OCD and phobias

[July]

Anyone out there diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (ocd) and/or phobias? I have not been diagnosed but have some symptoms. Does anyone have a fear of contamination that causes great anxiety?

[Kara Isabel]

Hmm....my best friend and I talk about this alot. We both deny being OCD, even though we have some *traits* that could be considered a little obsessive! lol

I have to use the same cup in the morning, a different one in the afternoon! lol, little stuff like that.

I have a major thing w/ contamination, germs, food poisoning, etc! I do alot of funny things like change silverware/spatulas several times when cooking meats, etc......I get really flipped out if someone in my house is sick, I clean it like crazy and spray lysol all over the place!

So yeah, I think I *may* go a little overboard w/ worrying about germs and bacteria......does that make me OCD? :hmm:

[patricia1]

I never been diagnosed but I also believe I have some traits. For me like in my kitchen my spices have to be arranaged and turned a certain way and should they be moved I have to fix them back, same thing goes for other objects in my house. I also have a phobia with germs and like kara when the kids get sick the lysol comes out and spraying everywhere from door knobs to remotes. I also am funny about food in the fridge and how long to keep before eating. I throw so much stuff away that maybe I could have kept. I take my bath at a certain time and should it change it throws everything off. When I ask the kids to do something I tend to want it right now, not 10 minutes later...So I am not as bad as some people. I know other can wash their hands 100x of times a day and some cant even touch anything, but I have my oddities.

[sandi303]

I've never been diagnosed with OCD, however my children (and quite a few friends) swear I have it!! I have to have things a certain way around the house. For instance, if a picture is crooked it drives me frickin crazy!! I've really tried to "loosen up" in the past 3 or 4 years. When I find myself doing something that is a bit OCD, I literally tell myself over & over in my head - "ignore it - it doesn't matter - it doesn't matter". When I first met my boyfriend, his house was horrendously junky & dirty. I had to stay over there one weekend. And while he was at work & I was there alone I HAD to clean it (he's a fireman, so I had 24 hrs to do it) I couldn't help it!! It was almost the end of us, but he's the one that made me realize I was a bit obssessive about things.
But wouldn't that be interesting if most ic'rs had a bit of OCD? What would that mean, I wonder?

[July]

I'm thinking more serious ocd symptoms, to the point that they cause you great anxiety and distress and interfere dramatically with your everyday life and you feel powerless over them. I did read somewhere that a study showed a connetion between occurrence of OCD and IC.

[yvette]

Oh absolutely...for me its when I leave the house (I can't stand people who aren't punctual, and I certainly doen't like being late either)
Anyways, I keep cheking things over and over again...and a lot of has to do with me not paying attention...I'm thinking about other things rather than what I'm checking (making sure I have my keys, the coffee pot is off, the cats are fed etc.) I have to make a conscious effort to focus on the here and now...and think about work at work, think about errands and stuf like that LATER.

I think for a lot of us its not even OCD ...the orginizational stuff is more of a way of controlling a part o our lives that we can make a decision about....and our IC leaves so many unknowns...its nice to be able to have an area of our lives we have FULL control...which is where the rituals fall into place....::::::sigh:::::

[tigger_gal]

I too hate to e late, and hate it when others are late... or hubby that makes me late.. I have learned to tell him things start an hour earlier and we are right on time.. lmao.... my biggest thing is my pc.. don't screw it up or else...
I have a big sign over my pc that says Cindy's parking only.. all others will be towed away.. now I have a lap top I traded some tower parts and dvds for.. hubby screws it up its his problem.
my daughter can't stand her hands to be dirty, she will wash her hands everytime she touches the dog, or picks stuff up..

[Silverfox]

My Dr. was telling me about some psch. Drs. who research their patients who suffered with severe anxiety and panic attacks, they were trying to see if it was genetic and they found that IC and thyroid disease were a very common link in those families.

Here is my list of mental and emotional symptoms that I have noticed that I have with my IC symptoms.
panic attacks
memory loss
confusion
mental sluggishness
poor concentration
seeing little animal or mice running from the corner of my eyes( my Dr. says that is from my edema)
phobias ( like fear of catching a cold or that my home is never clean enough)
loss of drive or no ambition
post natal depression and crying spells during my pregnancies
nightmares( like being in an operating room with my friends and the urologist they are all laughing about their vacations and I am lying flat on my back)

Emotional symptoms
fearful of common things ( like driving the car a short distance to the mall)
easily upset
very nervous and with high anxiety
wanting to be solitary and alone
depression
personality changes
feelings of resentment towards so many others and situations
enormous lack of confidence

Some of these have improved for me in the last few years, but I still suffer some fears and lack of confidence, and except for family, prefer to be alone.

Because of my mental and emotional feelings and also my IC/painful bladder, when we moved to another part of the country, I found a family Dr. for myself and never ever mentioned anything about my bladder symptoms. I Did this because I felt that I would get better care and treatment for all other of my health problems. I also stayed away from urologists(there was only one in my town) because I knew that most likely he would not want an IC patient. I went for many years and never told anyone about my bladder symptoms and tried not to let it show, sometimes just going without fluids for a while helped. I think I was right, I did get better care. I now have a new Dr. who knows about the bladder symptoms and some related problems, and I travel to a medical school for urology problems that is over 2 hours from home. I was tired of being treated with disdain by Drs. and even shunned by neighbors and family when I told them about IC.

Gradually I am opening up again a little, because several family members now have some bladder symptoms. Some improvement in how I feel came after I was put on 3 1/2 grains of thyroid.

I am waiting anxiously to see IC/painful bladder get publicity so I can let go of my dirty little bathroom secret. :ignore:

sincerely silverfox... :bunny:

[July]

Hello Silverfox,
Several of the symptoms you listed I also share! I don't think I could have described them better. In fact, I may print your list so that I can bring it with me to a dr. or counselor. I'm in the process of looking for counseling as the anxiety/ocd is out of control for me since we moved to a new home/town. I have always been anxious, and the move has exacerbated it. I think my IC and related conditions could be better if the mental/emotional issues were less. I am so sorry that you have struggled with these things along with your bladder problems. Thank you for posting this message. I've often wondered if anyone had similar mental/emotional issues as me. As I'm sure you know, they along with IC can make a person feel very isolated and lonely. I'll keep you in my prayers. A big hug for you :grouphug:

[ibtracy]

I "have" been diagnosed with OCD :loco: for a little over a year now. I can't go to sleep at night if I know there's laundry to fold, dry or sitting in the washer. The shoes by the front door have to be lined up so that you can slide your feet right into them as you walk out the door. I'm very hyper-sensitive with my feelings ( :rolleyes: yeah, I know) if someone says something, I usually take it a different way (the wrong way usually). I can't stand to have someone mad at me and have to make things right, right now! Setting the table has to be perfect. My bed has to be made everyday, sometimes I get up in the middle of the night to equal out the covers. :headbang: I hate being like this but really can't help it. People being late, us being late, etc. Ya'll get the idea. I'm not a fruit loop - just have weird things that I can't let go of. I think I still haven't fully accepted my life's recent limitations with IC and all the chronic pain I have and think that if I keep other things perfect than it helps me deal with it all? Maybe I'm just anal retentive, lol. :biglaugh: All this drives my family nuts. This is why I don't get any sleep cause I just can't settle down at night til everything is picked up, put away and done. Grrr.....

[holles]

i was diagnosed with ocd in 2000 when i was no longer sleeping because i was constantly checking the locks, windows, oven, garage, etc. i would lie awake with my heart racing because i knew someone would come into the house and hack us to pieces. so i would get up 3, 4, 5, 6 times a night and do my routine of checking every single door and window (older house had TONS of windows).

it was also starting to affect my job. i'd get halfway to work, then drive home again to make sure i'd locked the front door. then i'd come back to make sure i had "really" locked the door. then another time or two. i would drive around my neighborhood several times to make sure the dog hadn't gotten out of the yard. i started showing up to work later and later and later and trying to leave the house earlier and earlier.

counting is another problem. everything has to be in twos. colors, shapes, lights, heck, even the cursor on my computer has to blink in twos (that's really annoying).

i was treated for a thyroid problem in 1999, but the ocd symptoms continued for over a year after that. depression hit really hard, and my husband told me to get help or he was leaving. once i finally saw someone and found out what was wrong, we were able to treat it with medication. saved me marriage and my sanity.

while working with another counselor a few years ago, we discovered the ocd problems began almost immediately after an accident where i nearly drowned. she worked with me and taught me some behaviors to help cope, and eventually i was able to wean off the meds. it's been about 2 or 3 years now since i've taken medication for ocd. i still show some behaviors, and when i'm stressed, i really show them. but for the most part, i can cope.

[kadi]

I had OCD for about a year in high school. Washed my hands til they bled. Checked doors & windows multiple times at night. It was while I attended a private school where I was miserable. Once I transferred back to public school, within months I was fine.

I do still have small bouts of it when tired or stressed, but I just recognize that it's probably because of fatigue or stress & when I've rested, it goes away... At this point, I don't think it's anything "diagnosable", just a quirk or warning signal I need to calm down & rest a bit.

BTW: my mother, maternal grandmother & paternal grandmother have had Graves (thyroid) disease, my dad's cousin's thyroid stopped working altogether in his 40s. This might not be so many relatives, but since we're not a big family this is a lot. I get my thyroid checked once a year because of the family history...