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Clomipramine - confusion


Guest jayjay89

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Guest jayjay89

Hey all,

Well I have never been that keen on medication, but because of the low I hit last week I decided it might be worth a try.

Anyway. 5 days in. Woke up this morning completely confused about where I was, who I was, what year it was, all that basic stuff that I usually know.

I sat down and waited and it went away after about 20 minutes.

I called my Dr and he is away until tomorrow.

I asked the nurse and she said it was upto me to decide if I was going to stop the medication today, she could give me no advice.

I was just wondering if anyone had similar side effects and if I should continue/stop the medication until I see the dr tomorrow?

Obviously also concerned as to whether or not I should be driving .... any thoughts?

Thanks team,

Jay

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Going away after 20 minutes of waking doesn't seem too bad. I'd wait and see if it stays, gets worse or better.

A lot of medication side effects slowly drift away. It ends up being about your tolerance for the side effect.

Oh, and don't drive if you don't know what day it is.

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Hi JayJay,

Don't want to influence yiur descision, but will give my experience of Clomipramine.

I lasted 2 days, it really f*****d me up. On the second day I was paralysed on the sofa, literally could'nt move any limb. I stopped taking it at that point. I spoke to my Dr a couple of days later and he said I had made the right descision.

Prob best not to drive the way you are feeling.

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I can only give the other side - clomipramine allowed me to resist compulsions. It made obsessions/anxiety less - i was able to tackle ERP tasks,

It sounds melodramatic - i truly believe it saved my life - i was in such a bad place............................

I wa lucky, I know but it made all the difference to me

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Guest jayjay89

Thanks guys, interesting to see some different opinions.

I knew I probably shouldn't drive, but since I live in the wops, if this goes on I will run out of food lol.

I'll see what happens tomorrow. It was just such an upsetting episode, I felt completely lost and bewildered

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We all here know and accept meds affect us differently. What works for one wont always work for another.

Whotebeam it sounds like it really helped you.

JayJay - Only you know how you feel on the meds, we can just give our experiences on how our bodies react!!!!

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Guest jayjay89

Yeah, I have had real trouble with meds in the past, venlafaxine and sertraline both put me in hospital with serotonin syndrome. It was awful!

OCDay - Hows the benzo's going?

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I've had serotonin syndrome too during withdrawal.

The Benzo's - still getting horrific withdrawal symptoms. Going to beat it this time, down to 10mg 4X a day. Just got to taper it down.

I wont advise on clomiprimine but you like me have been on enough meds to know if they suit you.

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Guest jayjay89

Glad to hear you are on the right track there OCDay.

Well I went to the Dr today and explained what happened. He suggested that it might not be related to the new meds, but instead related to stressors in my life.

I don't really know how I feel about that, because I am no more stressed than usual, so I don't know if that could really be it.

Hmmm, thoughts? (I know no one knows for sure, but just wondering if anyone has experienced the same side effects or stress side effects)

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Don't wan to sound contreversial, but I have found some GPs dont always like to admit the side effects of these meds as it makes the drugs look bad.

After trying a few SSRIs which I had bad reactions to, like you certain one gave me serotonin syndrome (I'm sure we can relate how bad that was!!!)

Unbelievable a mental health team (not my current team), after this tried to put me on Sertraline, I said no, they said it was a wonder drug which would cure me and they could guarantee the would be NO side effects. I burst out laughing and basically told then to stick it where the sun doesnt shine.

I am not anti meds but feel it is very hard unless you are lucky to find the right one for your body. Once you have tried so many you almost become scared to try new ones knowing there could be side effects, you almost give up on them. Dont get me wrong there are lucky ones which find the perfect med first time, I am not one of those people.

Stress deffinatly affects OCD. I'm no medical professional but have not personally experienced any of what you describe caused by stress.

You are experienced like me in side effects of meds, could you get a second opinion?? You are no more stressed than normal and the only thing you have changed in your life is starting Clomiprimine, but are feeling different?????

Anyway JayJay are you feeling today??

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I have been on loads of different meds over the past 7 years. Including clomipramine. It is great for OCD in terms of reducing obsessions and anxiety, but it is hard on your body. The confusion you felt may be due to it's sedative effects, it completely drains you for the first few weeks. It is entirely up to you if you want to proceed and see if the benefits outweigh the positives.

Personally, I used to be a big fan of meds. Now, however, I stick to natural supplements as a boost and try and focus on CBT and ERP techniques. There is a theory shared by Shamans that mental illness such as OCD is simply negatve energies interfering with positive ones, and the more we fight them and suppress them with medications, the longer the process will be. I believe medication may keep us in that conflict...it may help the symptoms but it is cutting us off from accepting this negative energy in a healthy way, then breaking away from it as part of the process. A Shaman once visited a mental hospital and was horrified by all the negative energies surrounding the patients, and the fact that medication was blocking them off from the spiritual process.

That may be a very hippy way of looking at things :p but my personal experiences have lead me to believe medication is not the answer for me. The psych recently tried to put me back on meds, in a round about way saying he couldnt help me if I didnt take them. This is wrong, as it feels like I am putting poison in my body, everyone should have the choice.

So when it comes down to it, it is about choice and what is best for you. Weigh up the pros and cons and make an informed decision based on what you want, not what anyone else thinks. We all know how doctors love to throw pills at people to fix things, in part because they are being paid by pharmaceutical companies to offload them. You just need to keep your wits about you. Best of luck

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Saffie - What natural substances do you use as a boost?? Would love to hear your experiences, as once I get off this s*** I am on, it's a route I would consider trying, but know very little about it.

Tryed St Johns Wart and also 5-HTP about 10 years ago before being diagnosed, found they had no effect though.

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OCDAY - there are so many different natural things that can help, and many work for some and not for others. So it's hard not to fall into obsessing about it lol. But like anything, it's trial and error. 5HTP helped me sleep better, but other than that it didnt do much.

There are big connections between OCD and lack of Vitamin B12, and any deficiency of any sort, even if it is minor, can increase anxiety and obsessive thinking patterns. So at the moment I take a good quaity multivitamin, with extra iron (so it absorbs properly), L-theanine (a great calming effect that isnt too strong, it crosses the blood brain barrier and works through brain waves or something so is more effective than many other supplements), and today I have started taking Rhodeola Rosea (can be stronger than antidepressants so you have to watch the dosage).

I also cut out sugar from my diet a few months ago to lose weight and it eliminated a lot of my anxiety. I didnt realise and recently started eating processsed foods which have added sugar in them and had a very sudden relapse. I always feel worse OCD-wise after eating sugary foods, and have read there are a lot of links between sugar and anxiety disorders. So it might help to cut out sugar as much as you can.

None of these are a cure. But they can really help your symptoms so you are in a better position to cope with the thoughts. I hope this helps :)

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Thanks for that. I am already taking strong B12 for other issues, also multi vits. I will google L-theanine and Rhodeola Rosea.

I cut caffien commpletly out of my diet about a year ago as it was iterferring with meds.

I dont eat the healthiest diet in the world also do eat a lot of processed foods. Also have a very sweet tooth, thanks for the thought provoking response!!

I started regular excercise about 6 month ago, maybe diet is next. Do you eat really healthily and was that natural to you or something you had too work at?

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Well I hate exercise lol but I radically changed my diet as a last resort for losing weight and also thought it might help in general. I was one of those people that raised my eyes when people said your diet has a huge impact on your mental health, and now I realise it does. It was hard for a few days, but if you change your mindset and dont look at it as a sacrifice, but a gain, then it is quite easy.

Your bain functions on what we feed it. You put unnatural **** in, it is going to be effected negatively. I always brushed it off but now after eating fast food I feel more depressed and my OCD starts getting stronger, there is definitely a link there. Gluten products tend to make me feel anxious too. I basically cut out white bread, sugar, process foods. Example, I would eat porridge for breakfast made with water or unsweetened almond milk. Lunch baked salmon with garlic, tomatoes and onions/mushrooms. Dinner maybe chicken with veg or an omelette. Occasionally then I would eat a bit of 80% dark chocolate. I have slipped back recently and can feel it. But at the time it was quite fun and I didnt miss the sugar after a few days. Your body doesnt actually need any additional sugar to function, it gets what it needs from vegetables or other foods which have small amounts of sugar in them.

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I AM one of those people that raisies there eyebrows when my medical team or close friends that eat really healthy say diet has a huge impact on mental health.

Thanks for the enlighting post, it's food for thought (literally!!!!)

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If you have read any of my previous posts, I WILL give anything a go even if it just improves this slightly!!!! Just got to get out of this med mess I am currently in!!!

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It defiantly does get to a point when you are scared of what presc meds are dioing to you but will try anything.

I hate execise too. Am forcing myself and it is slightly helping. Been swimming and gym 6 days out of the last seven. Hate the gym, but swimming is more calming for me.

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Been there Saffie (once didnt leave the house for 6 weeks!!) Try going standing in the garden for 5 mins, it will help. Then maybe tomorrow go for a walk aroung the block. Just dont rush things.

It's taken a lot of hard work and commitment to be able to do this (gym and swimmind are exposures for me). You can do this :original:

JayJay - Sorry if I have hijacked your thread, it wasnt meant!!!

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Guest jayjay89

Interesting points guys. I agree that sometimes drs won't admit to the side effects. I'm feeling pretty average today, but because I've been so low I have committed to 3 weeks - I don't even care if it doesn't help my ocd - I can deal with that with erp, but I'm just so depressed I don't try!

I have also been working on eating a lot healthier, for about the last month. But can't say I've noticed a difference

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