions - but I now wish with all my heart I had interfered and had advised him to wait and not go ahead with the wedding because six weeks after the wedding, which was absolutely beautiful, he had a major breakdown with tragic outcome.
OCD is a huge unseen burden, add to this the hormonal changes in pregnancy, the fears and uncertainties of becoming a mother and all the stress of planning a wedding and committing the rest of your life to another person - and your daughter is under a massive stress overload which is revealing itself in panic, depression, etc. Sorry this is hard advice but I have been there myself and even then I did not recognise what was troubling my son so much. Listen to your daughter, accept what she says and do whatever you can to reduce the stress on her.

Thu Nov 25 2010 15:33:36 #
Unregistered

Hi worriedmum64!

Sorry to hear about the problems your daughter is going through. It is very important that you support her. My wife was diagnosed with OCD and we've been struggling with this ever since. I actually wanted to give you some advice: be careful with the medication your daughter is taking especially if she's pregnant. It can be damaging to her baby! My wife and I had to go through an antidepressant birth defect lawsuit because of it and I wouldn't wish that on anybody. Take care of you and your daughter!

Tue Jan 17 2012 18:06:01 #