Ocd medication

[rebecca23x]

Hi there! 

Just a quick question on medication. I’ve spoke to my therapist today in our session and he mentioned maybe speaking to my doctor about medication, he said it’s completley up to me, but I have a fear of taking SSRI etc.. as I had a bad experience with the side effects from flueoxetine. It’s put me off them, also I feel like I don’t need them and that I can learn to manage my ocd as I’ve stopped doing some of compulsions as part of the ERP therapy I’m receiving, just wondering what you guys think? Abit advice needed?

thank you x

[AnxiousAnnie]

You could always talk to your doctor about the options, get some information and then think it over. 

[hazydaze]

If you can get away with not taking medication then great, but personally my symptoms and the anxiety were so bad that I wound up taking Paxil (paroxetine). I was very apprehensive, but they helped me sooooooo much. It's a personal choice, but don't let one bad experience turn you against all of them. I had Zoloft at one point and it gave me insomnia, I really didn't like it. There's a period of trial and error usually for meds. 

Best wishes  

[malina]

I only took medication for a period of time about 10 years ago, so I don’t have much experience with it. I took fluoxetine too, but I didn’t have a huge problem with it. It was unpleasant, caused dry mouth and stomach problems for a few weeks but afterwards I didn’t really notice anything. I think everyone reacts differently, it could be worth giving it a try if you feel like it. Personally, I made a very stupid mistake, I was very young then and started feeling better so I stopped taking the medication by myself without consulting anyone. Of course my symptoms just surged right back after a while, but then I decided to just go for CBT, it took longer and it was harder but it all worked out in the end. So it’s definitely an option if you feel like giving it a try!

[rebecca23x]

I think I’m just abit worried because Prozac really sent me mad, to be honest the increased anxiety was giving me insomnia so I think the lack of sleep played a major part in all the panic attacks I was having, I was on mirtazapine for abit but I have four children and it made me wiped out all night and I couldn’t hear anything witch was not good as my youngest was 8 months at the time, I just feel like I can do it without medication but the fact my therapist has mentioned it is making me think he feels like I’m not doing as well as I think I am, maybe I’m just overthinking it, classic anxiety! Do you think it’s possible to get over 14 years of ocd with just CBT as I feel like I only have spouts of anxiety depending on when I have intrusive thoughts witch usually lasts about 3-4 days? 

[gingerbreadgirl]

I think it's think more than possible to recover from ocd with cbt alone. Meds help some people get a handle on anxiety and cbt but it's cbt that really does the heavy lifting. It sounds like you would prefer not to take meds (i may be wrong?) - but if that's the case there's absolutely nothing that says you have to take meds. 

[rebecca23x]

19 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

I think it's think more than possible to recover from ocd with cbt alone. Meds help some people get a handle on anxiety and cbt but it's cbt that really does the heavy lifting. It sounds like you would prefer not to take meds (i may be wrong?) - but if that's the case there's absolutely nothing that says you have to take meds. 

Yeah your right I don’t want to take meds, I have nothing against anyone that takes them like I say I’ve been on them before I just feel in the right mindset to be able to do it without them but my therapist is insisting on it and it’s just making me wonder if he thinks I’m not doing as well as I think I am I mean I’m already accepting my intrusive thoughts, accepting the uncertainty and also stopped doing one of my compulsions so I feel like I’m getting somewhere. Plus I know that if I speak to my doctor he will just put me back on them because of my history 

[malina]

If you think your therapist is insisting on meds, you could just ask him why and have an open discussion about your concerns. I took medication for that one period, but after I stopped, I managed to get better without medication. I then went through a relapse about 1.5 years ago and have been able to manage it without medication. So it's certainly possible to get better without medication, but I think it's something to consider rationally and to trust yourself. I think you're trying to read into your therapists responses to see if he thinks you're doing okay or not (I have done the same!), but at the end of the day, this is your decision. Even if you say no to medication right now, you can always decide to take them later on if you decide to. This should all be flexible, there is no single path here and you should just take it all as it comes.

[dksea]

Hi @rebecca23x,  Having a bad experience like you did is definitely an understandable reason to be wary of medication!  That said, its also important to remember that a bad experience with one medication does not necessarily mean you will have bad experiences with all medications.  One of the reasons people sometimes try different SSRI's is because the effects they can have can vary from person to person.  So while Fluoxetine might have been a bad fit for you, its possible another medication might be much better.
That said, if you feel comfortable with your progress and want to tackle your OCD without medication I think thats more than reasonable.  Many people do so, and ultimately it is your life and you are the one who has to live it.
One last thing I would say is that you should consider why your doctor is recommending trying medication again.  Its possible they see something that you aren't, that your progress maybe isn't what it could be, or they think you could be greatly helped by it, etc.  I think having a good discussion with them about why they want you to try medication again (as Malina suggests) is a great idea.   

[rebecca23x]

6 hours ago, dksea said:

Hi @rebecca23x,  Having a bad experience like you did is definitely an understandable reason to be wary of medication!  That said, its also important to remember that a bad experience with one medication does not necessarily mean you will have bad experiences with all medications.  One of the reasons people sometimes try different SSRI's is because the effects they can have can vary from person to person.  So while Fluoxetine might have been a bad fit for you, its possible another medication might be much better.
That said, if you feel comfortable with your progress and want to tackle your OCD without medication I think thats more than reasonable.  Many people do so, and ultimately it is your life and you are the one who has to live it.
One last thing I would say is that you should consider why your doctor is recommending trying medication again.  Its possible they see something that you aren't, that your progress maybe isn't what it could be, or they think you could be greatly helped by it, etc.  I think having a good discussion with them about why they want you to try medication again (as Malina suggests) is a great idea.   

Yeah I understand, I was on mirtazapine for a while and they did me wonders for anxiety, felt like a brand new person but it didn’t help for my ocd, i started to fear that I’d sleepwalk on them and take my children out or something it terrified me so I stopped taking them, I mean I don’t know if anyone else experiences there ocd the way I do, but basically I get an intrusive thought, the anxiety peaks at about the 3rd day then it slowly moves on and goes, then I have a week or so of good days then another thought comes to mind, so I just feel like medication isn’t needed because it’s not a every day thing, I don’t know it’s a complicated thing, but my next therapy session isn’t till not next Monday (for the bank holiday) but the Monday after so I’ll definitely ask my therapist why he thinks that. I’m probably just overthinking things as per

[rebecca23x]

11 hours ago, malina said:

If you think your therapist is insisting on meds, you could just ask him why and have an open discussion about your concerns. I took medication for that one period, but after I stopped, I managed to get better without medication. I then went through a relapse about 1.5 years ago and have been able to manage it without medication. So it's certainly possible to get better without medication, but I think it's something to consider rationally and to trust yourself. I think you're trying to read into your therapists responses to see if he thinks you're doing okay or not (I have done the same!), but at the end of the day, this is your decision. Even if you say no to medication right now, you can always decide to take them later on if you decide to. This should all be flexible, there is no single path here and you should just take it all as it comes.

Of course yeah, I always say to my partner, “if I feel like I need meds’ I’d definitely be open to taking them again” I’ve been on and off medication for many years, postnatal depression, anxiety, ocd. So it’s something I’m always open too. I just feel like I want to try with cbt and see how it goes, thank you for your advice though,  I wanted to tackle the ocd but not take medication as I stated before I am scared of it, maybe my therapist was insisting because of the ERP I’m doing, just to handle the anxiety while I’m stopping my compulsions, like I say I’ve stopped one compulsion and I’m on my second one now and doing okay It’s nice to know that cbt does work without medication too as I felt like I was stuck. 

[dksea]

10 hours ago, rebecca23x said:

I’m probably just overthinking things as per

Someone with OCD overthinking things?? Never

 

9 hours ago, rebecca23x said:

I just feel like I want to try with cbt and see how it goes, thank you for your advice though,  I wanted to tackle the ocd but not take medication as I stated before I am scared of it, maybe my therapist was insisting because of the ERP I’m doing, just to handle the anxiety while I’m stopping my compulsions, like I say I’ve stopped one compulsion and I’m on my second one now and doing okay It’s nice to know that cbt does work without medication too as I felt like I was stuck. 

That sounds reasonable and you should definitely mention that to your doctor/therapist when you discuss it.  Its possible they suggested the medication because they feel it will help you be able to tolerate the ERP/CBT more at the beginning so you can build a good foundation and then you can continue while off the medication.  That would be my guess at least.  But i think you are approaching this with a good mind and you have good goals and a willingness to do the work so I have confidence you will find a solution that works well for you

P.S. I realize in my previous post i used the phrase "That said" twice in the same paragraph!  I apologize for my stylistic blunder.  How gauche

[rebecca23x]

14 hours ago, dksea said:

Someone with OCD overthinking things?? Never

 

That sounds reasonable and you should definitely mention that to your doctor/therapist when you discuss it.  Its possible they suggested the medication because they feel it will help you be able to tolerate the ERP/CBT more at the beginning so you can build a good foundation and then you can continue while off the medication.  That would be my guess at least.  But i think you are approaching this with a good mind and you have good goals and a willingness to do the work so I have confidence you will find a solution that works well for you

P.S. I realize in my previous post i used the phrase "That said" twice in the same paragraph!  I apologize for my stylistic blunder.  How gauche

Yeah I agree. As yesterday was a bad day for me (anxiety wise) at the time it felt really bad, as anxiety does, but when I look back I handled it well and todays another day so just taking it day by day to be honest. I feel they probably did suggest it to help but like I said I felt like I did okay with the anxiety yesterday, although I am on the compulsions that give me the least distress.

Thank you so much! I hope I do too. I’ve suffered from OCD & GAD for 14 years so I’m ready to tackle it now

also I didn’t even notice you had put that twice so that’s on me aswell