Thank You

I just want to take a moment to thank my fellow OCD blogging friends. I really feel like we are a special group of people and it does help so much to know you are there to offer support and to know you face similar and different things and advice on how to handle them. Sometimes just some simple words really can make it all seem okay. Thank you all.

Asbestos

I was worrying about some asbestos in the kid's schools. We get these papers saying they check for them and have found some and they are handled by AHERA which stands for Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. The schools are checked every six months. I wasn't really worried about it much to my surprise until the other day. My son who is in 7th grade is in band. He said he knew this might worry me but, they had asbestos in the stairs in their band room. He wasn't concerned. He only told me because he was talking about how the band teacher wanted to get them taken out but it would cost too much because of the asbestos. I guess the kids are always tripping over them and she just didn't like them. I'm glad he told me anyway. I called and talked to someone in charge of all this stuff and she said the asbestos was in the glue that binded the carpet to these stairs the kids sit on to play instruments. She said it could only be released into the air if it was sanded or something like that. The woman did call the band teacher and talked to her. She said she could submit a form for a bid to see how much it would cost to get them removed.  I just have to trust that he is safe.
I also have a friend who I've know for quite a few years and she lives in an old house. She mentioned that her house has asbestos in the popcorn ceiling. She gave me some boots that didn't fit her and I was so excited by it. The next day I ended up giving them back because it was bothering me too much thinking that there might be some asbestos fibers in them.

OCD runs in families

I know from my own experience and from reading that OCD is genetic.
My dad, sister an niece have it. My sister just started having more symptoms of it.
I always wondered about my son who is now 12. He sometimes had little "habits" that made me think about him having it and hoping not.
Lately, signs have been more apparent. He has had  habits but I'm now wondering if they actually are tics which are associated with OCD. He has in the past had continuous throat clearing and sniffing. It will last for a few months and then go away. He now has started stretching his neck which is quite obvious. It is particularly worse when he is at basketball pactice. My husband told me last night at practice it was bad and he was shrugging and stretching his neck and getting very distracted. My son is on the top competitive team for his age in our town. I really don't know what to do. He doesn't talk about it or say why he does it. I asked him if he fells like he has to and he just says he's stretching or doesn't really say anything. It drives my husband crazy and he tells him to quit it or mocks him I told him I don't think he can help it.

Checking in

I write this blog to share my experiences with people and to find people who I can relate with. I do not always have something to write about.
I am always on alert for with that fight or flight feeling but I think I'm doing pretty good right now.  I never know from day to day, but I guess that is true for all of us since life offers us no guarantees and OCD doesn't accept that. It wants a guarantee. This is where I put my faith in God.
I am taking one clonazepam daily and continue to take 3 fluvoxomine nightly. Taking the clonazepam in the morning sure does help me. I wake up and start feeling anxious as the morning progresses otherwise.