What are everyone’s experiences using SSRIs for OCD? I’m not currently medicated and was curious if they actually help.

I started sertraline when I was diagnosed at 8 years old and I felt significantly better, still on it at 25 years old.

It depends on the person, honestly 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've been taking it for almost a year now, almost no symptoms of OCD now.

Killed my libido, which obviously triggered me a lot, but it does slow down depression, intrusive thoughts, and anxiety. Very good if you get lucky and find the right one for you.

I have tried Sertraline and Citalopram, and have been up to max dose on both. Sertraline made my OCD worse, Citalopram didn’t really help with OCD but did my mood. I think they are just too activating for me, increases my anxiety which leads to more intrusions. Therapy and lifestyle changes were what helped my recovery. Lots of people have recovered without medication and lots have recovered with. SSRI can be great medication to some but each person is different. If therapy, ERP, lifestyle changes aren’t helping then maybe under doctors supervision you could try an SSRI.

I'm on sertraline for 4 years now, and it actually does help. I've gradually increased the dose, on 200mg now. Overall I'm not so happier but for sure the ocd symptoms are much better! I'd definitely recommend to try

I personally have tried SSRIs and have not found them helpful. What I do find helpful right now are antipsychotics. They keep my suicidal ocd at a manageable level. They don't help the harm ocd as much but I think the suicidal is of more importance.

Hey, I'm in therapy and have fought not taking medication for a long time. I've decided to try it to see if it'll help while in therapy and was prescribed prozac (20mg once daily). Today is day 10, and I tell you what, it's been pretty terrible. The first few days were fine but yesterday and today I've had tremors, increased anxiety and just extreme nervousness. This is a side effect and they say it will subside in a few weeks. So I had a bad OCD episode yesterday debating on whether or not to continue medication. It started the cycle of "medicine isn't working l, erp won't work, I'm a crazy psycho, it's not really harm OCD, I want to do this, I'm going to be afraid forever, I just need to be locked up in an insane asylum etc' it was bad. However, it's because I associate any anxiety with my harm OCD. So even though my body felt anxious bc of the med, I actually wasn't having intrusive thoughts until I started ruminating on the way I was feeling. I have researched extensively on this medication, I have been a pharmacy technician for 13 years so I know a lot about prozac. So I keep telling myself it's the medication and if by week 4 I'm not seeing a change then I'll go back to only therapy. Just because I didn't do well on medication doesn't mean that I won't do well with therapy. I've managed this long with OCD, I think I'll be okay the rest of my life. Besides, scientists aren't entirely convinced it's a chemical imbalance that causes the issues. Some believe it's just thought process in our brain and reprogramming our mind which is what therapy does. Either way, medication may or may not be helpful. Remember OCDs kryptonite is uncertainty. So it's okay to say, it may or may not work for me, and it's okay to try it or not try it. At the end of the day you have to do what is going to help you, just remember that it's not a magic pill. You'll still need to put in the work to eliminate the root issue. Hope this helps!