I am currently trying to be diagnosed, but I need to have a referral for OT. I contacted my primary care doctor today, and she is referring me to a psychiatrist because she believes that I may have OCD.

Has anyone else been down this path? I do believe that I have OCD tendencies, but the more I read about SPD, the more the pieces fall into place.

I'm so frustrated right now...

A lot of SPD signs can be mistaken for OCD, but really OCD is composed of obsessive and compulsive behaviors like the name suggests. Being sensitive to light touches doesn't mean you're OCD, it means your nervous system overreacts to light touches. Going out of your way and doing certain "rituals" to AVOID said light touches doesnt necessarily make you OCD either.

I think you should have a good talk with your primary care doctor honestly. You don't want to waste money, or time, on a diagnosis/evaluation that most likely won't help you. Explain to her how SPD can look like OCD, but how you lack certain tell tale signs of ocd- such as obsessive compulsive thoughts, etc.

I can see a lot of signs of OCD looking like SPD. Tactile issues for sure, and then avoidance of things that irritate.

Like, say your hands feel "off". Something lightly brushed against them now you can't make them feel 'right'. You wash your hands, thinking maybe that'll help. But it just makes it feel even more weird, so you continue washing them to try and counter it.

Closing the door lightly makes a soft sound that sends shivers up your spine. To counter it, you could (in theory) open it and re-shut it, this time harder, in hopes of achieving a louder sound that doesn't irritate.

Idk, stuff like that I think makes sense to me.. Idk if I managed to get it across.

(01-06-2011, 04:47 AM)Sila Wrote: A lot of SPD signs can be mistaken for OCD, but really OCD is composed of obsessive and compulsive behaviors like the name suggests. Being sensitive to light touches doesn't mean you're OCD, it means your nervous system overreacts to light touches. Going out of your way and doing certain "rituals" to AVOID said light touches doesnt necessarily make you OCD either.

I think you should have a good talk with your primary care doctor honestly. You don't want to waste money, or time, on a diagnosis/evaluation that most likely won't help you. Explain to her how SPD can look like OCD, but how you lack certain tell tale signs of ocd- such as obsessive compulsive thoughts, etc.

I can see a lot of signs of OCD looking like SPD. Tactile issues for sure, and then avoidance of things that irritate.

Like, say your hands feel "off". Something lightly brushed against them now you can't make them feel 'right'. You wash your hands, thinking maybe that'll help. But it just makes it feel even more weird, so you continue washing them to try and counter it.

Closing the door lightly makes a soft sound that sends shivers up your spine. To counter it, you could (in theory) open it and re-shut it, this time harder, in hopes of achieving a louder sound that doesn't irritate.

Idk, stuff like that I think makes sense to me.. Idk if I managed to get it across.

I did some calling around today, and found that there aren't any OT's in my area that work with adults, unless SPD is a secondary diagnoses to something more severe like cerebral palsy. I'm going to keep searching, but in the meantime, I do have an appointment to see a psychiatrist since I have to get a referral in order for insurance to cover OT anyway.

I also ordered "Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight" from Amazon and am waiting for that to get here. Hopefully the book will have some ideas that might help me.

I totally agree with you about SPD looking like OCD. For the longest time, I believed that I had OCD but when I looked at the symptoms, only a few things fit. And now that I am learning more and more about SPD, it seems that a lot of the things that I thought were OCD behaviors were really coping mechanisms for sensory issues.

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now.

Good luck with finding an OT! I'm in the process (very slowly) too. The only place I know about is for kids. For now, I have an individual appointment with the psychologist who sees my SPD son. I'm hoping she can point me in the right direction, and help me out with other issues as well. Her assistant wasn't sure if it's a conflict of interest, so we're going to have just a couple of appts then decide.

SPD is very tricky that way. It can look like so many other things! I hope that word will spread about it, that it's REAL, that there's help available... I still think my 11 year old nephew has SPD issues (textbook sensory seeker), but my SIL refuses to see it. His early school years might have been much smoother if he'd had a diagnosis and help.

I was told by a previous therapist that I have OCD thoughts. I used to have "little movies" as I called them several times a day. Usually showing me worst case scenario in certain situations. Driving over a bridge, I could "see" myself losing control of the car and plunging over the side. Walking down the stairs with my (then) infant son in my arms, I could "see" myself falling to the bottom of the stairs, landing on top of my son and crushing him. All these "movies" gave me great anxiety. Luckily they rarely happen anymore.

Have you gone through the checklist on the SPD site? http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.c...klist.html Maybe you could print it out to show your doctor and/or the psychologist how you may fit SPD more than OCD.

Hope your book arrived!

Hey Lynn, I had those "movies," too. The worst for me was the driving off bridges movie. And now that I've found out about my SPD, I realize that they are related to my vestibular instability and sensitivity. I also have severe fears of heights and water, also related. I can see why a therapist would think they were OCD, but they actually have an organic reason. And realizing that (and being easier on myself because of it) has helped me tremendously. It's also made a huge difference in how I approach driving. Now that I have things to help with my vestibular issues some, I don't panic every day on the way to work anymore. It's a huge relief.

Sarah,
Wow! I had a chill go down my spine reading your post! I've never known anyone who has any clue what I'm talking about much has had them as well!! Even my primary doctor looked at me strangely. I never would've guessed that they were SPD related! I never used to be afraid of heights but have been getting more so as I get older. The Ferris Wheel used to be my favorite ride as a kid, now it terrifies me. Just thought I was getting old. You've really had the driving off a bridge movie?!?

I have started thinking that some of my depression is SPD related. I have awful bouts of self-loathing. Anxiety. I was on meds for 4 years. Lexapro seemed to work, but then I got tired of the sexual side effects. Then I tried Well-butrin which made the anxiety 20 times worse! Finally tried generic Prozac, but that never seemed to do much at all. I weaned myself off and started taking B-complex and Fish oil supplements, along with my multivitamin--and I have about the same effectiveness as the generic Prozac without the sexual side effect. It helps overall, but not with the darkest days.

But this is amazing! Now I'm going to have to look into things more! And this also gives me a heads up to broach the subject with my son, just in case he's having them too. He has lots of anxiety.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

(01-11-2011, 01:10 AM)LynnNBoys Wrote: Good luck with finding an OT! I'm in the process (very slowly) too. The only place I know about is for kids. For now, I have an individual appointment with the psychologist who sees my SPD son. I'm hoping she can point me in the right direction, and help me out with other issues as well. Her assistant wasn't sure if it's a conflict of interest, so we're going to have just a couple of appts then decide.

SPD is very tricky that way. It can look like so many other things! I hope that word will spread about it, that it's REAL, that there's help available... I still think my 11 year old nephew has SPD issues (textbook sensory seeker), but my SIL refuses to see it. His early school years might have been much smoother if he'd had a diagnosis and help.

I was told by a previous therapist that I have OCD thoughts. I used to have "little movies" as I called them several times a day. Usually showing me worst case scenario in certain situations. Driving over a bridge, I could "see" myself losing control of the car and plunging over the side. Walking down the stairs with my (then) infant son in my arms, I could "see" myself falling to the bottom of the stairs, landing on top of my son and crushing him. All these "movies" gave me great anxiety. Luckily they rarely happen anymore.

Have you gone through the checklist on the SPD site? http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.c...klist.html Maybe you could print it out to show your doctor and/or the psychologist how you may fit SPD more than OCD.

Hope your book arrived!

I too have those little 'movies' or thoughts sometimes. How odd. o.o I used to walk with a knife to carry to someone but I'd sit there and play a scene of what happened if i tripped and stabbed myself. I've also had the bridge one, hell I just had that in my dreams last night. Often times it's a draw bridge, and someone stops just a bit too close to the line- enough to send their car plunging into the water beneath.

I also overreact and panic about a lot of weather related things. My heart starts beating really fast if a storm blows by giving us rain and wind, not even thunder or lightning. If those two come, forget it, I'm a mess.

Believe me, Lynn, I know what you mean. I so know what you mean. I thought I was alone. I had a nervous breakdown after my worst bout of these "movies" when I was 20. I've been on and off anti-anxiety medicine for almost 20 years. And while part of my depression and anxiety is from childhood sexual and emotional abuse, now that I am an adult and have had way too many years of therapy to mention, I know that I have dealt with those on a fundamental level. It is now a physical issue, an SPD issue, that is causing me trouble. I, too, liked the Ferris wheel ok when I was a kid. I can't even contemplate it now without sheer terror overcoming me at the thought. I *still* have the driving movies on bridges, even when I have all my "helpers" working with me, like my ear buds and mp3 player and fidget item and sunglasses... It gets worse the higher, longer, and curvier the bridges. And if there's a building nearby, I *will* have a movie of crashing into the building. I can't look at people leaning against the edges of porches or stairs. I had to leave Braves stadium during a baseball game because of the panic at looking down at the field. And being able to acknowledge that I am NOT crazy and this is NOT "just in my head" has made the biggest difference for me, as well as finding strategies to help me with my SPD symptoms. Now that I don't treat my SPD as my being crazy, I can stop being quite as depressed for doing something "abnormal." I can see the doctor's sneer as being his ignorance rather than my insanity. And I can understand that, even though I do occasionally need the Paxil to help with my panic, that it's not because I'm making things up or driving myself mad. I can give myself the benefit of the doubt for the first time.

Believe me, Lynn. I know. And I'm so glad to pass it along.

Sarah and Sila, I've had the knife one too. My movies definitely got worse after I had my older son, post-partum. I was chopping veggies about a foot or so away from my toddler son in his high chair and had a movie that my hand slipped and I stabbed him. I made myself move another foot away from him. A lot of my movies involve my car or other vehicles-- crashing my car, stepping in front of a bus that suddenly pulled away from the curb, lots and lots of bridge ones. I have a few movies with flying. Mostly for takeoff. I have a lot of anxiety for takeoff, then I'm able to relax more once we level off.

We've vacationed in the Outer Banks, NC, ('02) and the Florida Keys ('05) and they both have some VERY long bridges to get out to the islands. I think I was driving in the Keys and had to pull over so my husband could drive over the next long bridge. I was terrified.

My heart races too. Mini (full?) panic attacks. At the worst, I was probably having a dozen a day. Now, maybe once a week or less. But thankfully I don't have to drive over bridges on a regular basis.

I have some generic Xanax (??) that my doctor prescribed when I need immediate help with my anxiety. That seems to help.

Thank you both for helping me understand even more about myself!

I have both SPD and OCD. I got an OT referral from my psychiatrist, so going to one isn't necessarily a bad thing. A psychiatrist would be able to tell the difference between the two disorders better than a primary care physician.