OCD Action

Rena32
Member

Hi, I am knew here and in need of support. I have suffered from OCD since I was 11 years old. I have never been on medication for my OCD. I used to have an obsession about locking doors and rechecking over and over, now I check the stove over and over, and unplug everything before leaving home. I constantly worry that I have said something wrong to someone, but knowing in reality I have not, but that still does not convince me. I ask people the same questions over and over seeking reassurance from them. I have a fear of certain numbers. I constantly worry about everything, and as soon as I finish one worry another comes along. It is like if I don't have something to worry about,then I create something in my mind that I think I should be worried about. Anyone else have these issues? I was wondering about the use of prozac for OCD, I have read alot about it being used for OCD, and wanted to know how effective it is, and if anyone has had success with it.

Tue Jan 19 2010 3:11:06 #
Nimrod
Key Master

Hi Rena32,

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear that you have OCD. You don't say if you have been diagnosed by a dotor or if any other treatment has been offered. There is a lot that can be done for people with OCD and the best thing to do would be see your doctor. Before you do that you might like to take our OCD test here on the website, also have a look at the NICE Guideline on OCD http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/files/2009/09/nice-cg031-publicinfo.pdf as this give a lot of information about OCD and what can and should be done about it.

A lot of people are on Prozac but there are other medications which suit some people better than others. Which suits you best can only be explored by you and your doctor. CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) is another treatment, often very sucessful, but again you need to see your doctor.

Make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as you can and please do let us know how you get on.

Best wishes,
Caps

Tue Jan 19 2010 9:33:14 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hello Rena32 -

thank you for your openness. That is the first step in what hopefully will be a healing process.

Your description of your symptoms sounds like a copy of my own troubles. I benefitted very much from taking Seroxat (trade name), officially called Paroxetine. This compound is one of a class of substances, called SSRIs (specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Prozac is another, and there are more. In essence, they increase the level of freely available serotonin in your brain; serotonin is one of your natural messengers, or signaling molecules. One brain cell releases it, it 'hooks' itself to another, and then that other cell is activated, simply put.

How exactly the increased level of serotonin 'does its thing' is not very well known. Main theories: in the end of a long chain of events, the level of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) is increased. BDNF is a 'driver for growth', a molecule that supports proper development of brain cells, and in some spots also increases the production of new brain cells; so you'll understand BDNF is beneficial for your brain. The other main theory: higher serotonin levels, again after a long chain of events, decrease the activity of glutamate, again a messenger substance in the brain (the most ubiquitous one, in fact).

The glumate story is especially interesting. Too much glutamate is linked to overactivity, and an impairment of inhibition in your brain. Thus, it can be directly associated with the main symptoms in OCD.

1. obsessions: overactivity and intrusiveness of very worrisome thoughts. All people have worrying thoughts. But patients with OCD have way too many of them, and they 'won't stop'. You can't inhibit, or suppress them.

2. compulsions: overactivity of ritualistic behaviours. All people have some forms of minor rituals. Could be checking the whole house to see whether everything's properly turned off, just prior to going on vacation; this, while one secretly knows that everything's off anyway, as per usual. But patients with OCD simply have to do these procedures over and over again, on any given day. You can't stop doing it, however much you try. The rituals have one role: they eventually lead to a decrease in the gravity of the obsessions. But this takes very much time.

As said, I really improved after taking Paroxetine. The effects take hold after three to six weeks, depending on the individual constitution and the gravity of the symptoms.

Feel free to ask more, whenever you'd like to,

Cheers, Cuthbert.

Tue Jan 19 2010 9:41:42 #
Unregistered

Dear Rena,

Welcome to the forum.

I have many friends with OCD and the majority take Prozac. It worked well for me, but unfortunately I had to stop taking it because of the side-effects. The drug Cuthbert is on was tried next, but it didn’t help me.

Some people find Prozac takes longer than expected before benefits are noticed (although minimal side-effects can appear quite quickly; most are short-lived). One friend was about to stop the medication after twelve weeks, because it wasn't helping, when it suddenly began to work. In actual fact, she is one person I know who claims to be cured by Prozac.

Cuthbert, you wrote about the glutamate theory. I don’t have the time to write about it now, but a friend of mine has taken part in two glutamate studies.

Rena, I share many of your obsessions. Hopefully we can talk more another time.

Tricia x

Tue Jan 19 2010 15:27:45 #
Rena32
Member

Thank you all for responding so quickly to my Post. No, I have not been diagnosed by a doctor, I went to a doctor when I was around age 18, and he had no idea what my symptoms meant, it discouraged me to the point that I have never been back to another doctor about my OCD. At the time, I had no idea what my symptoms meant, I had never even heard of OCD, and no one else spoke of it. I just thought I was just weird, or maybe everyone else felt this way to. It was not until years later that I finally saw information about OCD in a book,then I finally had an answer to my symptoms and realized that I was not the only one struggling with this condition. Back when I was younger we did not have all the resources to do research on OCD the way we have today, now we have internet, literature and Doctors who recognize and can treat OCD. It is a relief to know that I am not all alone in this, and that others do understand how it feels to have this time consuming and very stressful condition. Thank you all for your support.

Tue Jan 19 2010 16:59:22 #
Nimrod
Key Master

Hi Rena32,

Sadly your experience of the doctor not knowing what your symptoms meant is not unusual and it is not so long ago that many GPs had never heard of OCD. However, things are better now and most, if not all have at least heard of OCD even if they don't know anything about it. There is still a very long way to go.

See your doctor. Have a look at the NICE Guideline before you go (you don't say where you are from. Assuming you are in the UK, the NICE Guideline applies only to England and Wales - there are other arrangements in Scotland). Some people find it helpful to print relevant pages to take with them. Most doctors now, especially the younger ones, are trained to understand and diagnose OCD but If the doctor still does not understand then you can ask to be referred to a specialist or for a second opinion.

Best wishes,
Caps

Tue Jan 19 2010 22:46:09 #
Anon
Member

Hi Rena32,
its ironic as my ocd worries are very much like a few of mine...and i have started taking prozac (over the last 4/5 months). Now it did make my ocd worse over the first three weeks or so and it was very hard... however now it has dramatically reduced my overall anxiety levels....but the compulsions are still there a bit. But my biggiest issue with prozac is that it makes me feel "dead" inside that is to say emotionless. but if you want some relief from ocd then its an option. Anon

Wed Jan 20 2010 13:57:48 #
Unregistered

Anon, I wonder if those effects of being without emotion will last. I felt this way with some drugs, but not all were permanent.

I think doctors need to warn patients that medication can make us feel worse initially. I wonder how many people give up on medication because their anxiety increases, when possibly had they waited a few weeks they would have improved.

Rena, when I was a child my father said I’d not be happy without something to worry about. I was far from happy with all the worries, but, like you, I found that when one left another arrived. It is as if there is a vacuum in my brain, the ‘worry zone’, and it’s impossible for it to remain empty.

I hope you will see your doctor, most are so much more knowledgeable and sympathetic than they were.

Tricia x

Wed Jan 20 2010 14:55:01 #
Unregistered

Rena, I meant to say. I used to be terrible at going over past conversations in my head and worrying about what I might have said. What helped me considerably was chatting to a friend who had the same problem. We would be open about our obsessions and would frequently call each other back to check on things we had said, or worried we might have said etc. It was very stressful initially and yet somehow it became rather amusing as we could see the absurdity in our behaviour when we continually brought up our concerns. I won’t say I am cured of this obsession, but due to the conversations with my friend the problem is far less than it was.

With my checking, I found that making lists helped. This works for some people, but not others. I do know that if you check over and over again, your mind will become all the more confused. You could actually find that the twentieth check is less clear in your mind than the first one had been. With an important check, like locking the door, I try to think of something I have done that day or a news item from that day. Because we become confused, we are unsure whether the check was made that day or whether it was one from the day before, so it helps to concentrate in that way. Later, when you worry whether you locked the door, you can tell yourself you did, because you were concentrating on an event which had occurred that day as you were locking it.

Love, Tricia.

Wed Jan 20 2010 15:11:04 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Tricia's posts prompted me to reply. I went through various stages after starting medication (Paroxetine, or Seroxat, comparable to Prozac (Fluoxetine)). First I became a bit disinhibited, or 'too lighthearted', I did take some things not seriously enough. So I went down from 60 to 40 mg/day. Then I had to adjust for quite some time. Checking symptoms did not return in their full gravity, I am happy to report. Still, I had trouble with 'weighing' things, giving them their proper relative importance. My feelings? I had to adjust to my real age (47/48 then), because so many years I had been plagued by OCD. It was as if I had to 'catch up' with myself being grown up, more or less. Mental disorders are notorious because they hamper your emotional development. I like to see this as an aggravated midlife crisis; I acknowledge that all people go through this phase, but mine was really difficult for myself and others. Now I think I am stabilizing in a new equilibrium. Well, I try.

Love, Cuthbert.

Wed Jan 20 2010 15:55:09 #
Rena32
Member

Cuthbert, Anon and Tricia, thanks for your replies, I do plan on seeing a doctor soon, should I start with a GP? Or a phsychiatrist? Sometimes when a senseless worry attacks me, I have panic attacks, and then later on I look back and see how I really over acted and worried over nothing. The checking over and over drives me nuts. It makes me doubt myself, that I have already checked something. Some times, I get half way to work and turn around and come back home just to make sure, I unplugged the coffee pot, when knowing in my mind that I did, I go back and check any way. I was on prozac once for depression and it was like so wonderful, but I discountinued it before long. I hope that one day there will be a complete cure for us all. Does anyone have fears of going out of the house? I do not like leaving home. I do not like to have to go out in public for anything. I feel so much safer and at ease at home. Everyone says I should get out more and enjoy things, but to me, I get great anxiety when I go any where. I do not like change and anything out of my ordinary routine, makes my OCD worse. I hope that medication can help, and it is nice to have a support group, who understands, and knows how it feels to have OCD.

Thu Jan 21 2010 2:28:27 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Rena -

I would go the usual route: first a GP. But be wary of a GP belittling your problem. I'd emphasize to him/her (if you'd feel not taken seriously enough) how grave the condition is, perhaps mention this site and our shared experiences. Next step: a psychiatrist, one with real experience (someone older, not a young barely-ex trainee/student). He/she will interview you and present the questionnaire called YBOCS (Yale/Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale). After having assessed everything, he/she will present (hopefully) proper treatment procedures.

That, in a nutshell, is my take on things. Oh yes: perhaps it helps taking someone whom you intimately trust to the GP.

Best, Cuthbert.

Thu Jan 21 2010 9:10:30 #
Unregistered

Dear Rena, If you want NHS treatment, you need to see your GP first. If you are thinking of private treatment it’s up to you. Some doctors will prescribe SSRIs for OCD immediately (if that’s what you’d like) others choose to refer patients. As Cuthbert said, beware of a GP belittling your problems. Most are aware now that OCD is a very distressing condition, but there are a few ignorant ones around (the same can even be said for psychiatrists!).

I did see a very good psychiatrist privately, many years ago, but don’t be misled into believing private is somehow better. The only difference, in general, is the length of time you will have to wait.

Cuthbert, I have to say I don’t necessarily think an older psychiatrist would be preferable, and with NHS Rena probably won’t have the choice. I have encountered two psychiatrists of quite mature age. One was very knowledgeable, the other useless (not just my opinion, but also my GP’s. Pity he wasn‘t able to inform me of that before the chap retired!). Some younger psychiatrists are very knowledgeable and more sympathetic.

I was just thinking, Cuthbert, in all my 43 years of visiting psychiatrists (including a psychologist at the specialist Maudsley clinic) no-one has ever asked me to take a Yale-Brown test!

Good luck, Rena. Please, let us know how you get on.

Love, Tricia.

Thu Jan 21 2010 14:55:50 #
Unregistered

P.S. I used to panic about unplugging things and would return to the house to check. I then did a favour for a friend and visited her home daily to feed her animals while she was on holiday (long story, police followed me home on one occasion and I almost got arrested because of returning several times to make checks).

One of the things I really struggled with, during that fortnight, was the urge to unplug all her appliances! The kettle was even plugged in and switched on (at the socket). However, this did help me to some extent, because I realized she always lived like that and her house hadn’t burned down so far! I still switch things off and can’t even go out of the house with the TV plugged in (it’s one of those that won’t switch off, but remains on standby) but I don’t panic and return to check any more.

Tricia x

Thu Jan 21 2010 15:06:28 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Tricia -

thanks for your comments. That remark about the YBOCS surprises me, and also makes me laugh... when I got the forms, I noticed, just prior to filling them in, that on the back of the map there was a hint for the doctor who would eventually assess them. I could immediately make out that if my answers would add up to 16 or less, I would be a 'light case', and above 16, I would be classified as a very serious one. I thought, with a bit of sarcasm, that it was up to me to determine the gravity of my condition - just fill in so that the end result will suit your demands, so to speak...

When I told that to the doc, he laughed, and said that laypersons would not be able to interpret the meaning of that guideline.

Ciao, Cuthbert.

Thu Jan 21 2010 15:11:02 #
Sazzle
Member

Hi Rena,

Your symptoms sound very similar to mine. I wuold recommend seeing a GP, explaining your syptoms again and asking for a referral to a Primary Care Mental Health Trust (if you are UK based). The best successes often come form a combination of taking prozac/ some other SSRI (which gets your brain to a state where it can accept alternative interpretations of your thoughts) and cognitive behavioural therapy (which teaches you teh enw interpretations). your Primary Care Mnetal Helath trust will be able to provide such CBT and wiating lists are now quite short as tehre ahs been a recent push for mental ehalth treatment.

You will feel better, and evenif there are relapses, you know that you can get yourself back on track again.

Hope this helps

xxx

Fri Jan 22 2010 13:49:59 #