EmmaG84

He has went through 2 years of exposure based OCD which really helped but is falling back into old habits. We are waiting for a referral back to the service but waited around a year last time till he got an appointment. Hes never tried any form of medication as hes not keen on taking tablets but has more recently considered trying it to help support him a bit more in getting better.

My husband has had OCD since childhood with health anxiety traits for around 5 years. He has recently had a relapse and is looking at starting to take medication but is experiencing a lot of anxiety around starting these given the list of side effects. What are peoples experiences of taking sertraline or fluoxetine? Have people experienced many side effects and have they helped reduce the number with intrusive thoughts they experience?

My husband has had Ocd for around 15 years although last year this lead to extreme health anxiety orientation around cancer. He found a lump in his mouth which turned out to be nothing serious but lead to constant examination and checking behaviours of any new lump blemish or unsymetrical feature. He's since had CBT and is mostly in control. During this period he told his close friends and family of his condition for the first time and was surprised how much support he received. Today I broached the subject with a close friend, our 5 year old daughters best friends Mum, and was taken back by her reaction. He her exact words were 'that explains where your daughter gets it from then.' My daughter is like any normal 5 year old, active, happy, a bit fussy at times, she knows what she likes and what she doesn't but to her and most people close to us, they had no idea my husband was dealing with the stress and anxiety he has for so long. We manage each day as it comes, have very good coping strategies and our kids have a very normal, happy and loving environment. I was shocked at how brutal and naive a comment she made. Especially given how ocd is becoming much more widely understood. Do I leave it alone or do I offer some information on ocd so she understands that it's not hereditary or learned behaviour?