OCD Action

Merlin21
Member

Hi All,

After a year of battling with contamination OCD I have finally decided to go to the doctor's to get some medication along side CBT sessions. My question is, what medication has worked best for some of you, as there seems to be a huge list!

Cheers
Merlin

Tue Mar 15 2011 21:41:47 #
jo
Member

Hi
I take escitalopram. i was terrified of taking meds cos had issues with them when younger, so started on sub therapeutic dose and weaned up when i felt ready. it hasn't made a direct difference to my ocd but has really helped my depression which was stopping me from tackling the ocd at all, and potentially it may help the ocd in time
i think you were on here a while ago, i can't remeber now, but i have a vague memory of your ocd having similarities to mine.
theres a website, i think choices or something that goes through all the psych meds so you can read up on their pro's and con's. i'm glad i went on meds, although only recent cos things were really starting to fall apart and now i have more control which is a good place to start from.
good luck

Tue Mar 15 2011 22:08:09 #
Merlin21
Member

Hi Jo,

Thanks for the reply. I was on here a while ago but decided flatly that I didn't want meds as I had heard horror stories about side effects. But it has now got to the point where I am avoiding too many situations which is not good as I have a toddler which I want to take him to soft play areas, visit all these places, but feel my OCD is stopping me and I can't carry on like it. I feel I have very little control over my OCD and I want that to change for the sake of my family..

Tue Mar 15 2011 22:24:34 #
Tess
Member

Hi Merlin
I'm on seroxat, it has virtually eliminated my checking and improved the contamination but I think we are all individual and you just have to find what works best for you. For me meds has stabilised my mood swings and helped with my extreme shyness by giving me a very mild 'devil may care' attitude to life, which in turn helps me to fight the OCD. The only obvious side effects for me are digestive but I can manage this by avoiding greasy and processed foods. If you get bad side effects stop taking the meds and try something different.

Wed Mar 16 2011 10:57:00 #
wannabefree
Member

Hi Merlin, I've today started on fluoxetine, with diazepam while it all gets started. I suffer contamination OCD really badly. I did try lofepramine, but it cause really bad side effects for me, water retentive stuff, so I had to come off. I guess the way to go is to see what GP gives you, go with it for say two weeks, and then catch up with your GP so it can be monitored.

Fri Mar 18 2011 17:46:22 #
Merlin21
Member

Hi All,

Thank you so much for all your replies, it is greatly appreciated.

Mon Mar 21 2011 22:35:52 #
mattwords
Member

I have pretty bad contamination ocd and I'm on clomipramine and it has helped a lot!!

Sat May 7 2011 2:08:46 #
OCD!
Member

i used to be on the clomaprimine and they zombified me...didnt help with contam fears

fluoxetine just made my anxiety worse

amitriptyline didnt do much either

im now on diazapam (valium) which stop some of the anxiety but do nothing for the contamination...

the only thing that stops my contamination fears is boozing...a couple of pints and i dont worry about it BUT its too easy for me to go down the road of ending up drinking heavily...so dont touch the stuff i can help it...just made things worse in the end

they wanna try me on sertraline (i think thats what its called)
wish i could stay on the valium but i dont think the doc will let me.

so the prozac type drugs didnt do squat for my contamination...sorry to be negative but you may find they do you good

im just back to avoiding anything that will set off my contamination OCD's!!

all the best
rich

Sun May 8 2011 8:32:16 #
Tess
Member

Hi rich
Amytriptilyne and valium are for anxiety not OCD and like you, I didn't get on with clomipramine. It's one of the older drugs used for OCD and less expensive than SSRIs and does have beneficial effects for some sufferers - but SSRIs are the drugs of choice so I think you should seriously consider trying the sertraline if the prozac type drugs haven't helped you. Seroxat sorted my checking problems almost overnight but has not "cured" the contamination, however I think the fact that it has stabilised and elevated my mood has enabled me to fight the contamination harder.
I've not come across anyone personally who has done well on fluoxetine (not to be confused with fluvoxamine which does seem to be effective for OCD).
As for the valium, GPs are now very cautious about prescribing it because it is said to be addictive so you may well be right in thinking your GP wants you to come off it. My GP allows me to have a small quantity of valium but I very rarely take it, only if I know I have to face a very stressful situation.
Incidentally the above is purely my opinion, based on my own experiences of 40 years of taking various meds for OCD, from what I have learned from others with OCD and from a short period of working for a medical statistics company before SSRIs came onto the market. I am not medically qualified.

Sun May 8 2011 10:02:38 #
Ratwomble
Member

Big fan of fluvoxamine.

David

Sun May 8 2011 11:15:20 #
mattwords
Member

Of course everyone is different. The newer meds made me worse ultimately and I was really bad when my GP put me on the clomipramine. I'm on 200mg and as you can see they don't knock me out but calm me down enough to be able to begin dealing with things. i think with meds its really a case of trial and error

Sun May 8 2011 23:09:27 #
OCD!
Member

when i was on the clomaprimine i was drinking fairly heavily...
just seems like i get real big OCD downers from time to time...on one now, but it couples with anxiety (which i always suffer from)
not been too bad the last couple of years apart from the odd "down" but then again i have as much as i can gone out of my way to avoid recurrence of OCD, such as not goin out an havin a life really! feel safe and clean at home, so thats where i like to be

Mon May 9 2011 21:40:50 #
OCD!
Member

started the sertraline....and as i feared anxiety is very raised with it, bad nausea...and started to sweat a lot already, as i did with clomiprimine

how long should i give it? this sertraline is making me feel like when i was on prozac, constant near panic level anxiety. i woke up not to bad this morning, anxiety wise, had the tablet now i feel like im goin to burst
doc wouldnt give me anymore valium, but i have a few left, but taking them might mask the symptoms...dont know what to do really, any advice anyone?

Sat May 21 2011 10:16:42 #
Tess
Member

Hi OCD
Really sorry to hear about the reaction to the sertraline. Part of me is wondering whether you have had so many bad responses that the reaction is being caused more by anxiety than by the sertraline. I would be surprised if symptoms would kick in immediately you've taken the tablet. Only you know how long you can cope with sweats, nausea and anxiety going through the roof but if you can keep going a bit longer I think it's worth persevering to see if it will stabilise. Did you take it with food?, it's important to line your stomach with a decent breakfast before you take your tablet. As for taking the valium I think you should ask your GP if it's OK.
I think you need to give it at least three weeks and ideally six weeks before you will know for sure whether or not it's going to work for you.

Sat May 21 2011 11:43:43 #
Truddles
Member

Hi OCD,

The best thing to do is to talk to your GP (or which ever doctor prescribed it)
about this, they will be able to advise you as to how to proceed.

I do think Tess is right that this might be caused by anxiety as prior to starting the sertraline you were worried that it might cause the same problems as the clomipramine. Anxiety can cause nausea and sweating and strange body sensations. As Tess said you might need to give it a few weeks before deciding what to do as quite often side effects disappear as the body gets used to the medication.

As you woke up feeling fairly ok it might be worth asking your GP if you can take it just before you go to bed, that way you wont be awake whilst it gets into your system and so less likely to get quite so anxious.

Sat May 21 2011 12:02:23 #
OCD!
Member

hi thanks guys i am goin to phone the out of hours doc...i need to get rid of this awful anxiety, just gonna ask if i can take a valium for today
the sweating i can deal with...i guess some may be phsycological but this is exactly how the prozac and seroxat made me...i took each for approx 2 to 3 weeks with no difference in the amount they worsened the anxiety
the clomiprimine didnt make the anxiety worse but i dont think it did anything for the OcD so cant see the point in taking that either, i was on that for months and got a bit agorophobic too
this is day 3 of the sertraline and the anxiety feeling is awful,its ten times worse everyday after i have taken the tablet and non stop. before i could do something and stop the anxiety
thanks again
will let you know what the doctor says

Sat May 21 2011 13:29:25 #
OCD!
Member

hi just spoke to the out of hours doc he ok'd me on the diaza and told me to split the sertraline for a lower dose (25mg), going to take it at night too instead of the day...im not taking it for depression so i figure that if i can get it in my system overnight then at least ive tried it. will go docs on monday morning
perhaps im just not suitable for these types of drugs? i always considered SSRI's as uppers and i would say being an OCD and anxiety sufferer i need downers, thats why a few drinks knocks the OCD on the head till i sober up

Sat May 21 2011 13:59:25 #
Tess
Member

Hi, thanks for letting us know how things are going. I think you've done all the right things so lets hope the new meds routine works better.

Sat May 21 2011 17:01:53 #
OCD!
Member

hiya

just as a side note, the anxiety i felt on these new tabs was more of a physical anxiety, just the same as the prozac gave me, as really ive not had a stressful day, i've not been able to do anything really due to the feeling in my chest,
now i get anxiety that bad normally but sometimes i can counter it by getting busy in my garden...just couldnt do that yesterday and today,it just wouldnt go away...felt ok tonight so myself, wife and 4 sons went to a friends 50th birthday party (i wasnt going to go as i was feeling so bad, but the valium had brought it down to a level where i felt OK...)

anyway long story short at the party all the kids were runnin round and a big lad fell on our 2 year old...he went pale and shaky so we took him up the hospital as a precaution (doc checked him over he's fine) so now i got anxiety about wifeys shoes (i didnt go in the hosp i waited in the car with 2 sons (one stayed at the party with his friends) coz shes been in the A & E dept of the hospital (i got very big fear of hospitals even on a good day)...im thinkin the "if only i had stayed home with the younger 2 it wouldnt have happened...blaming myself) damn OCD i hate it.
so guess where my stress level is now!
not going to take sertraline in the morning as i dont want to use up the last of my diazapam...saving them for emergencies...such as tonight!!
sorry about ranting on just wanted to get it off my chest!

Sat May 21 2011 22:42:17 #
Ratwomble
Member

Hi OCD!

Just wanted to say that finding the fright drugs can take a while, and that sometimes I urial side effects fade so stick with your doctors advice.

And last night wasn't your fault. These things happen to kids. You can't mothball them. Although having said that, it mus have been awful.

Hope you have a better day today.

David

Sun May 22 2011 7:47:49 #
Tess
Member

Hi OCD
Sorry to hear about last night's misfortune but David is absolutely right, problems happen, if you had stayed at home something equally difficult to cope with could have happened. I hope by this morning you will have reconsiderd last night's decision about your sertraline because you need to give it an adequate trial before you give in and you can still use the valium for emergencies. Incidentally I find gardening immensely helpful, I can spend hours weeding just listening to the sounds of nature and my mind winds down and relaxes - but I can't relax my mind by just listening to a relaxation tape of natural sounds, I find I need other sensations such as the warmth of the sun, the breeze on my face and the feeling of the earth in my fingers - plus the sense of achievement when I can see the product of my time.
I think it would help you if your entire family agreed to make the next three weeks as stress free as possible. Going off to an evening birthday party with kids running wild just as you've started a course of treatment for OCD is asking for trouble.

Sun May 22 2011 9:21:29 #
OCD!
Member

hiya yeah i love the garden too...well i did until i discovered this february that a neighbours septic tank had been discharging straight into it!! has been for 3 years,(our garden was actually her soakaway...planning error..ommission...laziness at not checkin take your pick!!) they have had a new system installed that treats it...but im still obsessing over it..not great for my anxiety and contamination OCD (thats what i have most trouble with OCD wise) me and my family have had the worst 12 months ever, that sewage thing was just a part of all the troubles we've had.

thats what bugged me last night, having to go to the hospital, even though i didnt even go in, i had the thoughts of blood and or other contamination on the wifes shoes etc...

i can deal with the kids running wild...in fact it does help a little when we do activities, even just making paper planes like today
i have 4 sons, they are 12, 10, 4, and 2 so its always a madhouse here, our 10 year old is autistic too so that adds to the overall stress of the 3 bed rabbit hutch we live in!!
its when i am on my own or at work (at a bench on my own) when i really start to ruminate over things, just non stop like a runaway train
im currently signed off work at the moment, which is helping to recharge me i think, though now im currently obessessing about money now as i will be on SSP.

i have not taken a sertraline today and i'm still having that awful anxiety feeling that will not go whatever i do,so its making me think that i am not even going to try 25mg tonight, i dont want more sleep disturbance i've had a gutfull of that in the last 3 months...

Sun May 22 2011 21:18:36 #