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can we discuss meds


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34 minutes ago, cookiemonster said:

Sertraline and yes has helped in conjunction with exercise and therapy 

Snap. I was never one for physical activity growing up, but I now find regularly keeping active - either brisk walking or cycling or, occasionally, yoga - provides a sense of wellbeing. When I'm well enough to. Sometimes depression makes it hard to find the motivation. 

Sertraline has taken the edge off the worst of the depression. I still have a lot of obsessions + compulsions, and am seeking further psychological therapy, but I dread to think how I'd be if I hadn't gone back on medication.

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I think It's sensible to consider meds as "waterwings" to tackle secondary depression consequent upon OCD, and help the sufferer feel more able to engage with CBT. 

In my case, I think the Citalopram helped equalise the peaks and troughs of my mood swings, to give me a better equilibrium and thus aid my resilience helping me to put into practice what I had learned in therapy. 

It's really trial and error as to which SSRI might suit an individual's mind and body, whether they can overcome any initial side effects, and whether they provide benefit. 

It's necessary I think to bear in mind the medication takes some time to build up in the body and work or not work, there is not normally a quick response. 

Coming off the drug again in due course needs to be done on a phased gradual withdrawal programme, and may have an adverse effect on our OCD. I would like to come off mine, but am scared it may cause a relapse when I am doing so well - so that is shelved for the moment. 

 

Edited by taurean
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Guest OCDhavenobrain

Escitalopram and I have also tried sertraline. Didn't make much for me. I was on 25mg Escitalopram for years, it probably just made me like a zombie. My hunger was muc higher, that's for sure. 

Benzo works wonder, but it's not something I would recommend. Antipsychotics was offered me but never tried them. 

 

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Benzodiazepines are not the answer for OCD. I think they are aimed for very short-term use only, such as for short-term post traumatic stress, as they lose effect quickly leading to higher and higher doses and addiction. 

For me, the way to tackle anxiety is to tackle the psychological cause of the anxiety. 

For example, I used to be a compulsive worrier, and get anxious over the littlest thing. 

When I learned how to conquer that worrying, the anxiety it had caused disappeared. 

It's the same with OCD. The triggers and OCD core beliefs and intrusive thoughts that led me to anxiety currently don't trouble me and so do not evoke anxiety. The combination of CBT, relaxation, mindfulness and love kindness meditation worked for me. 

Edited by taurean
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I was on fluoxetine for about the first 8 years of my OCD. Though it helped immensely I still had struggles that meant adjusting the dosage a few times. I had a big setback at one point and my doctor ended up switching me to citalopram, though in retrospect I think I could have benefited from CBT, which my original doctor didn’t really spend much time on, and been fine staying on fluoxetine. 

I spent the next 12ish years on citalopram before switching to escitalopram because I was moving to a country that had the later but not the former.   

I’d say the escitalopram has been the most effective, but I’ve also gained a lot more experience in managing my OCD from a CBT standpoint too so that also plays a part.

Medication has been a Godsend for me, and based on the times my doctor and I have tried to go to lower doses and things have gotten significantly worse, I imagine I’ll be on medication for the foreseeable future.  However I believe relying on medication alone is not a good plan.  We know so little about neurochemistry and pharmaceuticals, and when the medication isn’t effective for one reason or another, having the therapy tools is the difference between a minor bump in the road and a gaping sinkhole.

Unfortunately which medication and what dose is best varies so much from person to person, it’s hard to gather too much specific advice from our individual experiences.  I suppose if you could compare brain scans or something you might be able to find some commonalities but that’s unfortunately impractical in most cases.  So trial and error it is. Perhaps someday that will change.

 

 

 

 

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Once again I must caution that asking others what meds have worked for them is a pointless exercise.

What works for one person may not work at all for another. You can't base your decision to try a med based on a testimonial.

Talk to your prescribing doctor.

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On 22/09/2018 at 19:05, PolarBear said:

Once again I must caution that asking others what meds have worked for them is a pointless exercise.

What works for one person may not work at all for another. You can't base your decision to try a med based on a testimonial.

Talk to your prescribing doctor.

Yes, agreed. I had many years of citalopram and later escitalopram at various doses and I spent the whole time wondering what they were supposed to do. Aside from some side effects they had little impact.

I gave up on them and went med free for a few years. In my case it didn't go very well. The, reluctantly, I started taking fluoxetine and it has been life altering. Even in spite of my own skepticism it had been a huge benefit.

So, as PolarBear says, what works for one person may not for another. The positive side of that is there are several options, so don't give up like I did.

Edited by PaulM
Poor spellign ;)
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I agree with Paul. 

I had an initial failure with Citalopram - gave me constant diarrhoea, and with Fluoxetine ( turned me into a dozy zombie).

But I tried Citalopram again, initially using a diarrhoea treatment prescribed by my doctor - until my body got used to the drug and the diarrhoea stopped. 

It's been excellent for me, really helped. 

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