I’m on and off with my OCD. It feels all too real at times, and nonexistent at others. I’m heavily considering going medication as i feel it may be what I need to breakthrough this spell. What is your alls experiences with meds and what did you take? Please share all the good, bad and in-between!
I've been taking Zoloft for over 10 years ( I'm 38 now) it hasn't always been the savior nor has it been a crutch. The best way I can describe it is that it turns down the volume of the noise in my head. I still needed and still need therapy but it helps me control my anxiety.
+1
100mg Sertraline. Started 7 weeks ago. Before used Citalopram 30 - 40mg. First two weeks are horible. More OCD then it is slowly getting better. It pushes the thoughts in the background. But hint hint! More power to resist compulsions. I am still waiting for a therapist but I am currently practicing ERP and it is much easier to do it than with SSRI.
Just gave Lexapro a shot and am stopping it as of today. I’ve been on it for 12 days now and hit some of the not-fun side effects, specifically that it would trigger an anxiety attack every time I took it, and over the past 2 days I hit a state of confusion (last night I had trouble reading) as well as muscle tightness.
@Wes01 This happened to me when I went too high on Prozac, so much brain fog and confusion
@ccas6 I’m really glad to hear that. The last couple days have sucked and OCD wants to catastrophize that my brain is just busted lol.
@Wes01 I totally hear that but i promise the effects reverse right away. It’s just frustrating and disappointing and pretty uncomfortable, but not dangerous
@Wes01 I’m experiencing the same on lexapro, but as I hold out for longer its gotten better. I have had to stay at the lowest possible dose for it to improve though, and plan to increase very very slowly. I was also told I could use an as-needed anti anxiety for the panic attacks
@Anonymous Good to know. I also have a benzo for the anxiety attacks, but I’m trying to stay off of that as much as possible as it interferes with ERP. I might need to decrease the dosage as 10mg I think is messing me up.
@Wes01 Yep, going on the 10 too fast was what screwed me up. I’m on 5 for now and will be goin up to 7.5 before I try 10
@Anonymous Well that gives me a ton of hope. Thank you so much for chiming in!
Medication doesn’t work on me but that doesn’t mean it won’t work for other people.
when i was first diagnosed about 5 years ago i took zoloft for a bit. It did increase my anxiety at first so it was definitely hard but once it started to settle in I definitely think it helped and I felt a lot better. (I was only taking medication, not doing ERP). Unfortunately I was one of those people who thought "oh i feel better, i don't need it anymore!" so i stopped. I haven't taken it since then and I resonate with you on my OCD going back and forth between being very real & nonexistent. I've recognized this year that my symptoms have started to increase a lot more again and especially right now i'm in a 2-3 week cycle that I haven't been able to kick (longest its been in a veryyy long time) so I am looking to start medication again too (with therapy this time)
first want to say i love your wording of real sometimes nonexistent others. i relate so much. unfortunately i can only tell you about my bad experience of being on prozac. absolutely mind numbing and i guess it did work in that way, but i felt depressed as hell. my current dr gave me zoloft and though i have yet to try it, i havent read much positive feedback on zoloft being effective for ocd. everyone is different of course but i am curious to see others responses as i am also searching for the right fit for me. i’ve also considered going on more of an antianxiety med as each day my ocd varies immensely. maybe that could be a good route for you? either way hope you get some answers!
@baby99 My doctor is also recommending I take Zoloft, but I’m not sure if I’m going to commit yet! Please let me know how it goes if you end up trying it.
@Randy Johnson Will do!
My OCD was originally misdiagnosed as GAD, and I was put on 20mg of Prozac. That worked, but when we increased to 40mg, i got the horrible numbed out feeling I’m sure you’ve heard about. Since SSRI meds are mostly effective at higher levels for OCD, since I’ve been diagnosed I switched to Zoloft in the hopes that I won’t get that numbed out feeling. I go up to 100mg tomorrow, but so far the 50 and 75 hasn’t been bad at all! (It also hasn’t helped, but it’s only been 2 weeks). I hope this helps!! Ps the Prozac still helped a lot, just not super effective for rumination and health OCD.
Anyone on medicine for ocd and what is ur experience? I’m debating it
I’m contemplating on taking meds, and would like to hear some opinions/experiences with them. I’m honestly tired of being in and out of OCD land.
What is everyones experiences with medication for OCD? What has worked for you/ what hasn't? TIA!
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