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Just prescribed Sertraline for contamination OCD.


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Hi,

I am off work sick as my contamination OCD is out of control. I have spent all day, every day during this time of absence reading about my OCD as I've learned that knowledge is power to beat this evil bully that I have had with me for 40 years! I don't know what adult life is like without it!

As I'm not well at all, my doctor has prescribed Sertralin - I've never taken any medication for OCD before. I'm so reluctant to take it. I'm not depressed and can at times feel happy although the anxiety my OCD is causing me is crippling and I'm rarely leaving the house. Obviously, my OCD bully is telling me not to take the medication because if it works, I'll not do all of my obsessive cleaning rituals and myself and my family will get really ill and my elderly parents will die - all my fault.

I start CBT tomorrow with NHS (on Phone) but has anyone got any advice about Sertraline? I like a glass or two of wine in the evening as it helps me switch off but will I really need to stop this? I only went to my doctors a few weeks ago about OCD as I'd never mentioned to them before but work could see I was not well and said I needed help.

Any advice much appreciated as scared to take them! (50 mg daily)

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I was prescribed Sertraline about 18 months ago. Like you, I'd never taken medication for my mental health either.

I didn't get on with Sertraline. At all. I don't want to get into why, as everybody is different and I don't want to alarm you. What works for one, doesn't work for another.

What I would say is you can 100% make progress without it. I have in many, many ways. I started taking it because I thought I was at rock bottom. But I went down further. I worked my way back up in other ways. I'm far from perfect now, I still have my issues. Some are harder than others, for everyone.

I just want to encourage you that you can start feeling better without Sertraline. No harm in giving it a go, of course. But you don't need it.

Maybe I'm biased from my own experience... but I'd rather be honest in what I say.

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13 hours ago, Tiger297 said:

What works for one, doesn't work for another.

Hi Tiger297,

Thanks for sharing your experience. 

I've just had my first CBT telephone appointment. I think I'm going to give that a go first. My doctor is calling me tomorrow so will have a chat with her about it.

I'm scared about the side effects especially as they say they are worse for first few weeks - don't want them over Christmas as need to enjoy that time!

I'm glad you realised you didn't need the medicine. 

 

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I am another that didn’t get in to well with Sertraline. 
However, I didn’t get any side effects with it, I did with citalopram though. It’s odd how certain drugs affect people in different ways. I am so glad you started therapy. How did it go today?

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5 hours ago, Tealight said:

Hi Tiger297,

Thanks for sharing your experience. 

I've just had my first CBT telephone appointment. I think I'm going to give that a go first. My doctor is calling me tomorrow so will have a chat with her about it.

I'm scared about the side effects especially as they say they are worse for first few weeks - don't want them over Christmas as need to enjoy that time!

I'm glad you realised you didn't need the medicine. 

 

Glad you're getting on with CBT. That will be of the greatest benefit to you, I'm certain.

Sertraline is very hit and miss it seems. I had a few physical side effects, but nothing too major. The mental side of things was a different story, however. Maybe I didn't take it for long enough - I only managed about 4 weeks before enough was enough.

Keep going with the CBT. And heed the advice of many on here. Here is where I got most of my help over the years.

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4 hours ago, Albertina said:

Sertraline is good for OCD when used with therapy and you are also doing therapy so it is best. It usually takes 4 to 6 weeks for Sertraline to work, I hope you will feel better soon

Thank you. Think I'll wait a bit before taking it as apprehensive about  it. Scared it will stop me feeling moments of joy although less anxiety would be good. 

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27 minutes ago, Hdigtts said:

I am another that didn’t get in to well with Sertraline. 
However, I didn’t get any side effects with it, I did with citalopram though. It’s odd how certain drugs affect people in different ways. I am so glad you started therapy. How did it go today?

Hi Hdigtts,

I feel a bit flat to be honest. I thought lots of things I'm struggling with would addressed but I guess there are so many that the CBT therapist is right to make me just focus on a few. I feel like this is going to take YEARS and I'll never fully manage it. Was feeling positive and on a roll but now disheartened. I don't blame CBT therapist....I've asked her about her experience with OCD etc...just think I was expecting too much too soon. 

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22 minutes ago, Tiger297 said:

Glad you're getting on with CBT. That will be of the greatest benefit to you, I'm certain.

Sertraline is very hit and miss it seems. I had a few physical side effects, but nothing too major. The mental side of things was a different story, however. Maybe I didn't take it for long enough - I only managed about 4 weeks before enough was enough.

Keep going with the CBT. And heed the advice of many on here. Here is where I got most of my help over the years.

Hi Tiger297,

Thanks for your advice. Did the medicine make you worse mentally as that's my fear. I have good and bad days but I am not depressed...just incredibly anxious. ( I also have generalised anxiety disorder).I do find things to do I enjoy and can feel quite happy! I'm scared, taking medication, that I'll be robbed of these happy times eg lying in bath with my candles, lovely scented bubbles, a good book and a glass of wine! This makes me feel great...would hate it to become JUST having a bath!

This forum is helping me a lot so thank you. 

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33 minutes ago, Tealight said:

Hi Hdigtts,

I feel a bit flat to be honest. I thought lots of things I'm struggling with would addressed but I guess there are so many that the CBT therapist is right to make me just focus on a few. I feel like this is going to take YEARS and I'll never fully manage it. Was feeling positive and on a roll but now disheartened. I don't blame CBT therapist....I've asked her about her experience with OCD etc...just think I was expecting too much too soon. 

I felt exactly the same, you just want to get everything out and start the process but it does take a bit of time. You’ll find that once you start learning new strategies that you’ll be able to use them for other things too. So just because they were not addressed today doesn’t mean it’ll take years and years to be better :)

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25 minutes ago, Hdigtts said:

I felt exactly the same, you just want to get everything out and start the process but it does take a bit of time. You’ll find that once you start learning new strategies that you’ll be able to use them for other things too. So just because they were not addressed today doesn’t mean it’ll take years and years to be better :)

Thank you...that really helps. 

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On 23/11/2020 at 18:17, Tealight said:

Hi,

I am off work sick as my contamination OCD is out of control. I have spent all day, every day during this time of absence reading about my OCD as I've learned that knowledge is power to beat this evil bully that I have had with me for 40 years! I don't know what adult life is like without it!

As I'm not well at all, my doctor has prescribed Sertralin - I've never taken any medication for OCD before. I'm so reluctant to take it. I'm not depressed and can at times feel happy although the anxiety my OCD is causing me is crippling and I'm rarely leaving the house. Obviously, my OCD bully is telling me not to take the medication because if it works, I'll not do all of my obsessive cleaning rituals and myself and my family will get really ill and my elderly parents will die - all my fault.

I start CBT tomorrow with NHS (on Phone) but has anyone got any advice about Sertraline? I like a glass or two of wine in the evening as it helps me switch off but will I really need to stop this? I only went to my doctors a few weeks ago about OCD as I'd never mentioned to them before but work could see I was not well and said I needed help.

Any advice much appreciated as scared to take them! (50 mg daily)

If it makes you feel any better, I am actually on sertraline and besides some early side effects, has been quite steady on me. There are some very minor things but it depends who you would ask to tell you if it was a good or a bad thing. You can always stop them if you don’t like them, especially on 50mg. 

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Hi 

I have been taking 50mg sertraline for 2 weeks now following taking fluoxetine for 5 months or so. It has been very mixed so far I am not sleeping well, as soon as I go to bed the intrusive thoughts come in and feels like I am losing control of my mind. I can sleep on the sofa watching TV though. I also feel overly happy at times then down. Are these part of the side effects? Unfortunately the waiting list where I am for NHS CBT is very long - I am still waiting since being assessed over 6 months ago! 

 

 

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I have been taking 50mg Sertraline for almost a year. The medics wanted me to use 100 mg but I can't tolerate the side effect of diarrhoea. I tried prozac before, same problem.

It hasn't had any effect on my intrusive thoughts. But it does work well as an antidepressant when my OCD is in remission and the thoughts are just occasional as the CBT I have had works well then.

My psychiatrist was certain, from her experience,that the prozac would help with my intrusions, but I couldn't take it.

Whether any one drug will help with intrusions, for any one person, is unfortunately something of a hit or miss thing.

You don't have to wait for the NHS to start CBT .There are excellent self-help books available to take people through this. I did a workbook with my wife helping me. Check out the books on the main OCD website.

Meanwhile, don't try and push away the thoughts or neutralise them, This makes them stronger.Try to reduce physical and mental rituals ( such as ruminating) as these too make the intrusions more powerful.

Use a distraction, stand back from them, refocus away onto other things and keep working on this .

Edited by taurean
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22 hours ago, BigDave said:

If it makes you feel any better, I am actually on sertraline and besides some early side effects, has been quite steady on me. There are some very minor things but it depends who you would ask to tell you if it was a good or a bad thing. You can always stop them if you don’t like them, especially on 50mg. 

Thanks. I have spoken to my doctor tonight who thinks I should give them a go...still thinking about it!

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On 23/11/2020 at 18:17, Tealight said:

Hi,

I am off work sick as my contamination OCD is out of control. I have spent all day, every day during this time of absence reading about my OCD as I've learned that knowledge is power to beat this evil bully that I have had with me for 40 years! I don't know what adult life is like without it!

As I'm not well at all, my doctor has prescribed Sertralin - I've never taken any medication for OCD before. I'm so reluctant to take it. I'm not depressed and can at times feel happy although the anxiety my OCD is causing me is crippling and I'm rarely leaving the house. Obviously, my OCD bully is telling me not to take the medication because if it works, I'll not do all of my obsessive cleaning rituals and myself and my family will get really ill and my elderly parents will die - all my fault.

I start CBT tomorrow with NHS (on Phone) but has anyone got any advice about Sertraline? I like a glass or two of wine in the evening as it helps me switch off but will I really need to stop this? I only went to my doctors a few weeks ago about OCD as I'd never mentioned to them before but work could see I was not well and said I needed help.

Any advice much appreciated as scared to take them! (50 mg daily)

I have been taking sertraline now for 3.5 weeks and have had no side effects. I'm starting to feel a little better in myself but only slightly. At first I too was thinking about side effects but the more you think about them the more you think you're experiencing them if that makes sense? Anxiety caused weird symptoms which could be mistaken for side effects.

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6 hours ago, OCD 1 said:

Unfortunately the waiting list where I am for NHS CBT is very long

Oh no! I guess I'm lucky (and unlucky) as was assessed as needing high level intensity CBT so haven't had to wait too long. I would contact them again or your doctor to see if they can do anything. I've read that the tablets can cause sleeping problems but I have't taken them yet so can't say from personal experience. Hope you can have CBT soon. I've found reading the book 'Break Free from OCD - Overcoming OCD with CBT' very informative and has helped me while waiting for my first CBT appointment. I'm also not working through the workbook 'The Beating OCD workbook' by Dr S Fitzgerald.  My CBT therapist said that CBT is all about educating ourselves on how to be our own therapists.  I've also bought a sleep band with built in earphones so can fall asleep listening to relaxation app which I have found better than the TV as need something to distract my mind. Just a thought.

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4 hours ago, taurean said:

Whether any one drug will help with intrusions, for any one person, is unfortunately something of a hit or miss thing.

Thanks. I'm still thinking about pros and cons.  You're right, self help books can be very good.

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16 minutes ago, BrianTS said:

I have been taking sertraline now for 3.5 weeks and have had no side effects. I'm starting to feel a little better in myself but only slightly. At first I too was thinking about side effects but the more you think about them the more you think you're experiencing them if that makes sense? Anxiety caused weird symptoms which could be mistaken for side effects.

It's good to know that you haven't had side effects and are feeling a little better although a shame only slightly.I have read it can take up to 12 weeks to get full effect so let us know how you get on. I'm still on the fence. 

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16 minutes ago, Tealight said:

It's good to know that you haven't had side effects and are feeling a little better although a shame only slightly.I have read it can take up to 12 weeks to get full effect so let us know how you get on. I'm still on the fence. 

Yeah still overthinking daft things which I need to stop. I think of anti depressants as a leg up the ladder to recovery rather than a cure.

If you had a bad leg you'd probably take an anti inflammatory so there's no difference really

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22 hours ago, BrianTS said:

I think of anti depressants as a leg up the ladder to recovery rather than a cure.

If you had a bad leg you'd probably take an anti inflammatory so there's no difference really

That's a good point! Thanks for making me think of it that way.

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An important thing to bear in mind is that the depression in OCD tends to be secondary I. e. caused by the OCD itself. 

So unless the patient is going about tackling their OCD with CBT then, without some help, it may get out of control. 

So if the drug helps with that depression - as prozac does for my sister - then even if it doesn't directly help with intrusions it may ease the anxiety/depression and help the sufferer engage with therapy. 

When you consider contamination OCD, what's going on? The brain is seeing threat where others see very little - people who may well be very intelligent, not risk-takers. 

Teaching the brain that the threats it is throwing up aren't what they seem needs cognitive behavioural therapy including exposure and response prevention. 

In conclusion, my own personal take on the meds is that they may well help the sufferer to better engage with therapy. And there just might be a reduction in the intensity of the OCD, but for whom, and with what, is unknown. 

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