Dd must wear a sweater? Why?

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Feb 23 2018, 6:41 am

amother wrote:

Having to wear a sweatshirt in 75 degree weather is no good. .

I do not have a thyroid. 75 degrees is COLD for someone without a thyroid. The thyroid is a furnace that warns up the body. Synthroid does NOT warm up the body. Sure, it raises the numbers in the blood work, but it doesn't cure the problem of being cold in 75 degrees.

I set my home heat on 80, and if my family would be ok with 90 I would have the heat on 90. When it's on 90 I am most comfortable. (On the very rare occasion that nobody's home but I, I turn it up to 90)

My numbers are perfect. Yes, my tsh and free t3 and t4 numbers are picture perfect.

75 is COLD. Brrrrrrrrrr..... just seeing that number almost makes me shiver.

amother

Mint

Fri, Feb 23 2018, 9:58 am

amother wrote:

I'm confused by this post. You mention, OCD, anxiety, and thyroid.

To all of you criticizing, I spicifically mentioned that I'm trying to unravel and understand this. No it's not about me. Lol, I'm her mother it's allowed to annoy me when I have to deal with her tantrums over a sweater. Gosh, why are people here so critical

If it's because she's cold, bingo, there's your reason. Why is she cold? Because her thyroid is underactive.

If it's not because she's cold, but because of some reason she can't explain, it may be ocd. Ocd is a form of anxiety, and being that you mentioned she's anxious, it makes sense she has may have some ocd-like traits. Ocd rigidity can be very, very annoying for parents, but understanding that she's not being obnoxious, but something in her brain is telling her she must wear a sweater or else, can help you feel more sympathetic to her and let it go.

Both the anxiety and ocd may stem from her underactive thyroid. Thyroid health is directly connected to mental health. Many people with thyroid issues also suffer from neurological issues. If her thyroid issues will be properly addressed, you may see the anxiety get better too.

anonymrs

Fri, Feb 23 2018, 11:33 am

amother wrote:

No they're not perfect. They may be in range, but definitely not optimal.

MiracleMama

Fri, Feb 23 2018, 11:45 am

amother wrote:

Dd is almost 4. She has a very underactive thyroid. Taking synthroid daily. From when before she even started going to school which was this year she loved wearing cozy sweaters. In the summer she wouldn't insist. But when she would put on layers in the summer I thought she was just playing and I still think it was that.

Now it became a thing she insists on everyday. She is having a hard time with some kids bullying her. Teachers are trying but not greatly successful at it. She is seeing a therapist in school of OT and speech.

Her ot claims it's a security thing. Because she is anxious socially. She's definitely doing better socially but I'm worried about her insistence on this extra layers. It's becoming more intense.

Anyone has had this? Something tells me it's more then just security but I don't know what.

Please help me.

To clarify she puts on a sweatshirt ontop of whatever she's wearing. I can't for the life of me understand it.

Your dd is not yet 4 and being bullied? And over wearing a sweater? I can't even understand this. I have no recollection of any bullying going on in my children's classes at such a young age and I don't think any of my children would have had any notice of or opinion about what other kids were wearing. This is so weird.

amother

Lilac

Sat, Feb 24 2018, 12:26 pm

OCD almost never exists in children under 7, so that is unlikely to be the cause. Also, while rigidity does exist in children (and adults) with OCD, that doesn't mean that all forms of rigidity are OCD, and a young child being rigid about a sweater without any other OCD manifestations is unlikley to be an early sign of OCD - most rigidity in children under 7 is considered to be developmental and not a sign of OCD. It could be anxiety though, that exists in young children. It could also not be anxiety and be related to her thryoid.

anonymrs

Sat, Feb 24 2018, 8:14 pm

amother wrote:

Where does the bolded info come from? I've never heard that.

amother

Mint

Sat, Feb 24 2018, 11:47 pm

amother wrote:

Try telling this to mothers of 4 and 5 and 6 year old whose hands are raw and bleeding because they can't stop washing them. Anyways, I didn't say she qualifies for an ocd diagnosis, I said she might be displaying an ocd trait. If it's not because she's cold.

amother

Lilac

Sun, Feb 25 2018, 7:33 am

I have OCD, since I was little. I am not trying to imply that young children can't have OCD, I was one of those children. My psychologist is the one who told me that it is rare in children under 7, and that behaviors that would be a clear indicator of OCD in an older child (e.g. rituals, rigidity, etc.) are not necessarily a sign of anything unusual in a younger child (e.g., a 4 year who insists you do things in the same order and way at bedtime every night and gets upset if you change the 'ritual' wouldn't necessarily be considered a sign of OCD, while the same behavior would be an indicator in a 9 year old). OCD has been diagnosed in kids as young as toddlers though. And I am the first to say that if your child displays any signs of OCD, don't hesitate to get them evaluated no matter what their age - the earlier you start getting them help, the better off they'll be.

What I was trying to point out was that this single 'symptom' in a child who is only 3 who is known to have social anxiety is unlikely to be an indicator of OCD, and more likely to be an indicator of anxiety itself (social or otherwise), if it has a psychological cause - I just didn't want anxiety to be overlooked by suggestions of jumping straight to OCD, as anxiety is more likely at this age; I wasn't saying OCD was a bad suggestion, just much less likely than other suggestions given the little information we have. The behavior could also be completely normal, as tantrums and rigidity are still very normal in a 3 year old. Or it could be thyroid related.

To the OP - next time your daughter is wearing a sweater in 75 degree weather, feel her back and underarms and see how warm and sweaty her skin feels - if it feels like it's an appropriate temperature and not moist, then she is probably comfortable physically that way, which may give you some clues as to whether this could be a physical need and you can talk to her doctor about it (though I would still encourage getting her checked out further psychologically too if you already know she has some social anxiety).