OCD Action

lucycharlotte
Member

Hello all. I have a query. I was reading in the medication part about drugs.I tried sertaline and fluoxetine but they were awful. Now my doctor has prescribed Clomipramine - I am worried about taking drugs.

I thought i was doing quite well controlling my thoughts.I am going through a lot of stuff connected to my childhood right now which has been painful.

Firstly...I am sceptical because these drugs effect the brain - how good can that actually be ? one day i will haev to come off them right - so shouldn't i start trying to live with out them now?

Secondly - I'm scared of weight gain - i've not been able to get out of bed today already.

Thirdly - do they dull the senses? will i not be as funny/charismatic as before - will they take my character away?

My OCD - is bad - but it's not over the top bad. Some days its controllable some days depressing.

I don't know - I'm just scared of drugs or getting reliant on drugs - what are peoples thoughts???

Tue Sep 13 2011 11:00:07 #
lucycharlotte
Member

and i feel really hungry and the doctors always say i wont put on weight but i think they are lying

Tue Sep 13 2011 11:10:09 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Lucycharlotte -

you don't have to be afraid of medication. Clomipramine has been on the market for so long now, that, had there been any serious disadvantages to it, these would have been seen long ago already. Roughly the same goes for SSRI's (serotonin reuptake inhibitors), although these are newer. Yes, they affect the brain, but they aren't poisonous, and they don't damage nerve cells and the connections between brain areas. What they do is temporarily increasing the amount of freely available messenger substances in your brain. In turn, and after a certain amount of time (3 to 6 weeks), the higher levels of those substances cause certain brain regions, critical for OCD, to actually improve in function: the connections between brain cells become tighter and higher in number (which is also the case in depression), and some circuits that are out of balance get 'normalised'.

Weight gain may occur, but that's not a given. You won't get addicted to food, and you won't get obese. You are still totally in control regarding your eating habits. Should you still be wary, then you might introduce some minor changes in your diet here and there: less fat, more vegetables and fruit, that kind of stuff.

They don't dull the senses (sedatives do, like Valium and Librium). And they don't change your character. They decrease fears, and give one more of a sense of equilibrium throughout the day.

A well-regulated lifestyle is important. Enough sleep, and going to bed and waking up at set times, that's important. The use of alcohol should be strictly limited to what's seen as medically responsible (ladies: 2 units a day, with 2 sober days each week).

That's about it. Oh, and I had the same fears as you. But eventually I found that the meds were/are far preferable to the terrible symptoms of OCD.

Hope this helps, and PM if you feel like it, kind regards,

Cuthbert.

Tue Sep 13 2011 11:39:13 #
lucycharlotte
Member

thats really useful - are you a doctor? i know a girl who was on anti depressants for several years and she got pretty fat. she's just lost the 3 stone she put on. i like to eat as it is - im feeling really tired today and my head is all cloudy.. and a friend recommended i watch the film 'the marketing of madness'

its scary isnt it really just because its your brain i guess.........

Tue Sep 13 2011 11:47:42 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hiya Lucycharlotte -

thanks for the compliment! I am not a doctor, but I am a neurobiologist, and the subject for my M.Sc. degree was our brain. It is immensely fascinating, studying it is like one's favourite pastime hobby.

Your head feels cloudy - are you on clomipramine for a short time? All medications for our brain take time to 'settle', to bring a new balance. It is not unusual that there seems to be some 'mist' in your head. I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, just keep track of how it develops over the coming days. But be careful in some decisions, e.g. whether you should drive.

The girl you know put on weight, you write, in a time when she used antidepressants. Now, the pills need not necessarily be the cause for that. Perhaps she took on a different lifestyle, with less exercise. Or she changed her diet. Or it just happened, without any proper explanation at all. And finally, it's the story of one person - she may not be representative of all users of antidepressants (I know people who got thinner, actually).

Oh, and this: I don't know the documentary 'The Marketing Of Madness'. But I find the title pretty ominous: 'madness' isn't a polite term to describe mental disorders. Therefore, I get the impression that it might be a rather sensationalist film, about Big Pharma trying hard to unleash as much of their product as possible on unsuspecting people, for financial gain (and possibly with the assumption that many folks get antidepressants who don't need them at all - i.e. are exploited by doctors collaborating with Big Pharma).

If I am right, it's not the kind of film that will have a reassuring effect on you - but well, I don't know it, as I said, I'm inferring it by looking at the title. Movies about conspiracies always go down well with the general public, and thus generate... money.

Please don't see this message as an attempt at moralising, I tried to formulate my thoughts as well as possible. And I wish you lots and lots of luck in your attempts to get better.

Byebye from Cuthbert in Holland.

Tue Sep 13 2011 12:12:32 #
Truddles
Member

Cuthbert,

I couldn't have put it better myself, very informative and user friendly

I just wanted to add that although it's not easy when you're feeling depressed, or the OCD is playing up and initially the medication makes you feel as if you have cotton wool for a brain (it does wear off as you get used to the medication)it's vital that you remain physically active.

To keep your weight stable there are measures that you can take, such as:

- Not always relying on the car or bus etc. If you do have to use either try getting off one or two stops before the one that you want and if using the car don't park it close to your destination. If you then walk briskly to raise your heart rate this will not only burn calories but help to keep your heart healthy.
- Don't use the lift or escalator use the stairs, once again this provides an excellent cardiac workout.
- Go for a brisk walk daily.
- Keep yourself occupied so that you're not tempted to keep raiding the fridge
- Change to reduced fat and reduced sugar products.
- Keep an eye on the size of the portions that you eat. Five years ago when I changed to the GI (Glycaemic Index) diet I was horrified to find that what I thought was a portion of for instance cheese, meat or cereal was actually three times what I should have been eating. But changing to this diet I lost weight, became far healthier as reduced fat and sugar and ate loads of vegetables, fruit and nuts and was never hungry, in fact at the end of most days I still had food that I could have eaten had I not been full.

Basically we shouldn't obsess about what we eat, but we should eat a healthy well balanced diet and take regular exercise.

I hope that that made sense, as I think that my brain needs rebooting as not functioning well today I've just wondered why the fridge was empty, it took me a while to realise that it was the washing machine that I was looking in and have just found my cup of coffee in the cupboard and not the microwave

Anyone got a spare brain that I can use?

Tue Sep 13 2011 12:24:39 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hiya Trudy -

let me return the compliment: that is a great, great post of yours (I wonder what you're capable of with a properly booted brain... )

Your emphasis on exercise is so spot on. Science has shown time and time again that the following, non-pharmacological and non-clinical factors help combat feelings of anxiety and depression:

1. voluntary exercise. There is a direct link between running, swimming, briskly walking, and the quality of functioning of a brain area crucial in mood, memory and cognition: the hippocampus. In this small part, new nerve cells are generated continuously throughout our lives. In depression, this production process is not going well. And with exercise, you can drive it up again. Result: more new mature nerve cells, more connections between nerve cells, more mental flexibility, less ruminating, and hey presto: a better mood! (...and it helps, as Trudy noted, to keep a healthy body weight);

2. social contact. It's also a fact that regular contact with others, be it for sharing deep feelings, or just funny chat over a cuppa, or festivities, successfully reduces depression;

3. a so-called 'enriched environment'. Spending much time in a spartan room is not good for depressed people. Spending time in an environment that has a lot to offer (with books, playthings, real games, paintings, flowers, a hifi set, musical instruments, what have you) is helpful in fighting depression. And, lest we forget: Mother Nature provides the most enriched environment that we know...

Cheers, Cuthbert.

Tue Sep 13 2011 12:55:34 #
Pepper
Member

Hi lucycharlotte,
I was really reluctant to go back on antidepressants after a bad experience on seroxat when I was 14, I always said that I'd never go back on them, so found myself getting worse and refusing to go to the doctors until I'd got quite ill.
I'm now on mirtazapine, I understand your worries about weight gain I felt the same and it's well documented that with mirtazapine you get increased appetite and admittedley for the first few weeks I did have a really large appetite and thought about food (particularly cake!) all the time, however this did pass and my appetite went pretty much back to normal for me, without any noticeable change in weight. I know medication isn't the right thing for everyone, and I'm by no means a doctor, you do have do whats best for you. I echo what all the above posts have said about exercise too, its surprising what a difference it can make to the way you feel. Good luck take care.

Tue Sep 13 2011 16:48:32 #
lucycharlotte
Member

thank you for all your comments. thats funny im always putting the butter in the cupboad and not the fridge.

i guess I was just worried as it was my brain! you know! but i guess anythings got to be better than how i'm feeling without them right!

oh dear. I won a trip to africa yesterday but I had to pass = my anxiety levels shot through the roof...not ready for such a big trip yet it seems.

thanks for the reassurance.

Wed Sep 14 2011 18:57:13 #